# Catching Carp



## mentally-unsound (Apr 17, 2007)

Need some help, I'm thinking of doing the "Gundi Carp Cull" at the end of april (ANZAC long weekend).
I have never caught carp. Some help in rig set up, hooks, sinkers, floats, lures (hard and soft bodied)
What about bait? I herd corn kernals from a can, and potato roots are good

Any help would be appreciated

Cheers - Dave


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## L3GACY (Sep 2, 2007)

Can be as simple as old bread on a hook mate. I wouldnt bother with lures, though i've heard of it working.


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## colzinho (Aug 6, 2007)

burley hard and concentrated in 1 tiny spot with bran/pollard and bread balls chick peas or corn 4 bait with some bait mixed in the burley for bait...smallest bean sinker u can use hook point exposed from bait. you can also try bringing them on top - top burley with circular cat/dog buiscuits and have 1 hooked ready to go with some polystyrene stuck in the middle to put the hook thru. long shank no 4/6 depending on size of the biscuit with the shank buried in the poly. bread works for this but it sinks and they usually wait for that and leave the hooked bait floating there (carp are not stupid) This works a treat on overfished finicky fish in england and it kills them by the dozen here


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## AJD (Jul 10, 2007)

The best rig I have seen used was a .22 with a good telescopic sight. 30 fish in 30 minutes if used effectively. You cull and berley at the same time. Not strictly fishing or sporting though.


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## Astro (Nov 27, 2006)

AJD said:


> The best rig I have seen used was a .22 with a good telescopic sight. 30 fish in 30 minutes if used effectively. You cull and berley at the same time. Not strictly fishing or sporting though.


just a note, firing into water is dangerous....don't do this at home..

as for carp bread is very good...

use centre of slice for burley,,some pressed hard to sink fast and others softer to sink slower, float crusts some with hooks in no weight....pulled 100's out using this technique


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## theclick (Jun 25, 2007)

im been thinking about contacting the local council for a tilapia cull in the lesley harrison dam.


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## Astro (Nov 27, 2006)

theclick said:


> im been thinking about contacting the local council for a tilapia cull in the lesley harrison dam.


do it....if it's feral...it's in peril....(no offence dave)


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## craig450 (May 11, 2007)

Ive been told by a local carp fisho in Canberra that tinned "spam" is killer on Carp, he fishes it under a float on a small hook and a little split-shot sinker.
Ive only ever tried with worms though, havent fished for carp very much and have had very limited success.


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## flea (Jan 24, 2008)

My outlaws are hungaryen & they fish for these sticken ferrals all the time .
Use a normal rig 2 hooks sinker worms,corn,bread will get soft & fallof if they don't take it straight away.
I have caught carp on lure hard body but i was not real happy about it they don't fight that good on lure.
Kym.


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## buddahbelly (Mar 18, 2008)

I've done well berleying with bread and then using a bread fly (piece of white foam on small fly hook) when the fish start to feed from the surface. Large carp on light fly gear is heaps of fun.


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## Red Herring (Dec 18, 2006)

From what I learnt as a kid there's two key aspects

A - Use burley; and
B - Fish with finesse

Burley doesn't need to be anything fancy and can be as simple as grabbing a bag of stale loaves from your local baker. Of course your brans, corn and cooked potatoes also work

Fishing with finesse can be as simple as using a handline. The best hooks I found were real thin, super sharp hooks used to tie flies. Obviously if you're after the larger carp go with a rod but use the lightest line you think you can get away with. If you're keen on using a float try a correctly weighted quill float so that the carp feels minimal resistance when the bait gets taken

As for the bait, I had the best success using fresh bread in the following way. Keeping the loaf in the bag, nip of a small piece (15x15mm) of bread (not crust). Wrap an edge of the bread piece around the hooks eye and crimp using finger tips. Leave the part around the hook point fluffy but press it down enough for the hook point to just show. Carp tend to suck in and spit out their food before taking it. Crimping the bread stops it from falling of the hook, whilst leaving the other end fluffy entices the carp when he sucks it in for the first time, and with the tip of the hook showing your chance of a hookup is increased.

Anyhow, good luck.

RH


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## yakattack (Jan 12, 2008)

Gday Yakkers,

I would love to do my bit and kill some carp can anyone suggest some good spots around sydney worth trying. I have been thinking about this for a while now so any suggestions would be appreciated

Thanks Micka


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## Red Herring (Dec 18, 2006)

Micka,

The river at Parramatta holds heaps of carp. Anywhere between Parramatta park and the canal above where the ferry turns around. Byrnes Av in Parramatta Park has good access to the river bank.

Cheers,
RH


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## colzinho (Aug 6, 2007)

Manly dam. theres some monsters in there around the lillies at the dam wall.


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## greenhornet (Aug 8, 2007)

Worms work the best for me ,running sinker to swivel or match stick with about 40 to 50 cm leader. Cast around edges of weed reeds or grasses .They usually bite best around late arvo, good luck


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## Flump (Apr 17, 2006)

Yakattack, yep, manly dam has some large carp, my biggest was around 3kg's but lost a couple of real monsters I'd expect to have gone around 8 to 10kg's on floating crust. Lane Cove river has a pretty good population, including a very beautiful orange, black and white koi carp probably around 5kg's last time I saw it. Theres always big carp coming out around Paramatta too, the biggest photo I saw was one over 30lb's :shock: . Do a search as I'm sure someone here put the photo up.

