Question for you Carp Guru's?

[Christopher Quast]

I was crappie fishing last night and there was carp surfacing and jumping everywhere on the lake in the shallows and out in the middle too.

My question was do you think these fish will bite since they are so active either on topwater or crawler on the bottom or tell me what kind of rig I can use to get one of these hogs on the end of my sons line I think it would be great to see his face. Keep in mind there are quite a few sunnies in there also

Thanks for any help

[JimBuck]

Right now is tough because a lot of them are spawning ...splashing and general thrashing in the shallows can be an indicator of this. Typically while spawn is occuring, Carp are very reluctant to feed. Your best bet would be to take a few different kinds of bait and see what they like. As people have mentioned in the Carp forum before, you can never really go wrong with some sweet corn on the end of a circle hook. Just let this sit on the bottom with the spool open...since the mouth of a carp can be very soft make sure they have taken the bait before setting the hook. I've noticed that Carp behavior and eating habits changes from lake to lake significantly. Once you dial these beasts in, you'll have no problem getting a few hawg's on the end of the line. Carp fishing is a great way to get the kids hooked on the sport....I know it worked for me! Good luck and enjoy!

[Jeff88]

Any bottom rig should work just fine, I prefer a slip sinker rig. Use strong line, 8lb is the minimum in my opinion. Small hooks, size 6 or 8. I like to use octopus style hooks. I agree with the above statement regarding corn, works very well. With corn you wouldn't really have to worry about other species stealing your bait

Good luck.

[weeds]

Any bottom rig should work just fine, I prefer a slip sinker rig. Use strong line, 8lb is the minimum in my opinion. Small hooks, size 6 or 8. I like to use octopus style hooks. I agree with the above statement regarding corn, works very well. With corn you wouldn't really have to worry about other species stealing your bait Good luck.

Really, because I went out the other day for carp for the first time (since I was eight) and I couldn't keep the stunted gills off the corn long enough for the carp (that I could see) to get a shot at it.