Any carp fishermen here

[DogBoy]

I'm mainly after Carp and Tench for the fights but will happily catch most coarse fish. Anyone else enjoy carping?

I usually use a couple of Fox Warrior series rods, (ES etc ) and shimano 8000 & 10000 as my reels. Everything else i've mix and matched to suit my style of fishing but i do love those rods and reels. Very light to use but strong enough to land up to 50Lbs safely.

 

[caruso813]

Never really caught a carp on purpose, mostly accidental while catfishing. I hear in the UK, people actually pay to fish for carp.

I mostly fish for largemouth bass, catfish, muskie, striped bass, flounder and sandshark.

 

[DogBoy]

In the UK you pay just to exist but yeah, i pay £27 ($45) for 24 hours carp fishing depending on where i go. ( In addition to the £26 i pay for an annual license just to think about fishing! ) One lake charges £100 per day fishing and has a 2 rod limit. It's pretty expensive but when you live on an island, lakes are often held at a premium and you have to pay a lot to find a lake that isn't overfished by the kids. Catfish are only just catching on over here as spain and the rest of Europe have the better fish but English carp are lovely fish to catch.

 

[caruso813]

And people here complain about spending $22.50 for a license to fish any freshwater body in the state...I have no problems with it really, especially compared to those prices man. But hey, it shows your true love for the sport lol.

When you say you pay a set price for 24 hours, does that mean you get from like 5 PM to 5 PM the next day, come and go as you please? Or, you pay for 24 hours, fish a few hours this week, a few next week...ya know until ya hit the 24 hour mark?

 

[DogBoy]

No, you pay for a 24 hr spread of time. You can start whenever you choose but as soon as you peg a swim the timer starts and you have 24 hours from then. You can buy shorter times if you choose but obviously block booking is cheaper. I cant really complain about the cost though as it serves a purpose. Many of the lakes i grew up on are ruined now fishing is popular and new fishers often go and ruin that lake by filling it with food which then rots or foul catching. Paying a high price means those who are not dedicated can be excluded from some lakes and help preserve their quality, the money also allows good lake owners to improve what they have.

It's also quite nice to go to private lakes and meet other fishers, it's a very friendly and social sport. The last lake i was on the guy came up and asked if i had found the 1/4 of hash he'd dropped earlier while checking out my rigs. I declined him at first but popped round to his swim later in the day and gave him a nice Kush joint. He seemed to appreciate that.

 

[caruso813]

Haha awesome man. Not quite like that around my way.

 

[ChaosCatalunya]

In the UK you pay just to exist but yeah, i pay £27 ($45) for 24 hours carp fishing depending on where i go. ( In addition to the £26 i pay for an annual license just to think about fishing! ) One lake charges £100 per day fishing and has a 2 rod limit. It's pretty expensive but when you live on an island, lakes are often held at a premium and you have to pay a lot to find a lake that isn't overfished by the kids. Catfish are only just catching on over here as spain and the rest of Europe have the better fish but English carp are lovely fish to catch.

Dogboy, you do know that there are a load of large Cats and 50+ Carp in the Thames, near Hampton Court ? Someone who owns a fishery had illegally imported them, only to hear - just in time - the NRA were lying in wait at the lake so they panicked and stuck the lot in the Thames...

If you like a good fight, pick on a Wels Catfish in a fast flowing river, yesterday at a friends I saw a large High Tensile Steel Tuna hook that one had snapped in half.

 

[DogBoy]

I had heard rumours that a lot of species are being dropped high in the thames and working their way down but i had not heard that story. Cats are starting to become the new carp fishing in the UK and is really catching on. One of the anglers i see at the tackle shop goes to spain and france yearly to catch the bigger ones, they get huge and love salmon and shrimp dog biscuits.

I've yet to have a go fishing for them but they are on my list. American Signal / Crayfish were the last new species i tried to capture. They are available from the Serpentine in Hyde park, i had a whole bag of them crawling in a bag a few years ago and it made for a wicked BBQ. If you visit london have a chat with the yacht club people and they will happily cook a few up for you.

