Indicator Fishing for Carp: Part II (and Gregg Martin's Story)

In Part one of this sequence on indicator fishing for Carp I talked about my background with indicator fishing and about an email exchange between Gregg Martin and I. In those emails we talked about alternative materials for Blood Worm imitations and about fishing with an indicator.

Gregg has three grown sons. In 1985 he sustained an injury as a smoke jumper in Alaska. He is a T7/T8 paraplegic. It took him 9 days to regain consciousness after his accident. The injury limits his mobility and causes him continued pain. Gregg still gets out and fishes though. He says that the endorphins from fishing help ease the pain. He is exhausted after a day of fishing and needs to rest for days before he can get out again. Gregg, I don't think you realize how much your emails and your story inspired me. A quote from Gregg that I like is, "I must be flexible when conditions are poor." When he wrote this he was primarily talking about the fishing conditions. His lengthy and informative emails show that he is "flexible when conditions are poor", when it comes to his own personal condition too. Again, I'm inspired Gregg.

Gregg fishes mostly stillwater near his home in Boise, Idaho. His home waters are not very clear. He can see Carp near the surface sometimes but usually sees only bubble trails. He uses an array of flies to trick Carp; his favorite is a peach colored yarn, egg fly. He likes fishing it under a strike indicator. It appears to be his favorite method for catching Carp.

Gregg fishes in water that he describes as, "inches to say 3 to 5 feet deep". He says that even when the water isn't cloudy the glare or the algae make spotting Carp difficult. Even in shallow water he uses an indicator effectively. He sees Carp bubble trails in water up to 9 feet deep but has trouble placing the fly near the target when the water is that deep. Amazingly he fishes the fly just inches under the indicator at times.

When I am indicator fishing for Trout I start the fly a foot off the bottom and work up the water column as needed. Finding the correct depth can be very challenging at times. I don't usually have to go much farther up though. Gregg usually fishes his egg pattern on the bottom.

The guys I know who indicator fish for Trout use some slang. "Burying the indicator" means the fish pulled it under water and out of sight immediately. "Soaking it" means casting out and letting the fly just sit. Moving it is self-explanatory; it means moving the fly and not soaking it. It is important to point out though that the fly is moving VERY slowly. A slow, intermittent hand twist or slow, short strips are typically plenty fast for fishing a Chironomid or Blood Worm.

He says the takes from Carp are, "Not subtle; they are authoritative. Sometimes it (the indicator) slides slowly away". He points out that very often he doesn't need to set the hook as the Carp hook themselves.

In answer to questions about targeting fish and the bubble trails Gregg says, "...they are so obvious. Sometimes the bubbles are hypodermic like and sometimes they are like a toilet flushing under water, it's so obvious and so different from lake bubbles and fry feeding on top."

In terms of targeting strategy Gregg tries to cast to the bubble trail if it appears to be stationary and cast ahead of it if he sees the trail moving. He feels that the indicator is also a good tool for targeting fish that are, "occasionally visible".

Gregg had usually been tying his egg pattern in sizes 6 and 10. He is now tying them in size 2. He relates, "the Allen 105 #2 makes an egg 3/4 of an inch, I can't wait to use them!"

Gregg sent me a picture of his egg pattern:



Here are some of Gregg's other patterns; the all look like they would catch Carp for sure.







Gregg, you wrote to me in one of your emails, "You were so kind to answer things that may seem irrelevant." I find myself feeling somewhat like I did 25 years ago on Chopaka Lake. The difference is that I have a lot of indicator fishing experience now. What is the same is that the indicators are upstairs in a drawer and it has hardly even occurred to me to try them for Carp. Twenty-five years ago the other angler thanked me for giving him flies. I was the one who truly owed him the thank you for showing me how to use a Corkie as a strike indicator.

Gregg, I think you opened another door for me in the "house of indicator fishing". Thank you. Come spring I will commit to trying it places where I see bubble trails but can't see the fish.

Your story and your courage in the face of adversity is an inspiration Gregg. Please accept my heart felt thank you.