To start I would say keep it simple.
You want a pole, 7-9 feet in length that is sturdy enough to handle big fish. It doesn't have to real stiff, but an ultra light for instance would make fighting anything over 2 pounds a real pain, not to mention a 15-20 pound..which seeing as you seem to fish near the CT river that is very possible. Heck the CT river in Ma holds our state record at 44 pounds - 2 ounces right now.
You want a reel that can handle 10-20 pound test, I recommend nothing less then 12 or 15, but you can always use braid too to help, which is a good idea when first learning carp. Braid line will spin on your spool once it gets wet though so you'll have to use backing. I'd suggest getting a reel that holds roughly 200 yards of 15 pound test. Place 25-50 yards of 15 pound mono (Berkly big game is nice and fairly priced imo), then tying on a 20-30 pound braid (Spiderwire is pretty good, though a little more expensive it will last you a while). You can use an albright knot to tie the two together ( you can probably easily google it if you do not know it yet). This set up allows you to handle brush when the fish find it, most mono gets frayed quickly, the braid will not.
Now your ready. The braid will help you when the carp try to run, and they will run hard. When you fish em I suggest using bread and making balls out of it. Canned corn is great as well. Place a bread ball on your hook, or a few pieces of corn ( corn and chumming may be illegal in some places check your local rules first), toss out a handful of corn where you want to fish andhave at it. KEEP YOUR DRAG LOOSE, or keep your bail open. Once you have a carp on, slowly tighten the drag up a bit till you can fight them. It will take a few fish to get the hang of it, take your time and do not over tighten the drag.Carp are very strong runners, and they will take a tight pole into the water or snap the line in the blink of an eye. When the carp run you have to let them, stop reeling, keep the pressure on the line and guide them while they scream line off.
Most places you won't need much weight unless you have to deal with current. Typically using a bullet weight/worm weight on your line, then a swivel with about a 5-8 inch lead to the hook (size 6 is what I use but 4-8 work well usually). Hope this helps..you can also check the Mafishfinder forums as I have been posting there a bunch with some bait recipes, rigs etc.
You want a pole, 7-9 feet in length that is sturdy enough to handle big fish. It doesn't have to real stiff, but an ultra light for instance would make fighting anything over 2 pounds a real pain, not to mention a 15-20 pound..which seeing as you seem to fish near the CT river that is very possible. Heck the CT river in Ma holds our state record at 44 pounds - 2 ounces right now.
You want a reel that can handle 10-20 pound test, I recommend nothing less then 12 or 15, but you can always use braid too to help, which is a good idea when first learning carp. Braid line will spin on your spool once it gets wet though so you'll have to use backing. I'd suggest getting a reel that holds roughly 200 yards of 15 pound test. Place 25-50 yards of 15 pound mono (Berkly big game is nice and fairly priced imo), then tying on a 20-30 pound braid (Spiderwire is pretty good, though a little more expensive it will last you a while). You can use an albright knot to tie the two together ( you can probably easily google it if you do not know it yet). This set up allows you to handle brush when the fish find it, most mono gets frayed quickly, the braid will not.
Now your ready. The braid will help you when the carp try to run, and they will run hard. When you fish em I suggest using bread and making balls out of it. Canned corn is great as well. Place a bread ball on your hook, or a few pieces of corn ( corn and chumming may be illegal in some places check your local rules first), toss out a handful of corn where you want to fish andhave at it. KEEP YOUR DRAG LOOSE, or keep your bail open. Once you have a carp on, slowly tighten the drag up a bit till you can fight them. It will take a few fish to get the hang of it, take your time and do not over tighten the drag.Carp are very strong runners, and they will take a tight pole into the water or snap the line in the blink of an eye. When the carp run you have to let them, stop reeling, keep the pressure on the line and guide them while they scream line off.
Most places you won't need much weight unless you have to deal with current. Typically using a bullet weight/worm weight on your line, then a swivel with about a 5-8 inch lead to the hook (size 6 is what I use but 4-8 work well usually). Hope this helps..you can also check the Mafishfinder forums as I have been posting there a bunch with some bait recipes, rigs etc.
