and Thinking out Loud!

Over the years I’ve caught carp on any number of baits. Everything from paste to particles, worms to crayfish and bread to boilies. I’ve even enjoyed catching a good number of carp to 20lb on a variety of fly patterns at a time when it was less than fashionable. I’ve used wooly buggers and bonefish patterns even nymphs on a greased leader drifted a few inches below the surface. At the Chicago Carp Classic in 1996 I even caught carp on imitation sweet corn (it was actually a yellow foam nymphing indicator wrapped around a hair) that was twitched slowly along the bottom on a sinking line over an area chummed with the real thing. There is certainly nothing new to catching carp on imitation baits or flies and as we’ve seen in the angling press the recent craze for zigs has taken it to yet another level. But it was while thinking about such things that my mind began to wander a little and eventually began to settle on some ideas that had been lurking in those far distant recesses of such grey matter of mine that still functions. The following are some of those thoughts on fishing artificial or imitation baits as well as some naturals that might not normally spring to mind.

A few years ago MA based angler Chris Labucki recounted the capture of a forty one pound carp in unusual circumstances. He’d been carp fishing all day with out even a hint of a run and decided to take some time out by chasing the small mouth bass that also inhabited this large reservoir. He swapped out his carp gear for a six foot light spinning outfit with a small rubber worm tied to his 6lb line and began working the shoreline in search of his quarry. The water was especially clear and he soon spotted a group of good sized ‘smallies’ working the shoreline contours. As he was about to cast he suddenly realized that these fish were actually shadowing a very big carp (I’ve watched & stalked permit that follow rays in a similar fashion). Every so often this leviathan would stop and literally nudge over rocks in search of crayfish hiding underneath. Meanwhile the ‘smallies’ were hanging around in the hope of grabbing any wayward crayfish or other food items that escaped the carp’s attention. Now Chris figured catching the carp was out of the question but thought he’d have a decent shot at one of the bigger small mouth. He flipped a cast towards one trailing a couple of feet behind the carp and before the bass could react this massive carp had flipped around and grabbed his lure! Still stunned by the carp’s lightning reactions and the fact he was hooked up to this beast a battle royal ensued. Chris screamed out for his wife, some hundred yards further down the bank, to bring a net. About 40 minutes later and with the carp still seemingly with the upper hand he somehow managed to steer it so that it ran straight into the open net. A great story and a remarkable capture!

But ask yourself this question – how remarkable is it really?

In North America carp simply cannot rely on being fed large quantities of bait to survive like their European cousins. The waters over here are, for the most part, simply vast by European standards and the angling pressure almost non-existent. So other than a few exceptional circumstances, such as the grain loading docks on some big rivers, carp must inevitably cruise in search of a variety of natural food sources. When those food sources are in abundance, perhaps during a snail hatch or when mulberries or acorns are falling into the water, then the carp will take full advantage of the times of plenty and will stop to gorge themselves. This type of feeding can be quite exclusive and the carp can behave like the pickiest trout with a dry fly presentation, often ignoring anything other than the food item they are focused upon.

I have little doubt that, beyond the spawning season, carp in excess of 40lb are for the most part solitary beasts or hang out with just one or two similar sized fish. There are numerous accounts in the carp angling literature that seem to qualify this fact and particularly when talking about big commons. While many big carp are regularly captured, sometimes several times a season, there are others in the same water that elude capture for many years. A few are never caught and go on to become the subject of folklore and legend. If you read any of the early accounts of fishing some of the famous English waters like Redmire or Savay you will have heard about such fish. The vivid accounts given by anglers who, when sitting in a tree watching a group of well known big carp, have been left in awe when a solitary fish swam into view and simply dwarfed the others. The fact that such a fish might remain uncaught for decades in a large body of water is one thing but in the 4 acres of a small water like Redmire it simply raises the question – why? One answer suggests that most of the waters where such leviathans have gone uncaught have an over whelming abundance of natural food. I don’t believe these fish have necessarily learned to avoid an angler’s baits but more simply that they haven’t even considered feeding on anything other than the natural fauna that’s readily available.

