# Quick tips to target carp?



## Eat Sleep Fish (Apr 19, 2012)

How's it going 2Coolers,

Gonna chase some carp at the pond this weekend (assuming what I saw in the pond was carp haha) and wanted to see if I could get some quick tips from any of you guys who have targeted them. 

I will be taking my fly rod and an assortment of flies and I will also be taking sweet canned corn. Gonna drain it the night before and freeze it so it will stay on the hook better. Thinking a small split weight with a small bait hook on light line and letting it soak on the bottom to avoid turtles. I know people catch carp in a variety of ways like most species of fish but any quick tips on do's or don'ts while out targeting them, I know they spook pretty easy and can very picky? I have never fished for them before, I chase largemouth bass most of my time.

Thanks for any help!

-Devon


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Bait a spot with canned whole corn then use some small hook for bait.


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## Eat Sleep Fish (Apr 19, 2012)

shadslinger said:


> Bait a spot with canned whole corn then use some small hook for bait.


Thanks for the tip!


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## wwind3 (Sep 30, 2009)

Crushed up corn flakes and strawberry sody pop on a small treble hook-might use pantyhose if you can find them to hold bait on the hook. Caught two small mouth buffalo off my bulkhead last yr---both around 8 pounds--pretty scrappy. Not sure if legal---but frog gig on a long pole works too


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## Eat Sleep Fish (Apr 19, 2012)

wwind3 said:


> Crushed up corn flakes and strawberry sody pop on a small treble hook-might use pantyhose if you can find them to hold bait on the hook. Caught two small mouth buffalo off my bulkhead last yr---both around 8 pounds--pretty scrappy. Not sure if legal---but frog gig on a long pole works too


Interesting combo, may have to try it sometime if I get on some carp this weekend! Thank you. We are strictly catching and release for fun, so wont need to gig anything haha.


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## BKT (Sep 27, 2013)

Canned corn or white bread (no crust) kneaded around the hook works for me.


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## saved (Feb 1, 2014)

They are a good fight, but it is hardly worth it any more since it is against the law to take more than one per day.


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## Knee Deep N POC (Feb 6, 2010)

Corn flakes and Big Red. Make a dough and place it on a very small treble hook. 

I also used strawberry jello and corn meal. Add just enough water to make a dough.


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## Eat Sleep Fish (Apr 19, 2012)

Great tips everyone thank you! We are gonna try sweet corn this go around and if we get some bites or see carp surfacing we will be back to try some of the other techniques listed.


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## bodydub (Mar 10, 2008)

Roll up pieces of bread into small balls and soak them with some vanilla extract..................


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## TexasTom (Mar 16, 2011)

To enhance your corn, consider adding some vanilla extract and/or koolaid (dark cherry or strawberry) kept very strong and soak your corn in it overnight. Plain sweet corn will work too. They are very hard to hook (tiny mouths and very sensitive to feeling the hook and spitting out the bait) so if you are really serious google "hair rig for carp" and tie up one or two of those. Lots of youtube videos on how to make them. Will increase your hookups tremendously.


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## BobBobber (Aug 29, 2015)

Live crickets under tiny bobber will keep you in carp until your arms get sore.


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## Eat Sleep Fish (Apr 19, 2012)

We are hoping they will be nice and active with all the rain, I'm hoping that will have them feeding close to shore looking for small critters and such.


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## Eat Sleep Fish (Apr 19, 2012)

Thanks for all of your input everyone. Ended up catching my first carp on sweet corn and lost a monster one on video, hope to have that video up this week. I'm thinking it was close to 20lbs. I had no idea these carp fought so hard, the small one was a blast and the larger pulled like a tank, can't wait to chase em down again!


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## jblrail (Mar 31, 2005)

Dad used to make bread balls by rolling up regular bread with small amounts of moisture (he spit on it) and a rolling it into small balls then putting it on a small single hook. Fish it about 1/2 way of the depth under a small bobber. As the bread would feather, carp (and mullet) would start to eat the little balls. If you compress the balls well enough they last for a while. Still don't eat em but its lots of fun catching them.


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## use2b (May 30, 2006)

I thought carp are trash fish and you can catch all you want ??


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## Eat Sleep Fish (Apr 19, 2012)

jblrail said:


> Dad used to make bread balls by rolling up regular bread with small amounts of moisture (he spit on it) and a rolling it into small balls then putting it on a small single hook. Fish it about 1/2 way of the depth under a small bobber. As the bread would feather, carp (and mullet) would start to eat the little balls. If you compress the balls well enough they last for a while. Still don't eat em but its lots of fun catching them.


I think will take bread to try next time too. Thanks for the tip!


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## TexasTom (Mar 16, 2011)

use2b said:


> I thought carp are trash fish and you can catch all you want ??


Carp are not a listed game fish in Texas! But they are one of the hardest fighting fish pound for pound that I have ever come across! They are difficult to hook and a lot of fun to catch. They get a bad rap as a trash fish, as they can survive in dirtier water than most fish. Based on what they feed on, not nearly as "trashy" as catfish. However, they were originally imported as a food fish and were a major source of food in much of this country before railroads and refrigeration made transportation of "better" fish feasible.


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## dk2429 (Mar 27, 2015)

I used to catch them on marshmellows


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## Eat Sleep Fish (Apr 19, 2012)

TexasTom said:


> Carp are not a listed game fish in Texas! But they are one of the hardest fighting fish pound for pound that I have ever come across! They are difficult to hook and a lot of fun to catch. They get a bad rap as a trash fish, as they can survive in dirtier water than most fish. Based on what they feed on, not nearly as "trashy" as catfish. However, they were originally imported as a food fish and were a major source of food in much of this country before railroads and refrigeration made transportation of "better" fish feasible.


Agreed on the fight! I had no idea they fought so good, check out my video here. Can't wait to chase em again! Keep the tips coming guys! Thank you!


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## BobBobber (Aug 29, 2015)

Carp are revered in England. Anglers there have very expensive devices to carry bait out and for detecting bites. I have met anglers from England who vacationed in Michigan yearly, because carp were mega-sized compared to ones in England. Also, in England, many of the rivers, streams and lakes are owned by "royals," so commoners are forbidden to fish there. There are a variety of lakes designated for carp fishing, and that's where most guys are allowed to fish.


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## wwind3 (Sep 30, 2009)

does the fish have the barbels-whiskers on the upper lip? If not-may be a small mouth buffalo....


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## Eat Sleep Fish (Apr 19, 2012)

wwind3 said:


> does the fish have the barbels-whiskers on the upper lip? If not-may be a small mouth buffalo....


Yes it sure did. We saw a few of them yesterday feeding on the edges of the pond tugging at vegetation. Only issue sight casting to them on the edges is the pond is lined underneath with a chicken wire type mesh to help the pond from eroding but it is very easy to snag lures on (it's visible in a lot of places), then again it's worth it to catch a monster carp on fly haha.


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## wwind3 (Sep 30, 2009)

Eat Sleep Fish said:


> Yes it sure did. We saw a few of them yesterday feeding on the edges of the pond tugging at vegetation. Only issue sight casting to them on the edges is the pond is lined underneath with a chicken wire type mesh to help the pond from eroding but it is very easy to snag lures on (it's visible in a lot of places), then again it's worth it to catch a monster carp on fly haha.


COOL! I have a lot of the buffalo on my bulkhead----and they are scrappy too. Chewing the legs off my boathouse--can hear them from several feet away. Eating the shad eggs.


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