Couple of questions. Never fished carp, but after loosing one that went airborne and dwarfed my 6 lb. bass yesterday, and getting completely spooled by another I accidently snagged, I figure I'll give it a go. Had to palm my spool as I ran out of line, and broke free. Just a big scale attached to my storm shad. I've read corn, bread, etc., but what about egg sacks as we are beginning to spawn? They are easy to bury a hook in and durable, while absorbing tons of scent (+I just got a ton of them for heading to Pulaski) Do circle hooks work any better than J-hooks?
Thanks,
RNA
Thanks,
RNA
Grits & Corn - Pack Bait
1 lb Bag of Dry Grits
2 Cans Whole Kernel Corn
1/2 Box Instant Mashed Potatoes
2 Cans of Cream Corn
Corn Pops
Drain whole corn, add grits, instant potatoes, and cream corn. Stir by hand until bait is well packed. Add more potato flakes if mixture is too moist. Place Corn Pop on hook and pack bait around it.
The simplest of all doughbaits is some bread squeezed on a hook. Adding some type of flavoring (vanilla or anise, etc.) or attractant directly to the bread or dipping it in canned corn juice after squeezing it on the hook gives you an instant sort of doughball. Then there is the infamous recipe of crushed up Wheaties cereal mixed with strawberry pop. Many types of animal and pet foods as well as breakfast cereals and crackers (Strawberry Mini Wheats, Corn Flakes, Corn Pops, Oatmeal, Rye Krisp crackers, etc.) can be crushed up and by mixing in water, a fairly instant doughball can be created. The cardboard tubes of biscuit dough from the freezer section of the grocery store also make a good doughbait either alone or mixed with other ingredients. Occasionally, you can also find some ready-made carp dough baits and pastes available at tackle stores. But so far, the carp have proven to be too smart for Berkley to come up with a carp formula power bait that carp will eat consistently. So, us carp anglers are left to come up with our own power bait brews of sorts.
Most doughballs are made from scratch with a variety of ingredients that can be gotten from a grocery store, health store or feed store. The majority of baits are cooked. Basically you use 1 cup of cornmeal to 1 to 2 cups of boiled water as a base recipe depending on how soft or firm you want the bait and what brand of cornmeal you use. I mostly use Quaker cornmeal. Then you go from there and add other ingredients, adjusting the dry and wet quantities accordingly as indicated by the recipes.
Note: Cornmeal doughball can be stored in the refrigerator before use and in between use and will usually last up to 1 to 3 weeks. Do not freeze cornmeal doughball. If you do, it will become wet and crumbly and be useless as hookbait.
What follows is a list of a number of cornmeal doughball recipes that I have collected over the years:
Cornmeal Carp Bait
Boil 1 pint of water in saucepan
Mix 2 cups of cornmeal and 1 cup of flour together in a bowl
Add 1/2 package of gelatin to boiling water (any flavor)
Put burner on low and add 2 tablespoons (tbsp.) sugar and I tbsp. of vanilla flavor.
With a large spoon cover the surface of the water with the cornmeal and flour mixture. A bubble of water will come through. Cover the bubble with cornmeal. Another bubble will come through (cover again). over the bubbles until the cornmeal/flour mix is gone. Stir dough mixture for about 30 seconds. Remove pan from the stove and dump dough onto foil. Knead the dough as soon as it is cool enough, then roll into a ball. Wrap dough in foil, and refrigerate. (Keeps about a week)
Doughball Delight
Blend together 1 cup of water, 1 1/2 tbsp. vanilla, 1 tbsp. honey, and 4 tbsp. sugar in a medium-sized pot, over medium heat. When mixture starts to boil, slowly sprinkle in 1 cup of yellow cornmeal. Stir mixture quickly and thoroughly for about 3 min. until it becomes a firm doughy consistency. Remove from heat and put dough on a dinner plate. Press the dough flat and let it cool for 1 or 2 min. then turn it over and let the other side cool. Work the dough in your hand for a minute, then place it in a plastic bag and seal it.
