Trolling for carp!???

[scuro2]

I am just wondering why your profile pic looks like a pike...?

 

It sure leaves some questions about the intent of your "trolling for carp"

How little faith so many of you have that I am not lying and how quick you are to jump to conclusions. That speaks more to you then it does to me. The last time I caught a pike in this lake was around the time of y2k computer bug. Rest assured that no pike coming out of this "lake" ever looked as healthy or was even as remotely large as the pike on my profile pic.

 

At times the waters can be this bad in the late spring.

Edited April 22, 2010 by scuro2

[skeeter]

WHY are you guys trying to beat a dead horse??????????

 

he asked for your advise and you gave it.

he doesn't want to hear anything you have to say negative.

so here ya go----------

 

it is perfectly fine for you to fish the way you want.

go get them tiger !!!!!!!

 

and as for all you naysayers , stop and think for a minute.

the more funds the MNR get, the more MNR officers they can hire !!!!!

 

i can see more funds coming there way in the near future

[hammercarp]

Quick to judge, are you not?...and may I add your assumptions are way off base.

 

I took my yak out to Lake Erie and fished for pike a few weeks ago. That is legal. While moving between places I let a lure out. I could see carp jumping everywhere and got a number of hits. One had some good line peel to it but it got off. I'd see em jump and then go other to that spot and get a hit. These were probably carp because it was shallow and I wasn't near structure. I've been researching a little, and others on this thread confirm that carp at certain times will hit lures. Now pike are not in-season anywhere inshore in southwestern ontario. I don't want to drive over an hour to fish. I want to fish my local lake. So there is the possibility that I could catch pike. That is not my intention, nor would I be fishing lures or fishing in a style that I would to catch pike. How is this different then fishing a lake when pike is open and there is the possibility that you catch off season bass?

 

I want to fish this way because I don't like sitting on my arse when I fish and I can yak and see some countryside all the while testing out my theory. I enjoy the mental challenge of "putting it together" and catching fish when others are not. I think I can catch em. Maybe not as effectively as with corn but I got hits previously every 20 minutes or so and that ain't bad fishing to me. Also I can cover a lot of ground and find hot spots.

 

Carp will hit lures but this is an odd occurance.I also caught a 12 lb pike on carp bait. So what. Carp will school very densely in winter and early spring. You were not getting hits you were snagging fish as you trolled through a school of them.

[splashhopper]

How little faith so many of you have that I am not lying and how quick you are to jump to conclusions. That speaks more to you then it does to me. The last time I caught a pike in this lake was around the time of y2k computer bug. Rest assured that no pike coming out of this "lake" ever looked as healthy or was even as remotely large as the pike on my profile pic.

 

At times the waters can be this bad in the late spring.

 

 

Hey Teach,,,, i think you are hung up on theory( see research)

 

Lots of carp fishermen gave their experience to you and you blew them off.

 

There is an old saying that seems apropo here:

 

Those that can't TEACH,, those that can DO !

 

Keep surfing the net, maybe you WILL find the answer that YOU want eventually. Happy "trolling"

[TC1OZ]

“Those who can’t do, teach.”

 

That's the saying and it seems very appropriate.

[scuro2]

Hey Teach,,,, i think you are hung up on theory( see research) Lots of carp fishermen gave their experience to you and you blew them off. There is an old saying that seems apropo here: Those that can't TEACH,, those that can DO ! Keep surfing the net, maybe you WILL find the answer that YOU want eventually. Happy "trolling"

 

Yes, hung up on theory and there is a good possibility that the naysayers are right. That I'm only going to foul hook them if I try and troll. But I do research things, allow me to share.

 

Why troll? Moving trolled baits permits anglers to present those baits to many more fish than anchoring and waiting for catfish to rely on their sense of smell to approach. If the catfish are scattered, as is often the case, chances are moving along productive spots, in contrast to sitting on a single location, will present bait to many more catfish. And, trolling the way Mac does, presents baits to a variety of depths, searching out the spots where catfish may be on a given day. At times the range of depths may be as great as 5-feet on the shallow rig and 45- or 50-feet on the deepest.

http://www.timmeadfishing.com/Archive.php

 

Tim uses herring at the end of his rig but he does troll for cats.

 

Gary LaFontaine reports watching trout in the shallows of a mountain lake. They would cruise along and suddenly change direction to begin rooting on the bottom and another leech would become trout fodder. It took him a while to discover how the trout knew where to root. It was a small puff of silt stirred up when the leech moved. He used this information to design the Bristle Leech -- a leech imitation that sits on the bottom but creates a puff of silt when retrieved. The Bristle Leech catches not only trout but also carp and the mechanism that triggers a strike in both fish would seem to be the same.

 

Bonefish anglers know that bonefish also look for puffs -- shrimp, crabs, and the like moving along the bottom of mud flats and creating a small cloud with each jerky move. A common technique is to cast in front of a bonefish, allow the fly to sink to settle to the bottom, and then give about a short pull on the flyline. The fly rises up off the bottom and creates the puff of silt. A bonefish, even some distance away, can see the puff and rush over for a meal (your fly).

