# Carp in shallow water?



## Rooster (Apr 8, 2004)

I was scouting a few catfishing holes on the Great Miami River last week, and found a potential carp spot. This area was extremely shallow. I would estimate that the water is at best 2 feet deep in this area. However, there was a ton of carp activity, and Im thinking about giving it a try. How would you target carp in such shallow water? Or would you just find another spot?


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## flathunter (Apr 5, 2004)

sweet corn, shallow water Carp are the easiest for me to catch


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## cwcarper (Apr 5, 2004)

Carp in shallow water are usually best caught by "stalking" them...sort of like fly fishing but with bait. It'll be really important to keep quiet and try not to spook them...just target a secific carp and loft your bait out to it. Surface baits like bread are usually really good for this, but corn or even crayfish would also work. Or...if it is a large enough flat with enough carp, you can just fish it with any traditional methods and toss your bait out and wait for a carp to come by. I'd still be careful not to spook them and use less weight than normal (unless there is a bit of current). I've done well catching numbers of carp on shallow flats just using my traditional corn or wheaties on a sliding sinker rig with just enough weight to cast...this has worked really well for me below the Paint Creek Spillway. Generally (though definitely not always) these fish will be of a smaller variety than what you'll find in the deeper holes.


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## Rooster (Apr 8, 2004)

Thanks for the tips! Floating bait might be the ticket in this area. I spooked a lot of fish just walking the bank. Fish that were a good 20 feet from bank were spooked. I'm sure that casting anything with weight into the water would spook them.


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