My first fish while Carping - two good Largemouths! (pics)

[BillsTheBassMan]

So last night I decide to go out carping. Carp are jumping everywhere, despite the wind having the water a bit choppy.

 

I chum the area with corn and tie a bell sinker to my braid and 3' of fluoro to my bell sinker. I put a big gob of carpbait corn onto my hook and sit back and relax. My bait is randomly disappearing. I'm not sure if I'm missing strikes or if the bottom is just beating my bait up upon retrieve (as I've never caught a carp, I'm not sure what type of strike to expect and I'm not sure what kind of hook set is required - some help here would be appreciated). Anyways, my can of corn was somewhat rotten,so I toss the remainder of the corn into the area (lacing the spot for later in the week) and decide to see if I can locate any other species.

 

I tie on one of my best bass presentations and sure enough, right where I chummed, I have me this guy:

 

 

On a slightly different presentation (but still one of my best) about 10 minutes later I come up with this fellow (slightly bigger):

 

 

 

 

Both fish put up a phenomenal fight and it was good times! I almost never bring a net with me on these expeditions, but I brought one of my dad's old ones tonight as I was intending on catching carp, not LMB, regardless I needed it (and it facilitated these pictures).

 

So, here is the quandry:

 

I think I'm heading back to the same spot tonight for a few hours.

 

1) Do I fish for LMB or Carp - this isn't a hot bass water, but who knows, it could be. The carp are ever present.

 

2) Did the chum have anything to do with catching the bass? I suspect in one way or another, it probably did (which is something I've never heard of people doing before - but it makes logical sense). You chum the area with corn, you attract minnows, sunfish, baitfish of all kind, and curious bass along with them (how many times has a minnow or a goby taken your corn?).

 

3) Do I chum the area again tonight? and Do I chum areas in the future to see if I have similar results there?

 

4) Have any of you ever seen something similar?

 

Cheers,

Ryan

Edited July 20, 2010 by BillsTheBassMan

[splashhopper]

i haven't caught LM bass when i chummed for carp, but i have caught lots of catfish and rock bass, so it doesn;t seem to be out of the realm of prospects.

 

The way that I carp fish, and I am by no means an expert, is:

 

1)small bait hook that will hold about 5 kernels of corn

2) 2-3 split shots about 18" above the hook (just enough weight to get the bait to the bottom quickly)

 

3) hold the rod in my hand( because i don;t have the big carp gear..lol) and as soon as i see anything different in my line, i tighten the line and give it a decent straight up tug.

 

The carp suck in the food and don;t "bite it" per se' until they are going to siphon out what they are going to eat.

 

Sometimes the movement on the line is subtle, sometimes not.

 

If you don't have one of those "carp rod holders" keep your paw on that rod at all times.

 

I have seen two rods go flying in to the river where I fish .(not mine either)

[Guest Johnny Bass]

Nice bass.Sounds like little fish are picking at your corn. Try for both and stick to whatever is biting.

 

Don't know if the corn had anything to do with the bass. Try fishing a section where the water is not chummed and see what happens.

[BillsTheBassMan]

 

The way that I carp fish, and I am by no means an expert, is:

 

1)small bait hook that will hold about 5 kernels of corn

2) 2-3 split shots about 18" above the hook (just enough weight to get the bait to the bottom quickly)

 

3) hold the rod in my hand( because i don;t have the big carp gear..lol) and as soon as i see anything different in my line, i tighten the line and give it a decent straight up tug.

 

The carp suck in the food and don;t "bite it" per se' until they are going to siphon out what they are going to eat.

 

Sometimes the movement on the line is subtle, sometimes not.

 

If you don't have one of those "carp rod holders" keep your paw on that rod at all times.

 

I have seen two rods go flying in to the river where I fish .(not mine either)

 

Thanks for the reply Ron.

 

I have essentially been doing all of that save for holding the rod at all times (which I will do from now on). I made an impromptu Carp Rod holder that I use 50% of the time, and hold it the other 50%.

 

Do Carp ever hook themselves, such as a bass or a pike when fishing live bait or a fast action lure?

 

Either way, gentle upward tugs when you detect anything out of the ordinary seems better than standard hook sets. I'll give it a shot.

