Understanding Carp Fishing
Carp are one of the few species in
which you can make your fishing efforts as complex as possible, or as simple as
you like, and still be highly successful. In true Peelin’ Drag style, we will
be focusing on the ladder of the two.
Understanding a carp is much like
understanding a cow or a turkey. Both seem to be relatively simple in nature,
yet, very keen on keeping themselves alive. They travel in packs much like the
two land based examples, using their numbers as protection, each individual
more alert than the next. This level of alertness makes them a very respectable
target when it comes to freshwater angling. Not only do you have to make the
correct decisions, but you also have to be delicate, stealthy, and a little
lucky to be able to outwit these skittish buglemouth beasts. Let’s not fail to
mention their fighting ability. Though often referred to as a “trash fish”(For
their quality as table fare) but nothing else in freshwater compares to their
ability to burn up a reel’s drag. They’ll fight you all nine rounds and leave
you wondering why you haven’t targeted them sooner.
Locating a School
Often times trying to find carp is
half the battle. This is more prevalent with shore fishermen, kayakers and
boaters have the upper hand when it comes to locating pods of fish. There are a
few key things I look for when on the water, first and foremost being tailing
fish or fish in clear water. If I can physically see the fish a lot of the work
has been eliminated, you must then make it a point to distance yourself and
cast on the fish without spooking them. When fish are not visible the task is
obviously more difficult. You must then tap into your ability to peel back the
water and make an educated decision on where to fish based on bottom contours.
Having a basic understanding on what’s “down there” comes into play here. It
may take you a few passes with your sonar, or a few fishing trips to learn the
water, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t land on the fish immediately. Carp
love soft bottoms, whether it is sand or silt, a soft bottom is what you want
to be searching for. Pea gravel or small river stones can produce fish as well,
generally you will find them there in faster flowing bodies of water, searching
for crayfish and other tasty morsels. Structure or “snags” can also hold higher
numbers of fish, they use these pieces of debris as a safe haven. Carp gain
comfort in knowing they have protection if it’s needed and will often be
centralized around a large piece of cover.
Lastly is the method I find myself using more
often than not, surface stalking. This is basically where you scan water until you
see signs of a pod of fish. Generally the most sure fire indicator would be
carp slapping the surface, they do this primarily while they’re feeding. The
next method you will have to use is slightly more difficult, it relies on
bubbles visible on the surface, indicating that there are fish on the bottom.
When a group of carp is rooting up the bottom they produce little pockets of
air that rise to the surface, showing the exact location of a school of fish.
This is not to be confused with the naturally occurring release of methane gas
that we all see from time to time. The best way to tell the difference is by
observing the bubbles in question. If they are numerous and sporadic then
chances are its carp, if they are solitary and constant then it’s more than
likely a methane release.
The main thing to remember when targeting an area is, once
you make a decision on where to fish, stay dedicated and stay confident.
Catching carp isn't always easy; more often than not it’s frustrating and
difficult. Make sure before you wet your lines that you have a solid attack
plan, because once your lines are in the water you’re going to be doing a whole
lot of nothing. The last thing you want to be doing in that time is second
guessing yourself.
Rods and Reels
As far as your rod selection
goes I would recommend a longer rod at about 7-8ft, medium heavy action, with a
fast tip. You want the rod to be stout that way it can handle the hard runs
that carp make, but you want it to have a softer, faster tip that way you don’t
apply too much pressure to the fish’s mouth, resulting in a torn out hook. A fast
tip also helps with lobbing out oatmeal balls if you decide to freeline them.
When choosing a reel,
spinning seems to be the more popular, easier to use option. A 3000-6000 size
reel with a good drag will be your best selection. A reel with a baitrunner
option is ideal. A baitrunner allow the fish to run with the bait freely before
the spool becomes engaged. Once the spool is engaged, the preselected drag
pressure is applied, thus making it easier to begin fighting the fish, without
having to mess around with your drag settings too much. A baitcasting setup can
be used as well, preferably a catfishing model with a bait “clicker.” Keep in
mind that if you decide to use a baitcasting setup to have the drag adjusted
before a fish picks up your bait. If you fail to do so it could result in the
hook being torn out of the fish’s mouth.
Bait Styles
As I stated before, carp fishing can
be as complex as you want to make it, it is no more prevalent than with your
bait selection. You can choose from thousands of store bought artificial baits
such as boilies, or you can go the route of homemade route of corn and oatmeal.
