Snow Carp!

[hammercarp]

I went out today to visit one of my favourite winter spots . The weather forecast was for high winds and rain turning to snow but I liked the rising temperature the south wind was bringing.
When I got there I found that snow and ice covered the banks which are steep and rocky. :cry: This was not a safe situation so i checked out some other spots but ended up going back to my original spot. With the application of a few buckets of gravel I had a safe place to land fish. :smile:


I took a while before the action started. I banked four fish before I decided to head home.





The day turned out to be pretty decent. The rain stopped when I set up and eventually the winds calmed down as well. All in all a great afternoon on the bank. Oh and one more thing, puffs rule! :grin:

 

[Dozer]

Very nice hammercarp! Some very clean looking fish there! :mrgreen:

 

[ChaseChrome]

Dude nice fish indeed!!!!
Is that PP on CP??

 

[getin]

Congratulations
I always thought carp stop feeding in winter. You proved I am wrong!

 

[hammercarp]

Congratulations
I always thought carp stop feeding in winter. You proved I am wrong!

Glad I could help dispel that myth for you. There are many myths about this fish . Fishing them has been an on going learning process for me and a lot of fun too!

 

[diggyj]

Sweet looking carp.

Dirk

 

[Luke]

Nice fish, I have caught them just after ice out but didnt think they were too active or accessible durinig the winter.

What rod/ reel combo are you using?

I actually saw a decent carp rod at bass pro, its nice to see they are getting more mainstream;

Back when I had more time and lived near humber bay I used to fish for them frequently (18 years ago) , fishing at lakeview a lot of guys were also using stands and baitrunners fishing hair rigs (that was about 8 years ago) but you still couldnt really get the rods in the stores. One fellow would fly over from england and fish there everyday for a month rain or shine, he even had a proper landing mat, it was nice to see people treating these hard fighters with some respect.

 

[hammercarp]

Nice fish, I have caught them just after ice out but didnt think they were too active or accessible durinig the winter.

What rod/ reel combo are you using?

I actually saw a decent carp rod at bass pro, its nice to see they are getting more mainstream;

Back when I had more time and lived near humber bay I used to fish for them frequently (18 years ago) , fishing at lakeview a lot of guys were also using stands and baitrunners fishing hair rigs (that was about 8 years ago) but you still couldnt really get the rods in the stores. One fellow would fly over from england and fish there everyday for a month rain or shine, he even had a proper landing mat, it was nice to see people treating these hard fighters with some respect.

Thanks Luke. Ya I see that St. Croix is making carp rods and selling them in N. America. Bass Pro is selling them.
I never fished the stacks back then. But it was a hot spot for carp anglers .
I use an Ugly Stik with an Abu Ambassadeur 6000. The Euro gear is great but if I was getting into carp fishing I would go with the baitcaster. Check out my post on Carp Angling Southern Style. My link

 

[river monster]

Sweet pics where the best places around Oshawa for carp? And what's the best bait to use?

Thanks Mike

 

[Luke]

Hammercarp: Youre right on the nose with everything

When I fished the humber area I used to use a 10 foot telescopic D.A.M. rod with a big abu spinning reel then when fishing the stacks I switched to a 10'6 baitcaster with an Abu baitaster, I already had both for salmon fishing so it was much cheaper than switching to the euro baitrunner setups.

Humber I fished a lot of cornmeal of my own recipe and at the stacks I started using the hair rig with hard corn, the baitcaster actually worked quite well, I would put it on freespool and turn the clicker on. I had to make sure it was nicely secured so a carp wouldn't drag it away.


River monster:
As for oshawa, I havent fished much carp in the east end. I imagine lakefront park would work well near the mouth. Best way to check whether a spot is any good is to walk around slow moving water (river mouths) in the late spring (May) the presence of these big fish is easy to spot. Just hang around, they will boil on the surface and sometimes jump.

 

[NADO]

I started using the hair rig with hard corn

I thought about using hard corn to get around the issue of having your bait fall off when its out in the water. I find one of the hardest parts about hair rig fishing is battling the urge to reel in your line to see if the corn is still on. Or having your line sit out in the water for a half hour only to reel it in and find out the bait came off when it hit the water....

