Carp Fishing Tips | How to Catch Carp Fish

If you were looking for a website that would provide you with the best and most useful advices on how to catch your regular Carp fish then you have come to the right place. We have put together some points in this article that will not only give you some facts about this particular fish but will also provide you with some major pointers and heads up for your Carp fishing venture. Read along to find out how to catch Carp fish.

You may also be interested to read some of our other articles, regarding how to catch a bluegill fish and our experts review on best fish finder.

Cool Carp Facts

Carp, also known as a member of the Cyprinidae family by scientists, these fishes are generally very unpleasant-looking and foul-smelling, mostly reeking of the slime on their bodies (no offense to you Carp buddy!).

a) Habitat

Carp fishes generally dwell in the waters of Europe and Asia. Historically albeit not entirely accurately, these fishes are assumed to imported from France or Germany to America in the middle of the 1800s. Later on, the Fish Commission of the USA were stacking up large quantities of Carps in many lakes and all over America in order to provide food source. The Carps gradually and naturally spread across the whole of the country from than on. A lot of states in the States now have a growing population of Carps as inhabitants, except for Alaska. Some great examples are The Great Lakes Basin and largely found throughout the West and South. Carps mostly prefer slow-moving waters and are extremely resistant to high temperatures and pollutants found in water.

b) Food

Carps are omnivorous fish and although they will maintain a vegetarian’s diet consisting of water plants, dead plant parts and algae, they will look through deep waters and scan the bottoms seeking out insects, aquatic worms, earthworms, snails, crayfish, rotifers, mussels and fish eggs. They usually swim through the water while sucking in food and mud into their mouths then they spit out what they don’t want to eat. It also commonly known, that a Carp will change its dietary habits according to various factors, such as, the climate at a particular time, direction of the wind, surrounding temperature and phases of the moon.

c) Appearance

Carps are- what is a nice way to say this- unapologetically unattractive-looking.

• The common Carp is usually light to dark brown in color and have big scales.
• Leather Carps are more often than not- scale-less fishes and smaller in size compared to the Common Carp.
• The Mirror Carp has spots over their scales which also vary in size.
• The Crucian Carp is the smallest of the Carps and does not weight more than 3 lbs.

­Catching Carp 

• It is crucial that you remain patient and stay calm. Carps are notorious for striking the bait in a docile manner, until they actually attack and strike the bait. Wait a bit for moment, before you set the hook and it is also strongly suggested that you carry a hook remover with you when you go Carp fishing because the hook may get stuck inside the Carp’s mouth.
• ​It is best to Carp fish in an area that has a lot of ducks or even geese in fact and keep a look out for flocks of ducks swimming by. Since Carps are known to follow groups of ducks and geese, especially the ones that are fed by people, because they love a good tasty treat, you might just hit the jackpot if you are fishing near where there are ducks. Just please be careful to not hit, hurt, injure, disturb or scare away any ducks or geese when casting your line!
• ​You can actually forget about the “fishing with multiple rods” stereotype because a single rod can really be all you need to hunt out your Carp.
• ​When the choice of hook-color is in question, you might want to choose a matte black colored hook when fishing for Carp. If you want to decide to use corn as a bait, then you may opt for a yellow or golden colored hook. However, if you are going to fish out in dark cloddish waters, then make sure to avoid using color for your hook that come off as shiny, because the Carp may spot it and swim away from it.
• ​For your bait when Carp fishing, there may not be a better one than corn. This is so because, the color, texture and flavor of corn is a Carp’s favorite. They are certain to allure in a Carp closer. You can also use “boilies” as fishing baits. “Boilies” are fish baits made from fish or milk proteins, eggs and grains and they are a very suitable alternative to corn.
• Although Carps are not an easy catch, artificial baits will make Carp fishing less hard than it already may be. We recommend artificial worms and artificial grubs to you.
• ​Carps are really feisty and will put on a good fight once they are caught so don’t go on their somewhat ugly appearance and calm nature. Be mentally and physically prepared for a showdown with your Carp- keep your handy tools on the ready too.
• Do not go for graphite rods unless you decide to fish for smaller Carps, because these rods will break apart under the pressure of big Carp fishes. However, if you decide to fish for small Carps then a graphite rod with a 3 lb. test curve will work magically. Whereas, for catching bigger Carps, a 7 – 12foot rod will provide you with sufficient flex and strength to reel the fish in.
• Do remember to make sure that you have a line that is strong enough to withstand the heavy weight of a large Carp fish. A braided line is suggested for fishing small Carps weighing one to two pounds. A nylon monofilament line is a single-strand-line that also has the near-neutral ability to float in the water.

​Final Few Words

We hope that you are successful in catching the Carp fish of your choice and if have gone through our article once, you may find no problem in this venture. Fishing for Carp may be thought a difficult task since it is made strenuous thanks to the Carp’s energy to resist, however, it is also an exciting activity that we hope you can enjoy.