 

Ryan

[dsn]

If you chummed the area stay with it. Day after day. Chumming the same area will give the carp in the area a scent to follow. If you change locations then then those fish who are tracking your scent will have reloacte the scent again and find it all over again.

 

When I chum an area I stick with it through out the entire season not only will in bring in carp to that same location if they have been around. It will also give bigger fish to locate the active feeding area which is already scented. You can have tons of fish drawing into the area if you chum constantly !!

 

If your bait is being eaten up alot or your corn is missing it could be cobies in the area which can be a pain. I've chumed with corn before in an area and seen gobies eat everything before a carp even picks up the scent. In this case I usually chum with Cool Aid. Add water into the cool aid just enough to get it sticky and make a ball out if it and toss it over. This makes an excellent visual chum area were your chum went down and also sweet enough to draw in fish cause of all the sugar. Bollies come in handy when gobies are around. If you have no bollies try using chopped up baby corn or hotdogs. They should go on a hook and stay. Or you can place a few peices of canned corn in a spawn sack and tie them up and use that. The netting will prevent the gobies from biting the corn. If you us this method I recommend making nickle size clumps of corn sacks. And tie them well. But eventually the gobies will destroy the sack and get the corn too. But least not as quick.

 

Good luck out there

 

DSN

 

 

And carp will rip a rod out of your hands or snap your line if you are not prepared for it. They will set the hook themselves !!

Edited July 20, 2010 by DSN

[Michael_Brown]

We used to make carp bait out of cornmeal, honey and jello. Mix it up make it thick and sticky and roll into bite size balls and put in the fridge. I also agree with the long term chum if you can, definately brings in a lot of fish. If the shoreline is shallow you can usually get by without a net by beaching the fish but use it if your more comfortable. My method of fishing is a larger spinning reel with a good drag, cast out, reel enough tension to remove the slack line and then back the drag off to zero. This way they can't steal your rod. Without the drag they usually run out slow, pick up the rod, tighten the drag(important ) and hold on.

Stay with it, carp are fun and usually agreeable to a good scrap. Plus the average size is way bigger than bass, walleye, crappie and even muskie.

Big fish are fun.

[MJL]

I’ve caught smallies using canned corn. I’ve also caught a number of pike with corn as well. For the most part, it’s pretty rare in my experience. I generally don’t try fishing for other fish while I’m carp fishing so I wouldn’t know if I’d get similar results as you.

 

I won’t say that “chumming” is an art. It’s more of a science based on the time of year, the time of day (sometimes it really does make a difference), the water temperature, the estimated stock of fish, the size of fish, the natural food supply, the current (if any), bottom/substrate composition and more…

 

I must disagree partly with DSN (as much as I do enjoy fishing with him ). I generally fish areas that rarely (if ever) see another angler fishing for carp. For the most part, I fish for carp where they’ve been relatively untouched and where people haven’t been baiting up. I prefer to follow the natural seasonal patterns that carp use and fish where the fish are VS trying to attract them from great distances. I know a few places where you can chum the heck out of it for weeks and not get a fish – The only time of year they use those spots is to spawn. The corn you’re throwing into the water is far less nutritious than that of their natural food supply…They don’t grow big by just eating corn.

 

Carp movements are predictable. While anglers might catch carp in shallow bays in spring, they don’t always hang out there throughout the rest of the season. Considering it’s summer right now, look for deeper areas like channels or drop-offs, rivers with a bit of pace to them (water temperature and oxygen levels play a big role in where fish and their food live). Some of my favourite summer-time carping spots involve fishing anywhere from 15-50ft deep. For small rivers and creeks, it may involve searching for the deepest pools you can find.

 

How do you go about chumming? (AKA loose-feeding, ground-baiting, mass-baiting, carpet-baiting)

 

All it really requires is you tossing a handful of bait into the water. The key with it is to toss in little by little at regular intervals (usually). How much and how frequently depends on: the size of the fish, the season, how frequently you’re getting into fish. When I fish the St. Lawrence river, I may go through 80lbs of cow corn in 2 days. When I fish around Toronto, a can of corn or two usually is enough. You have to remember that you can put bait into the water but you can’t take it out.

