Corn Hating Lake/Pond Carp

[Crawlerman]

So I of a few lakes and ponds with a good number of carp in them. In the past I've had luck with whole kernel sweet corn; but now all the carp do is sit and sun themselves, mocking me. They won't touch the corn, even with chumming a half a can all around my hook. They are creating lots of bubbles and jumping, so they are active fish, but they won't so much as sniff at my hook.

What do you guys use for bait when corn goes cold turkey? I've used bread rolled up in a ball around the hook before, but that's allways seemed to be more of a summertime bait. Nightcrawlers seem to work for river-carp, but I've never caught a carp out of a lake on them; I think partially because the bullheads and sunnies get to it first.

There are premade carp baits out there, doughballs and such, do they work well for finicky carp? Or for that matter, work at all this early in the season? The carp seem VERY active in these lakes, but I think too many people have fished for them with Corn that they are wary of it. Changing the hook size doesn't help as they won't even come close to the corn in the first place...

[itchmesir]

from what i hear/read... carp are less likely to take corn early in the year because it takes too long for the carp to digest in cold water

[goblueM]

try a very small tube jig or a small hair jig worked reeally slow

[StillwaterAaron]

from what i hear/read... carp are less likely to take corn early in the year because it takes too long for the carp to digest in cold water

Don't believe everything you read on online forums.

Try making your own bait. If carp get hit hard they get harder to catch and "wise" up to us. If you prefer to buy baits premade I would go with some company that specializes in carp baits. K-1 Baits comes to mind.

From what I have read using high protein baits will decrease your chances in catching fish because of it taking longer for the fish to digest thus causing the fish to not get hungry as fast. This is also a more common problem when there is chumming the water to keep the fish around.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I agree with Aaron. They'll take corn no problem in the spring.

I had a similar situation last week. Spotted lots of nice carp sunning themselves, jumping, etc. But[/i[, they had no interest in my offerings. I casted to a different area and did quite well. It can be really frustrating, though!

[HuskerBen]

If you are talking about the pink or orange stuff that comes in a tub labeled "carp bait," no. In my experience, it does not work on finicky carp. It doesn't work on non-finicky carp, either. I'm sure somebody's used it and caught carp, but it has never worked for me, even when the carp were going crazy around me. Neither have the little nuggets in the bag, or anything that I've found at Cabela's or Gander. The grocery store is a much better bait shop for the carp angler.

Grocery store carp baits include, but are not limited to:

Corn

Bread

Marshmallows

Garbanzo Beans

Oatmeal

Cornmeal

Vanilla, anise, kool-aid (add-in flavoring)

If you get into making your own carp baits (there are tons of recipes online), you'll find that a majority of the ingredients can be found in the baking aisle of the grocery store.

It can be nerve-wracking, but keep at it.

[Jmnhunter]

try an arrow

[Acemac]

I have had great luck with some stinky sticky gulp.

[StillwaterAaron]

try an arrow

Wrong forum!

[Acemac]

how come its legal to shoot them but not legal to snag them?

[flyfisher03]

how come its legal to shoot them but not legal to snag them?

Probably because by dragging a hook along might snag a more "desirable" species, and a bow can be aimed at a fish to take it.

[bobbymalone]

never had a problem catching carp on a glob of crawler.

[Mudcatman]

Maybe try fishing during a different time of the day for them. They could be a "morning bite carp" that day, or a "power hour" carp for the moment.

One things for sure, carp can be very tricky this time of year, especially when you can see them. They could be spawning in your lake, which might mean their minds are on something else besides feeding....

[JBMasterAngler]

Might just be coincidence, but I have had good luck with green nightcrawlers. I use regular crawlers more because they are more available, but never catch carp with them...greens crawlers and it's game on!

[bobbymalone]

i've had good luck with greens, but i do alright with the regulars too. not sure if i can see a difference.

a couple summers ago i left some crawlers in the car for a few days and they started to go bad they would fall apart when putting them on the hook and just nasty. best crawler on the bottom fishing of my life, i would have a bite seconds after casting it. carp, sheephead, and channel cats.

i think it was just one of those days or that particular vintage of rotten crawler, because i have tried to recreate it several times with no luck.

[pikestabber]

We don't have carp in my neck of the woods, but for other species I wouldn't hesitate to take out the dry flies if you're into that sort of thing...might be the ticket, and more fun, too. Can you see if they are scooping hatching bugs off the surface when they come up? If so, try to match the hatch...

As far as carp not eating corn because they can't digest it? Again, I can only speak to other species, but I have to believe any fish's deductive reasoning in terms of the ramifications of digestion are rather limited! If it looks edible, a fish will eat it if the mood strikes. If they are ignoring the corn, they may just be finicky or they may be feeding on the forage that is seasonally available such as a bug hatch (walleyes love shiners, but they will ignore them when the mayflies hatch, etc.), so I suggest trying to fly fish for them until they show that they are willing to strike more aggressively or consume larger baits. Or... They might just be overly pressured where you are at and you will need to downsize and slow down your presentation.