Referring to Vaal Carp, the key to targetting them successfully and specifically is again to find them AND see them before they see you. Then it's ridiculously easy. In dams it's also easy peasy, if you can see them before you cast your fly, there is very little challenge in it, like most forms of sightfishing to non selective feeders. Get your fly in front of it's head without spooking it, and you're in.
At a Vaal venue (which I will not name as it is my perfect right not to name it and bedamn to anyone who wants to have a broomstick up their arse about me NOT naming the venue :D :D :D) in December 2007, I was again presented with the opportunity to CZN a spotted carp which was tailing in about 75cm deep water ... big black tailfin waving around in the air with total disregard for it's own safety or secrecy. Approached it to within rod length, dipped my flies in front of it's nose, slurp, through 5 channels of river grass and whammo, tippet popped.
All my targetted carp have been caught while fishing to sighted fish, which obviates the need to have the fish in water of 1M or less with good visibility, not really your usual summer fare on the Vaal, now is it ? Here I'm specifically not including the times I've been nymphing and picked up Carp by accident.
I do have a new technique which I have started to experiment with for fishing blind to Carp in deep water (>2M) specifically during winter and early season spring/summer, which will hopefully produce some more results this coming winter season.
It's ridiculous to be in a big pool on the Vaal seeing the signs of a pod of 50 or more Carp CLEARLY feeding, making it's way along the riverbed and not being able to walk away with at least one of them as reward. Pot luck casting to a cruising Carp can ofcourse be a hit and miss affair, with the odds leaning towards more misses than hits, in my opinion.
This new technique borrows a bit from stillwater Troot fishing, with a few adaptations, I'll keep you posted ;)