Bouncing Doughball
2 cups flour
2 cups cornmeal (Quaker)
2 cups water
Put into an old pot and stir into a paste. Cook, flatten, and stir until mixture becomes thick. Add I tbsp. vanilla, 4 tbsp. Karo dark syrup. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cook, flatten, and stir until thick again. For desired consistency, make a little ball out of the mixture, drop it and if it doesn’t bounce an inch or two, continue cooking until it does.
Jell-O Doughball
Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add three tbsp. of strawberry flavored Jell-O, then slowly add, while stirring a mixture of two cups of yellow cornmeal and one cup of flour. Now, turn down the heat and stir while cooking for about five minutes. Let the dough cool thoroughly before refrigerating in a plastic bag.
Other Ingredients and Recipes
The above recipes do not even begin to scratch the surface (as the saying goes) of carp bait possibilities. There are many other kinds of baking ingredients, grains, sweeteners, and flavorings that can be used for making doughball. Anything from rice to various other kinds of wheat and corn grains, some of which have been mentioned in previous NACA articles. Some not. The list is endless. There are probably many more yet undiscovered ingredients that have yet to be considered. The above doughball recipes should give the newcomer to carping or using doughball a place to start experimenting with bait, and for those more experienced that have used other baits, something new to try and expand on. By replacing the water with eggs in many of the above recipes, boilies, which are only "hard doughballs" after all, can be made. Read the rest of the article with even more bait recipes in the NACA
1 lb Bag of Dry Grits
2 Cans Whole Kernel Corn
1/2 Box Instant Mashed Potatoes
2 Cans of Cream Corn
Corn Pops
Drain whole corn, add grits, instant potatoes, and cream corn. Stir by hand until bait is well packed. Add more potato flakes if mixture is too moist. Place Corn Pop on hook and pack bait around it.
The simplest of all doughbaits is some bread squeezed on a hook. Adding some type of flavoring (vanilla or anise, etc.) or attractant directly to the bread or dipping it in canned corn juice after squeezing it on the hook gives you an instant sort of doughball. Then there is the infamous recipe of crushed up Wheaties cereal mixed with strawberry pop. Many types of animal and pet foods as well as breakfast cereals and crackers (Strawberry Mini Wheats, Corn Flakes, Corn Pops, Oatmeal, Rye Krisp crackers, etc.) can be crushed up and by mixing in water, a fairly instant doughball can be created. The cardboard tubes of biscuit dough from the freezer section of the grocery store also make a good doughbait either alone or mixed with other ingredients. Occasionally, you can also find some ready-made carp dough baits and pastes available at tackle stores. But so far, the carp have proven to be too smart for Berkley to come up with a carp formula power bait that carp will eat consistently. So, us carp anglers are left to come up with our own power bait brews of sorts.
Most doughballs are made from scratch with a variety of ingredients that can be gotten from a grocery store, health store or feed store. The majority of baits are cooked. Basically you use 1 cup of cornmeal to 1 to 2 cups of boiled water as a base recipe depending on how soft or firm you want the bait and what brand of cornmeal you use. I mostly use Quaker cornmeal. Then you go from there and add other ingredients, adjusting the dry and wet quantities accordingly as indicated by the recipes.
Note: Cornmeal doughball can be stored in the refrigerator before use and in between use and will usually last up to 1 to 3 weeks. Do not freeze cornmeal doughball. If you do, it will become wet and crumbly and be useless as hookbait.
What follows is a list of a number of cornmeal doughball recipes that I have collected over the years:
Cornmeal Carp Bait
Boil 1 pint of water in saucepan
Mix 2 cups of cornmeal and 1 cup of flour together in a bowl
Add 1/2 package of gelatin to boiling water (any flavor)
Put burner on low and add 2 tablespoons (tbsp.) sugar and I tbsp. of vanilla flavor.
With a large spoon cover the surface of the water with the cornmeal and flour mixture. A bubble of water will come through. Cover the bubble with cornmeal. Another bubble will come through (cover again). over the bubbles until the cornmeal/flour mix is gone. Stir dough mixture for about 30 seconds. Remove pan from the stove and dump dough onto foil. Knead the dough as soon as it is cool enough, then roll into a ball. Wrap dough in foil, and refrigerate. (Keeps about a week)
Doughball Delight
Blend together 1 cup of water, 1 1/2 tbsp. vanilla, 1 tbsp. honey, and 4 tbsp. sugar in a medium-sized pot, over medium heat. When mixture starts to boil, slowly sprinkle in 1 cup of yellow cornmeal. Stir mixture quickly and thoroughly for about 3 min. until it becomes a firm doughy consistency. Remove from heat and put dough on a dinner plate. Press the dough flat and let it cool for 1 or 2 min. then turn it over and let the other side cool. Work the dough in your hand for a minute, then place it in a plastic bag and seal it.