 

You want to promote a competitive feeding environment for the fish where they become aggressive amongst each other for the food. They'll spend less time looking around and inspecting your rig. I've seen it many times when I'm stalking carp in the shallows where the fish just eat all the chummed bits of food and leave the hookbait - It's amazing and frustrating at the same time

 

Perhaps the most important thing you can do is to look for jumping, cruising or feeding carp (mudding, fizzing, bubbling, tailing in shallow water) – polarized glasses are possibly one of the most important pieces of tackle I use for my carp fishing.

 

I enjoy fishing in wind. Carp seem more at ease when it's windy and are more comfortable coming shallow to feed. When I stalk carp in the shallows, they get fooled more often when it's windy than when the surface is dead calm.

 

As for knowing when you’ve got a carp at the end of the line, trust me, you’ll know.LOL

 

As for setting the hook, for the most part, I don’t…Gradually and smoothly lifting the rod while the fish is running away does it for me. I usually use heavy lead sinkers which sets the hook for me.

 

Hope this helps

[BillsTheBassMan]

@ DSN

 

Thanks for the amazing info and the time invested in your post. I will have to study it, absorb it, and try it. I think I'm going to chum this spot everyday as the carp jump in the area consistently. I know Mike is a bit of a journeyman and bushwhacker by nature, so perhaps I'll target his "untargeted by anglers" carp after I've hooked into a few commonplace lunkers.

 

@ Michael

 

Right now I just want to start catching some of these carp, so I'm most definitely going to try your "bait balls." I'm always game for learning new things and investing the necessary time into them to become proficient. Where spring browns and summer bass are my passions, perhaps I'll add Carp to that list as well.

 

Thanks for the great drag tip. I'll probably be using lighter line than most of you carp guys to start with, so it should prove especially helpful to me.

 

@ MJL

 

Thank you too sir for the amazing info - that should keep me thinking say for the next 4 years If I didn't have an angry girlfriend giving me the evil eye right now, I'd give it the response it deserves (and I will do that as soon as I have a chance).

 

Chumming - I've been chumming about a 20 yard area for 3 days now. I throw loose corn by hand and then I slingshot some corn out a little farther. I start by casting out to the slingshot corn, let it sit, and if no action I move it into the tossed corn (which is much more plentiful).

 

I can easily see your point about fishing in the wind. It makes perfect sense.

 

@ everyone.

 

I was out again tonight and I am still Carpless. I got two bullheads on corn tonight I'm not even sure if that's better than nothing. I did notice, however, that the carp have moved in closer to the area than they were yesterday and I also spotted some fins swimming around in the shallows.

 

Will provide better replies later.

 

Thanks for the help,

Ryan

[Fishing 24/7]

great fish dude!

[lunkerbasshunter]

sorry to the carp guys, but if you have a chance to catch a bucketmouth???? why carp fish

 

sorry carp guys take a look at my handle, i am sure you can understand

 

Cheers!

 

ps great fish btw

[BillsTheBassMan]

sorry to the carp guys, but if you have a chance to catch a bucketmouth???? why carp fish

 

sorry carp guys take a look at my handle, i am sure you can understand

 

Cheers!

 

ps great fish btw

 

Thanks LBH, and yes, look at my handle, I'm a bass guy for sure (which is why I even brought the bass gear on a fishing mission for something else). Regardless, I still plan on trying to learn the carp trade, just to mix things up and keep them fun.

 

Ryan

[dsn]

@ DSN

 

Thanks for the amazing info and the time invested in your post. I will have to study it, absorb it, and try it. I think I'm going to chum this spot everyday as the carp jump in the area consistently. I know Mike is a bit of a journeyman and bushwhacker by nature, so perhaps I'll target his "untargeted by anglers" carp after I've hooked into a few commonplace lunkers.

 

@ Michael

 

Right now I just want to start catching some of these carp, so I'm most definitely going to try your "bait balls." I'm always game for learning new things and investing the necessary time into them to become proficient. Where spring browns and summer bass are my passions, perhaps I'll add Carp to that list as well.

 

Thanks for the great drag tip. I'll probably be using lighter line than most of you carp guys to start with, so it should prove especially helpful to me.

