Do carp get "spookier" later in the summer?

Evan B

Evan B

Bobber Downey Jr.
Staff member
Admin
Just an observation I'm trying to figure out: Is it because of external factors (pressure) or just how they behave the longer the season goes on?

In the carp spots I frequent, I notice the fish being SUPER comfy and cooperative in June, allowing for a few botched casts before spooking. July rolls around and they're still comfortable, but definitely more alert and don't give you quite as much cushion to mess things up.

In August, I'm lucky to find many fish at all exhibiting the behavior I like to target: Head down, tail up, not a care in the world. They spook as soon as you false cast if you even get to that point, or they'll give you refusals when taking a look at your offering.

Not sure if this is just a thing happening in the spots I like due to pressure from a certain guide outfit, or if it's just kind of how the season goes? I think there might be SOMETHING to it as those post-spawn fish in June just want calories any way they can get em it seems.
 
Evan B said:
Just an observation I'm trying to figure out: Is it because of external factors (pressure) or just how they behave the longer the season goes on?)

In the carp spots I frequent, I notice the fish being SUPER comfy and cooperative in June, allowing for a few botched casts before spooking. July rolls around and they're still comfortable, but definitely more alert and don't give you quite as much cushion to mess things up.

In August, I'm lucky to find many fish at all exhibiting the behavior I like to target: Head down, tail up, not a care in the world. They spook as soon as you false cast if you even get to that point, or they'll give you refusals when taking a look at your offering.

Not sure if this is just a thing happening in the spots I like due to pressure from a certain guide outfit, or if it's just kind of how the season goes? I think there might be SOMETHING to it as those post-spawn fish in June just want calories any way they can get em it seems.
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I do think carp become more wary as the summer wanes due to pressure - and there's no doubt in my mind the pressure on this fishery in my area (boatless areas) has increased tenfold in the past few years. I never used to see carpers other than the small group that I fish with. So yeah, I think they do become spookier, more wary. The last time I was out I found myself crouching over the water and trying to cast sidearm because it seemed like any overhead cast spooked the fish. I think sometimes they just seek other water as they know this beach or this shoal has mean, nasty fishermen on it.
 
I don't doubt they get more wary as summer progresses. Could it also be that the water is more calm now than in June?
Seems like June always has some breeze to keep a little ripple to the water. Too much at times, killing visibility.
Sometime in July that wind stops blowing (usually when it also gets damn hot) and we lose that ripple.
The sun is also less overhead now so longer shadows.

Wish I could get out carpin this week!
 
Well, if yesterday was any indication, yes.

Even with a nice wind chop, the mud stirred up, etc....i had to be very careful of any movements, crouching helped, there were still a couple fish that spooked without me doing anything and left me thinking, WTF?

That said, when I managed to not spook them, they were quite agreeable to what I was throwing.

Now, let's talk about weeds! And the dangers of them! 😆

I've only been doing this a fraction of the amount of time as many, but damn, they are fun, aren't they?
 
I would guess that it is due to pressure, but I also think that they feed less when the water temperatures increase to the summer levels. I find more sunners and less feeding fish during the hot months of July and August. But I don't find the fish with the right posture to be more spooky where I fish as the season progresses, just less of them.

If you have guides rotating through the same spots on a daily basis, plus an increase in regular fisherman chasing carp in the same areas, the carp are going to get wise. And they are a pretty wary fish to begin with.
 
I don’t have nearly the experience, but I had a stellar day two weeks ago in a walk in spot that gets hammered all summer. Cruisers, baskers, feeders were all game. Was even able to drop a fly right off my rod tip to a fish resting in some weeds.

Probably just a blind squirrel situation.
 
Higher water temps make for more dozing and hovering, less active tail up hoovering. So yeah, a bit more spooky or more likely to startle.
 
Grayone said:
My guess , they are just finishing or in the latter time of the spawn. That may be what is going on.
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In my neck of the woods, spawn is long done. I think angling pressure plays a role in making the fish more wary. Then again, @PhilR goes out and disproves my "theory". ;-)
 
Yeah, spawn was done back in May/early June.
 
SilverFly said:
Random, carp ignorant, carp curious thought here. Maybe part of it is just that they're extra hungry/stupid after the spawn, and revert to wary/selective later?
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There's an awful lot we don't seem to know about these fish. I do think there's something to carp being a bit more voracious post spawn. On the other hand, pre-spawn I've seen days when the fish were on the feed and not particularly spooky if I was careful. Heck, it's trout season and TUNA season. ;-)
 
Buzzy said:
There's an awful lot we don't seem to know about these fish. I do think there's something to carp being a bit more voracious post spawn. On the other hand, pre-spawn I've seen days when the fish were on the feed and not particularly spooky if I was careful. Heck, it's trout season and TUNA season. ;-)
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They are an interesting fish. My limited encounters with them have been both unexpected, and surprising with their speed and power.

And yeah, I need to start prepping for tuna... and possibly tributary fall chinook season if this rain here in SWW keeps up.
 
This has been an interesting year for me, Jerry and Mr. Carp. I've had a hard time finding ANY fish to cast to (man, I miss my old boat). Yesterday 84 year old Jerry (who's like a ten year old at heart) drove over from Mill Creek to fish for Mr. Carp. I was surprised to see the reservoir drawn down so much, a good four feet. A minus tide, and it was still ebbing. Ten years ago (or 15?) Seattle City Light had some work to do on their Dry Falls Dam intake which required a large drawdown of the reservoir. There was this sweet spot on the drawdown, before the bottom simply got too mucky to wade, where I found a lot of fish amoung Glacial Lake Missoula erratics. It was fun. Yesterday was sort of reminiscent of the drawdown except in over 3 miles of wandering we spotted three Mr. Carps. (Without any hookups).

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I'm pretty sure Jerry would have needed a snorkel to breath if the pool had been full.

So where are the carp? Pressure driving them to other places? Maybe a bit, there's a lot tells on foot traffic through the steppe shrub that hasn't been there in the past. Pelicans eating carp? I counted 20 pelicans on a small island off to the right of the top picture and 20 more (the same birds?) along the highway. Or have the fish sensed the drawdown and moved out or something else. I don't know.

There's another lake I fish that holds a lot of carp, it's super muddy, surrounded by dense vegetation so a boat's mandatory. My pram works okay. Or should I say "worked okay" as the fish I did see were spooked before I could cast to them - so what I mostly saw was mud plumes from Mr. Carp fleeing what I believe was a pretty stealthy approach (wind drift). I guess there have been a lot of boats fishing these muddy pools.

Hanging up my Mr. Carp rod (for the year). Time to get the 12 weight out tomorrow and test cast the new 600 GR Cortland Billfish 50Plus line in anticipation of some really fast fish. September 14th! So excited!
 
sorry about Mr Carp not cooperating, but stoked for you to get after fast fish.
 
Wow. Pretty sure I recognize that spot. Way low! Sorry you didn't find many carp to fish for. Good luck on the 14th!
 
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