Euro-style carp fishing

[Jason_Halfen]

Here's a question for you fans of the whiskered fish: have you ever considered fishing for carp, catfish, or sturgeon using European-style fishing methods?

I just returned from a two-day meeting with representatives of a major, UK-based carp (and, to a lesser extent, catfish) bait company, and a US-based bait distributor and carp tackle specialist. I admit to having a lot of preconceived notions about what carp fishing is, and what carp fishing isn't. But, I left the meeting pretty impressed by what I saw.

If you're unfamiliar with Euro-style carp fishing, the whole process is HIGHLY refined.....to the same level that tournament level bass fishing....and the anglers (true carp "addicts") share the same level of passion about their sport as truly hardcore musky guys in MN. Some of the bait and tackle is highly specialized (baits with names like "boilies" and "pop-ups", rigs called "hair rigs" and "snowmen", accessories such as "feeders", "bait boats", catapults, bait boats, etc etc etc), yet entry-level carp fishing can be accomplished with much the same spinning tackle that we might use for other, more desirable species today.

Frankly, I left the meeting with an attitude of, "I think I'd like to give this a try".

So, back to my original question: do you have any interest in this sort of fishing, which offers access to a powerful, abundant sport fish that is found in great abundance in lakes and rivers form the metro areas to more pristine, remote environments out of the city?

[DTro]

Plain and simple, carp are smart.

The only way I’ve ever really fished for them (and never had problems catching them) was a simple bottom rig with a crawler or piece of corn. I have a blast every time I fish for them and don’t really understand why more people don’t target them.

Their loss I guess, as the fight of the carp will put most all other fish to shame.

If Carp was all I fished for, you better believe I’d be experimenting with some of the Euro style tactics. Trying new things is what makes fishing fun!

[reinhard1]

some of the toughest carp i have ever caught were in the mouth of the knife river on the north shore. i thought i had the state record salmon on the other end. i was watching bizzare foods yesterday and zimmerman was in hungary. he was out with some guys netting the very same species of carp that now threaten to invade our neck of the woods.

they were huge and were later sold to fish markets. zimmerman later watched how they cooked them. they cut them in chunks and made a fish soup with paprikka [real hungarian paprika] and peppers. they also put the roe in the soup as well. he liked it although it was spicy. on its own he said they tasted muddy without the soup mix.

but i fish carp the same way as the picture in the above post, although i dont have that nifty set-up there, i just use wood sticks with a forked end. nightcrawlers or corn is the ticket, although i cought a couple with crankbaits over the years. they are a great battler and much fun. a great way to get kids started at a chance of a larger fish to learn how to fight them. they just love it. good luck.

[OnAFly]

I love catching them, but my preferred method is sight fishing with a fly. I was never all that interested in the passive methods of fishing them. The sight and stalk is most of the fun!

[slipperybob]

Those nifty things looks like remote paging strike sensors. You couldn just take a nap...

[LightningBG]

If you're unfamiliar with Euro-style carp fishing, the whole process is HIGHLY refined.....to the same level that tournament level bass fishing....and the anglers (true carp "addicts") share the same level of passion about their sport as truly hardcore musky guys in MN. Some of the bait and tackle is highly specialized (baits with names like "boilies" and "pop-ups", rigs called "hair rigs" and "snowmen", accessories such as "feeders", "bait boats", catapults, bait boats, etc etc etc), yet entry-level carp fishing can be accomplished with much the same spinning tackle that we might use for other, more desirable species today.

So that explains what equipment is used, but what about the process is "Euro" style? What kind of tactics are used?

[goblueM]

they use a lot of highly refined floats/bobber systems, strategically chum areas with bait launchers, and have very complicated rigs and setups

long rods, light lines i think are fairly common

[FishLocker]

I"ve always fished for them with bow and arrow...hook and line you say??? :-)

[Jason_Halfen]

As noted above, a common practice is to draw carp into a target area (called a "swim") by loading that area with bait....not baits on hooks, just free bait on the bottom. The fish come over, get comfortable eating all the free chow, and then an angler sneaks in a hooked bait that is sometimes just a little different from the free stuff. Sometimes it's a different color, different scent, sometimes it is floating just off bottom, but it is somehow different from the rest.

The terminal tackle is surprisingly light. #6 or #8 hooks (strong ones!) primarily. They scoff at the trebles that might be used over here.

> 90% of carp angling is done from the shore, and I think there's a great parallel between the social aspect of carp fishing on the shore and ice fishing. There's a lot of visiting, cooking, a touch of the drink, and so forth. And every once in a while, all that fun is interrupted by a 30 lb carp.

[mainbutter]

One thing to think about: many of their techniques are much less useful in high current situations, which is usually where I usually target carp. Small, low current creeks and rivers are standard carp fair in the UK. Light lines, free lining, and chumming to a lesser degree, are not the best ideas for high current fishing. Those techniques are called 'specialized' for a reason, and they are specialized to more than just the species they are after, but also where they are fishing.

[pureinsanity]

[Carp-fisher]

I am interested in a trying a bolt rig. I've fished for carp for years using just a hook with half a dozen canned corn kernels and a slip sinker about a foot up from the hook. I'd say I hook about 50% of the carp that bite on this rig, but who knows. I think alot of carp suction up the bait and spit out and move on without a single line twitch.

