Carp Gold: Please post up shots of your Carp catches and provide your insights

[Miami101]

Well here it goes, what seems to be a taboo topic among anglers.

Carp Gold:

This time of year most people that have a yard have to cut their grass once a week. What does this have to do with Carps? Ah, the devil is in the details.

Each week as I cut the grass, the local monster Carps would line up at the edge of my lake for a feeding frenzy of grass. I could not help myself seeing these large monsters tailing like Red's on the flats, and like most guys out there, started the quest to catch one. I asked Kirk and Blake if

they could try to catch a monster Carp this month and provide me with some input.

Here are some of the findings from Kirk, Blake, and myself.

Baits:

Fresh Cut grass: I used some string to tie grass almost like a fly.

Here are some grass samples:

Home made after cutting my grass:

Carp Fly:

Dough/bread: Worked great, but hard to keep on the line, and cast with.

Boilies: Boilies are the most adaptable and versatile of all the carp fishing baits now available. They come Frozen for maximum freshness, and many carp fisherman even create their own unique boilie. These come in different flavors.

Here is a Boilies setup Sample:

Canned corn: Not bad, noticed they love sweet corn more, and old veggies.

You can use this to chum the waters.

Here is the Corn Example:

Off the Record: Hot Dogs (strange), and marshmallow

Approach:

The common feedback on this fish is that upon approaching they spook very easy, and a stealth approach would increase success.

Sporting Quality: (FWC LAWS)

Sometimes taken by anglers, especially those fishing for catfish or

tilapia, but they must be released immediately and unharmed since

those found in Florida were stocked deliberately for aquatic plant

control purposes. Bow-anglers are especially adept at taking grass

carp and are sometimes given permits to remove excess grass carp.

Ref:

http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/fish/freshwater/nonnatives/grass-carp/

Types of Carps found in Florida:

Grass Carp is one of the largest members of the minnow family. Silvery to dark grey with golden sheen. That’s one big minnow! LOL

Common Carp have a more compressed body Silvery less gold, and shades of black.[/size]

Here are some photos. I will post more soon, on hold for Kirk’s shots.

Second Carp:

Blake’s Carp:

Time to go play cars with my son. Good luck out there, and I look forward to your Carp shots.