# How do you target carp?



## TIC (Sep 9, 2009)

LMB fishing in my local lake has really slowed down and I'm having big fish withdrawal. I see huge carp in this lake and I see no one fishing for them. It would seem to me that targeting the carp could satisfy my lust for big fish.

So, how do you target carp from the bank? I have a couple of miles of shoreline to work with. Some of it is shallow water and some of it drops right off to 10-15 feet deep. Where would I target the carp, deep or shallow? I figured I could start chumming them with corn every day for a week, then go back and try to catch them.

Any thoughts on where/how to attract them? Can I use a typical bass rod/reel? What type of hook setup is necessary? Best time of day to fish (daylight hours only). Any/all carp assistance is appreciated.


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## SamiFish (Apr 24, 2013)

TIC said:


> LMB fishing in my local lake has really slowed down and I'm having big fish withdrawal. I see huge carp in this lake and I see no one fishing for them. It would seem to me that targeting the carp could satisfy my lust for big fish.
> 
> So, how do you target carp from the bank? I have a couple of miles of shoreline to work with. Some of it is shallow water and some of it drops right off to 10-15 feet deep. Where would I target the carp, deep or shallow? I figured I could start chumming them with corn every day for a week, then go back and try to catch them.
> 
> Any thoughts on where/how to attract them? Can I use a typical bass rod/reel? What type of hook setup is necessary? Best time of day to fish (daylight hours only). Any/all carp assistance is appreciated.


Bass gear is fine. Go buy a can of corn and chuck half of it out to chum right when you get to your spoy. Make a basic sliding sinker rig with a no 6 circle hook and the lightest weight, usually 1/4oz is plenty, you need to hold bottom and cast out. Usually, this time of year carp are in the shallows. I actually sight fish for them a lot. You can also use white bread, make a lil doughball around your hook.

Later, if you want to get more advanced look up hair rigs, slip floats, spod and boilie fishing to increase your catch rate


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## DLarrick (May 31, 2011)

im no carp expert but if you can see them all the time try a spot and stalk type approach. walk the banks with some sweet corn ready to chum. when you start to see them throw out a small palm full right too them. then on a smaller sized hook (i like ones that hold about 4 kernals of corn) and maybe a small worm weight and cast right out to them. i have done this in ponds and creeks and you can watch them come suck up your hook and as line starts to take off you hammer them. if you just plan to sit and fish i wouldnt worry about baiting them every day but that might work. just chum a bit where you want to cast and try an get your bait right around that area. i dont like to over chum and have the fish too spread out. mornings and evenings like most fish they seem to be more active but you can get into them anytime. i like to use a rod i would use for bass fishing as it makes the fight that much more fun. might break off a couple but i would rather have that then just horse them in with a big cat pole. hope this helps.


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## BMayhall (Jun 9, 2011)

If they are grass carp get a small fly fishing hook. Take a piece of Grass thread it on and try and drop it right in front of them with out spoking them If they are feeding from the top. Make sure you use light gear to get the grass out there. Works best in neighborhood ponds and retention ponds. 


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## BassAddict83 (Sep 21, 2010)

If I see carp tailing I dont even waste time chumming. More often than not you'll just spook them and it takes longer to catch one. In the past I just use a regular medium action spinning combo. A size 8 hook with 2 or 3 sweet corn kernels and a small split shot. Just cast over by where you see it tailing. Chances are they'll eat it. If I dont see them tailing thats when I chum. In the summer time you'll most likely find them in the shallows. Have fun! They're a blast to catch! This year I'm hoping to get one of my own on the fly rod.


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## jmpmstr1998 (Jun 19, 2009)

I was told they really like huckleberries.

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## Lostleader (Apr 19, 2013)

jmpmstr1998 said:


> I was told they really like huckleberries.
> 
> Sent from my GT-P5113 using Ohub Campfire mobile app


What are huckleberries?


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## SamiFish (Apr 24, 2013)

Lostleader said:


> What are huckleberries?


It's a either a boy who rode a raft the length of the mississippi to help a black man free himself from the bonds of slavery or a drawling southern hound who seems perpetually melancholy.


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## Lostleader (Apr 19, 2013)

Close, look like a variation of the blue berry.

