Get ready for Carp Throw Down 2016!

Written by: Conway Bowman

This is the prize, a wary, sometimes picky “trash fish” that’s a challenge for any angler.
Photo courtesy Conway Bowman

Hey carp fly-rod freaks! Get your hoppers and dry flies ready for 4th annual Lake Henshaw Carp Throw Down, which will be held on May 21, 2016. The CTD has evolved into the warmwater fly-fishing event in Southern California, and this year is going to be bigger than ever!! Come join the party!

The History
Some years ago, I was turned on to fly-fishing for carp by my good friend, Johnny Hendrickson. Little did I know at the time, but 70 miles to the north of me, in Los Angeles, another good friend, Al Q, was targeting carp on the fly in the LA River.

Conway and AL Q, the brains behind the annual Lake Henshaw Carp Throw Down.
Photo by Michelle Woo Bowman

Our rivers converged, so to speak, over a conversation at a Southern California fly-fishing show about how great carp were to catch on the fly, and the rest is history. So, I’ll blame John and Al for sparking my carp flame and for the countless hours I’ve spent chasing these wonderfully goofy looking kings of the warmwater, from Southern California to Lake Michigan.

Some fly fishers ask “Why carp?” with puzzled looks, but then I bring up the virtues of casting the fly to tailing or surface-slurping carp. Believe me, I totally understand their bewilderment. It does not make sense, right? Why cast a fly to a fish that we’ve been fooled into believing would rather eat a Cheeto then a well presented foam hopper or crawdad fly?

This is far from the truth of the matter. For those who have “seen the light,” “crossed the forbidden tracks,” and “come out of the closet” (so to speak) to join the ranks of a secret society of fly rod carping connoisseurs, we have all found that fly fishing for carp is hands-down the most challenging, fulfilling, and gratifying warmwater fly fishing of all.

The Carp Throw Down is for fly fishermen who are not limited by boundaries and have fun fly fishing for any fish that is willing to take a fly. Come join the fun! It will change the way you look at carp. I guarantee it.

Click here for more info and to register.

John Hendrickson with a nice Lake Henshaw carp
Photo via carpthrowdown.com