I've always found that stale bread for burley works, but you need fresh bread or a bread and cheese paste (blue stinky cheese best) otherwise it doesn't stay on the hook. Corn and luncheon meat/spam also works pretty well. The bigger fish are no push over either and will give a good account of themselves. I'd use a size 2 or 4 hook with at least 15lb line.


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## etr420 (Jan 7, 2008)

I've done alright with bread and, particularly, stale English muffins, mixed with a bit of sugar. Never had any luck with corn, but it seems to be extensively used around Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra.

Ideally, burley the area up the day before, with some el-cheapo dried breadcrumbs (mix with water first, and perhaps a bit of sugar). This should get them into the area. Of course if everyone does this the day before the carp cull, they might just all stuff themselves and go to sleep for a day or two.

On the day, put out some burley and have a coffee or two before you cast out. Keep the burleying up, but just small quantities to keep them hanging around and interested.

As to what you put on the end of your line, lots of good suggestions posted so far. For my part I use a threadline, 8lb braid and a standard 6'6" rod. My terminal tackle: usually a small stick float (12cm) and something called a "hair rig" on the end. You can google "hair rig carp" and get lots of info, also search on Youtube. The heat shrink tubing you can get from Dick Smith and some hardware shops. The basic idea, though, is that the bait is attached to a bit of braid that extends beyond the end of the hook. This is the "hair". You thread this through your bait and secure it. Mr Carp sucks in the bait, moves off, your float rises/sinks/slides sideways depending on which way he's going, you hook him and you're off. I use quite small hooks - size 8 or 10 - and I've caught carp up to about 60cm on them. Need to be good quality strong hooks, though - I've had some straightened. Don't underestimate these blighters - they can go like a steam train if they want to - and cunning to boot.

I'm sure, by the way, the same rig will work without a float - I just find it more interesting sitting there in my deck chair waiting for some movement. I don't usually fish for carp from the yak I should add - it's more something to do while I'm digesting a picnic lunch at the lake. I only need to cast out about 3 metres and I can often see the carp circling. Enough suspense to keep it interesting, especially as they'll bump the line occasionally and you see float twitch.

I've heard several reliable reports of people catching carp on flies. I haven't tried it myself, but even if you're not a fly fisho, you could try a woolly bugger or larger nymph, on light braid, with a small split shot to give you enough casting weight (I know someone who does this successfully fishing for trout - complete sacrilege). That might be a more yak-appropriate method.

If you google "carp bait" or "carp boilies" you'll get an idea of the incredibly weird array of things that serious carp fishers chuck at them, especially in the UK, not to mention the bizarre selection of specialised carp tackle (including little barbell shaped stoppers to put on the end of the hair rigs). You might also note that it's strictly a catch-and-release sport.

When you catch them, please kill them quickly and humanely - they take forever to die otherwise. The downside of recent carp culls I've attended has been the bins full of half-dead carp still gasping for breath. I'm told that if you splosh them with vinegared water they're less slimy to handle, but haven't tried it.

Good luck!


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

yakattack said:


> Gday Yakkers,
> 
> I would love to do my bit and kill some carp can anyone suggest some good spots around sydney worth trying. I have been thinking about this for a while now so any suggestions would be appreciated
> 
> Thanks Micka


Lane Cove River, above the weir. But you're not allowed to fish with bait so fly is the only real option.

Manly Dam is full of the suckers


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## lur3 (Apr 1, 2007)

the other weekend at the Canberra Carp-out I saw heaps of people lining the bank, hooks in the water all day and getting nothing. Along came 2 young blokes mid afternoon, and in 5 minutes they landed a carp.

They were throwing heaps of bread out feeding the ducks and swans, and using bread for bait. When asked about their technique, they told me that where you find the ducks you will find the carp. This got me thinking as to whether the ducks follow the carp to eat stuff that may float to the surface from the disturbance that carp create when feeding, or carp know that people feed ducks and they wait for any scraps missed. Either way, these bloke seemed to have it sussed. I don't think the people who had been there all day were too impressed.

One note of caution on this, I did see a swan take a baited hook, luckily the hook did not set. Must have been close.


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## varp (Sep 12, 2005)

I used to read up on the UK mags and books as a kid and the whole carp scene in the UK is extraordinary.

It's just so damn civilised !!! I tried to bring a similar mindset to my fishing, but fortunately got the crap kicked out of me by a brat with dynamite. Shame we can't revere a species like the poms do, but then again dynamite IS fun!!!


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## varp (Sep 12, 2005)

.....sorry for the swerve here, but can anyone tell me how to eat the fuggers?

If it involves leaving them alive in the bath for a week then forget it. Too creepy. I wanna douse the fillets in something mighty volatile and get rid of the infected swampy drain taste.


