Dagur Árni gudmundsson
Our Angler of the month for April is DAGUR ÁRNI GUÐMUNDSSON, from California. Dagur is an Official American Carp Society fly guide and grew up fishing for wild trout and salmon in Iceland. In his teens, he moved to California where he learned to apply his fly fishing craft to a foreign landscape, and eventually found his way chasing carp - which became an obsession due to their technicality and strength.
Dagur is a multi-species angler, but you’ll find him concentrating on the beloved ‘Golden Bones’ in Sunny California during the spring season. Taking some incredible shots and representing the sport of ‘Fly Carping’ with exceptional ability, we are happy to honor him this month.
Congratulations Dagur on your Journey so far… We know there will be more awesome carp shots in your future!
Click HERE to check out his insta page!
NOTABLE CAPTURES
We’re fortunate that we get to see the best carpy pictures from all over the USA from our members and friends. These photos below certainly caught our attention in the month of March. Congratulations to everyone on the success of their angling sessions this past month…We appreciate all your tags and mentions, and can’t wait to see what you guys and gals catch this coming Spring season! Don’t forget to tag us #americancarpsociety #jointheguiltyones and tag american_carp_society in your stories!
• Dzemal Dzalic
American Carp society’s new team member
We are happy to announce a new member of The American Carp Society family…Please welcome Charlotte Hodgson to the team! Charlotte is our new Digital Coordinator who will be starting with us in April.
Charlotte is a passionate angler who has always loved the challenge of fishing for multiple species. However, it was a chance encounter with a carp while using bread as bait that truly captured her heart and she hasn’t looked back. She quickly realized that carp fishing was unlike anything she had experienced before, and she was determined to learn everything she could about the art of catching these powerful but elusive fish.
“There’s nothing that gets my heart racing more than the sound of my drag screaming as a carp fights to get off the hook. It’s a rush like no other and a feeling I can never get enough of.”
INSTAGRAM LIVE - DAVE LEVY & YURIY NESTEROV
American Carp Society member YURIY NESTEROV will be going live on Instagram with Carp Fishing Hall of Fame Inductee DAVE LEVY on Sunday, April 16th, 1pm Eastern, Noon Central and 6pm UK time.
Please join them both live for questions and chat on everything carpy at Yuriy’s Insta page!
Click HERE for the link for the Livestream!
Every picture tells a story…
NEW ACS & BONEYARD FLY T-SHIRTS IN THE WORKS
We have been working with the great Matt Zudweg and Boneyard Fly Gear on a SQUATCH Collaboration. Matt does all of our artwork for the ‘Carpy’ stickers and we thought it would be cool to do a ‘BARNABY / SQUATCH’ T Shirt!! Click HERE and give Matt a follow on instagram!
These will be available for Pre order in a few weeks!
Barnaby’s Revenge Pop-Up’s
We have rolled some fresh Barnaby’s Revenge bottom baits…All flavors in 16mm.
• Asterbury Creme
• Mandala Gold
• Desert Fruit
• Mapex
We will have a limited quantity of these that will be going on the store so PLEASE WATCH YOUR EMAIL and the FB private group for dates and times of the next release. All handmade here in the USA.
Birger Holmqvist
Our friend and Author, Birger Holmqvist recently jumped onto a plane and took a trip to Texas USA for the very first time in in search of some Carp and Monster Buffalo! Joined by his friends Jason Rider, James King, Martin Rich and Matthew Tomlinson, it’s fair to say that he fell in love with the place and a great time was had by all!
Birger was kind enough to donate some of his signed books ‘1000 Nights’ for the 2023 Wild Carp Classic and reached out to us after his latest trip with a report:
“So excited after visiting the USA for the very first time in my life, after 2 weeks of fishing in Texas. We focused on 3 different lakes with a good chance of both big Buffalo and some healthy sized carp. I must say I loved everything about your country ….we learned to fish ” American style ” with loads of maize and pack-bait fishing with a method feeder!
The fishing was incredible, in total we caught well over 100 fish together ( commons and Buffalo) and I was lucky enough to catch almost half of them from a new swim that was soon named ‘ Viking Point’….what an honor!