 

@ MJL

 

Thank you too sir for the amazing info - that should keep me thinking say for the next 4 years If I didn't have an angry girlfriend giving me the evil eye right now, I'd give it the response it deserves (and I will do that as soon as I have a chance).

 

Chumming - I've been chumming about a 20 yard area for 3 days now. I throw loose corn by hand and then I slingshot some corn out a little farther. I start by casting out to the slingshot corn, let it sit, and if no action I move it into the tossed corn (which is much more plentiful).

 

I can easily see your point about fishing in the wind. It makes perfect sense.

 

@ everyone.

 

I was out again tonight and I am still Carpless. I got two bullheads on corn tonight I'm not even sure if that's better than nothing. I did notice, however, that the carp have moved in closer to the area than they were yesterday and I also spotted some fins swimming around in the shallows.

 

Will provide better replies later.

 

Thanks for the help,

Ryan

********************************************************************

 

If the fish have moved in closer maybe you should tighten up your chuming. I use a Bait Rocket which I loads on corn and toss it out. What happends is... instead of tossing corn with your hands which scatters the corn all over the place. The bait rocket holds all the corn and when I cast it out it hits the water and turns upside down. This causing all the corn to fall neatly in a straight line down to the bottom in a tight pile. This will concentrate the scent and the corn which will make it easier for the fish to pick up the scent along with a great bright visual under the water in one pile.

 

When I chum this way I can see the corn from above the water and if there is anything near it. If the pile disappears from my view suddenly then I know something is near it. Or if gobies are there. This will also be the area where you will drop your rig into. Increasing your hooking percentage greatly !!

You can google up Bait Rocket.

 

Or you can just cut up a 500ml plastic water bottle. Cut the lid off 3-5 inches from the rim down. Drill two holes on the sides of the bottle for a line or wire something that can hold alot of weight. You might want to use a bit of tubing also so the line won't cut into the bottle during your cast.. On the inside glue a peice of styrofoam to the bottom. The styrofoam should be big enough so that when your bottle hits the water... it will turn the bottle upside down... dumping all the corn out.

 

It's an excllent way of causing a feeding frenzy !!! Once the carp have found the mother load of food in one pile. The will hang around the same exact spot waiting each day for you to feed them. Trust me I have had this happen to me. . One guy said to me before.. " I wonder why these carp are only hanging around this one part of the entire bay?" I looked at him and smiled. And said yeah that's weird.

 

DSN

[BillsTheBassMan]

@ DSN:

 

That's a sweet rig and I am most certainly going to try and make a sweet one. My main question to that would be this:

 

When you catch a carp in the feeding ground, particularly if it is an extraordinary battle, will it spook the other carp from feeding? I bring this from my trout experience, where if you land a lunker and he's swimming all over the place, it can throw the fishing off in that pool for 30mins +

[hammercarp]

Lots of good advice here. I think you caught the bass because chumming with corn also attracts baitfish. Good luck and I hope you hear your drag scream soon.

[BillsTheBassMan]

Lots of good advice here. I think you caught the bass because chumming with corn also attracts baitfish. Good luck and I hope you hear your drag scream soon.

 

I'm going to grind it out until I do and now I have a wealth of advice to go on.

[dsn]

@ DSN:

 

That's a sweet rig and I am most certainly going to try and make a sweet one. My main question to that would be this:

 

When you catch a carp in the feeding ground, particularly if it is an extraordinary battle, will it spook the other carp from feeding? I bring this from my trout experience, where if you land a lunker and he's swimming all over the place, it can throw the fishing off in that pool for 30mins +

 

It does throw the fish off, but not as long as 30mins. It's alot less than that. Try 5-10 mins depending on how much fish is in the area feeding. The more you have... the less time you have to wait for a hit.

I was fishing in one spot when carp were half way through spawning season and we caught 44 fish in 3hrs. It was nuts. We even caught this one fish 4 times. We noticed it cause it had a huge wart or bump on its back.

Anyways most of my outtings I have never had to wait 30mins for each hit.

 

 

DSN

[BillsTheBassMan]

It does throw the fish off, but not as long as 30mins. It's alot less than that. Try 5-10 mins depending on how much fish is in the area feeding. The more you have... the less time you have to wait for a hit.

