Bait for carp

[fishinmajishin]

Figured I'd ask the experts in the carp dept. I was walleye fishing out on Clearwater lake(Wright Co) Sunday morning and hooked into something really huge. I have seen many carp in the 30lb + class over many years of fishing there. I was pulling a 3-4" sucker minnow on a lindy rig outside the weed edge. I figured at the moment I hooked it my minnow was in about 18-20' at the bottom of the break. I had it on for maybe 4-5 minutes, and the hook came out. Had my drag right and my line/knots were good. It didn't really run much, just some head-shaking. Wasn't snagged on weeds either. Well anyway, my question is will carp take a 3-4" sucker minnow?

[Loos15]

Yes, carp will take meat...i was surprised about that myself till one day, my friends were hitting walleyes every 5 minutes on 3" fatheads and I some how get a gut hooked carp. But whats suprising that it didn't run. I' haven't caught any carp that didn't run. But then again I've never caught anything over 10lb. Sounds more like an eye to me...

[Jeff88]

I highly doubt that it was a carp. The reason being is that they have very small mouths. Like stated above carp also make long runs, even smaller ones.

You could have snagged a carp on its fin, underside, etc. I've snagged small carp(4-5lbs)that fought like they were a lot bigger. Maybe it was a catfish?

[fishinmajishin]

I doubt they'd take a minnow that size,too. I caught a 30 lber on lake Reno on a crawler 5 years ago. Enormous! I truly believe that there is a 30 lb pike in Clearwater Lake. The old timers spearing out there claim they've seen them, but they wont come into the hole. The fish I hooked took it like a walleye, and the head shakin it was doing tells me it wasn't snagged. I know what a 20 lb northern and a 10 lb walleye feel like on the line, and this one was WAY bigger. No comparison. Oh, and no catfish in Clearwater that I've ever heard about.

[MinnesnowtaWild]

Doubt it was a Carp. They are omnivores, but that is limited to mostly nightcrawlers/other worms, small crustaceans, and insects. I don't think a Carp could fit that big of a sucker minnow in it's mouth.

It could have been a very large Northern, or a smaller sized fish that was tangled in the weeds.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I've seen the carp in the tank at Cabela's chase down some pretty big sucker minnows. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it. I still doubt it was a carp, though, unless you snagged it, which is a very real possibility.