# Big Carp Techniques



## striperswiper

I'm not really a carp fisherman but i have caugght alot and a few decent ones i was wondering what kind of rigs to use for them i normally catch them catfishing the biggest being48 1/2lbs thanks for any ideas?


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## SPEAKSUP

I am with you mostly on Catfishing Rigs. either with Canned corn or Stink bait.


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## Garyoutlaw77

48 1/2 pounds ? I think I'd need to see a picture for my own sanity.. 

I have yet to find a rig or bait that constantly catches bigger Fish but fishing early pre-spawn seems to produce my biggest Fish every year.

If you have a shallow feeder creek that is clear enough for sight fishing I'd try an egg hook under a small split-shot with either a single grain of corn,dug worm or small craw.


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## TimJC

I am not trying to offend you here, but 30+lb COMMON carp don't grow on trees here in Ohio. Are you sure that it wasn't a GRASS carp (white amur) or BUFFALO carp (smallmouth or bigmouth)? I'd love to find more places that hold large carp in Ohio, but most people tend to vastly over exaggerate the size of carp. Are there any places you care to share. 

The biggest I have landed in Ohio is 34 pounds and that's from a small water with many fish around the 20 pound mark (I keep a log of each carp in this water, and they have names for ID purposes).


------------ DISCLAIMER ------------
There is always the possibility that a freakishly large carp is in a water that is riddled with fish under 10 pounds, but a natural size distribution dictates that it becomes increasingly unlikely as the size of this "large fish" increases.

Big carp are going to be found in waters where the average carp is larger. If I am catching fish in a water and they are averaging 6lb in size I would not expect to see a 20lb, or even a 15lb, fish caught. However if this average size was closer to 15 pounds I would feel much more confident about catching a 30lb carp.

Also, consider population density. If you are having a hard time catching any fish there is a good chance that any carp that exist could be very large. Places with very high concentrations of carp, on the other hand, tend to be smaller due to the increased competition for a fixed food source.

What I am trying to say with all this is that you should focus on catching more fish regardless of size and then use the same tactics on waters that are more likely to produce large fish. I use the same techniques to catch 35+lb carp as I do for 5lb carp (the same size 10 hook in most cases )
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Now onto the answer of the question. Where conditions allow (where current and casting distance aren't factors) I like to fish "the method." Method fishing involves using a bait that quickly dissolves/falls apart in the water after casting, and packing it around the sinker. The whole purpose of this is get the fish into the area with a scent trail, yet leave them with little bait to actually feed on. Then I use a hair rig with a small bait, a single kernel of imitation sweet corn, for hook bait to actually catch the fish. This is the type of fishing I do most often and it works well at catching catfish as well and could probably be improved for catching them by making the method mix fishier or adding liver.

I don't buy into the bigger bait=bigger carp theory, at least when it comes to this style of carp fishing.


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## KATKING

Right spots in beach city and you'll catch 15-20 pounders all day


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## Smokeem

ive fished at a local pond for bass and panfish for years, always saw monster carp swimming around and have heard stories of some big ones in the lake. Anyway, wasnt really in to carp fishing but one day before heading out i said what the heck and grabbed a couple slices of bread. Anyway long story short......15lb carp on 4lb test was pretty fun although it took a REALLLLLLY long time. So now whenever i go there i bring some dough just incase i get bored. Normally just use straight line attached to a snailed hook with a doughball on it.......no float, not weights, no rigs, just cast out and let it sit on the bottom, of your using dough, however, i normally just have the hook punctured through the doughball enough to hold it on there (less than a quarter of an inch coming out the other side) generally when feeding off the bottom the carp will suck it up hard enough that the doughball disintegrates leaving just hook. Also choose the right size hook so the carp wont swallow it............ive done this lots of places and it seems to produce


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## Garyoutlaw77

4 pound test..thats faith brother.. I cought my first PB (24 pounds) at Pine Hill Lakes on 6 pound Cajun line and still have nervious spells thinking about how that Bull yanked me around. I have started to target Carp with my Euro gear & lighter line to see what I'm missing with 12 pound mono.. I'll keep ya all posted.


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## BottomBouncer

Some of the larger carp that I know of were caught on live or natural baits...softcraws and even live chubs. Can't say I'd target carp with chubs...the guys that I know that caught the carp were not fishing for them. One was fishing for cats and the other trolling for saugeye.


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## Ðe§perado™

Sounds like he caught a buffalo sucker and not a carp.


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## boonecreek

i catch some big boffalo down at moscow, really good in the spring when the river backed up in rays run.


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## jay2k

The biggest carp I've seen are in Lake Erie. The biggest one I've seen caught was In Chautaqua lake by my buddy outdoorzman. Look in his profile, I think he has a picture of it. The sub hit a hair jig in deep water. He fought it for roughly 10 minutes on 6 lb. mono. Pulled our boat all over, no problem. I'm thinking over 30, put it on a scale and 24 lbs. Anglers can get "big eyes" quite often. If that fish was 24, then a 48?? My gosh, how would that thing look? By the way Chautaqua has some stupid big carp and gar there. Looks like you could have put a saddle on some of them and went for a ride.
While I wouldn't call myself a carp angler, I do enjoy fishing and catching them. My little carp spot is blown out right now do to the rains we got up here in NE Ohio. Its a very small area below a dam. Once the waters return to normal levels I'll be down there with corn or crawlers on a jig head. The fish hide right in the rocks below my feet when the water is cold I guess. Drop the jig below and its go time! By summer you can catch 1 or 2 then they wise up quick and its over. Smart fish indeed! We catch them every year on baits tossed for walleye and bass. They are not just bottom feeders. Carp patties anyone?


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## majorleaguecarp

striperswiper said:


> I'm not really a carp fisherman but i have caugght alot and a few decent ones i was wondering what kind of rigs to use for them i normally catch them catfishing the biggest being48 1/2lbs thanks for any ideas?


Where did you catch a 48 1/2 pounder from? Any pictures?

Here you go:

http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/community/showthread.php?t=107967&highlight=hair+rig


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