Small carp report... What's your bait recipe?

[The Urban Fisherman]

Was going to go bass fishing in the bay this afternoon, but alas, the stars didn't align and by the time I finished building new stairs for the front deck, most of the day had passed and I still hadn't found a fishing partner for the evening bite.

 

So here's my sunday report.

 

I wanted to try boiling my own maize (cow's corn) with a mix of cool aid and sugar etc. etc. to see if it worked any better then a plain old 79 cent can of sweet corn....

 

First you hire a 2 year old to do all the work for you - and be lucky enough to have an entire FIELD of cow's corn literally in your back-yard.

 

 

Then peel

 

 

and create a corn piramid...

 

 

Bring your water to a boil, while adding your favourite cool aid...

 

 

Then add a bunch of sugar... apparently carp have a sweet lip....

 

 

Add your corn and let it boil longer than swee corn as maize doesn't soften as easy....

 

 

Finaly, cut the corn off the cob and seperate into ziploc bags....big enough portions for your average outing...

 

 

So after all this work, what were the results......1.5 hours of fishing, with 1 fish landed and 1 missed @ the net. In my opinion - it didn't work any better than just going to the store and getting a 79 cent can of sweet corn. BUT - it was good time spent with the kid.

 

 

Cheers - and have a good work week.

UF

[Leecher]

Great report and pics The Urban Fisherman

 

Sometimes we have to try our own recipes to see what we can achieve..... By the looks of your daughter expression.... you've accomplished what you had already planned

 

Again good job and thanks for sharing

Leechman

[brw]

Here's an old time carp doughball recipe from my youth growing up on the Ohio River. It worked wonderfully, and is guaranteed, according to my sage Dad:

3 cups yellow corn meal

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar.

Mix and wrap and tie in a rag.

boil for 20 min.

take out of water and let it cool.

work and break up and work again until it forms 1 large sticky ball

poke idiot in it and pour some liquid anise in it.

 

It's even good to eat if the fishing's slow!

 

BW

[MJL]

Great report!

 

In all the years I've been carp fishing, I don't think I've ever seen a carp angler harvest his own bait

 

If the fish in the area are primarily small fish (pan sized to 5lbs) and you're looking for action, sweetcorn from the can can't be beat (perhaps bread would be my second choice). In fall, I find fish favour corn less than in spring and summer and prefer food with more protein in it.

 

WTG to the both of you!

[hammercarp]

I can see you're a real do-it yourselfer. ( of course you had some great help) . I enjoyed your post, thanks.

[Bly]

Great report Ryan...love it when the little ones can get in on the fun! Sydney still loves to mix up the ground bait for Cliff and I

[Victor]

Great job with the bait making and nice long fish!

 

Maize is great if you fish goby-infested waters ... they strip canned corn off the hook quite easily.

 

Thanks for sharing!

[SlowPoke]

That's a great report Ryan!

-Brian

[Rich]

Awesome report man, sorry I couldn't make it out.. I was at my other home - work! Looks like you had a great time anyway!

[bassjnkie]

Corn on the cob, may be.....whole cob........yes.........make a hair rig big enough............got it.............thanks for the idea, time to cast for the toxic avenger.

 

LOL

[wolfville]

Congrats on the fish and quality time spent with the kid. That all it matters.

 

I've also been using the fresh corn prepared like what you did but I don't cut them off the cob. Instead I sort of "peel" them off so I get the whole kernels. This way, when I fish one kernel on a size 10 hook it stays on the hook much better. Also, they stay on the hair rig better when I do ledgering.

 

Most carp in our water haven't been fished enough to be finicky of the rigs so I think it doesn't make too much a difference if you use fresh corn or canned. Chumming and feeding properly are more important than the minor details about the actual hook bait.

 

BTW, when most carpers refer to maize, they mean the hard feed corn you get from local feed store for like $10 per 50lb bag. These are much harder and can't be used directly without boiling and softening first.

[Marko]

I`ve tried making carp bait and mixing up recipes but made no difference in size or quantity in fish caught. Just made a lot of mess and can be time consuming.

60 cent can of canned corn does wonders only problem with it is that small fish, like gobies and bullheads, like it as well and strip it fast.