Bouncing Doughball
2 cups flour
2 cups cornmeal (Quaker)
2 cups water
Put into an old pot and stir into a paste. Cook, flatten, and stir until mixture becomes thick. Add I tbsp. vanilla, 4 tbsp. Karo dark syrup. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cook, flatten, and stir until thick again. For desired consistency, make a little ball out of the mixture, drop it and if it doesn’t bounce an inch or two, continue cooking until it does.
Jell-O Doughball
Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add three tbsp. of strawberry flavored Jell-O, then slowly add, while stirring a mixture of two cups of yellow cornmeal and one cup of flour. Now, turn down the heat and stir while cooking for about five minutes. Let the dough cool thoroughly before refrigerating in a plastic bag.
Other Ingredients and Recipes
The above recipes do not even begin to scratch the surface (as the saying goes) of carp bait possibilities. There are many other kinds of baking ingredients, grains, sweeteners, and flavorings that can be used for making doughball. Anything from rice to various other kinds of wheat and corn grains, some of which have been mentioned in previous NACA articles. Some not. The list is endless. There are probably many more yet undiscovered ingredients that have yet to be considered. The above doughball recipes should give the newcomer to carping or using doughball a place to start experimenting with bait, and for those more experienced that have used other baits, something new to try and expand on. By replacing the water with eggs in many of the above recipes, boilies, which are only "hard doughballs" after all, can be made. Read the rest of the article with even more bait recipes in the NACA
Thanks. Looks like I'll need to be Betty Crocker as well. I'm going to start with the pillsbury biscuit dough and try dipping it in various attractants. Also throw a few egg sacks. If that doesn't work, you've given me plenty of additional options. Like I said, never fished for them in the past, but getting spooled changed my mind.
Thanks Again,
RNA
Thanks Again,
RNA
No prob! I fished for them on a few occasions with no results for my self, but a few of my friends landed a few. We only used bread balls and canned corn. I have been wanting to cook up one of those recipes, but just haven't done it yet. Carp fishing is huge in Europe and there are cubs/web sites devoted to them. I found a bunch of different recipes a few years ago, but didn't think to save them. There was some kind of corn meal recipe that you cook up used to bait your hook and use as chum. I remember it being a simple recipe. If I run into it, I'll post it.
Boilies are what you are thinking of I believe.
http://www.fishforcarp.com/
Yeah, I saw that site. I'm not sure. If I remember right, it was more of a thick corn soup of some kind. Been searching since I posted last, but I'm not seeing it. I think it was a recipe fro England or some country on the other side of the pond.
Noticed you were at Hanover in one photo. I live just above the bike trail. I'd like to meet up and fish carp. Never fished them before, but after getting spooled by one last weekend and seeing them in their all season long, I figured it would be fun to give it a go.
I saw a website of a guy from massachusetts and if I remember correctly he used a piece of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to catch a state record or something. I haven't tried it yet but it seemed like it would be a good carp bait, plus pretty easy to make .
I saw a website of a guy from massachusetts and if I remember correctly he used a piece of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to catch a state record or something. I haven't tried it yet but it seemed like it would be a good carp bait, plus pretty easy to make .
and if ya get hungry.........................
Noticed you were at Hanover in one photo. I live just above the bike trail. I'd like to meet up and fish carp. Never fished them before, but after getting spooled by one last weekend and seeing them in their all season long, I figured it would be fun to give it a go.
Yep that was Hanover, close to home and some monster carp, caught my first twenty pounder there last year. Most important thing to have is a baitfeeder/baitrunner type reel and some 12-20# line. I will show you the rest. I'm usually there on Sunday morning during the nice weather. Send me a message and we can meet up there and talk carp.