I was fishing in one spot when carp were half way through spawning season and we caught 44 fish in 3hrs. It was nuts. We even caught this one fish 4 times. We noticed it cause it had a huge wart or bump on its back.

Anyways most of my outtings I have never had to wait 30mins for each hit.

 

 

DSN

 

That's good to know . . . apparently Carp can school in the thousands, which is nuts, but they at least like to be with 4-5 other Carp. It should mean that if your chumming has worked that you should get into some business.

 

Update on my Carping:

 

I was out after work at my new spot - I chummed with 3 cans of corn, went home for supper, and returned in a light rain about an hour later. I did the corn-hook & 4 splitshot rig (have been getting more action on the splitshots than the bell sinker). I fished fishless until 8:45, got a little bored, decided to rig something up and put down my rod in between two rocks.

 

Bad Idea.

 

I had just reached for my vest and then the drag started screaming and the rod bent like a U. There's no way this was anything but a carp. I grapple the rod out between the rocks, feel the fish for a second and go to lift the rod to set the hook and then . . . gone. He spits it.

 

To make matters worse, on my next six consecutive casts I catch nothing but bullheads.

 

Lesson learned - hold that rod! At least I got to see what a carp run is going to feel like for future hits.

 

I also found a good resource around this website - TJ and a few other gentleman started a site - OntarioCarpFishing.com - I'll do some reading in the rain this weekend and work on some of those hair rigs!

 

Ryan

[BillsTheBassMan]

It does throw the fish off, but not as long as 30mins. It's alot less than that. Try 5-10 mins depending on how much fish is in the area feeding. The more you have... the less time you have to wait for a hit.

I was fishing in one spot when carp were half way through spawning season and we caught 44 fish in 3hrs. It was nuts. We even caught this one fish 4 times. We noticed it cause it had a huge wart or bump on its back.

Anyways most of my outtings I have never had to wait 30mins for each hit.

 

 

DSN

 

That's good to know . . . apparently Carp can school in the thousands, which is nuts, but they at least like to be with 4-5 other Carp. It should mean that if your chumming has worked that you should get into some business.

 

Update on my Carping:

 

I was out after work at my new spot - I chummed with 3 cans of corn, went home for supper, and returned in a light rain about an hour later. I did the corn-hook & 4 splitshot rig (have been getting more action on the splitshots than the bell sinker). I fished fishless until 8:45, got a little bored, decided to rig something up and put down my rod in between two rocks.

 

Bad Idea.

 

I had just reached for my vest and then the drag started screaming and the rod bent like a U. There's no way this was anything but a carp. I grapple the rod out between the rocks, feel the fish for a second and go to lift the rod to set the hook and then . . . gone. He spits it.

 

To make matters worse, on my next six consecutive casts I catch nothing but bullheads.

 

Lesson learned - hold that rod! At least I got to see what a carp run is going to feel like for future hits.

 

I also found a good resource around this website - TJ and a few other gentleman started a site - OntarioCarpFishing.com - I'll do some reading in the rain this weekend and work on some of those hair rigs!

 

Ryan

[dsn]

That's good to know . . . apparently Carp can school in the thousands, which is nuts, but they at least like to be with 4-5 other Carp. It should mean that if your chumming has worked that you should get into some business.

 

Update on my Carping:

 

I was out after work at my new spot - I chummed with 3 cans of corn, went home for supper, and returned in a light rain about an hour later. I did the corn-hook & 4 splitshot rig (have been getting more action on the splitshots than the bell sinker). I fished fishless until 8:45, got a little bored, decided to rig something up and put down my rod in between two rocks.

 

Bad Idea.

 

I had just reached for my vest and then the drag started screaming and the rod bent like a U. There's no way this was anything but a carp. I grapple the rod out between the rocks, feel the fish for a second and go to lift the rod to set the hook and then . . . gone. He spits it.

 

To make matters worse, on my next six consecutive casts I catch nothing but bullheads.

 

Lesson learned - hold that rod! At least I got to see what a carp run is going to feel like for future hits.

 

I also found a good resource around this website - TJ and a few other gentleman started a site - OntarioCarpFishing.com - I'll do some reading in the rain this weekend and work on some of those hair rigs!

 

Ryan

 

 

********************************************************************

 

Yeah carp do get nervous sometimes when they feel a heavy weight on the rigs.