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## L3GACY (Sep 2, 2007)

I've never tried it myself Varp but... Personally i would bake it whole. Instead of purging you could try soaking it in saltwater overnight (once you've gutted and scaled it) this might help things a bit. I'd also expect plenty of herbs, chili, lemon, garlic, anything to make the whole experience a little more enjoyable :lol:. The europeans love it so there has to be something good about them.


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## Cuda (Sep 18, 2006)

Err, has anyone here actually tried to eat one of the fuggers and if so a) are you still alive and b) did it taste like s#$t, or was it passable? Maybe the dynamite option is the best way to "catch" them, or remove them from the ecosystem :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## beardys (Jun 23, 2007)

running sinker, with a medium sized sharp hook, with super sweet corn (from a can like $0.99-$2.00), some carp you need to strik some you don't.... if the line starts spooling your on..... if the line is pulling but keeps going away, pull it up slowly when it pulls and you might be lucky enough to get it on.
goodluck and have fun.
Tom.


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## varp (Sep 12, 2005)

Soaking in milk has been mentioned on the radio, but then I've tuned out at that point at the vileness of the thought and so have missed the rest.

I think in Europe the carp must live in different water, cos they don't seem to have recipes to mask the taste of mud.



> dynamite option is the best way to "catch" them


 called 'noisy bait' here in vic. Cuda!


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## etr420 (Jan 7, 2008)

Cuda said:


> Err, has anyone here actually tried to eat one of the fuggers and if so a) are you still alive and b) did it taste like s#$t, or was it passable? Maybe the dynamite option is the best way to "catch" them, or remove them from the ecosystem :lol: :lol: :lol:


OK, here's too much information.

Well I tried one from LBG a couple of months ago. It was about 50cm. I cut off a fillet, skinned it, floured it and fried in olive oil. It looked a bit like tuna and tasted ok. No muddy taste that I could discern, but of course it doesn't taste like saltwater fish, which I think is the benchmark we apply in Australia. Cooked like that I would serve it with a sharpish sauce, like tartare, to dip it into. Alternatively, there's a famous sauce which seems to neutralise the muddy taste in freshwater fish, including some trout. It goes like this:

Sauce Raifort aux noix (Elizabeth David's version)

Take 60g of walnuts (without shells), dunk them in boiling water for about 30 seconds or so and then rub the brown skins off with a very dry tea towel. Pound them or chop them very finely and mix with 2 tablespoons of finely grated fresh (or good bottled) horseradish, a teaspoon of sugar, a pinch of salt and and 125ml of thick cream. While stirring, add the juice of half a lemon. This will thicken it.

I know it sounds a bit weird, but it just works magic with any kind of muddiness in fish, and it would be good with carp, muddy or not. I use it a lot with farmed trout. It's good with smoked fish, too (smoked anything, actually). You could probably try wasabi paste instead of the horseradish, but I'd add it last and in small increments so it's not too overpowering. You'd end up with a pale green sauce which might be a bit odd.

Most of the many European recipes I've seen for carp involve stewing and fairly strong flavouring: wine, bacon, herbs etc. In China they get pretty standard treatment with garlic, ginger and rice wine, but there's a popular version which involves cooking them in beer. In Japan they eat them raw as well as cooking them in various ways.

The carp I ate - and I did it just to test the widespread prejudice against them - was probably too big. A fish of about a kilo seems to be the ideal size. The fillets have these fairly large Y shaped bones in them, which supposedly soften to the point of being edible with long cooking. I've had carp in China that's been stewed for about 4 hours and that's certainly true - all the bones were soft and edible.

An option is to slice the carp into steaks and stew it in various ways, curry it etc. I should add I've probably eaten more than 100 carp over the last 10 years in China and India and they've been just fine, but given a choice between carp and bream or whatever, no prizes for guessing what I'd choose.

Carp, by the way, are said to be very good smoked, so if you have a smoker...


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## varp (Sep 12, 2005)

Very comprehensive and much appreciated etr420. 

I have earmarked this page for my next encounter with one and the pot. Another fave for mine is a tin of deep fried roach with black beans. Chinese of course and used to be available from Safeways. Oily as all getout, but tasty as a very tasty thing.


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## etr420 (Jan 7, 2008)

As to catching them, I found the following suggestion today when I was looking for info on fly fishing for carp:

http://www.carp.com/article95.html

This is just a hook (it would be a small hook, 8 or 10 I guess) with half an inch (1.25cm) of red rubber band super glued or whipped to it. A cheap lure - I would think you could use this with light spinning gear with a small split shop 30cm from the hook.

John Bailey, who's the subject of the interview in that article is one of the legends of UK fishing, and written a number of very thoughtful and interesting books. I'd think he knows what he's talking about.

If I have time I'm going to try catching a carp on fly this Sunday - the poor man's bonefish, apparently. I'll try this rubber band thing, a woolly bugger, and perhaps something called a Bristle Leech, which has a couple of "legs" of stiff mono that stir up the mud as you strip it in.

If I catch one, will I eat it? Hmmm... I'm going to China for 3 weeks on Monday so I might ask some friends to take me to the market, bring one home and show me how to cook it properly. Watch this space...


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