Fortunately, since carp aren’t as heavily pressured in the U.S. as they are in
Europe, we do not need to delve into the complex world of artificial baits as much,
to be successful.
There are three main bait
selections I use when targeting carp.
( Oatmeal laced with Bisquik and Koolaid)
The first, and my favorite, is plain old oatmeal. It’s about
as simple as it gets really, you take a handful of oats place the hook in the
middle, make a fist, and flex underwater allowing water to mix with the oats
without them floating away. You then take it out, make it into a more uniform
ball, let it harden a little and off you go. It’s one of the most basic forms
of bait, and one of the most effective! Not to mention it’s only about $2.50
for a tub…. And that’s only if you’re splurging for name brand. When it comes
to casting your dough ball I recommend more of a lobbing style cast. If you try
and cast it conventionally it will just fly off of the hook, which is great for
chumming an area, however, it gets old pretty quick. Oatmeal works best in slow
moving waters, once it settles on the bottom it begins to break apart slightly,
which puts out a nice little scent trail attracting any fish nearby. If you use
it in faster moving water it takes away from the baits effectiveness and you
lose a lot of the pieces that break off due to the current.
(Deer Corn, once it's boiled it becomes Maize)
Up next is another highly effective homemade bait, it goes by
maize in the carp world but you’ll all know it better as deer corn. Maize is
made after soaking and boiling deer corn. Essentially the concept is fairly
simple, you go to the local outdoorsy store and pick up a bag of deer corn,
usually for $5-$10 for a fifty pound bag, you then take it home and use as
needed. Maize works better than sweet corn or canned corn due to the fact that
deer corn’s tougher outer shells allows it to hold onto the hook better. I
usually prepare about a pound to two pounds worth at a time, keeping the rest
stored in a dry, bug free area. To produce maize you start off by soaking the
corn in water for about 24 hours. This helps soften up the hard outer layer of
the corn kernel. After soaking you then place the corn in a pot of boiling
water for about 45 minutes. Make sure that the water level is above the corn to
insure that it does not burn. Toward the last ten minutes of boiling I like to
add sugar and/or other flavoring to my maize to boost its overall flavor,
although it works fine otherwise. The maize proceeds to soak up the additives
as it cools down, once it has cooled spread it out on a cookie sheet or another
flat surface to allow it to dry, to ensure that it does not mold. Once you get
on the water you can utilize maize by chumming an area in which you know carp
are present. Keep in mind you don’t want to go crazy with it because this can
lead to less pick ups. I suggest using the maize to your advantage, only enough
to bring them in the area, in direct relation to your hook bait, should work
the most effective. Maize should be rigged on a hair rig to gain optimum
fishability, we will go over hair rigs in the “Rigging” section.
(Sweet Corn Boilies)
Lastly, we come to the newest tool
in my arsenal, the boilie. Boilies are a carp specific artificial bait that is
widely used in the European carp world. Soft and about the size of a marble,
boilies can be very productive when used correctly. Generally I only use them
when the situation calls for it. I fish them on a hair rig that is weighted
when I am fishing higher current areas and areas where the bottom composition
is mainly gravel and stone. They come in many different flavors, thus leading
to the complexity of the whole situation. It can be difficult deciphering which
flavors work better than others, it may take some time (and money) working
through them all to find the one you prefer most. I usually stay with a sweet
corn flavored boilie just to keep things simple. Boilies are most effective
when paired with a mixture of maize or a collection of other tasty treats
packed inside of a PVA bag. A PVA bag allows the bait to be clumped together on
the bottom, creating a little mound of food to hopefully entice a hungry carp. We’ll
discuss PVA bags more in depth in the next section.
Rigging and Gear for Carp
As far as your hook goes, you want
something with a wide gap that is strong and sharp. I prefer a straight shank
hook no larger than 1/0. When it comes to line I prefer braid, 20-65lb test,
depending on conditions. Braid allows me to feel the bites if I’m free lining
baits, a feature you do not get with mono or flouro. Mono works fine in most
instances, it just depends on what type of rig you are using. Flourocarbon is
always a great thing to have in your tackle box when it comes to the free
lining technique or operating in clear water conditions, I recommend 15lb test.