I had Buffalo to 68lb, that I believe to be one of the biggest Buffs caught in the lake, and loads of nice commons up to 34lb+.
A Big thanks to Jason Rider, James ”Buffalo-king” King, Martin Rich & Matthew Tomlinson for your great company and all the help during our Texas trip…I’m already looking forward to the next time I get a chance to come over to the USA!”
The future of the Sport… (ACS & IGFA)
We’ll just leave this here….Suffice to say that we have been working diligently on a very important initiative over this past year here in the USA that will effect the future of ALL FRESHWATER SPECIES….More news when it is available for the public. You will be the first to hear it!
American Carp Society’s Fly of the Month
The DamCraw
By: Brandon Tourigny
One of the many wonderful things about fly fishing for carp, is that carp will eat virtually anything they can fit in their mouth. From great lakes sculpin, falling cicada flies, to mulberries, there isn’t many things a wild carp won’t eat. As fly designers this opens up a world of creativity to us! Each body of water that carp inhabit has its own unique forage the fish adapt to eating, and therefore we as anglers need to be ready to adapt as well. In order to keep your creative juices flowing in your search for new fly patterns, and fly tying designs, I give you the Fly of the Month Program at the American Carp Society.
With each new month’s Angler’s Insider, we will introduce to you a new carp fly. Each new article will teach you about the fly’s history and originator, the scenarios the fly is best suited for, and the materials needed to tie the fly. From there you will be able to go to the website and find full video tutorials on how to tie the fly yourself.
To kick things off this month I will introduce to you the most prominent fly in my personal fly collection, the DamCraw. This fly was first introduced to me in the book, The Best Carp Flies: How to Tie & Fish Them by Jay Zimmerman. In his book Jay attributes the creation of the fly to fly tier, Kevin Frank of North Carolina. Frank began fishing for carp around 2008 in the Raleigh, NC area. He describes the carp in his home waters as rare, and extremely spooky. The DamCraw was developed under those conditions.
The DamCraw is a fantastic fly because it can honestly pass for either a damsel fly or a baby craw. It’s a highly customizable fly in regards to color and weight, so when purchasing materials go with the colors that suit your water and weight suited for the depth you are trying to get to. To tie the fly you will need the following materials:
Hook: Gamakatsu SL45 #8
Thread: 70-denier UTC
Tail Flash (optional): Krystal Flash
Tail Feather: Grizzly Marabou from Hareline Dubbing
Tail Rubber Legs: Micro Silicone Legs from Hareline Dubbing
Lead Wire: .015 Lead Wire or .020 Lead Free Wire
Eyes: Medium Bead Chain Eyes, 1/8”
Body & Head: Cohen’s Carp Dub
Legs: Grizzly Marabou from Hareline Dubbing
For instruction on how to tie the DamCraw, be sure to visit:
https://americancarpsociety.com/videos or click HERE!
If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me at tourignybrandon@gmail.com, or on Instagram at @tourigny_onthefly.
Early Spring Continued
By: Luke Wilson
In the last article, I discussed some of the characteristics of fishing for carp early in the year. Some of the obstacles early spring have to offer are very unique. The weather is highly inconsistent. Some days are mid 50’s and sunny while others hardly break freezing and the sun hides behind the cold gray clouds. Water levels are substantially higher than normal. The combination of rain and melting snow doubles the amount of water the creeks, rivers, and lakes are taking in. The behavior of the carp in early spring is also unique to this time of year. Like I said before, to catch carp in the early stages of spring, dedication is needed. The previous article explains what to expect during this time frame. This article will dive deeper into those features and will be a first hand account of how those unique traits of fishing for carp in early spring directly affected my first successful trip of the year.
It has still been rather cold, but there are warmer spikes now that we have got later into the year. I have said before, the best way to find these carp is just to be out looking for them. It is much easier said than done. I have been out quite a bit lately, going for walks and scouting, eager to spot any sign of carp. Carp group up and begin staging for spawn this time of year, meaning most of the fish are in a few spots of water. They tend to group up in deeper parts, but they still need to eat so they will also have to have spots available to feed nearby. Structure is another thing that these groups of carp tend to stay around. But the best part about the grouping of the carp is once you find the spot they like, they typically remain close by until spawn comes to an end and they begin parting ways.
