how to get carp to bite

[HandGunner]

Im still fairly new to carp but is the sumer a bad time to catch carp? Tried rum river in anoka on the dam yesterday tossed out a small boilie I made. No bites in over a hour but other ppl were spoting carp on the surface.

[JeremyCampbell]

I will start off by saying "there is more than one way to catch a carp"

I found ways that work for that specific location I'm at on the water.

If your positive that carp dwell in your spot there then try just a hook and worm.Make sure it's weighted down.See what you come up with.Suckers,catfish etc will move in too on your still presentation but thats just easy fishing I guess.

Also try mid afternoon VS morning and night.Right now my carp times been 2:30pm-5:30pm give or take but difference is I'm in St cloud area.

If the hook doesn't work go to a jig.Doesn't have to be hairy or a special color, just a jig to get that bait down.

A regular hook with split shots around 14 inches apart is my goto.Sounds a bit kindergarten but it works.

The visual in my head is that the hook will actually not seat on the bottom but kind of skim the top of the bottom.What day to look for carp is always the big question.If I don't find any in one spot IL move on to another and come back in a couple days to check.

Once you find your spots you will figure it out.

By the way.Just because there surfacing doesn't mean it's going to meen there biting.I pretty much ignore that surfaceing stuff.Seems the guy with the bow will benifit more than I in that setting.

Just my own opinion...

Ps.Scroll back, page to page in the St cloud area reports and you will find alot of pics or reports week by week of carp.90% of those carp pictures the guy used a #4 hook and a crawler.Good luck

[HandGunner]

I had a egg sinker to a swivel to about a foot of line then hook its one of them free line sinker rigs so if a fish is on they wont feel the weight. At a pond right on the corner by shore a gangof carp Ithaught were bass were hangig around and they had to have been on bottom as like most mn lakes its shallow by shore one should have sucked up some bait. My mind was on bass that day though. Im just itchin for some big bottom feeders not just carp. I didnt know they would take a jig too. Jig head and bait I shoukd try too simple way to get my line wet faster plus my near 15 pound carp was caught on a jig head and a leech while waleye fishing. Oh boy I guess its mainly location for me finding the right places.

[JeremyCampbell]

Yeah if you go back to that pond,find where the water comes into it.Check for carp there.Same with sections of the pond where there's emerging plants out of the water or places with algae and dirtier carpet on the surface of the water.

I dont know how big of a sinker you got on there but lose the big sinkers for the pond.Probeley just need a little bit of weight.

[Comit 2]

Boilies are not a good choice. The way they work is, you throw a hand full or two out and set your bait in the middle of them. You may not get a bite the first time but the Carp will have time after you leave to get used to them being there and give them a try. They eat them with no ill effects and learn that boilies are a food sources. This is illegal in Mn so as I said, not a good choice.

They wouldn't be there if there wasn't food. Find out what they are eating and match it.

[HandGunner]

Ahhh I see. Well what are good baits to use for carps? Instead of making boilies should I now just use all my left over boilie mixes and turn them into dough paste? I still have quite a bit of cat food and coffee boilie mixes. Is the hair rig still good to use or just put bait straight to hook?

[OnAFly]

Just use worms. You'll catch fish if the fish are there.

[Slab_Supper]

Pickled eggs soaked in beet juice.

[Stick500]

today's the day to get in a full-on carpathon after all this rain

any drainage into a lake with carp will have them sitting in the current right now, sucking up any goodies heading their way

corn works great this time of the year on a size 4, 6 or even as big as a 1/0 bait hook- string as much corn as you can on it and put enough weight (I use a slip sinker) on to keep it down near the bottom right in the middle of the current

as soon as you see/feel a strong tug like it's in their mouth, set the hook!

have your drag set so that the carp can run and get tired for awhile- not many snags or rocks at most drainage inlets for them to get tangled on, though weeds can be a problem later in the year

if that doesn't work for you today, then you may want to retire from fishing

[JeremyCampbell]

Lol Stick

[HandGunner]

Well Icouldnt today got work. Second shifter, but one question do carp like or dislike current? Now when I think about it the ponds have alot of drains and I noticed I always see a flash of a fish around the drainages and I just assume its a big bass that chased my bait but never bite.

[OnAFly]

They like to sit just off current. I used to catch them in the seems while trout fishing in MT, which was way more fun than catching the trout!

If you can find areas where water flows into a lake, they may be there. Other than that, shallow flats and shallow points on rivers are other areas where I've noticed them congregating.

[Comit 2]

Yes with all this run off all kinds of nightcrawlers and stuff are getting washed into it rivers. Find an area where storm drains emty into the rivers and soak some crawlers.