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## CarpRule (Jun 18, 2013)

Anything sweet, they like Mulberries, cherries, banana, strawberry and Oats.

I catch them on White Corn #5 swiviel and @ #6 or #8 circle hook or barbless wide. If it is grassy no weight, if muddy or sandy use up to 2 oz. 

Look up a bolt rig or Carolina rig will do.

Find the current and cast your chum out find a visual marker and then cast line right into the middle of chum pile. If you have a bait clicker then free spool. If no bait clicker then decrease drag and let it run for a bit then set hook and fight or swim 

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## Mean Morone (Apr 12, 2004)

The breakfast of champions will work. Put some in your hand, add some water and start mashing it up. It is very sticky and make nice round balls that fit nicely on a treble hook. Add some vanilla to it as you mash it up and you have a nice easy carp bait. That stuff will cast a mile too without worrying about casting it off. There are other flavors you can add too to change things up.


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## CarpRule (Jun 18, 2013)

No treble hooks. Causes to much damage. #6 smelled or circle hook very sharp will hold them. 

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## Jfields (Jun 3, 2013)

Bass gear will work but you're going to need to invest in heavier line and carp specific rigs after a while. I used to fish specifically for cat or bass depending on where I was or what was biting. While fishing for bass I had something g grab my line that freaked me out. I thought it was a monster striped bass because my pole was bent like a horseshoe and I loosened my drag to prevent the line from breaking. when I get it up to the bank I realized I had snagged a carp next to its gill. I tightened the drag back up so I could hold it close while my buddy tried to net it and it snapped my 8 lb line. Judging from the size of the carp it was only about 15 lbs. Now I target carp specifically.

Moral of the story is, once you get them to bite, you'll get the carp bug. They are abundant, huge, and extremely strong fighters. They fight much harder than a cat of the same size.


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## Jfields (Jun 3, 2013)

Forgot to add, I just started targetting carp this year. I hooked a huge one on a homemade boilie and since then I've been trying about every bait out there. A few things I recommend you try to get started would be sweet corn, doughball made from white bread, pineapple chunks, and corn puffs. All of these are 1 ingredient baits that work great with very little preparation. Pineapple chunks and sweet corn can be slid on a size 6 hook and catch fish all day long on a $1 can.

Next, look at the hair rig. Its a little confusing your first time tying one up, but after that its a breeze. Use either a size 4 or 6 hook, nothing too light though (I've had carp straighten out thin size 6 hooks). Circle hooks preferred. Braided line here works best, as its the easiest to tie and has a soft feel. Carp are notorious for 'sampling' their food. They suck it up and spit it back out pretty often. A hair rig is designed to 'snag' the mouth of the carp while its doing this. A heavy lead weight (2 or 3 oz) turns this into a bolt rig, since carp often bolt away as soon as they feel the hook, and the heavy sinker causes them to set the hook while bolting away.




So to get started... Size 6 hook. Small sinker. Either one pineapple chunk or 3-5 kernels of sweet corn. You can try taking white bread and rolling it up into doughballs and putting in on the hook also (a single drop of vanilla extract works as a good attractant here). Corn puffs work on a hook, but better on a hair rig. Bass gear and 6-8 lb line work fine. Keep the drag loose. 

Once the carp bug bites and you start seeking out the big ones, get 12+ lb mono and some braided line for hair rigs. Bass poles/reel still work great here. You can use most of the same baits, or start experimenting. Boilies offer infinite flavors and combinations especially if you make your own, and stay on the line so well that you can use a single one for multiple carp. However, they won't increase your catch rate unless you take advantage of them with pre-baiting and finding out which flavors work best for carp in your area.


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## TIC (Sep 9, 2009)

First things first...... Thank You to everyone that has responded so far. Great information.

I need to amend my statement about "I see huge carp in the lake". This is true in the early spring until they spawn. At spawn time they are wallowing all around the banks near the shallow water. I see lots of them cruising the banks just before spawn too. However, after spawn, I don't really see them very often. Right now I'm not seeing any carp swimming around, but they are obviously there because I saw them when they were spawning and I sometimes see them jumping.

