Carpapolooza

This summer, the Bighorn River Alliance is celebrating the thirty sixth year of its Carp Tourney, the oldest of its kind in the country. But the title for longest running non-competitive carp flyfishing event may belong to Nebraska’s Cornhuskers Fly Fishers and their annual CarpFest. Since the club’s founding in the 1970s, anglers have gotten together on what always turned out to be the summer’s hottest day to throw flies at carp and dip battered bottom feeders into a vat of boiling oil. In Omaha, carp are regarded as a delicacy and are regularly available at Friday night fish fries. But as former club president Larry Dostal remembers it, “The carp fishing was usually an afterthought.” So much so that when Dostal got involved in the 2010s, no one could remember anyone having actually caught a carp at CarpFest. 

This didn’t sit right for Dostal. After attending Minnesota’s second annual Carpicide in 2015, Dostal figured he could increase the number of fish landed by adding a competitive element and a modest entry fee. But he also wanted to keep it silly and approachable by including prizes for ugliest fish and giving away carp-themed art designed by some of the competitors. More people started showing up to the 6:30am shotgun start and people managed to land fish. Area anglers already versed in fooling carp with feathers sharpened their skills and the newly carp-curious were given guidance to help shorten the learning curve. Dostal’s goal was always to include the greatest number of people possible, but between the risk of heatstroke and several years of poor conditions, there was some friction in getting the event to where he wanted it to be.

The opportunity for reinvention came in 2020 with the pandemic. Unable to host CarpFest in-person, Dostal decided to do something completely new: a virtual, nationwide tournament in early July, when the weather was less stifling and fishing locations were endless. Dostal says, “It was nice having it in person so we could have a party, but that’s just not the world we live in. [The event] can get more people involved if it’s kept out in the open and online… Carp should be the fish that everybody can unite around as something to enjoy.”

In 2023, Dostal leaned into the less serious side of the event and rebranded CarpFest to Carpapolooza. The theme that year was “The Carpation of Adam,” complete with a recreation of Michelangelo’s masterpiece featuring carp in the place of God and the first man. The next year’s motif was WWE (Warm Water Entertainment) which had a few anglers sporting luchador masks.

The rules were and continue to be simple: there’s a rolling start depending on your timezone, anglers can only fish public water, and each fish pic must include the tournament’s code phrase which Dostal distributes the night before the event. Most years the prize categories include the total length of an angler’s three longest fish, individual longest fish, and most fish. Past years have included bonuses for any angler that hadn’t caught a carp before.

For those thinking about joining in the festivities, Dostal’s advice is pretty simple: Do it. Choose to either fish by yourself or find a partner and register as a team. Come up with a stupid team name and plan it out. Have a couple spots in mind based on potential conditions. Stay hydrated. Start brainstorming a cool way to display the tournament phrase that you’ll submit with your photos. This year’s competition will take place on July 12 and the theme is Carp Wars: A Slough Hope, so retrofit your fly rod into a lightsaber and think up your worst Jar Jar Binks puns. Those interested in joining can reach out to Larry Dostal on Instagram at @larrydostal. The buy-in is $30 and comes with a T-shirt and some great stickers.