What is your favorite Carp bait/chum

[CarpKing921]

Nothin seems to beat sweet corn Aldis .49 a can. I also like to mash up some corn flakes with condensed milk and koolaid. Just mix it in a coffee can and throw out around fishy area.

[DEADhead]

my flies. pretty dang effective for me. one of my favorites is my version of the san juan worm, and PT nymph.

  

[hydro]

Nice photos! How do you get focused that close? What size hooks are they tied on?

[Muddog]

Is that a Dora the explorer rod in the back ground of the pimped out San Juan worm? Did you give up on the Scott fly rods?

I catch most of my Carp on Swim jigs and crank baits. They tend to me on the big size with these baits, 15 lbs and up. I did use corn last year but most of the fish were 12 lbs or less. I have never cought a Carp in a lake with a Nightcrawler but most of the Carp I've hooked in moving water were on Nightcrawler.

[DEADhead]

darn you muddog! actually it was my daughter's princess pole.

hydro, the photos were taken using a macro. I believe all those patterns were tied on size 10s.

[HuskerBen]

I like corn, because it's cheap and usually works. A little flavoring, like kool-aid, jello, anise, or vanilla can help. Oatmeal is also a good one. Crawlers are great in rivers, but in lakes, you have to contend with lots of bullheads.

Strangely, my biggest carp of last year hit a piece of cut shad. And later in the year, when the water was cool, I caught a couple good ones while dragging a big shiner on a lindy rig.

[Neighbor_guy]

... actually it was my daughter's princess pole.

...

Ha!!! I have the same pole in my avatar

On toppic:

I like a can of baked beans, the sweat ones, with extra brown suggar. Family size of coarse.

[DEADhead]

I almost forgot, one of my favorite patterns for big carp: the Darth Clam.

[CarpKing921]

Deadhead I've been reading your post for a while I think I'm gonna try the fly this year. I just have a fly combo from Fleet Farm. Maybe gonna have to upgrade is there a fly rod for beginners?

[DEADhead]

I'm not gonna lie to you, you may have a hard time with that fleet farm rod. I'm not saying you can't catch fish on it, but it will likely give you more frustration than it's worth, and hopefully it won't discourage you from the sport.

The good news: there are a bunch of high quality rods with lifetime guarantees being made in china and korea, starting at a $100. Redington, Temple Fork Outfitters, Echo, to name a few. St. Croix makes a decent rod if you want to buy domestic, but they are a little more expensive than the starter rods made abroad. You can go the cabelas route; their rods are very affordable, but I don't like the action or feel of their rods. It's a personal preference.

Having a decent rod is only half the solution; you need a good fly line. The fly line is is what casts your fly. Even a high quality rod matched with a cheap fly line won't cast very well. A good starter line would be Rio's Mainstream lines or Scientific Anglers HeadStart line. Both were around $35 or so.

If you get an opportunity, go to the Fly Angler (Thorne Bros), Cabelas, or Bob Mitchell's in Lake Elmo and cast a few different rods. Cabelas would likely have the biggest selection. Compare casting a high end rod, a mid range rod, and then compare it to an entry model. You'll see the difference.

If you buy a sensible reel with a good drag, you could probably get set up with an entire combo for under $200. Might seem spendy, but you're not paying for a boat or gas or bait to go fishing Plus you will have a rood and reel that can last a lifetime.

Good luck and let us know if you have any more questions.

[CarpKing921]

Thanks for your knowledge. I've tried casting with the combo I have now and your right very frustrating. I'm gonna look around for some second hand stuff before I go new hopefully I can find something decent.

[DEADhead]

look at the bargain cave at cabelas. might find a decent deal on a return.

[erickol]

I was at cabelas this afternoon (Rogers) and they did have a few rods in the bargain cave. being in a bit of a crunch....... and having no plans on buying a rod, i did not look too closely at the brands, line designation, but there were some there anyway.

as much as I hate spending money, i wish I would have bought a better rod and line when I first learned to cast. I was self taught, and would have been better served to have bought a nice line and a broomstick!