So, where do I fish? In the shallows near where I saw them spawn? Near the bank or out a way? If out, how do you chum? Just throw the corn as far as you can?

Thanks again for the info.


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## SamiFish (Apr 24, 2013)

TIC said:


> First things first...... Thank You to everyone that has responded so far. Great information.
> 
> I need to amend my statement about "I see huge carp in the lake". This is true in the early spring until they spawn. At spawn time they are wallowing all around the banks near the shallow water. I see lots of them cruising the banks just before spawn too. However, after spawn, I don't really see them very often. Right now I'm not seeing any carp swimming around, but they are obviously there because I saw them when they were spawning and I sometimes see them jumping.
> 
> ...


This time of year they should still be in the shallows. That being said, I'd chum an area that's about 8-10' from the bank. If you fish an area that you know they're in, that's even better. If you chum right when you get there and then sit down to set up your rigs and such, they should've been lured in (or nearly in) by that point.

I disagree with needing heavier gear. Bass gear should be more than enough (esp if you typically fish cover and use 10lb or 15lb test w/100-140yds on the reel). I actually like to use light or ultra-light gear and 4lb test. The key to using lighter line but still being able to make the fish work for it is a longer rod (provides greater leverage). I use a 9' rod - you'll see the brits do this too and often use 2lb test!. just set your drag appropriately and don't monkey it with it once youv'e got a fish on. Obviously if you don't have a very good reel, the drag will be less smooth and this will mean you need to be more careful and perhaps use heavier line. But nowadays a quality spinning reel with 4 ball bearings is very reasonably priced. I use a cabela's rod and reel combo and it only cost me 60 bucks - it's been durable, reliable, and very smooth drag.

when chumming, i don't use just corn either. As soon as you get to the spot, I bring a plastic bag, put about a 2cups of water in it and drop in 5-6 pieces of white bread. then i drop in about 1 cup of corn, 1 cup of (non-instant) oatmeal, and then let it get kinda goopy and work it around with my hand. you should end up getting something that is about, well, about the consistency of oatmeal. chuck this out there - all of it. the bread particles, the oats will get the real attractants while the corn will give some substance to these fish to feed on.

as for tackle, the best rig - and the brits who are carp pros - would tend to agree is a quality slip bobber and a hair-rig. carp tend to 'mouth' the bait so a hair-rig helps prevent them from getting away. they'll suck in the bait - won't feel the hook - and your circle hook will give a perfect, minimally traumatic, corner-lip hook-set (btw, don't "set" the hook with circle hooks, just reel in, pull back the rod providing steady pressure and the circle hook will do the rest). a no 6 hook is more than sufficient.


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## TPfisher (Aug 31, 2009)

Think I might have to try and catch me some bugle mouths tomorrow at the gravel pit. People[including myself] have been seeing them up in the shallows feeding/breeding like crazy the past week. Dunno if this big rain messed that up. Probably did the way things have been going for me in terms of fishing


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## TIC (Sep 9, 2009)

TPfisher said:


> Think I might have to try and catch me some bugle mouths tomorrow at the gravel pit. People[including myself] have been seeing them up in the shallows feeding/breeding like crazy the past week. Dunno if this big rain messed that up. Probably did the way things have been going for me in terms of fishing


TPf,

Let me know if you go, maybe we can meet up. Which shallows are you considering? The one near the auxiliary launch ramp? Channel? South East bay back behind the islands?


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## jmpmstr1998 (Jun 19, 2009)

Mulberries.

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## TPfisher (Aug 31, 2009)

I'm gonna leave in like 25 minutes. I will be getting dropped off, license is suspended. But I'm gonna walk down from tbe the parking circle up on the hill after you go over the bridge. I've been seeinv them in the shallows on that path right between where the two lakes are divided by that mulchy kinda path in between. You can either walk through the tall grass at the bottom of the hill on left side of smaller back lake or the flatter surface on the back side of the main lake where the stacks of big rocks are. But yeah I'm honna start my search in the shallows on that path between those two divided lakes. BTW, I'm Drew and my cell is 560-2756. Don't be shy about texting/ calling me if you can't find me. Hope to see ya up there

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## Kennyjames (May 13, 2012)

I know one pond I use to fish at I would just use dough balls and catch a few here and there but if I took a little peanut butter and put it on the bread I would catch a lot more. 