There was a week where the weather was supposed to be on the rise. Not only the daily highs, but the overnight temps remained relatively warmer as well. I knew this was the time to really apply everything I had into finding the carp. Finally, after a few days of walking along the banks and seeing nothing, I spotted a group of carp. It was a spot where a smaller creek feeds into a larger one; it created a slack in the current, a rather large eddy, and a deep pool where there hid beneath a tilted tree. The tree's roots were exposed from erosion and sat in the water and protruded from the red banks like a set of gnarled twisted fingers. Since I had found a group of carp I had planned on going back out again the next day as soon as I could. The weather was supposed to be one of the warmest days of the week, second only to the following day, and sunny unlike the following day. I was so eager to get out the next day I had packed rather light and quickly became aware that I was underprepared. The smaller creek that feeds into the larger one is normally a couple inches shy of a foot deep. The day I scouted it was higher than normal but I could have made it across in boots if I was mindful enough to watch my step. Overnight temps remained in the 40’s and the sun that day was warm enough to melt a lot of the remaining snow. In the time it took me to get back out the next day it had risen to the point where crossing in boots wasn’t possible unless I wanted cold, wet feet. The point went to Mother Nature that day as I spent all of my allotted time just trying to find a spot to cross and it was eventually deemed pointless. It was a long walk back. The next day I knew that I had to wear waders.
I was debating for quite some time that night on whether I should try the same spot, or try the lake. I usually see more carp this time of year in the creeks, but they are grouped up. They don't really care to eat unless they split up and forage for food in smaller, more spaced out groups. Then you are able to single out the feeders. I decided at the last minute to try the lake since the water had risen so much. It paid off because the shallows of the lake were extremely high, pushing the bank further than I’ve ever seen before. Although this day was cloudy, it was warmer than the day before. As I headed down I could see the backs of a few carp protruding out of the water near the runoff. There was an overflow from the snow melting, and the carp seemed to be feeding on whatever was being washed down. Man, I was excited to see that. As I made my way down, closer to the bank I saw several carp sitting in about 2 to 3 feet of water further back beneath a downed tree in the water. This was a group of carp staging for spawn in the lake. I could hardly see the individual carps, but instead what I saw reminded me more of a flock of starlings as they moved like one being. A mass of fish all moving together. I turned my eyes back on the few carp spread out by the runoff and right in front of me was a loner maybe a foot away from the bank. I quickly tied on a white grub fly, a favorite of mine early in the year, and made my way slow and low until I was able to flick my fly right in front of the carp's face. It moved so slow, and I could hardly tell when the take had happened. The carp moseyed over and sat above my fly for a few seconds. I let the fly sit still. I set the hook and the lethargic fish didn't realize he was hooked. I was pretty much able to pull him up to the bank before he started to fight at all. After a few seconds of thrashing right off shore, it was landed. The water temperature was still freezing as I dipped my hands in to grab the fish. There was the first fish of the year and it felt even better landing him because it was the first time had thrown a fly at the carp this year. After I caught that one fish, there were still several carp in the shallows. But as time went on they slowly all made their way back to the group in the deeper part hiding under the protection of structure. I casted at a few more before they could make it back, but they did not particularly want my fly. I had a sniff, but they just went right over it and back to the group. I casted at the group repeatedly with no avail, leaving me with just one fish for the day. But it was more than enough.
It was a good day whether I had caught one or not. Just to see the fish back in the open, shallow water was enough to get the thrill to be excited about next time. As I packed up there was a woodpecker that would not stop calling. I heard that over the noise of anything else. Every once in a while, he would knock on a tree. It was a good day to be out, although it was cloudy, and there was still snow on the ground, you get the feeling that there is gonna be more productive coming very soon. And I look forward to warmer temps and even more opportunities to land a golden ghost.
We have a few items that can be discounted for our members this month… Grab these while they last!
The ACS Camo Boonie - $21.95 to $17.95
The ACS Hoorag - $16.99 to $9.99
The ACS Juice- Mandala Gold - $16.99 to $14.99
The ACS Hemp Oil Pellet - $19.99 to $16.99