Two disadvantages I can think of are less scent as well as more weight making it more difficult for the carp to suck up. Do some people use a combination of hard corn and floating imitation corn?

 

[Luke]

They have no issue sucking up the corn, hard corn doesnt weigh that much. I have seen a guy land a 10-15lb carp on a noodle rod while casting for browns, it sucked up his 1/2 ounce little cleo without issue

The cornmeal I used to use was just a tiny bit smaller than a golf ball by the time I had it on the hook.

Yes people do add floaters to hard corn, it depends on what kind of bottom you are fishing.

The biggest problem with the hair rig was that at first I kept on breaking my home made threader needles. I finally bought a big enough needle and it worked fine.

Here's Great Link to a Variety of Rigs for Carp

 

[hammercarp]

I checked those rig illustrations Luke. I don't like how they're tied. The bait should clear the curve of the hook . The hairs are too short for the bait that is used. Also if you are using mono to create your hook link then you should use hook with a turned down eye for bottom bats. This will greatly increase the odds of hooking the carp.The ordinary baitholder hook is still king when it comes to fishing bait on the bottom. I feel that over complicated rigs are not needed here.
With my paylake rig I can overcome different situations , like weeds or silt by simply adjusting my weight size and or the length of the hook link.

 

[Luke]

I agree on the length of the hair, it needs to be longer then in the illustration, I also prefer using a longer shank hook but personally I dont like baitholders. It could just be that the quality of baitholder hooks was poor when I used them 10 years ago.

When using the cornmeal I actually liked using a high quality treble because the bait held on to it better. When I caught fish it was fine but I just didnt like how it looked when the corn meal fell off and I was reeling in a naked treble, lol

 

[despotiko]

I was planning on trying some carp fishing this spring/summer,but why wait i guess, they look nice in the snow. Havent caught to many other than incidental catches at the gorge while targeting bows. One thing i know is that these things can run! Exciting fish to battle with for sure :razz: . Where abouts do you fish for them? Ive seen videos in the UK of ponds stocked full of carp, anything like that around here?

Dimitri

 

[hammercarp]

Luke
I used to use a small treble with cornmeal dough as well . I found that you had to be very consistent in making the dough. If it was too stiff the carp could pick it up and spit it out all day without getting the hook and if it was too soft , it would fall apart too quickly. I had lots of fun fishing carp that way though.

despotiko
We do not have stocked carp ponds here. Why would we when there are plenty of places to fish carp. They are almost everywhere. Just like any other fish you have to get out there and find them. That is part of the game.

 

[MichaelVerdirame]

Beautiful fish! Excellent carp thanks for sharing!

 

[mike rousseau]

I wish I could get onto carp in the winter like you...

 

[MichaelVerdirame]

despotiko
We do not have stocked carp ponds here. Why would we when there are plenty of places to fish carp. They are almost everywhere. Just like any other fish you have to get out there and find them. That is part of the game.

I don't think they'd stock carp because they're invasive http://www.invadingspecies.com/Invaders.cfm?A=Page&PID=20

 

[hammercarp]

I don't think they'd stock carp because they're invasive http://www.invadingspecies.com/Invaders.cfm?A=Page&PID=20

Here is an excerpt directly from the page you just linked to.
"Common carp have been in North America since the late 1800s and are now so widely distributed that they are thought of as a native species in most areas. "
Another point I would like to make. The fishing regulations list invasive species and state clearly that it is illegal to possess live invasive species. There is no such regulation regarding common carp. You can catch and keep live as many as you want to.

And just a bit more.

From the Field Guide to Aquatic Invasive Species here in Ontario .

The purpose of this field guide is to aid
professionals in identifying aquatic invasive species
(AIS), collecting specimens to confirm identification,
and reporting AIS detected in Ontario waters.

Impacts: Because its establishment predates many of the
earliest fish surveys, the impact of Common Carp upon
native fish assemblages in Ontario is difficult to assess1.

*NOTE - We are not seeking reports on Common
Carp: This information sheet has been included to help
you differentiate Common Carp from similar-looking
species of carp in the guide, e.g., Grass Carp (Cypcte-
ide) and Goldfish (Cyp-car-aur) which should be
reported as per section 3.0 Reporti ng Procedure.

Just my 2 cents on the matter.