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## Tom 513 (Nov 26, 2012)

What Mean Morone said, I fished for Carp as a kid, Wheatie balls soaked in vanilla extract will do you just fine, better have 10# test and your drag set right, u will at least a med duty rod, although Id bring a cat pole, but thats just me, hang on Carp are big fun to land untill you find out what they are!


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## CarpRule (Jun 18, 2013)

http://www.carp-fishing-tactics.com/science-carp-senses.html

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## TIC (Sep 9, 2009)

TPfisher said:


> I'm gonna leave in like 25 minutes. I will be getting dropped off, license is suspended. But I'm gonna walk down from tbe the parking circle up on the hill after you go over the bridge. I've been seeinv them in the shallows on that path right between where the two lakes are divided by that mulchy kinda path in between. You can either walk through the tall grass at the bottom of the hill on left side of smaller back lake or the flatter surface on the back side of the main lake where the stacks of big rocks are. But yeah I'm honna start my search in the shallows on that path between those two divided lakes. BTW, I'm Drew and my cell is 560-2756. Don't be shy about texting/ calling me if you can't find me. Hope to see ya up there
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I535 using Ohub Campfire mobile app


Can't make it this evening. Let me know how it goes. Maybe we can give it a try another time.

Tom


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## TPfisher (Aug 31, 2009)

I never found em. Decided to throw a buzzbait for bass and have caught 3 in 1/2 hr

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## BassAddict83 (Sep 21, 2010)




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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

nice catch BA83! looks like a heck of a fun fight on a flyrod!


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## SamiFish (Apr 24, 2013)

bleh.... those mirror carp gross me out. their weird scales make it look like they got some sort of fish deformity goin on. give me a common (or even better a buffalo) any day


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## FishDoctor (Aug 9, 2012)

SamiFish said:


> bleh.... those mirror carp gross me out. their weird scales make it look like they got some sort of fish deformity goin on. give me a common (or even better a buffalo) any day


Seconded!


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## BassAddict83 (Sep 21, 2010)

SamiFish said:


> bleh.... those mirror carp gross me out. their weird scales make it look like they got some sort of fish deformity goin on. give me a common (or even better a buffalo) any day


If you're going out with the intentions of CPR and you enjoy a hard fight then I'm not sure why the species or they're appearance really matters. 

Btw here's a fun little fact for you... Buffalo are not carp. Not even closely related in any way other than the fact they are both fish.


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## CarpRule (Jun 18, 2013)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 

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## Just Fishin' (Nov 27, 2012)

Went to GLSM over the weekend. I wanted to take the boat out and target bass or crappie but engine problems kept me on shore. Well, I figured I'd go back to what I did as a kid occasionally and brought some bread to put on the hooks. The carp would not stop biting! I fished in one small spot about 20 yards wide and lost count on the carp I caught. My plan was to use 2 rods, but I kept busy with just one.. waiting 2 minutes at most in between bites. Nothing huge was caught but it sure was fun!

These fish get a lot of complaints from people, and they are ugly lol, but they are here to stay. So, might as well target them sometimes and enjoy the fight they have to offer!

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## CarpRule (Jun 18, 2013)

Just Fishing.

What bait where you using?

Carpe Diem


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## CarpRule (Jun 18, 2013)

Never mind lol bread

Carpe Diem


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## jmpmstr1998 (Jun 19, 2009)

Try mulberries.

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## Mean Morone (Apr 12, 2004)

My boy and I went carpin the other day. I caught 10 and my boy caught two. Two of the ten I caught were mirrors. We caught them on homemade dough bait. Here's one of the mirrors.


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## Alex_Combs (Mar 20, 2013)

Beautiful fish, Mean!
We're you at the GMR?


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## BassAddict83 (Sep 21, 2010)

Nice job MM! Sounds like a fun day. Good lookin' mirror!


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## Mean Morone (Apr 12, 2004)

This one wasn't near as pretty.



Not the GMR. Can't tell because it is a top secret spot.


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## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

Those are beauties ! Nice going !


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