[spidey]

I hit the lake for almost five hours today hoping to land into some big girls looking for food. I started out throwing a 3/4 red eye shad. Worked one area and than moved into another opening. Probably the fourth cast in the new spot I feel something grab on and starts fighting like mad. The drag is peeling out and finally I get it to stop and am able to pull it in some. The fish takes another run and once again drag is peeling out and I am losing ground. again I start working the fish toward shore knowing it is a biggie and it is staying low and deep. I am keeping the rod tip high in fear it may go airborne. After three more drag runs and pull closer to shore I finally get a feel for how big the fish is. I could tell from swirl it looked over 30 inches and I was really sure I had exceeded the 10 pound goal.

Finally am able to get the fish closer and realize I have not hooked a big bass but a big *** carp

. This are size 14 EEEE shoes next to the fish. I tried to,weigh it but my scale only goes to 25 and my dogs weigh 25 pounds and this biggie felt a little bit more than them.

What a fight and way to beat a skunk. The rest of the day I tried jerk bait, flukes, spinner, chatters, senko, cranks lipped and lipless and even a silent red eye. Not a single bite rest of the day


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[Swampin']

That's an awesome catch! Always wanted to catch one.

 

[mikeski]

We use to catch them in the river in Michigan on a bottom rig with night crawlers. They were a real riot when the water was up and the current was more than normal. The roses and the garden loved them.

mikeski

 

[dbeam]

Nice fish Spidey I think carp are under rated by most folks. I enjoy catching them, I am just too lazy to spend the prep time to go after them.


Darrell

 

[sundrop]

Carp are a highly prized catch in the UK. Fun for sure!

 

[meenyt]

I used to carp fish a lot as a kid. No more fun than catching them big ones with doughballs and zebco 33's, hearing that clicker go off when I got a run. Good catch.

 

[Crummy]

I was catching small palm size bream once for catfish bait in a pond with my 4 1/2' trout spinning rod with 4lb line and with small trout hooks.(tiny pieces of hot dog) Then it happened, a carp hit and it was larger than that one. It took me 35 min or so to land that thing. I don't know who was more tired, me or the fish? Massive fight on an ultralight and 4lb line!

Congrats.

 

[sundrop]

my first "big" fish according to my Mom was a carp. I was 5 yrs old. My Dad saw one working the backwater shoreline while Dad was helping me catch bream that were bedding. Wadded up some red wigglers on a little gold hook and tossed my 202 zebco in its path, handed me the reel and prayed. he nailed it, I fought him like mad, all the while Mom yelling Harold!! ( my Dad) don't you let him lose that fish!! Dad kept saying "He's got it, he's gonna get him in..". They guess the fish was in the 25 lb range. I got him in. My Mom still has that hook in my baby book. Always a favorite story with my folks
**On a side note that same 202 caught and landed (sort of) a 28lb catfish 2 yrs later in SC on the Diversion Canal. The gears started stripping and it ate itself alive inside but not before I got him within net range..

 

[Neilslure]

I have snagged a few of those with crankbaits. They put up quite a fight when you hook them in the tail or dorsal fin, the small ones fight like a big bass and can make for some tense moments during a tournament.

 

[wademaster]

I was catching small palm size bream once for catfish bait in a pond with my 4 1/2' trout spinning rod with 4lb line and with small trout hooks.(tiny pieces of hot dog) Then it happened, a carp hit and it was larger than that one. It took me 35 min or so to land that thing. I don't know who was more tired, me of the fish? Massive fight on an ultralight and 4lb line!

Congrats.

This happened to me a few times. I always enjoy it. Big surprise to say the least.

 

[peanut]

Looks like a grass carp. Wherever you were fishing, someone must have put them in there for aquatic flora management. I manage to catch at least one a year at my honey hole on top-water.

 

[spidey]

Looks like a grass carp. Wherever you were fishing, someone must have put them in there for aquatic flora management. I manage to catch at least one a year at my honey hole on top-water.