 

[ddrew]

I love Carp fishing, I have my own dough recipe.
My states motto is
"The land of 10'000 lakes"
You can't drive straight for a mile in any direction without running into one, they're everywhere, and all full of carp, which are free to fish any time, no limit, and it's actually illegal to put them back since they are trying to promote the game fish in the lakes, muskies, northerns, walleyes, crappies, etc...
Those carp are fun to catch though, my best ever from the lakes was a 32lb mirror carp, thought I'd snagged a sand bag for the first 10minutes before I realized it was a fish, lol.

 

[daddy fingaz]

Uk carp angler here!! fished for carp for around 12 yrs on and off, cant beat getting away fishing and enjoying some nice erb !

 

[caruso813]

I love Carp fishing, I have my own dough recipe.
My states motto is
"The land of 10'000 lakes"
You can't drive straight for a mile in any direction without running into one, they're everywhere, and all full of carp, which are free to fish any time, no limit, and it's actually illegal to put them back since they are trying to promote the game fish in the lakes, muskies, northerns, walleyes, crappies, etc...
Those carp are fun to catch though, my best ever from the lakes was a 32lb mirror carp, thought I'd snagged a sand bag for the first 10minutes before I realized it was a fish, lol.

Impressive...that's one big nasty goldfish

 

[DogBoy]

Yay, nice to see there's plenty of us. I'm off tomorrow for a weekender with my brother, the minute i finish work here it's a mad dash to load up and drive to the lake before the best swims are taken. Have just made up some new cereal and seed based groundbait with milk extract so i'm hoping that the weather turns shitty so i can bottom fish instead of plucking them from the surface.

Ddrew, sounds like your in carp heaven. 32lb is better than my personal best and pretty much the upper end of whats available in most UK lakes. We have a few bigger ones in specimen lakes but they are not common. My average is 10-20lbs at the moment.

What rods and reels do you guys favour. I like the fox warrior rods for their light weight and good sensitivity but for reels i use Shimano 8 & 10,000 baitrunner GTC but for the tiddler bashing i use a Sweepfire.

 

[shaunmulok]

Hi DogBoy, I haven't targeted carp here in Australia but i have caught allot while fishing for Murray cod and trout, They put up an awesome fight and can be an exciting part of the day
I recently went camping with a friend and his father who was Hungarian, He caught a carp that was about 20 pound and carefully skinned and took the head off with all gut intact
He then cut it up into cuttlets with a small piece of bone at the end he then coated in different herbs and spices and cooked in oil and butter in a pan on camp fire

We sat down and ate and i was quite surprised as to how nice it was and the way he had cut it you just held the bone and sucked the white flesh off

Do you eat or is it just for sport?

Peace

 

[daddy fingaz]

What rods and reels do you guys favour. I like the fox warrior rods for their light weight and good sensitivity but for reels i use Shimano 8 & 10,000 baitrunner GTC but for the tiddler bashing i use a Sweepfire.

same reels as you mate, Greys prodigy rods! tight lines for the weekend, goin anywhere nice !?

 

[wvkindbud38]

Dogboy.....I used to fish alot when I was in southern WV....USA.....I lived very close to a local river and there where all kinds of fish to catch......bass,catfish,carp,buffalo fish aka suckers lol,muskie, almost anything you want......I used to catch carp on worms or nitecrawlers 2ft to 5ft long average(carp) good size carp......I've saw some huge carp and some Monster catfish come from this river.....It doesn't cost anything to fish in this river....you just need fishing liscense.....this area southern most(WV) in the USA is extremly isolated......it's very old fashioned and dated....alot of hunters and fishermen......some of the most friendly people you Will ever meet.....it's in the rugged Appalachian Mtns.....this is some beautiful country for hunting and fishing......I moved away to the city about 10 years ago and don't get to do much fishing anymore.....but I fished everyday as a kid....mostly for bass...and catfish......but the carp's were nice to catch also.......The best pot I ever smoked was in the Appalachian Mtns area....southern WV....eastern KY/VA area.....I'm not sure what it was called because people in this region just call pot.....pot......I never heard anybody say I got some Strawberry Cough or anything like that.......Good pot was just called Killer or Cronic(by younger folks)....or the shit that killed Elvis lol......anybody from this area knows what I mean.....so it's hard to say what the pot was......I saw outdoor plants near 20 ft tall and the stalks were like tree trunks.....yes it was grew outdoors..probably some type of Sativa......maybe some war veteran from the Vietman war or Korean war might have brought these seeds back years ago.......This pot would only be around for a mounth or so(after harvest outdoor).......It was very hard to get.....just once a year when the outdoor harvest came could you get this weed.....sorry to get off subject but I always remember that great outdoor weed from (southern WV were I fished)......I know there's some of this great outdoor weed still there and would love to get some seeds.......it would be hard to grow indoor but I can't express how good this stuff was.......99% of the weed is crap there..... but if you find it(the good weed).....then you have Really found something great......I know some people that might be able to get some seeds from some of the guys that used to have this weed.....I just haven't been back in nearly 10 years and it would take some time to find the good stuff if it's still around.....back in the mountains..........Fishing in this area was so peaceful and relaxing.....it is truly what living in the country/mountains/hills is all about......I miss it sometimes.....

