My Carp Fishing Styles

[MinnowMagnet]

A few people on this board have told me that I should post a thread about carp fishing. I started carp fishing in October and have caught almost 200 carp since. Here is how I catch them.
A beautiful heathy carp


Rods & Reels:
When fishing the bottom with sliders I use 5'-7' medium light spinning combos with 8-20lb line, both braid and mono.
When freelineing I use 4'-6' light spinning combos with 4-10lb mono.
When float fishing I use a 8' light weight flyrod with a spinning reel with 6-10lb mono.
Rigs:
Hooks

Legering:
Hooks- I use size 4-6 octopus or livebait hooks
Sinkers- for a normal slider 1/4-1 ounce. for a bolt rig I use 1-3 ounce. Leader- I use a leader with 6-15lb line from 6" to 2ft
Freelineing:
Hooks- size 4-6 live bait or octopus
I tie the hook straight to the line with no weight or swivels
Float Fishing:
Hooks- size 8-4 octopus or livebait hook
Leader- I use a 7ft leader of 4-8lb line
Float- I use small round floats about a 1/2 inch across


Bait:
Hooking Tortilla

Hooking Bread

Hair Rigging Bread



Legering:
Bread- flake over the hook or hair rig
Corn Tortilla- fold a small piece 2 times and run the hook through 2 times
Sweet Corn- hair rigged or baited on hook
Freelineing:
Bread- flaked over the hook
Float Fishing:
Bread- flaked over the hook
Corn Tortilla- fold a small piece 2 times and run the hook through 2 times
Sweet Corn- baited on hook
Other Gear:
Rod Pod- with bite alarms, used for legering

Large Net- needed for netting large carp

Unhooking Mat- to put the fish on for pictures and unhooking so they don't get scratched up

Scale- I use a 50lb scale, weight the fish in net or in unhooking mat. Don't weight them by the gills

Camera- to photograph your fish before the release


I also release ALL the carp I catch unharmed
Proper Release



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[Out4aFloat]

Hey where are you catching these carp? Do you target any other fish like cats when you go for carp?
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[MinnowMagnet]

the spot is in CA and the pond I fish is mostly carp with a few catfish so I only fish carp in there.
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[mattscru]

That hair rig looks interesting. Is that two hooks or just one? My experiance with carp is that once they feel the hook or any resistance they bolt, thats why Im curious how that rig works. Great post by the way.

Matt
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[Fishhound]

[black][size 3]The hair rig consists of just one hook. The bait is attached to the hair that extends from the hook. The afore mentioned HAIR is just a loop made from stiff fishing line - I generally use a braid or a superline like Fireline.[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]What happens is, when the carp sucks in the bait, the hook goes with it. Then the carp feels the foreign object(the hook) and tries to expell the whole thing (hook and bait). While being spit out, the hook lodges in the carps mouth (usually the lip). Feeling the hook, makes the carp bolt and the hook generally impales itself further into the carps lip and the fight is on.[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]Hair rigs are one of my favorite methods of carp fishing. There are a variety of different ways to rig them for different situations as well.[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]Hey MinnowMagnet,[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]Great post and photos ! I'm looking forward to reading more and maybe exchanging some info. I like your tortilla tactic - I'll have to try that one sometime.[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]It's nice to have another carp fishing fan on board ![/size][/black]
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[Jordan5]

over the last summer i got big into the carp fishing after i cought my first one. i am still very new to it and would love to know a lot more about the hair rigging it seems much better for me and the carp, right now im useing trebble hooks and i cant stand unhooking 3 hooks and sometimes tearing there mouth up.

G-Dane
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