07-01-2012, 01:48 PM
In the correct time of year, I use a big treble hook with no bait and snag them. The best set up is where the sinker is molded onto the hook and is made specifically for this practice. I have found this method to work both in cases where you are sight snagging and also random snagging. The line must be lo-vis near the hook or they will see the line and your statistics go way down. Unfortunately snagging is much less productive with the common carp species due to the armor plating of scales. It is also unfortunate that this subspecies seems to be overtaking the mirror subspecies in the waters that I fish (southern Idaho). I have found that combining the rod and the bow provides for a pretty good time on carp in the months March through June. When conditions make one version not good (e.g. a windy day makes the rod outperform the bow), the other comes into play. That said, I am writing this on July 1 and have not answered your basic question about bait. I am going to paste something that I found on the internet from an unknown source. I am not going to cut out the part about chumming although I believe that it is illegal in Idaho. I believe the law applies (illegal) even for a nongame species like carp. Maybe somebody can chime in on this because if it is legal, it would be a huge advantage.
The exerpt starts in the next paragraph below this one. I like this because of using the roe ball tie cloth will enable it to stay on the hook better for a monster cast of over 50 yards. Perhaps a person could use one of the simpler recipes but incorporate the roe cloth to have the best of both worlds. I have not tried any of the baits though....
equal parts of
All Bran Cereal
dried whole milk
ground dead minnows
creamed corn
Corn meal
crushed rabbit food (the little green pellets)
Sometimes I add a tablespoon of strawberry jam
Mix well and add enough blackstrap molasses to bind the mixture and roll onto nickle sized balls.
Tie the balls with egg sack mesh and freeze til used.
Keep some loose (untied) in a plastic bag and chum the area with the crumbled mixture.
This mix has never failed
FR
[signature]
The exerpt starts in the next paragraph below this one. I like this because of using the roe ball tie cloth will enable it to stay on the hook better for a monster cast of over 50 yards. Perhaps a person could use one of the simpler recipes but incorporate the roe cloth to have the best of both worlds. I have not tried any of the baits though....
equal parts of
All Bran Cereal
dried whole milk
ground dead minnows
creamed corn
Corn meal
crushed rabbit food (the little green pellets)
Sometimes I add a tablespoon of strawberry jam
Mix well and add enough blackstrap molasses to bind the mixture and roll onto nickle sized balls.
Tie the balls with egg sack mesh and freeze til used.
Keep some loose (untied) in a plastic bag and chum the area with the crumbled mixture.
This mix has never failed
FR
[signature]