Carp!!

[MCTFisher9120]

Carp. I have seen hundreds of these huge fish in various lakes. I would like to know the most productive way to catch these huge fish. I have some Berkly Powerbait. On the pack it is named "white chocolate", it is a soft bait. It says to mush onto a hook and cast out. Basically can i fish for carp with a 7' medium heavy rod, if so what pound test line should i use, also what other baits can i try.

 

Thanks

[uglyfish]

the lighter the line, the more u have to play the fish to land it, so it just depends how much u wanna fight it. just have a large line capacity as they can get over 40lbs and when they wanna go, u wont stop them. just use corn. works the best, u can even chum a place u wanna fish for a couple days, at the same time each day and the fish will come back, if u make and keep a patternn, they will remember it and come back at that time.

[MJL]

Grab a can of corn (Green Giant, Del Monte, Alymers, etc), open it up, stick 4 kernels of corn on a hook and cast away. Relatively cheap and easy to use. Hard to find a more effective bait.

 

Back in the day, I used stale white wonder bread that was lying around the house. Pinch off a piece, wrap it around the shank of the hook and press firmly - No need to mash it into a ball, I leave 1 end flaky.

 

In spring, in some of the places I fish near Toronto, worms outproduce any other bait bar none. I use them when I stalk carp to avoid hooking other species of fish (Like bass).

 

If gobies are a problem pick up a sack of maize (aka: cow corn, feed corn, field corn) for about $10/80lbs from a farm feed store. Works as well as canned corn in most places and is almost indestructible. Requires a lengthy preparation process to render them safe for the fish to eat. Soak minimum 24hrs, boil 30min. Or boil for an hour.

 

Boilies are a little harder to find as most tackle shops don't stock them but they also work in areas with gobies.

 

I've tried the Berkley doughbaits and really didn't have all that much success on them. Perhaps other board members have different experiences. I would save up $ and purchase a few cans of corn instead.

 

I use lines from 8lb mono to 50lb braid depending where I'm fishing. For a 7' Medium heavy rod, I imagine 12lb mono would handle nicely with it. Most of the time I'm fishing on bottom using a variety of sinkers - Egg sinkers work. Carp fishing can be as easy or as advanced as you want to make it. Good luck with your quest

[MCTFisher9120]

12lb Trilene Extra Tough? 3 prong hook or a single hook. If a single hook can it be a weedless hook?

Edited May 4, 2008 by Mike The Bass Fisher

[MJL]

12lb Trilene Extra Tough? 3 prong hook or a single hook.

 

12lb Trilene XT will work. I always use single hooks

[Caner]

For the cow corn, do you soak it for 24 and then boil for 30? Or can you just soak it?

[MJL]

For the cow corn, do you soak it for 24 and then boil for 30? Or can you just soak it?

 

The carp guides on the St. Lawrence soak their's for about 2-3days without boiling. I know a couple guides who soak maize in large rubbermaid garbage containers left out it in the sun for a couple days. For them it's impractical to boil a few hundred pounds (if not a couple thousand pounds) of the stuff each day. I find by boiling it, it enhances flavour absorption (if you decide to use flavours), softens it up (so you can put a needle or a hook through it) as well as expands the corn to its maximum. The point about soaking/boiling is that you do not want the corn to expand in the carp's stomach where it can clog up its digestive tract.

[mepps]

MJL is right, nothing beats corn for value ant effectiveness. I used the no-name brand corn with best results myself - its the cheapest and seemed to have a waxier skin that kept in on the hooks better.

[Victor]

MJL probably said it all for the bait if your just trying it out... i'll add a few things though

 

When you get to your fishing spot, start off with throwing a few handfuls of corn out to where you plan to drop your rig, it will attract to fish to come over. Use a reel with a larger spool if you have one, when you have a fish on it might take quite a bit of line out.

 

If you're planning on holding onto your rod, hang on tight ... or if you plan on putting on the ground using a tree branch/rod holder, loosen your drag so when a carp takes your bait, your rod won't fly out ... trust me, even a 10lber are quite strong and your rod will be in the water before you know it.

 

Good luck and let us know how you make out!

[FinS]

2lb test and a 5 foot ultra lite its a hoot lol dont forget the canned corn

Edited May 5, 2008 by FinS

[dsn]

And don't forget the "UglyStick !" And stay away from copper hooks .

 

 

DSN