Bernd Ziesche | Wednesday, 3 June 2020
Last week I was working on further strategies for catching asp with the fly rod.
Besides tying several wobbler flies and testing them on asp I was watching several asp hunting for the newborn baitfish. Quite interesting to watch. Usually asp hammer into all baitfish. But when having newborns right in front of their nose, asp prefer to slowly suck them in! The asp are coming from a deeper position just like rising trout come for insects floating on the surface. Since the newborn baitfish are not yet able to run off, asp know that they can just suck them in slowly. That situation holds on for just 2 - 3 days. So it's a very rare situation for sure.
Trying to catch those asp I yet failed! All strategies I had in my box for all the other situations throughout the season didn't work on these rising asp. Most probably the asp could see my leader based on the slow retrieving speed. I have learnt that on fly fishing for carp. Since asp are of the same family I am pretty sure in no moving clear water they immediately see my leader, if it's not in a very low diameter. Yet I tested 0,18mm, which is very low on asp. 0,23-0,25mm is my standard. 0,23mm only is strong enough when combined with a proper shock absorber.
I truly love to fish for asp. I have learnt a lot of different strategies. Compared to many other species of fish that I have fished for, asp are often hard to be fooled. Yesterday in the evening I managed to catch several asp (not hunting for the newborns) by presenting 5 small black flies in a row. That way I can imitate a small school of baitfish. Asp are often fixed on only coming for schools of baitfish. All other strategies didn't fool a single fish yesterday. I have to say though presenting 5 flies on one leader is pretty effective in some situations but it can be a pain in the arse, too. That is because such a leader gets tangeled so easily and then puts me off for 10 minutes or more. :) Open loops and a controlled (short) distance is a must have here.
If I will get the chance to fish for rising asp again today I will test an extra long shock absorber combined with a very soft rod. That way I can fish a leader of 0,12mm and some very small baitfish imitations. I will see, if that'll do the job!?
About the multi action fly I showed here, it can be a serious game changer in a fair number of situations. Asp really come for that sort of action. That fly outfishes all other flies I tested in some typical asp situations!
During the past week I studied asp more than 10 hours every day. Little crazy, but I really want to get the puzzle fully complete! ;)
I hope most of you are now back in the fly fishing game either!?
Great week to all of you!
All my best
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