Never knew this lake to have them in it. Just goes to show ya I haven't caught every fish in the lake

 

[peanut]

And catching one always perplexes me. If they are triploid-hybrid grass carp, placed in ponds/lakes for veggie mgmt., why do they hit my minnow imitations? Rapala, Zara Pups, Heddon Excalibur, Rebels.... All of these have landed me one of these fun-to-catch boogers. They usually hit upon the initial "plop" in the water (Goodies falling out of a tree?) but I have gotten the hit at the very start of the retrieve, never during, so it's not like they actively pursue baitfish.

 

[zky1812]

And catching one always perplexes me. If they are triploid-hybrid grass carp, placed in ponds/lakes for veggie mgmt., why do they hit my minnow imitations? Rapala, Zara Pups, Heddon Excalibur, Rebels.... All of these have landed me one of these fun-to-catch boogers. They usually hit upon the initial "plop" in the water (Goodies falling out of a tree?) but I have gotten the hit at the very start of the retrieve, never during, so it's not like they actively pursue baitfish.

So NCWRC says they sometimes eat small fish and occasionally will take slow-moving lures.
http://www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/Species/Fish/CommonCarp.aspx#5216598-overview
http://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/Fishing/documents/Common_Carp_profile.pdf

Course that is for the common carp. Probably works for all carp but digging lead me to grass carp which we can't posses but triploid grass carp we can.
http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac...er safety/subchapter c/15a ncac 10c .0211.pdf

 

[SurfRider]

And catching one always perplexes me. If they are triploid-hybrid grass carp, placed in ponds/lakes for veggie mgmt., why do they hit my minnow imitations? Rapala, Zara Pups, Heddon Excalibur, Rebels.... All of these have landed me one of these fun-to-catch boogers. They usually hit upon the initial "plop" in the water (Goodies falling out of a tree?) but I have gotten the hit at the very start of the retrieve, never during, so it's not like they actively pursue baitfish.

Many times people entertain themselves by tossing popcorn or other food into water where the carp are and watching them slurp up the meal. Maybe the lure hitting the water looks that way to the carp and they hit out of a conditioned reaction?

I hooked a 14lb carp out at Badin that picked up my shakey head worm; it was hooked inside the mouth, right at the corner where it should be, so I don't think it was a snag. Was up shallow and when I set the hook thinking it was a bass, I got a big surprise when it made a big wake and a mud cloud heading for deep water, pulling drag the whole way.

They are bruisers to fight, that must have been a lot of fun!

 

[Bleedingblue]

Cool catch! Carp aren't dynamic fighters but they pull hard.

 

[wademaster]

And catching one always perplexes me. If they are triploid-hybrid grass carp, placed in ponds/lakes for veggie mgmt., why do they hit my minnow imitations? Rapala, Zara Pups, Heddon Excalibur, Rebels.... All of these have landed me one of these fun-to-catch boogers. They usually hit upon the initial "plop" in the water (Goodies falling out of a tree?) but I have gotten the hit at the very start of the retrieve, never during, so it's not like they actively pursue baitfish.

I don't know if they're actually purposely trying to eat a bait fish but I've battled several that grabbed a rapala or something similar during mid-retrieve. Go figure.

 

[spidey]

I don't know if they're actually purposely trying to eat a bait fish but I've battled several that grabbed a rapala or something similar during mid-retrieve. Go figure.

I was fishing a red eye shad and hooked it bottom of the mouth so not sure it hit it or just got snagged as I was retrieving very slow. It was a great fight for sure my heart was racing the entire time hoping to land whatever it was. It stayed down deep the whole time sort of like the all time bass I caught last year. This is the only fish I have caught since end of January, I was out from feb11-22 but haven't had a nibble last three times out. Hoping this warmer weather hangs around and gets the girls moving.

 

[peanut]

Amen on warmer weather!!!

 

[peanut]

So NCWRC says they sometimes eat small fish and occasionally will take slow-moving lures.
http://www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/Species/Fish/CommonCarp.aspx#5216598-overview
http://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/Fishing/documents/Common_Carp_profile.pdf

Course that is for the common carp. Probably works for all carp but digging lead me to grass carp which we can't posses but triploid grass carp we can.
http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac...er safety/subchapter c/15a ncac 10c .0211.pdf

The "grass carp" that we cannot possess is the white amur, which I do believe is the invasive species so common in the Mississippi/Missouri/Illinois basin; Those are the ones so numerous they fly out of the water as your boat is ripping up the river, often landing in the boat.