[CarpinMNRiver]

They feed like underwater cattle.

[PurpleFloyd]

When I was a kid growing up in Winnebago we fished the blue earth river nearly every day and there were 2 ways to fish- With a daredevil for northerns or with a heavy sinker and a hook tipped with a night crawler for carp and the occasional Bullhead.

The carp were always the hardest fighting fish and it didn't seem too complicated to catch them anywhere we had access to the water.

[jeffreyd]

we use to catch them put them in clean water in a horse trough and let them swim in the clean water for a few days. then cut them up and batter, deep fat fry, the muddy flavor was cleaned out since the were not sucking the bottom. you can cover up a lot with tarter sauce

[SaladJuice]

I have been studying Euro Carping techniques for a good decade now and I have found a few things that will work very well for American waters.

The Hair Rig is excellent and will greatly increase hook up percentage, particularly for those monsters people so rarely catch. A high quality Hook is also important as I have had many a beast break inferior hooks in half after a lengthy battle.

To use this rig effectively you will need a reel known as a baitrunner. This type of reel has 2 separate drag systems allowing the carp to pick up the bait and run once it has felt the hook. Some people employ a bolt rig for better hook ups but I have never found this to be more effective. A simple egg weight with a slip bobber stop a foot or so above the rig will work in most situations.

For bait I use corn almost exclusively and it has never failed in the many years of carp fishing I have enjoyed. I have tinkered with a lot of different baits including boilies. I have never caught a carp on a boilie personally. I have tried many different flavors and sizes including pop-ups. I have baited waters season after seaon trying to get them accustomed but to no avail. I am certain they work very well in certain sisuations especially in the UK but certainly not for me.

Baiting the area(not chumming with fish parts which is illegal in Mn) will tremendously increase the amount of fish in any given swim. Its not necessary by any means but I do encourage it within reason.

To be honest I feel that a lot of the European equipment is unnecessary unless you fish waters with very heavy fishing pressure. The carp in America are learning but they are not nearly as crafty as their friends across the pond.

In the end the best thing you can do is pay attention!!! Fishing is intuitive and you don't need a 200 dollar bite alarm to know a fish is on the end of your line!

If anyone has any questions or would like to go carping you can reach me here:

[email protected]

Thanks for Reading

[pureinsanity]

I just wasted 8 minutes watching that video

[Acemac]

can you train carp to eat in an area by baiting it? shoudl I be going to my fav carp spots every night and tossing a can of corn in the water to get them in there?

I fished a few fav spots of mine on tonka last weekend and it seemed like the carp were no there yet

[SaladJuice]

Some guys will pre-bait an area but I only bait when I am actually fishing. Oh and I forgot to mention float fishing in my previous post. Float fishing for carp is a blast under the right conditions.

[Comit 2]

I love the idea of fishing that way!

Now if we can get the law changed so we can use two lines. I have looked into the rod holders and alarms but with only one line it just seems over the top. Very cool though.

[pureinsanity]

Pre baiting would be considered chumming. I believe chumming is illegal in MN.

[maj330]

I don't recall that chumming is defined anywhere in the state laws/statutes or regulations. However, in the Other section of the fishing regulations, the deposition of fish entrails and parts into a body of water, or on land, for any reason is considered illegal. Right below that bullet point is a regulation governing littering into a body of water. Prebaiting, with vegetable matter/bread/sweet corn , might be considered littering. The severity of the fine, if you were ticketed for one or the other, would depend on the CO/Judge/lawyer etc.

[mwal]

With higher fuel prices the last couple of years I no longer do day trips to Mille Lacs walleye smallie fishing. Instead I have started staying close to the cities and fish for carp. The fight is awesome very worthwhile fishing for them. Some thing I have noticed they tend to drop baits when the hook is attached to a mono or flouro leader. After reading as much as I could I have started rigging with power pro straight to the hook and have caught many more fish. I would be interested on getting better hooks etc and using hair rigs etc. Everyone should feel the run of a 20lber. YOu wonder why you chase other species.

Mwal

[Stick500]

Pre baiting would be considered chumming. I believe chumming is illegal in MN.

no chumming isn't illegal unless it's fish parts/guts

also, as another poster mentioned, it would be a hell of a stretch for any officer to charge you with littering for throwing corn/oatmeal/bread out to catch carp- I would not worry about that at all- I chuck handfuls of corn in all the time

[Slabasaurus]

The fight is awesome very worthwhile fishing for them. Some thing I have noticed they tend to drop baits when the hook is attached to a mono or flouro leader. After reading as much as I could I have started rigging with power pro straight to the hook and have caught many more fish. I would be interested on getting better hooks etc and using hair rigs etc. Everyone should feel the run of a 20lber. YOu wonder why you chase other species.

Mwal

Yep. I lost a ton of fish in the early days of my rough fishin (so like, 2 weeks ago), until I tied an aberdeen hook direct to my fireline.

Since then, I've lost one, but that was not my own rod/reel/line. not saying it doesn't count, just making excuses to help me sleep at night.