 

[DogBoy]

I dont eat my catches as they are generally from private lakes and i like to watch my catches grow but i have eaten carp on a few occasions before and it's quite nice really. You can buy it in some specialist fish shops and at Harrods.


Cant tell you where i'm going as that would expose who i am but it's a lovely place and i'll happily post up some pics of anything i'm lucky enough to catch on monday.

 

[shaunmulok]

Thanks DogBoy, at least i'm not the only person that and eaten and enjoyed, The homemade grapper probably helped

Yeah always like to see pics of people's catches, There are a few pics of carp in the 'get baked and go fishing' Thread posted by cork i think if my memory is right

Good luck i hope they bite for ya

Peace and good karma

 

[ddrew]

I caught the 32lb one when I was 16, I was so excited.
I was fishing of the dock, we go here when it rains hard, as there are storm drains that empty into the city lakes, and when it rains the carp come in and feed in the wake of these drains, you can get a run every few minutes when conditions are good, but once the rain stops, it drops off to almost nothing, your lucky to get one run an hour.
It's funny, when the storms start everyone is heading off the lakes, except the carpers, we are heading to them in our raincoats with our lawn chairs.
I couldn't get the 32lb'er out of the water on the dock and I had to walk off the dock and beach it on the shore to get it in.
Big nasty looking thing with only a few huge scales, we all stood around staring at it for a long time.
Usually they are like you say, 10-20lbs, 20lbs is considered a big one here, that mirror carp was a freak.

 

[DogBoy]

I'm so glad you say that, my brother is a firm believer that the more sun the better but i prefer to fish in bad weather. A few weeks back i was in Thunder and lightning and it was lovely. Sat there nice and dry under my Bivvy with a kush joint and a smile. Optics were going mad all day until the sun came out and the little fuckers sat there basking just 50 ft in front of my swim. I'm an appalling surface fisherman so never try anymore.

Your right about the others going home too. It's like an exodus as soon as the real rain starts. You can always tell the dedicated carpers by how many are left in the storm! lol

I'll definately be taking a camera with me so hopefully i'll get some nice size fish but i'll post up whatever the weights turn out to be. I have 18mm pineapple, 18mm strawberry boilies for the day and some nice Chocolate malt and tiger nut aswell as some Salmon and shrimp dog biscuits for the night times. Scopex did well last time but everyone is using that at the moment so i'm staying away from it for now. Should be quite good. One rod is going to be in the margins for the tench and smaller carp and the other rod with the 10,000 GTC on is going right in the middle of the lake with the dog biscuits for the bigger fish.

All my bait has been glugging for 2 weeks to 18months so should be good. 8 kilos of ground bait should also keep them busy and be enough to feed off the evil bream that plague you when you start.

Ddrew, that mirror must have been a fatty. Was it spawning at all?

 

[ddrew]

I didn't see any eggs coming out of it, but you never know.

You have quite the array of baits.
All we ever use is either whole kernel corn(all mom would give us to use when we were little) and then my dough recipe
2 cups corn meal
1 cup flour
1 package strawberry jello(strawberry is the secert, they love it!)
Boil up the water for the jello, put in jello, pour out into big bowl with flour and corn meal and knead it all together.
It's good to use right away, but an hour or so in the fridge will tighten it up a bit.
I put a big ball of it on a treble hook so the barbs are just covered and cast it out into the wake of the storm drains and just let it sit on the bottom.
When they suck it up and run, you have to set the hook hard to make sure the barbs come out of the dough.
Man, it would be great to have a big smokers carp party, we could all bring our best baits and weed, and a bunch of food, yeah!