Hello, i am new to carp fishing, and have a few questions: first, does anyone know a good bait for grass carp? i have a pond near me with grass carp, and the one in the picture was just out of luck, once caught it on a mixture of water, strawberry jello mix, flour and cornmeal, but never another bite again. also, theres a golfcourse pond near my house with common carp. whats a good bait for them, like something that will eventually catch one. also, whats the best time to fish for common or grass carp? and finally, where are the best places, like deep water, weeds, points, stuiff like that. oh yeah, what is the best time of year? thanks again!

Hi Andy. I'm over here from the UK on a 3 week vacation, but back home we use floating dog biscuits (which you need to soak in water over night) or sugar puffs thats if they are feeding on the top. What is really working well in the UK at the moment is fake pop up tuttie fruitie sweetcorn on a hair rig you can get that off Ebay. Hope this is of some help.I'm still trying to find some where in Denver PA to carp fish.

Hi jsandy, Corn is obviously one of the best choices for common carp in all areas. As for grass carp Blackberry Boilies on a hair rig are an excellent bait, as well as floating a dog biscuit as Mirrorman has stated.

All of the following are signs of areas where you will find carp.
Dead trees in the water / water lilies / reeds / inlets or outlets of water / large rocks / crayfish / corners of lakes and rivers / bridges / boats / mussels / clams / points of lakes / islands / headlands / shoals / areas where carps are jumping / the warmest areas / windswept banks / areas of irregular depth.

The best spot all year round for carp fishing : find grain elevators on the river bank or lake bank where the ships fill up. It is really the best place to find the biggest carp. Fish as close as you can in front of the ship.

Spring : Look for warm water (shallow spot ). The most important is to find where the water is warmer.

Summer : Look for the jump of the carps. It is very good, 90% of the time.

Fall : The best season for carp fishing. The carp feeds a lot before the winter.

Winter : Usually, it is the low season for carp fishing. If you have 5 or 7 warm days in a row, the same wind (any wind is good except " west wind" which is the worst wind for carp fishing ), Usually the best moment for fishing in winter is between 10am to 5pm when the weather is warmer.

Hi all.
Went fishing this morning with my father in law There were 2 other's there when we go to water.
They all used corn and i had pop up fake corn and guess what .... i was the only one to catch, i had 3 lovely carp the biggest was about 10 Lb and the one that got away as always was even bigger .. Hope you find your carp

Good job! Glad to hear ya got your carp fix...

Went to the same place today used the same gear and caught nothing these dam carp drive me nuts

LOL, welcome to my world! sometimes I think they enjoy taunting us fisherman...

Yeah your right there.... I'm sure i saw one flipping me the fin ..lol

jsandy, wish I could help. I consider myself to be new too. I have fished for carp about 6 times in the last year. But I really like it!

So now that I can pretty reliable get carp out of my lake with canned corn I am thinking of moving over to the Fox River to give it a try.

But I am confused about the switch.

If I chum with the canned corn won't it just be washed away by the river current? I think I want to keep using the corn because the idea of using a hair rig just seems like too much for my limited skills.

So can I fish the river with canned corn? And how?

Also I am using a 12 lb test line (and sometimes 8). To get the big ones do I need a stronger line? Or is that where playing the fish comes in?

Just in case it matters, I use a #4 hook (?) tied on the end of the line with a few small weights crimped on about 18 inches up. Does the crimping weaken the line?

Hi Lakeman, Welcome. fishing lakes is a bit different from fishing rivers, but equally good fisheries.

You are right, the corn will get washed downstream, but the carp will be on the move looking for the source of the bait. You will have to chum a bit more than you would in a lake.

Yes you can use your #4 hook with corn and do well, Though the hair rig really is not as complicated as it seems. I'm living proof...If I can learn it anyone can...And yes it is worth the try.

Fish the river almost the same as you would a lake except use a sliding sinker (egg type or similar) 1-2 oz. so the cuurent doesnt move your rig around. I find in rivers around here you dont have to cast far, as the carp usually feed on the edge of the current. In Pecatonica River I'm usually only 12-15 ft. out. Bigger rivers will be farther.

I would recommend using no less than 12lb. test mono. My personal prefernce is 50lb. PowerPro braid. It has a diameter of 10lb. and has zero stretch and is very sensitive. But to each his own.

Yes crimping the split shots onto your line will weaken the line in that spot considerably. When you tie into a 20-30lb. fish you will want every bit of strength you can get, trust me! Try using a barrel swivel instead to seperate or create a stop for your egg sinker.

Thank you, Carphunter, I will try that some time soon.