 

Over the years many carp anglers have seen the remains of freshwater mussels and clams in the bottom of nets and keep sacks. It is clear that where there is an abundance of such molluscs the carp will readily dig them up and crush them in their pharangeal teeth. The same goes for crayfish and it is not difficult to imagine a carp sucking down even the biggest crayfish with relative ease. Over the years I’ve seen many articles on how to fish such shellfish including some ingenious contraptions with boilies mounted inside specially hinged shell casings, however none seem to have caught on. One water I fish is inhabited by a giant freshwater snail (the Chinese Mystery Snail which is now widespread in many waters) that would surely make a tasty meal for any discerning carp. The question is should I consider creating a massive 2-3″ zig bug to fish in the upper layers? The increased popularity and success from fishing ‘zigs’ clearing recognizes the fact that carp regularly feed at all levels in the water column and if ever there was a place to use this technique it should be on the wild water fish of North America. In 2014 I fully intend to expand upon my limited experience with zigs from previous seasons. I have even tied some favorite fly patterns that I hope will add to the success I’ve already achieved with simple pieces of foam.

And while we are on the subject of ‘zigs’ who said they should be fished floating up above an anchored weight? One advantage of being an all-around angler is the ability to draw from other experiences and fishing techniques. One of the most successful still water trout fly patterns is the ‘booby’. Originally tied as a buoyant nymph pattern with two large foam balls (like a pair of ‘boobs’ hence the name) it was originally fished on a sinking fly line over weed beds. As the fly line was slowly retrieved it dragged over the weed and disturbed various fly larvae and beetles creating a ‘chum’ trail while the booby pattern danced a few inches above the weed without the hook becoming fouled. Since then a variety of ‘booby’ fly patterns (water beetles, bait fish, damsel nymphs etc) have been created and fished to devastating effect. So my question is why not fish a zig in a similar manner? It does not even have to be on a fly fishing outfit. It would be quite simple to create a modified carp rig with a balanced weight (a combination of cork and lead known as a ‘fledger’) together with a long weighted leader.  Once cast out it could then be slowly retrieved until a carp latches on to the zig bug dancing along over the weed or other bottom structure.

And how about blue crabs? If you regularly fish estuarine waters around the east coast of the USA you will have no doubt seen or even caught and eaten these tasty crustaceans. I’ve certainly found evidence that carp regularly eat blue crabs but it makes you wonder considering their size, their heavily armored and pointed shell plus a very aggressive nature as to how a carp might deal with one? The mystery was finally solved last summer when a friend called me and said that he’d witnessed an extraordinary event. Steve had been sitting quietly along the edge of a tidal backwater looking for a good spot to go ‘crabbing’. He’d spotted several nice ‘keeper’ sized (that’s 5” or more across the widest point of the back) blue crab and was about to fetch a trap from his truck when he spotted a carp of around 14-16 lb swim into view. The blue crab scattered but the carp managed to corner one which immediately took up an aggressive stance rearing up on its front legs and holding its open claws outstretched. The carp settled perhaps 8-10 inches from the crab and then with a sudden flare of its gills sucked up the crab, belly first. As soon as the crab (which was way too big to be swallowed whole) hit the carp’s mouth it remained there for an instant before it imploded with the massive suction and was gone!

Over the years there have been numerous accounts of very big carp being caught in river estuaries on a variety of artificial lures and baits by saltwater anglers chasing striped bass. We also get regular reports of carp of all sizes being caught on fish or eel chunks intended for striped bass. I’ve also seen carp feeding on the remains of fish thrown in and around boat docks or when used as bait for crabs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There have also been any number of carp caught on dead baits intended for pike and other predatory species. In fact one of my earliest carp captures was a nice double figure mirror on a deadbait sprat complete with a wire pike trace and treble hook.

Now I’m not sure that ‘livebaiting’ for carp would ever become a regularly accepted method but the fact that they do feed on fry is undisputed. Fly anglers often use bait fish imitations to catch carp where they are clearly chasing & feeding on schools of fry. In some cases the carp were behaving just like predatory striped bass as they ‘surfed’ along the back of the swells and waves on shorelines of big waters like Lake Michigan. Over the years I’ve often seen large numbers of carp jumping and crashing on the surface (just like a striped bass blitz) especially in the early part of the season. This mass jumpingactivity has more often been thought to be related to a variety of activities such as removing parasites, clearing silt from their gills or part of their early spawning ritual. However I’m now of the opinion that a more likely scenario is that the carp are actively focused and feeding on fish fry. A couple of years ago this idea was reinforced while I was standing on an outcrop overlooking a nearby pond that has some nice carp to around 20lb. It was early May so the water was still quite clear and I could see several carp cruising a few feet below the surface. There were also schools of 2-3” pond shiners (like small rudd) in the surface layers soaking up the sun and on the look out for a quick insect meal. Suddenly one of the carp rocketed up from the depths like a polaris missile and inhaled one of the shiners before exploding from the surface and landing back with a mighty crash. If it had not been for a friend, standing beside me, who had also witnessed this event I might have thought I was seeing things. Since then I’ve witnessed carp jumping and crashing over shoals of fry on a few more occasions and believe this behavior is designed to help ‘stun’ these small fish therefore making it easier for them to be eaten.  So perhaps more significantly I hope it will be my presentation of small fry imitation ‘zigs’ in the upper layers (perhaps even a live bait) that will lead to the undoing of a monster carp in the not too distant future.

