First time carp fishing...didn't go too well.

As i posted in the Catfish Fishing section, i've been trying to find a use of tuna fish juice in making dough balls for either catfishing or carp fishing. While i used corn meal mix, flour, veggie oil, buttered corn and honey along with the tuna fish juice. It didn't seem to attracted the carp to it. Several times i saw large carp swim by it and pass it up. On a very sunny day with a light wind, the water clarity pretty clear (for Nebraska), carp are usually swimming near the surface and in packs of 4 - 6 sometimes. After just having a large piece hanging on a hook about 12" from the bobber, just enough so i could visually see the bait in the water, like i said, carp would not touch it.

So i guess i will try a different recipe, more than likely one that does not consist of tuna fish juice and corn meal. They were either not interested in eating yesterday, or they didn't like the offering.

The difficult lesson was trying to keep the doughball on longer, as it would get soft in the water and fall off after 5 min. I usually rolled it up into the size of the golf ball and put it on there, left it out in the sun to dry out and that seemed to keep it on there much longer than just 5 min. The size of the dough ball was another concern of mine, i was starting to wonder if the ball was too big for them. But i don't know, these carp are well over 20". After the bobber didn't work, i tried taking it off and just letting the doughball sink to the bottom and see if that would work. Nope.

The bluegill and green sunfish seemed to like the pea size dough balls i was throwing into the water though. :)

I would use a ball no bigger than a nickle, but I think the easiest bait for carp is just corn, also I wouldnt use a bobber most of the time carp feed on the bottom.

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Originally Posted by BigMike315

I think the easiest bait for carp is just corn.

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Agreed. It's simple, cheap and works great.

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Originally Posted by BigMike315

I wouldnt use a bobber most of the time carp feed on the bottom.

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I use a float AND fish on the bottom. ;)

Some weeks ago some Asian kids showed me instant oatmeal doughballs for carp. That works real well, and now I just keep a box of instant oatmeal in the car with the rest of my back seat kit. Just a little water and knead em up real good so that they stick together well but are no longer really sticky to your fingers.

We have been fishing them either weightless on a size 4 circle hook or with maybe 1/8 oz drop shot weight under the hook on the bottom with slack line to show the initial takes. We have also used them on 1/32 and 1/16 oz jigheads. We use a ball somewhere about the diameter of a nickel to just about a quarter. This works better than corn IMO and you don't have to worry about spilling excess bait or its juice and throwing away the rest of the can when you are done fishing. The oatmeal dough balls sink by themselves but if there is any breeze the slack line gets blown around too much and you need more weight to anchor the bait.

The oatmeal stands up to repeated nibbling remarkably well, well enough to be able to wait out the second run in most cases. Some strikes are hard enough to take the rod for a swim so it pays to keep a hand on your tackle or anchor it securely. With the circle hooks we have yet to have deep hooked the first fish.

I use to catch carp with wheaties with a little strawberry jam mix in. It stays on the hook real well and they eat it like candy

Carp must like strawberries. My fishing partner made up some strawberry koolaid with a touch of garlic and salt for making our doughballs last evening with the instant oatmeal, and that worked pretty well.

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Originally Posted by no1son

Carp must like strawberries.

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They like anything sweet. Almost all of the carp bait flavors you can buy are sweet:

https://www.resistancetackle.com/cat...cview&ref=1329

#6 octopus hook 1\2oz egg sinker above swivel, canned corn is great bait put a few on a hook give a lite cast and throw a handful over where your bait sunk, leave a little slack in the line.Try fishing at different times of day morning, noon, or nite to find when they like to eat look for dirt clouds in the water from carp feeding you got to get them when they're hungry it can be hard to get them to eat if they're cruzing the surface. Try and find the side of the lake where you see them knocking around and chum some corn a few days before you to catch them.