Little carp

[el_carpo]

Hi all,

I went fishing for a few hours two days ago for some carp with my Dad and brother. We managed to catch six of them using corn kernals as bait. All were little, but it was still better than nothing. We fished Tampier Lake which is in a local forest preserve in Illinois' Cook County. Here is a pic of myself and one of the fish. I took a pic of the lake too but I am going to put it in the "Wildlife Pictures" thread in the camping section because I have some other photos to post there regarding this trip as well.

E.C.

[Maddrooter6991]

GD stuff

[Ozwald]

I used to catch carp on corn kernels in the Uk; used to be a good bait on waters that didnt suffer from too much fishing pressure. The advent of boilies changed carp baits forever.

[el_carpo]

Ozwald,

I agree. The boilies and dough baits are very productive. There are loads of good recipes on the web. I met a guy fishing for carp on a river once who was using mashed up breakfast cereal. I noticed a box of "Wheaties" on the ground next to him and I jokingly asked if he was enjoying his lunch. He explained that he used it for bait. All he did was take some cereal and moisten it with water from the river. Then he'd mash it up and roll out bait sized chunks. I thought for sure it would just dissolve off the hook right away but no. It kept its shape for quite a while. He was catching a lot of fish too. I've since used the "Wheaties" bait and added some flavorings and had quite a lot of success with it.

Another bait to try is strips of tortillas (Mexican flat bread--tacos, burritos, etc). I learned that tip from a website I visit over here.

I know carp fishing is looked down on a lot in Australia and America but to me, an evening spent battling the big bottom-dwelling bruisers makes for a fun time. I noticed that when the nay-sayers actually catch one of them, they usually become converts pretty quick.

Good to hear from another carp fisherman Ozwald. Do you ever target them in Oz and if so, have you had success?

[fish_outta_water]

hi guys
fished for carp for a good few years here in u.k , used boilies and many other baits but always found a big chunk of luncheon meat (spam) got me my bigger fish
tight lines

[el_carpo]

Spam eh? Sounds like a good idea. If this winter ever leaves (hurry up Spring!!! ), I'll give it a try. Thanks fish_outta_water.

[Ozwald]

El carpo
yep - I've had a couple of sessions, about twenty years ago down on the Ovens River in Victoria. There were that many in the water you could have caught them with a bent pin tied to a shoe lace. Not quite the same as a carp lake in Europe which is heavily fished which requires fine tackle and a bit of stealth.
A bit like shooting fish in a barrel........