Many years later I still like to hold on to my money, but also have learned my lesson. If you can try to cast a few rods before you buy them, that was sound advice and the shops he mentioned are good places to do that. You will not only get some casting tips from the staff, but also be able to feel the difference in rod action. I prefer slower action rods for the most part, which is nice because i have been able to get great rods for a great price (the newest and fastest rods tend to be the most costly), except for my sage spl 7'3" 3wt, but even then it was a good price.

anyway you slice it, you will enjoy the sport if you allow yourself to. Relax, enjoy the process. Carp on the fly is an awesome rush. It has the ability to make one into an increadibly well balanced fly angler when pursued in multiple waters/environments. I spent HOURS last season stalking one single 3lb carp in a glass clear 2' deep stream near my house. In and under logjams..... man just like tight brookie water up north....... but this was an urban stream within spitting distance of THOUSANDS of people. What a resource! I spent several days over a two week period two seasons ago staking one single female blue and white koi. She was spawning with the wild carp in a local creek. talk about fun with a fly rod.

[DEADhead]

thanks for sharing Eric. Carp on the fly is definitely addicting.

The Owatonna Cabelas always seemed to have better bargain deals than the Rogers store. Maybe because it's closer to trout water, or doesn't get picked over as much from metro folk. Either way, no need to rush into a purchase. Relax was definitely a good piece of advice. Patience is probably the biggest piece of wisdom I can impart on an new fly angler. Trying to force a cast typically never ends well. Take your time, and let things fall together. It will come, eventually. Might as well enjoy the ride getting there.

[blackdog1101]

I've been fly fishing for 30+ years, but am pretty new to carp fishing. DEADhead seems to know of what he speaks. Certainly a bad combo will ruin the sport for someone new to fly casting. His suggestions for inexpensive outfits are good. I am partial to St. Croix myself, but other brands are also very good.

[blackdog1101]

Hey Erickol, If I remember correctly I think you and I swapped flies a few years ago.

[Bottle Fish]

Canned Corn PERIOD.

[erickol]

I believe we did.

i like st croix rods too. I have owned 3-4 over the years. I like the idea of a "local" rod, and the warranty folks have been awesome when I have had to send in a broken rod.... the folks at sage could take some advice on this (imho). I don't think any of the rods I have had of theirs have been "slow" action rods. pretty snappy action, good prices and even better prices for the blanks, if you wanted to build your own.

[erickol]

Bottle fish,

canned corn has to be the universal carp bait. I love corn for carp, especially in the spring. like Ben said, simple to spice it up too. I usually have a bottle of vanilla and some jello or cool aid to put in the can. Plus, you can get a can of corn almost anywhere, even gas station convieniance stores. I also save the plastic parmessian cheese containers. works great for putting a can of corn into. just open up the wide mouth side......

One of these days I m going to get a 50lb bag of field corn and boil it up.

It is fun to experiment with other stuff too. I used hair rigged dots once, and they worked great. These were fairly tight lipped carp from cold water late in the season. plus, dots are about 75 cents a box and better to snack on then canned corn (although I have snacked on canned corn while fishing. sometimes when hunger calls.....)

by the way, i like your signature saying, even more now than I would have if I read it last year, if ya know what I mean!

[Muddog]

When you go to the bargain cave at cabelas looking for a rod or reel, always ask the person behind the counter if that is the best they can do. They will do better.

I find that a fast action rod is alot easer to cast with. They always say that a fast action rod is for more advanced casters but I just find they better and easer.

[raff]

thanks for sharing Eric. Carp on the fly is definitely addicting.

What weight and length rod do you favor when going for big carp?

I just recently became interested in carp on the fly last year after inadvertantly catching a small one on a 5 weight. Since then an 8 weight has been my weapon of choice for carp averaging 10 pounds or so. BTW, the blog looks very nice. Bookmarked

[DEADhead]

thanks Raff, and welcome to FM! I typically use an 8 wt for bigger fish, though a lot of carpers like the 7. I think it all depends on where you fish. If you're on the flats, it might not matter that much what weight rod you have, as long as you can cast the fly with it and have plenty of backing. I fish the rivers, often with heavy current, so an 8 just about fits the bill for needed backbone when turning fish in the current. During high spring flows, I'll occasionally grab the 9 wt when fishing deep and heavy. to make matters more interesting, I have a couple of two handers for fishing large systems.

The main thing is to use a rod that you feel comfortable casting. It does you no good to fish a stick that feels wrong in your hands.

Feel free to ask any more questions you may have.

[mainbutter]

Not a fly fisher, but corn is my fav way to go.

Cheap and no effort. Grab a 79 cent can of whole kernel sweet corn, some line and a hook and you're good to go. Rod/reel/sinkers can help too but not exactly necessary.

Other typical carp baits, dough and such for example, take more time. I haven't had a bad day carp fishing yet, and until I do I'll keep to what works.