Jumping Fish + Catfish/Carp on Lures

[noel411]

I fish a lake out in the Western suburbs of Sydney. An impoundment which is stocked with bass. Recently a lot of the water was drained for some reason, and I have been hitting up this spot which is not normally accessible by land...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/noel411/DCP_0006-1.jpg

Every time I go down there I see these fish jumping out of the water in that spot. Usually around the lilly pads, and sometimes even in the middle of lilly pad patches. And when I say jump, I mean full body out of the water. They appear to be light brown with a white belly. Usually about 25-40 cm. Anybody got any idea what they might be?

Species that I know are in there are bass, eel-tailed catfish, and eels. And also whenever I hit this spot I can see heaps of these other fish which are about 30-45 cm on average and refuse to take any lure I throw at them. I'm not sure if these are the same fish that jump. I thought they might be carp. Sometimes they swim right up on the shoreline and I can see them clearly. I'll try to get a good photo of one for id soon. Would be even better if I could catch one of the picky bastards and photograph it.

Oh yeah, and I've also seen these bright orange fish down there, probably about 20cm. They don't look like goldfish though. Any suggestions for what they might be?

And finally, what sort of lures will eel-tailed catfish and carp take? Or baits?

[bdowdy]

id be using worms for the catfish and carp but the eels will also take these, as for the jumping,, carp jump from the water so id say they may be european carp and some koi carp with the bright orange fish.good luck and keep us informed it looks like a great spot, how big are the bass as these will take lures.cheers bdowdy..brett

[Little grey men]

Yep, I agree with Bdowdy, if they spend a lot of time on the surface, they sure sound like carp.Catfish don't go for lures too much, they usually sniff around the bottom looking for bit's and pieces. Good old crayfish will catch eeltail catfish, you probably call them lobbies or something down there..Catfish will gobble them real quick. Then you can gobble the Catfish down.
Carp take bait more than lures as well. Good fun to catch but rubbish to eat, unless you enjoy bones:P
Eels just give me the creeps...I once stood on one while swimming in a river. Screamed like a girl and ran all the way home:-[

[Truck]

Yeah mate, they are carp i Guarantee it. I hope you get stuck into em and If you do make sure you chuck em up the bank and don't retun them. They are a menace to the freshwater rivers and dams across Australia.

You will get them easy on worms or corn kernals (if you don't want to get dirty) make sure you use small hooks as they are a little finiky eating bait. You will most probably never get one on a lure... I have only ever heard of 1 carp caught on a lure. They are pretty good fighting fish on light gear.

Cheers Truck.

[FNQCairns]

The jumpers are probably bully mullet, the orange fish will be carp but the ornamental variety, The catties are a sucker for a bait like garden worms, if you eat them I have a chipped tooth when the pliers slipped trying to skin one better to use a knife. Depeneding on where the come from they can be good enough eating.

cheers fnq

[Leigh77]

Carp do habitually jump from the water...I cant say that I know why, but I know they do...I have seen it too many times to have my mind changed on that one.

As for carp taking lures...no problems...I have caught plenty of carp on lures and can count on at least 2 each trip on my local river. But there is a trick to getting them. If I am in the mood for having a bit of fun with a carp, I go looking for any trees that grow berries (or fruit) that overhang the river. My local has a strong Mulberry tree population, and when they are in season (which is over the next few months) the carp hang out underneath them. Throw in a small, dark coloured lure and let it sit there...if it sinks thats even better...soon enough a carp will come up and take it...set the hook...and hang on!

The average size I get in my local would be around 60-70cm mark, with the biggest going 84cm. They are great fun on 6lb line and you get to kill it afterwards! BONUS!

I have also picked up carp on soft plastics being slowly hopped across the bottom.

[Leigh77]

Oops...forgot to mention the catfish.

Fork tail catties will take lures quite readily, but the eeltails are a little different. If you want to get them on lure, the best way to go to increase your chance is fish for during their breeding cycle. When the catties build their "nests" they become very vigilant about letting nothing get near their "nesting site" and will smack a lure without thinking.

The only downside here is I am not sure when the eeltails breed...I think its in the summer months, but dont quote me.

[bdowdy]

your spot on with all that info leigh 77 as ive caught eel tail catfish on lures casting and troliing and are very agressive when nesting, and the carp in my area are always jumping from the water after insects i think in my case. the catfish usually breed in the december period here. cheers bdowdy

[Cammy]

down south we used to catch carp as a bycatch when fishing for redfin or silvers, we would always hook em on the fin. and does anyone know if there are carp fishing comps in QLD ? in the act we used to have a carp fishing competition at tuggies lake every year, millons of em in there. and it's a good way to cull the vermins.

cam

[bdowdy]

beaudesert in qld uesd to have a carp comp to getrid of them and use them for fertilizer.cheers bdowdy

[Leigh77]

beaudesert in qld uesd to have a carp comp to getrid of them and use them for fertilizer.cheers bdowdy

That was the Rathdowney Fish Stocking Group who used to run the Carp Comp...the amount of fish that were pulled from the waterways (including farm dams) was amazing. But unfortunately when the whole public liability thing stirred up, the comp was abandoned due to high cost of insurance.

[bdowdy]

yeh heard that, knew it was up that way somewhere.cheers bdowdy

[noel411]

Cheers for all the replies.

Bdowdy, I've taken 2 bass over 40cm's on surface lures over the last 2 nights. One of them was also one of the fattest bass I've ever seen. I've only ever caught 4 bass there but they've all been a good size.

Leigh, there are no trees overhanging this lake at the moment, since the whole shoreline is currently exposed. In any case there are never any trees with any fruit on them. I don't know what these carp are eating, so I don't know what to try and mimic.

I've been fishing this lake with bread and corn for bait for some time, and have only ever picked up eels and catties. I've now upgraded to worms and took another catty on one. Those carp just won't take anything. Picky bastards. I have thrown out worms smack bang in the middle of groups of them, and have watched many of them swim right past them without a moments hesitation. I just wanna catch one of them to get a definite id on them, because I'm still not entirely sure they are carp.

Cheers.

[bdowdy]

there nice bass and on surface is even better fun,keep us updated on how you go with the mystery fish. cheers bdowdy

[NAGG]

14989Here is a lure caught (green C Lure) forked tailed catfish taken at Monduran on Monday .. Nagg

[gunna]

Is that Lake Parramatta ???

[Cammy]

mate try some mussels, if u can get a hold of em!

cam

[oldboot]

How about using a hand spear.
If they come that close & you can see em... might be worth a try.

cheers

[Longshot]

A tip for carp that wont take a bait. . Try a fly, and if you dont have a fly rod and reel use a light eggbeater (3-4kg line). Tie the fly to the end without a leader and for casting weight use on of those clear bubble floats that you can squeeze to open and allow some water in (3ft from fly). This works a treat on carp when they are feeding on insects. What fly?? something that resembles the local insect population. Works on mullet too.