Catching up carp is not that easy. How to find carp, carp bait, carp fishing rods and carp fishing tricks. Although widely disregarded as a trash fish and a nuisance species, anglers all over the world are starting to realize the truth about carp.
Know About the Carp
Carp is a term used for several types of fish that are in the Cyprinidae family. Carp are large, freshwater fish that is native to Asia and Europe but have been imported to many other countries with mixed results. Some countries consider them an invasive species. Some of the main carp are silver carp, common carp, grass carp, bighead carp, crucian carp, Catla carp, mrigal carp, black carp and mud carp.
Tips and Techniques
- Be Very Patient – Carp are infamous for gently striking bait a few times before they actually strike it. Give your carp a chance to take the bait before you try to set the hook. It’s always good to have a hook remover on hand to make it easy to remove a hook from a carp who swallowed it. We recommend Berkley’s stainless steel hook remover.
- Duck, Duck, Carp! – If there are ducks or geese near the body of water you’re carp fishing in then you might want to try and fish near the animals. Carp have been known to follow ducks, especially in areas where the ducks are fed by humans. Carp love a free bread meal and they don’t care how they get it. Just remember not to hit or hurt any ducks when you cast out your line.
- Use the Right Hook Color – If you use a black matte hook carp then you will get the best results. In particular, we recommend using the Gamakatsu Octopus Hook. If you are using corn as bait then a yellow or gold hook will best, but you should always try to avoid a shiny hook in murky water because the carp will see it and shy away from your bait.
- Use The Best Carp Bait? – Something I see a lot of is anglers who chop and change the bait they are using because they are struggling to catch fish. As I mentioned above it is more likely to be due to the fish not feeding or the fish not being in your area. Pick a good quality boilie in your chosen flavour profile and stick with it, if you catch a fish on it one day, it will catch fish every day! Familiarise yourself with particle baits as they can be a great bait, a great carp fishing tip especially for the summer. Hemp, maize, sweetcorn, tiger nuts (where allowed) will all have the fish grubbing about on the lakebed for days and they are relatively cheap compared to boilies. If you are really struggling to choose what boilies you want to use, then again do your research, check the catch reports and you will soon start to see patterns emerge as the fish are getting caught on the same bait time and time again. There are no wonder baits or baits that guarantee you will catch, let me get that straight right from the start but a good quality bait in the right place on a well-tied rig will catch ANY carp in the entire world!
So next time you are going to catch fish, use these easy tips and enjoy.