thinking about givin carp fishin a try till opener

[Burnham]

ok so the rum river is open and not being able to fish is drving me NUTS! i know there are some carp where i am, or at least some were in mid summer as i saw a couple of people catchin them including a 13lber(they asked me to weigh it for them)...if they were where i am in mid summer will they be there now? ive never carp fished, any tips or anything? ive seen posts about usin doughballs, corn and oatmeal so thats all i know lol. heck if i start catching them and continue to catch them maybe i will target them in the summer cuz all my friends say they put up a heck of a fight.

[HUNTFISH69]

Right now it can be very tough to find them because of the late ice out that we are currently having to deal with. I know on some of the streams around STC we were catching carp and suckers this time last year, but dur to the ice on the lakes they haven't even started running on some streams, which is just not good.

[Burnham]

k, thanks..hopefully it can continue to stay warm

[Grant]

burnham- they are fun.

crawlers, bread, corn all work for bait, be prepared to finess your presentation, carp can be spooky buggers. oh yeah, if you get a hook into one in any kind of current and/or one of any size, brace yourself... and hope your drag is in good shape! it's like trying to hold on to a truck on light to medium tackle.

[goblueM]

i tend to crank my drag down almost all the way and just flip the anti-reverse... better hookset, and if I'm fishing near snags, I can horse them before they get tangled up, instead of losing control to the drag. But that's just me

[Muddog]

I was on carp today. We were throwing small swim jigs. Two carp over 20 pounds, each!

Look under Dams. Yellow was working for us. Swim it back but stay in contact with the bottom!!!!!! All bites came from a clam bed or rocks.

Do not crank down the drag for Carp! Carp have soft mouth. If you try to weight a large Carp (20lbs +) by the lip you will rip the lip right off the fish! It is a fine line, to much drag and rip the hook loose or not enough drag and the fish get to the fast currant and dosn't come back. We lost 6 fish for every two we landed.

The key to Carp is to stay on the bottom.

Good luck and injoy the #1 came fish in the world.

[HossFisher]

Dang! Sounds like you had quite a day! Were these carp running up the cricks or were they still in the main channel? (i assume you were on the river???)

[Muddog]

Main channel in the foam.

[Burnham]

i am on the rum but more specifically i am where a big creek goes into the river, should i try the creek before the river? i tried the river yesterday with no luck

[Muddog]

That I could not answer. From what I saw today, I would say look for rock in areas with high O2 levels. Check water temps and follow the warmer water.

Good luck.

[erickol]

Also, look for smaller ponds that are connected to larger bodies of water or drainages. I've been catching carp for three weeks on the fly rod in a small pond that iced out early. They have been active. The rivers are starting to pick up near discharges and outflows. Drift your bait, but if your not getting them on the bottom, drift your bait up through the column. They do suspend and take food out of other parts of the column. Couple (few) degrees warmer water temp and things are gonna get fast and furious. One good thing about the late lake ice out is that you can go nuts down on the river, have a few weeks of productive early carping, and then have the lakes to look forward to! It will be spread out for maximum carp enjoyment.

[fishuhalik]

I'd try down by the Coon Rapids dam area, I've had alot of good luck out there. They typically aren't very big, but I've got a few over 15lbs. Most are in that 2-5lb size. They're a ton of fun on light tackle. I usually use 6lb on a med/light 6'6" walleye rod. Like they said earlier, make sure your drag is spot on. I've had a couple on that I couldn't budge, I even got spooled once. I use a lindy rig w/ a walleye-size circle hook, and load that hook w/ corn. Just throw 'er out there, let it sit on the bottom, and wait. I've had my best luck early in the year by the landing, in the small channel that goes into the main river. The nice thing about this spot is that there isn't much in the way of snags, so you don't have to worry about loosing a ton of fish and tackle. It's a great spot to learn how to carpfish. One thing to be careful of, though. Don't leave your rod alone. Sometimes they hit so hard that they'll rip the rod into the river, I've almost lost a couple of rods several times! I've had to chase a few into the water when I wasn't paying attention. Usually they're much more subtle, but sometimes they hit like a freight train. With the circle hooks you don't have to set the hook, just let 'em pull on it till they set the hook themselves. Hope that helps! Carp are a great way to pass the time till opener!

[Burnham]

thanks guy. yea that helps a ton, maybe i'll try and get out to the coon rapids dam after school within the next couple days, otherwise im going to give it a try this weekend!

[goblueM]

I found a rod floating in the river at Coon Rapids Dam Park that still had a carp on the other end... so believe what fishuhalik says!

[Stick in Mud]

You can avoid the problem of fish pulling the rod in the water by opening the spool and holding down the line with a rock or a stick. That way, if the fish takes it, it'll just pull line off the spool.

[fishuhalik]

True, but that takes away the effectiveness of a circle hook. The point of a circle hook is that the fish sets the hook on itself. The way the barb is bent, it prevents a fish from swallowing the hook and usually just catches it in the corner of the mouth. Just the pressure of the fish running sets the hook.

Just pay attention, and it won't happen. The first time it happened to me was the first time I was "carping", and the second time, I left my 10 year old nefew in charge. That time I had to run up to my waist to get it, I thought it was gone for sure.

Or you could invest in a legitimate rod holder. I just use a forked stick, I spose I should just get one, it would pay for itself in time, i'm sure

[Ralph Wiggum]

It still works. If a fish is pulling off line, just pick up the rod, keep the tip high, and engage the reel.

[Tyler Holm]

 Originally Posted By: fishuhalik

Just pay attention, and it won't happen.

Careful now. I've seen it first hand. Those fish are so fast and powerful. They pickup your bait, feel something odd like the hook or line and burn top speed out of that situation. They try to eject the bait, but if the hook does it job you better have your bail open, or rod secured. Y sticks and weinnie rod holders won't even slow your rod from splashing.

[fishuhalik]

Maybe you guys are right, it's probably just a matter of time that it happens to me if I keep pressing my luck. I always thought the point of a circle hook was that you didn't need to let them have line, so they wouldn't swallow it. I'll have to give slack line a try this year!