How Do You Catch Carp?

[TSmith]

I saw at least three massive carp (or at least thats what they looked like) but these fish looked brown and were jumping out of the water when they were striking). but anyways this was at Springfield lake and they wouldnt hit anything i threw at them. I guess cause they wont hit bass stuff. So if anyone has any pointers on technique line size or lures it would be great. Thanks

[ozark trout fisher]

I saw at least three massive carp (or at least thats what they looked like) but these fish looked brown and were jumping out of the water when they were striking). but anyways this was at Springfield lake and they wouldnt hit anything i threw at them. I guess cause they wont hit bass stuff. So if anyone has any pointers on technique line size or lures it would be great. Thanks

I've accidentally caught some carp while catfishing with worms... The few times I've caught them I've fishing nightcrawlers on the bottom.

[Al Agnew]

Carp can get really sophisticated if they are fished for a lot, but most places around here they are still fairly easy to catch. Here's a couple of ways I used to do it when I was a kid...I caught a lot of carp on the local river.

Any kind of tackle that will cast fairly light baits and will handle 6-8 pound mono will work. I used to use Zebco 33s. You need some very small treble hooks, small split shot, and a couple sizes of slip sinkers like egg sinkers. Tie on the treble hook on the end of your line after sliding an egg sinker onto the line. Put one small split shot up the line 8 or 10 inches, to use mostly as a stop for the sliding sinker. For bait, all you need is a box of regular Wheaties. Lots of people have carp recipes that involve Wheaties, but plain Wheaties works just fine. Take a small handful of the Wheaties in the palm of your hand, dip your hand in the water so the Wheaties get good and wet, and then knead them in your hand until they are a gooey dough. Then mold the dough onto the small treble hook--should be a ball of dough that is slightly bigger than a marble. Cast it out GENTLY where you think the carp are, and let it sit. If you don't get a bite in 10 or 15 minutes, reel it in and check it. The Wheaties will gradually soften and finally disintegrate, but if there are carp in the area they'll usually sniff it out and take it pretty quickly.

Second thing we used to do is buy two cans of whole kernel corn. Take one can, poke a bunch of holes in it with an ice pick, tie some heavy fishing line around it securely, and toss it out into the area you want to fish. Using the same weight and split shot system, but this time using a small single hook, about a size 8 or 10, open the other can and string kernels of corn on it like beads until the last one covers the hook point, and cast it out somewhere close to your sunken can. The can acts to chum the carp in, but they can't get to the corn in it so they will be eager to take your bait.

Word of caution...carp will sniff around your bait and take it very lightly, very hard to detect sometimes. But once they get it into their mouth, they tend to be very good at suddenly sensing something's wrong and taking off like a 20 pound bonefish, which means if you aren't HOLDING your rod tightly or have it very securely tied down, you'll lose your rod. On the little river I used to fish for them, we regularly had to go swimming after our rods...which is why I always used cheap spincast reels!

[Ham]

I caught a nice one on BSL last spring by sight casting ahead of a cruiser with a crappie jig. I want to catch some on a fly rod, but my attempts have been failures so far.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I want to catch some on a fly rod, but my attempts have been failures so far.

I've been told by those that know, color can be important. Top colors are red and yellow. Top flies small crawdad imitations and SJW's

tsmith, not sure about striking, that doesn't sound like carp, but they do jump at times and always seem hard to catch when they do.

[fishinwrench]

The best way I've found to catch them "on the fly" here in the L.O. flats, once you find them, is to chum the area with Kellogs corn pops cereal, and then follow up with a yellow spun deer hair fly that looks like a corn pop. That works great from late Spring until early Fall, and it is one surefire way to see your backing. Throwing nymphs and such like you read about (from those guys up in the Great Lakes region) seems to be a serious waste of time around here, at least that's been my experience. Our carp tend to depend solely on their olfactory senses UNLESS they are feeding on the surface.

Summer before last, Me and my neighbor spent several afternoons hooking carp and buffalo that were 3-4ft. long on 7 and 8wt. flyrods and 15lb. Big game for tippet. We landed a bunch in the 10-15 lb. range....but those big 25+ bruisers will just wear you down until you don't care anymore.

[Ham]

....but those big 25+ bruisers will just wear you down until you don't care anymore.

[Ämp]

guys I hate to let this one go but here it is one more time .. small brown popper on a 9wt.. regular rod use the wheaties but instead of just water.. use strawberry soda.

[Gavin]

Al's post is a good one....My friends and I won a few kids fishing derby's chumming with a can of corn...On the fly...they can be tough to sight fish too...best bet is to find some that are cruising around a slow water pool or pond looking for food...youll see em moving and rooting for food occasionally...toss a weighted fly well out ahead of them were you think they are headed and let it sit... give it a twitch when the carp get within a foot or two of your fly...they will usually head right to it and suck it up...If they dont try again on their next circuit around the pond. Cheers.

[Geoff]

the key with fly fishing for them is when they are tailing, cast in the direction they are going, and when the fly hits the ground let it sit...as they get closer do a slight twitch so some dust is made, they will come check out what has made the duct puff, and if it looks like a craydad or leech they suck it up. i also have a couple of corn patterns that the fish will just freely eat, even without being chummed.