One other much over looked natural that will be in abundance in late spring and early summer is the tadpole. An average female bullfrog will lay around 20,000 eggs which once hatched translates into some serious boimass for carp to dine on. If you spend any time observing tadpoles you’ll notice that they will often gather in clumps to feed on vegetation etc.  This offers a unique opportunity to mount several tadpoles on a maggot clip or similar as a very tempting offering when carp are feeding on these juvenile amphibians.

As most anglers know stalking fish is one of the most exciting ways to catch them. It requires untold patience, stealth and nerves of steel as well as extraordinary resolve. The latter to have another go when so often happens a fish spooks at the last moment and you are back to square one with just a muddy swirl to remind you of yet another missed opportunity. However when you are in that zone and intently focused on the prize in front of you the tension can be almost unbearable as the fish moves in to take your bait. There is often a sense of ‘a calm before the storm’ feeling as you anticipate the battle ahead and you make a cast to a feeding fish. Then comes a rising adrenaline surge of anticipation as your quarry drifts towards your hook bait just before you lift your rod and then if all goes your way the hook finds a hold and all hell breaks loose!

So imagine dangling a live crab or crayfish to a giant carp! The late Bernie Haines who was a carp fishing guide on the St Lawrence near Messena, NY often stalked big carp with a live crayfish. If you can find a copy of his video you will see Bernie wading stealthily through a dense reed bed a live crayfish hanging from the tip of a 13’ rod of his own design. A very large common is lying motionless among the reeds and Bernie oh so slowly lowers the crayfish a few inches in front of the fishes mouth. On this occasion the carp spooks in a massive swirl and is gone but on other occasions Bernie successfully hooked up and then desperately tried to stay connected as he, in hot pursuit, and the fish surged through the reeds!

 

There are many ways to rig large natural baits such as crayfish or crabs. The simplest being a hook through the tail. However I’ve also held the hook in place with a rubber band wound around the body which also allows you to trap a piece of foam in place if you want to adjust the buoyancy or create a ‘popped-up’ bait. I would certainly recommend the use of a lighter test curve (2.00 – 2.75)  rod with a forgiving action as you will be mostly fishing at short range and dealing with a very angry and possibly very large carp right under your rod tip!

As with Chris Labucki’s experience of catching a big common on a plastic lure I’m quite convinced that this could be an exciting and rewarding way to catch some of the very big carp that evade capture on conventional baits such as particles and boilies. If you walk into any tackle store in the North America you’ll find that the shelves are packed with any number of artificial baits and lures. It does not take a leap of faith or imagination to believe that many of these patterns could also be used to catch carp. When I first visited the USA back in the mid 1980’s I brought back all sorts of these soft plastic baits and found they were very effective catching all manner of British freshwater species such as chub, perch, pike and even a large bream from a Thames weir pool.

At last years ICAST fishing show I picked up some of the new crayfish patterns from Savage Gear. A couple of experimental sessions with them resulted in some big small mouth bass that succeeded in snatching them away from my intended target of some very large carp… oh well! This season I’ve acquired some more of the Savage Gear crayfish patters along with some neat weighted hook rigs designed to help with different presentations including one designed to slide under overhangs, weed mats and the like once it hits the water. We will have to wait and see if I can achieve my goal of landing a big carp on one of these crayfish imitations but it certainly won’t be for a lack of trying!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have no doubt that in years to come we will see some of North Americas biggest carp being caught on big natural or artificial baits. It would be exciting to see some of the professional bass anglers having a go at carp as I’m sure we could all learn from their expertise fishing rubber worms.

So instead of sitting idly watching your rods and waiting for a run why not take a leap of faith and try stalking a carp with an assortment of these baits both natural and imitative or perhaps come up with some of your own novel presentations?