Un cooperative carp

[Cove]

2 weeks ago had a blast catching carb on Lake Zumbro. Went out today and got nothing. Zippo. Didn't see them jump either.

Why?

1. We went slightly later e.g. fished from 5-7:30 compared to 4-6pm.

2. Boat traffic on Zumbro was heavy today, no much 2 weeks ago.

3. We had rain overnight. Not a ton but some.

Any ideas? I have heard they "keep bankers hours" and bite best mid day but I know I have caught them later.

I used corn both times.

[Tyler Holm]

Boat traffic could be your enemy. How do you fish for them? Corn on the bottom or suspended?

The method I found the most productive is using corn on the bottom and keeping it completely still. We always anchor our boat with 2 anchors and the make sure the line is slack so the bait/corn never moves around on the bottom. Boat traffic makes this difficult. Wind causes the same problem. You also need to understand the current and add more weight accordingly.

Carp can be caught all day long. Yes there are times of day that are better than others, but I've caught them from dawn to dusk.

Just because you don't see carp jumping/surfacing, does not mean they are not feeding. In fact, you'd rather have those fish scavenging the bottom then jumping at the surface.

If I don't get bite in 30 mins or so, I'd move. Carp are roamers. They normally travel the shorelines over sand and hard mud. They rarely hold near structure.

Better luck on your next carping adventure!

[Cove]

Thanks for the reply.

I was following your instructions from about 8/22.

Corn, on the bottom.

Did periodically get little nibbles but never anything connected. Suspected the nibbling might have been minnows or something else. We did move after 30 min and tried 3 places. Will definately keep trying till get the range on them. The boat traffic was pretty intense.