My introduction to carp fishing came as a matter of boredom. I had caught a few carp over the years by accident but had never really purposefully fished for carp. At a local lake my son and I were trout fishing and kept observing three and perhaps four foot carp swimming back and forth in front of us. After getting skunked on the stocked trout we decided to come back and try to catch the carp. That was the day that I started to fish for carp. With the exception of trout and walleye, I rarely eat fish so I’m not too picky about what I catch most days. Here are 10 tips that I have used for successful carp fishing.
While baits for carp can be made or purchased, it is hard to beat canned corn.
Bread is another great carp bait, but is harder to keep on the hook than corn.
Where it is legal, chum the water with corn or whatever bait you are using. Chum a spot to your left and right to attract more carp to your area.
No matter what bait that you use add more salt to the bait. If using dough bait, roll the dough in salt before casting. If using corn, open the can before use and stir in a tablespoon or so of salt.
A lighted strike indicator or bell is great for fishing for carp at night.
Be patient. Carp will often gently bite the bait a time or two before picking it up. Don’t set the hook too soon and have a hook remover handy to remove hooks from deeply hooked carp.
Try to cast without a sinker. Even a slip sinker will put some resistance on the hook and may make the carp shy away. If you cannot cast far enough without weight use a fly fishing technique with your spinning gear. Carp are usually caught fairly close to shore so a long cast is not often needed.
Matching line to water color is of greater importance with carp than other fish. Carp can be finicky as to what they eat, but their large size demands a stout line. I’m pretty cheap and lazy so instead of changing line, I tie on a leader that looks good in the water. Another option is to use 6 or 8 pound test and gently fight the fish. This is a good option when wading.
Use a rod holder when carp fishing. Holding the pole will result in you moving the line and spooking fish sooner or later. Let the carp play with the bait before even picking it up, but be ready!
Matte black fishing hooks are probably best for carp fishing to keep the carp from seeing a shiny hook. Yellow / gold hooks can be used with corn, but black works well in the murky waters as well.
Carp can be found about everywhere there is water, give them a try today!