 

My experience with carp is that they respond just like the trout and bonefish. As they cruise along the bottom vacuuming up what they find, they are also watching for fleeing prey. Perhaps it's a crayfish scurrying out of the way or a leech or a mayfly nymph. But carp will see their puff of silt and charge after them. I saw this graphically demonstrated one day when I was fly fishing for bluegill off the end of my dock. My fly was an olive nymph with bead chain eyes. It resembles both a crayfish and a dragonfly nymph. I looked on the bottom about 6 or 7 yards out from the dock and there was a carp, just sitting there facing me and gently finning. I cast the nymph about 4 or 5 feet in front of him. As it sank he paused, and, I assume, watched the fly drop to the bottom. But he made no move until I gave the fly a twitch, creating that little puff. The carp took the fly in a flash, and, realizing its mistake took off for parts unknown. Unfortunately I was using a light rod and tippet and had no hope of controlling the fish. It broke off in short order. I have since caught lots of carp (and one catfish!) using just the following techniques: choosing a fly that sinks to the bottom hook point up and stirs the mud or silt when twitched; either sight casting to carp in the shallows or blind casting to an area where I have groundbaited; and using very slow, short retrieves with long pauses in between.

https://www.msu.edu/~connert/carpfly.htm

 

This dude reports that carp respond to puffs of silt on the bottom like bonefish. I have experience with bonefish so this seems very possible. So why wouldn't carp respond to a micro long lipped plug that was slowly trolled on the bottom? A kayak is ideal for this because it can get in very shallow without making noise. Carp are a spooky and intelligent fihs. I'll let you all know how it works, your doubts have me questioning if this can work so I am very curious now.

Edited April 22, 2010 by scuro2

[mepps]

I have carp on Rapalas and Mepps lures, never trolling though. To be honest, not sure it would be worth the trouble if there are other species around that are out of season.

[Governator]

Or you could just wait a month and try the technique then?

[fish-miester]

Carp will hit lures but this is an odd occurance.I also caught a 12 lb pike on carp bait. So what. Carp will school very densely in winter and early spring. You were not getting hits you were snagging fish as you trolled through a school of them.

 

early this year I was trolling and casting for Pike and thought I was having hits.. but I soon realised that they were schools of carp.. and well I'll be honest.. they had me convinced they were pike.. my buddy even snagged one in the back with a spinner bait and we were convinced it was a pike.. untill we got it closer to the boat..

though I have seen carp either smack at a lure.. or inhale the lure momentarily..

 

but I personally think trolling for carp isnt the worst idea in the world..

if you are using the right stuff.. for example.. i deffenetly would not be using a spinner bait or sumthing like that.. instead I would be slowly "dragging" or bottom bouncing a ball of corn, worms or mixture..

[Afraz]

early this year I was trolling and casting for Pike and thought I was having hits.. but I soon realised that they were schools of carp.. and well I'll be honest.. they had me convinced they were pike.. my buddy even snagged one in the back with a spinner bait and we were convinced it was a pike.. untill we got it closer to the boat..

though I have seen carp either smack at a lure.. or inhale the lure momentarily..

 

but I personally think trolling for carp isnt the worst idea in the world..

if you are using the right stuff.. for example.. i deffenetly would not be using a spinner bait or sumthing like that.. instead I would be slowly "dragging" or bottom bouncing a ball of corn, worms or mixture..

 

You know what this might actually work, esp if you are dragging baits/lures (that look like carp bait) through the bottom susbtrate as it will push up a lot of debris and potential food items for the carp (sorta like a chumline for your presentation).

 

But honestly, if your lake is as bad as the pic you posted. I would have issues even handling these fish LOL let alone trying to target anything or even troll in the water. What if your kayak tips and u inhale a large mouth full, God forbid what would happen LOL.

 

But yeah, dude troll all you want just make sure your presentation is not such that it would entice bites from other species, Don't troll husky jerks or anything the like thereof. Unless well w.e, a lot of things are taboo until someone has good results, people used to use potatoes for carp, i heard folks Sprawed WD40 on lures to attract fish too, who knows whats going through the mind of a fish, heck i have had Pike on Corn when targetting carp. Is that to say i am a lying OOS pike fisherman ?

 

Lmao, good luck !

[GBW]

Thread closed any time soon? It's a waste now as the OP asked a Q and now is telling everyone that the reply isn't what he/she want's to hear so they are going to try it. lock it down, this is sad... I guess you can't teach and old dog new tricks ater all...

[scuro2]

You know what this might actually work, esp if you are dragging baits/lures (that look like carp bait) through the bottom susbtrate as it will push up a lot of debris and potential food items for the carp (sorta like a chumline for your presentation).

 

But honestly, if your lake is as bad as the pic you posted. I would have issues even handling these fish LOL let alone trying to target anything or even troll in the water.

 

I've always thought it has potential. Again I could be totally wrong. Best time to fish this lake is now till about the mid-end of June. After that it can look as bad as that pic although most years it doesn't. So this lake really only has about a two month window. You can still catch carp in it but they lose their spunk and the water gets skanky...like milk with blue green paint in it. The lake is shallow and warms up quick.

 

I do fish pike often so I know where they hang out. Earlier in the season they will be near some sort of cover, point..etc. On this lake you have a blanket like condition for carp. My thinking is fish the unremarkable areas, not near bends or points. Carp are literally turning up the whole lake in the search for food. I've got a micro yo-zuri deep lipped lure. When I was on lake Erie the water was only about 3ft deep and they were hitting small yo-zuri crystal minnows. I figure the lipped lure will get me a little deeper. The troll will be slow...as slow as I have ever trolled. Think about it, your a carp and spending a lot of energy digging up the bottom and then right next you see a flash of a small wounded baitfish....slurp. Bone fish are also bottom feeders. They will have their nose right in the bottom but if they see an easy meal they have quams about taking small fish. Any thoughts on the slow troll and small plugs would be appreciated. Some sort of crayfish looking plug...

Edited April 22, 2010 by scuro2

[brifishrgy]

Thread closed any time soon? It's a waste now as the OP asked a Q and now is telling everyone that the reply isn't what he/she want's to hear so they are going to try it. lock it down, this is sad... I guess you can't teach and old dog new tricks ater all...

 

[Roy]

Your're right Geoff....long overdue. We have people working hard keeping/getting our resource as healthy as possible and then we have others looking for loopholes and grey areas in the regulations. It's a shame.