There were times I only used a hair rig with no weight at all. Only weight I had was the four peices of corn plus the hook on the line. This method is only great when theres no wind and your fishing close to shore. They will still pick up the rig and but your eye must be on the line at all times. Cause the line will move out slowly.

 

dsn

[BillsTheBassMan]

An Update for the Carp guys who've been helping me out here:

 

Today, after my big miss last night, I have successfully landed 3 carp and 1 redhorse. The carp were roughly 6-8-10 lbs, the redhorse was like 4-5lbs. No monsters, but a good start, some good experience, and now I know what to look for . . . ya never really know until you feel it for yourself. I also lost one tonight in the 12-13 pound range. I got him up on surface, at which point he started kind of barrel-rolling like a lake trout. Is this a common escape tactic of theirs?

 

Also, is it typical that the best part of the fight is right at the start? The initial hit and the first 30 seconds or so - they spool you a little and pull like hell. I compare them to "Butterbean"

 

@ DSN specifically.

 

I've been using your chum tactic for 4 days now and apparently it is working. I'd still be out there but I had to get home . . . off to Orillia for the weekend. Regardless, I'll chum the same spot when I get home and try to make it out there to chum it at least every other day. Unfortunately, the bullhead have moved in as well, and it seems that I am catching 6-12 bullhead per trip. Seems like a fishing experience for the young nephew, so I'll bring him out there.

 

Are all the surface bubbles I'm seeing in the area where I've chummed indicative of fish? The area is all bubbles, whereas it previously wasn't. I'm guessing it's fish.

[hammercarp]

Both bullheads and carp will cause bubbles to rise. If you can get some feed corn for chum I think it will attract less catfish,. You can get it at a feed store or at a pet store. It is cheap and effective. Wild bird seed works too. Just boil it for a bit then let it sit in the pot with the lid on over night. Don't put too much in the pot as it really expands when it absorbs water.

[dsn]

An Update for the Carp guys who've been helping me out here:

 

Today, after my big miss last night, I have successfully landed 3 carp and 1 redhorse. The carp were roughly 6-8-10 lbs, the redhorse was like 4-5lbs. No monsters, but a good start, some good experience, and now I know what to look for . . . ya never really know until you feel it for yourself. I also lost one tonight in the 12-13 pound range. I got him up on surface, at which point he started kind of barrel-rolling like a lake trout. Is this a common escape tactic of theirs?

 

Also, is it typical that the best part of the fight is right at the start? The initial hit and the first 30 seconds or so - they spool you a little and pull like hell. I compare them to "Butterbean"

 

@ DSN specifically.

 

I've been using your chum tactic for 4 days now and apparently it is working. I'd still be out there but I had to get home . . . off to Orillia for the weekend. Regardless, I'll chum the same spot when I get home and try to make it out there to chum it at least every other day. Unfortunately, the bullhead have moved in as well, and it seems that I am catching 6-12 bullhead per trip. Seems like a fishing experience for the young nephew, so I'll bring him out there.

 

Are all the surface bubbles I'm seeing in the area where I've chummed indicative of fish? The area is all bubbles, whereas it previously wasn't. I'm guessing it's fish.

 

 

The bubbles can be other fish, or it can be just gas being released if its a muddy bottom. But I would say its definately fish at this time of year. Earlier in the season I would say gas from the presure changes in the atmosphere. Next time, before you chum use a pair of polarized sun glasses and try to look and see whats the source of the bubbles if the water is clear or cloudy. I would be trying to looking for dark shadows like carp under the bubbles still searching for your chum, left overs. Look for the tip of carp tails moving under the bubbles. If you see them even before you chum. You can literally drop a rig down if there is a carp there (silently no splashing) and they will take the corn without chumming..By now definately carp will be holding in your spot. Even when your not fishing there. I had fish stay in one spot for about a week after I stopped chumming.

 

Just hope no on else sees your spot. You can now use this spot for next year to chum cause the fish will come back looking for a food source.

 

 

Have Fun

 

DSN

 

I'm hoping I'll be able to get out with MJL next week. But I have to prepare the place with chum before hand as you have done.

Edited July 24, 2010 by DSN