When it comes
to rigging there are three rigs I use regularly
First and foremost is just a plain
hook to your mainline. If you’re fishing in clear waters it will be in your
best interest to use a fluorocarbon leader with this set up. Although this rig
is about as simple as you can get, it’s not always that easy to hook carp like
this. If not performed properly, more often than not it will result in a
dropped bait or failed hookup. This style relies on a lot of user interaction,
meaning, you have to pinch the line in your fingers gently and feel for the
bite of the carp. I use oatmeal with this configuration, that being said you
must act quickly once you have a fish’s interest or else it will deteriorate
your dough ball and leave you with nothing. Once you feel the fish pick it up,
or make a slight run, you must set the hook quickly, almost like an old west
quick draw cowboy to prevent missing a fish. Otherwise you probably won’t hook
the fish and you’ll have to start all over. This style is as intimate as it
gets and requires the fisherman to be very hands on. Generally I will use this
style of rig when I am stalking fish and I don’t want to spook them by tossing
a lead weight into the middle of their feeding area. Though oatmeal balls make
noise when they hit the water, it is nowhere near as disruptive as a lead.
The second set up I use is mainly
for unpressured fish, or fish in murky water. It is best used with boilies or
maize and allows for the angler to be more relaxed in his fishing style. Known
as the standard hair rig in the carp world, my variation incorporates one key
component, a three way swivel. Overall this rig isn’t all that hard to tie
either, just a bit more time consuming than others. When tying, your mainline
should connect to one arm of your three way, a lead weight on another arm, and
the last arm should have a basic hair rig tied onto it. This set up, if combined with a properly
prechummed section of water, is a great set and forget rig. If the water has
been chummed you simply cast out your rig, baited with maize or boilies, and
wait for the carp to migrate in and begin working the area. The fish will then
proceed to suck up the boilie and spit the fully exposed hook into its lip,
once it feels the hook it will take off, lifting the setup and allowing the
weight of the lead to secure a decent hookset on the fish. All you have to do
is pick up the rod and get to fighting the fish.
(Brian Wingard's Sliding Bolt Rig)
My last rig, and most favorite, is
one developed by fellow carper Brian Wingard, it is the sliding bolt rig. This
rig, though more complex, offers superior hookup ability on pressured fish and
non-pressured fish alike. To complete this setup you will need a few other
pieces of terminal tackle, including: rubber bobber stops, glass beads, a small
strong swivel, a 2-4oz no roll sinker(personal preference), and a hair rig. Begin
tying this rig by first adding the rubber bobber stop onto your line, you
eventually want it to be about a foot to a foot and a half above your swivel.
Next you add a glass bead, the sinker, then another glass bead, then you tie it
to the swivel. From the swivel you then tie on your hair rig. This
configuration allows for the hookbait to be picked up and ran with quickly before
the rubber stop hits the sinker abruptly, burying the hook home. You end up
with one very unhappy, electrified carp on the other end of your line, which is
always a good thing.
Gear
(PVA Bags)
Another tool that can be very
effective when utilized is the PVA bag. PVA bags are water soluble, made of a
polyvinyl alcohol film shaped into bags. These bags allow a carp fisherman to
chum an area around a hookbait. You simply fill the bag with your hookbait and
choice of chum, tie off the lose end, and chuck into a spot of your choosing.
Once the bag hits the river bottom it begins to break down after a few seconds
of contact with the water, leaving a nice mound of carp grub all around your
baited hook.
(Baiting Needles)
Working with certain carp baits also
requires a tool not normally found in other forms of fishing, the bait needle.
A baiting needle is needed when using baits such as maize or boilies, it has a
pointed end as a needle would, yet it also has a slit cut into the needle end,
allowing for a bait to be pierced and fed onto the hair of a hair rig. They are
a must have when working with anything other than oatmeal or other dough baits.
(Clear Boilie Stops)
Another small but very important piece
of gear is the boilie stop. Essential when fishing when fishing with boilies,
it keeps the boilie from sliding off of the hair rig when fishing. It is really
nothing more than a small piece of plastic; you can buy a year’s supply for
just a few bucks. Although, if you don’t want to spend the money on the stops,
they can be substituted with a small piece of mono fishing line or a tiny twig.
In Conclusion
That is more or less all you need to begin carp fishing successfully.
If paired correctly these methods and bait styles can lead to very good numbers
and some very large fish. Carp fishing is an ever evolving and growing sport in
the US and as new techniques emerge I will be sure to update the page. Carp
fishing is very challenging and can be very rewarding when successful, they are
one of my favorite species to target and I’m sure once you hook into a one they’ll
be a favorite to you as well.
Fish Hard or Stay Home,
Josh Dolin
