Carpin Southern Style

[hammercarp]

Hey Guys.

I want to introduce you to a method for catching carp that I think is superior in many respects to the classic European method with the 12ft rod, baitrunner reel with bite alarm. This technique has evolved over the last 50 to 70 years to it's present form. The rods and reels are commonly available across North America and the baits are made with inexpensive store bought items. The line and terminal tackle are all readily available here as well.

I use UglyStik rods either the 6ft or the 8 1/2 ft in MH action. The six footer I have is a one piece. I land carp over 30 lbs on these rods every year. They are fitted out with Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 6000 reels loaded with either 12 or 17 lb Berkly Trilene XT mono. Any comparable rods and reels will do. If you are starting out in carping this is the way to go because you can also fish for channel cats, pike, musky ( not the real big girls though) and even cast off piers for chinooks with the same outfit.

The typical European outfit uses a Baitrunner reel which are considered an essential . The baitrunner reels were engineered to duplicate the features of a baitcaster reel ( which predate baitrunners by decades) in that baitcasters can be set on freespool. This feature is used on a baitcaster to cast with and also allows the fish to run with the bait and not pull your outfit into the drink. The baitcaster reels have a clicker or line-out alarm which sounds off when then fish takes off with your bait. With baitrunner reels you have to buy an electronic alarm which can cost anywhere from 30 to over 200 dollars. These alarms can also be frought with problems due to water getting in them and the clicker on a baitcaster does not need a battery which we all know can run down at the most inconvenient times.

The terminal tackle consists of; a #2/0 or #1/0 straight eye baitholder hook. Mustad and Eagle Claw hooks will do just fine. Owner also makes a deadly sharp hook in this style and it is my favourite, a large barrel swivel , a plastic or rubber bead and egg sinkers. The curvature of the hooklink/snell is there for a reason. This increases the effectiveness of the rig.

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The bait is in two parts. The hook bait and the pack bait.

For a hook bait a puffed corn is used. Please note not Corn Pops. These are readily available at the Bulk Barn or a local " healthy food " type store. They cost $2.99 for a big bag, which should last all season.

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You simply impale a piece with the hook. The puffs can have stuff added to them to increase their effectivness but this is not neccessary to start with.

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The pack bait is packed around the baited hook. Two of the simplest and effective pack baits are ground fresh bread ( bread pack ) and oat pack which is made with large flake steamed rolled oats ( not quick or instant oats ) .

Bread pack is made with plain white bread which can be bought for 1 to 2 bucks a loaf. You put the fresh bread in a food processor and chop it up fine. Then place the crumbs in a zip lock bag. Squeeze most of the air out of the bag. Don't compact the bread into a solid mass though. One or two loaves will do for the day. If you don't have a food processor you can just tear the bread into little chunks. This will work but makes packing it around the hook evenly a little more difficult. Keep the zip lock bag closed to prevent the bread from drying out. That's it, simplicity at its best. Your total bait cost for the day would be between a buck and a half to four and and half bucks.

This is the method for getting your bread pack around your baited hook. Use your hand to scoop up a bunch of pack bait . Hold your hand flat and using you other hand make a dent through the middle of the pile.

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Place the baited hook into the dent.

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Close your hand and squeeze repeatedly to pack the bait around the hook. Shift the pack around in you hand and squeeze repeatedly again. Repeat this until you have a nice evenly packed egg or ovoid shaped lump of bait.

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You are now ready to fish carp .

Cast it in to your chosen spot, point the rod tip at the bait, reel in the slack line and get ready to rumble.

This is the set up I use off of piers here in the Hamilton area. When I am sitting in the chair the reel is not in freespool , the carp cannot pull my rod in with this set up. If I leave the chair I click on the freespool button and engage the clicker. You do not need anything as complex as this but I like to be comfortable and have the rod at close hand.

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With a little bit of skill and knowledge as an angler you will not just catch some carp with this method you will , as that say down south "haul". Have some A5 35 ready at home for your sore arms and back.

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Oat pack has three ingredients , large flake steamed rolled oats, creamed corn and salt.

I buy my oats at the Bulk Barn , I put 5 scoops in a bag , this is about 2 1/2 lbs. You can also use Quaker Oats. To this you add one can of creamed corn and one heaping tablespoon of Kosher or pickling salt. Mix the three ingredients together and your oat pack will be ready to fish in less than 30 minutes. Keep this bait in a plastic container with a tight fitting lid. Unlike the bread pack this can not be prepared the night before but should be made on the bank.

Once again, not quick or instant oats. If you use these you will end up with a solid ball that will not break down or will fly apart when casting.

Good luck and tightlines for the upcomong season. Come and see me at the Niagara Outdoors show and I will answer any questions you have.

[Maxco]

Awesome writeup. I'm going to have to try that this year.

And I LOVE the MacGuyver skills you have going on there with your usual fishing setup...

[spottedGARRR]

Great post HC ! Thanks for all the info !

[smerchly]

That was explained very well for the average angler and I know this method works great ! I joined Lorne for a days carping at L.Gibson and it didn't take long for a nice carp to take my puffed corn offering . What a blast, fighting these fish with a proper rod & reel . Lorne also showed me who the expert was that day , catching 5 or 6 carp and knowing how to "steer" them into shore . It's a relaxing way to fish for sure and when Mr.Muscles jolts your rod into action , it's far from being relaxed as your drag starts screaming ! I hope to try that spot again a few times and hope to get Hammercarp to join me and give me a few more pointers .

[fishfight]

thanks for more advance lesson on carp bait. I am surprise hair rig was not needed on this set up.

How can we avoid gobies from taking our presentation?

Is the packed bait going to attract tons of gobies to one spot?

[hammercarp]

Fishfight. When I first tried this method a couple of years ago I was also concerned with gobies. So I tried different hookbaits . None worked as good as the puffed corn. I have had very little trouble with gobies. I think that what happens is that when the packbait breaks down it keeps the gobies occupied with all the little pieces.

[smerchly]

Lorne , In a lake like Gibson where we fished , the gobies seem to hang in the rocks near shore . I believe the bottom where we fished was just mud with some shallow weed growth on the bottom . So , if there were no or very few gobies in some spots , would using some old smelly salmon roe bags be worth a try ? I would insert enough egg sack floater balls to elevate the salmon egg bag off the bottom and make the roe bags as big as a nickel . If I was a carp ,it would look good to me .........

[hammercarp]

Lorne , In a lake like Gibson where we fished , the gobies seem to hang in the rocks near shore . I believe the bottom where we fished was just mud with some shallow weed growth on the bottom . So , if there were no or very few gobies in some spots , would using some old smelly salmon roe bags be worth a try ? I would insert enough egg sack floater balls to elevate the salmon egg bag off the bottom and make the roe bags as big as a nickel . If I was a carp ,it would look good to me .........

I don't know Bill but I would think the catfish will love old stinky roe. I have seen carp caught on roe bags I don't know if they were fresh or stinky.

[smerchly]

"Stinky" , only because the salmon eggs have been in in the freezer for a year . They have that "marinated" scent to them now, and I forgot about the cats going for them . I'll give the eggs a try to see what happens .......but I'll be sure to have the "good stuff" on hand to know the carp are there !

[gottobecdn]

Great set up... used this for the first time a couple of weeks back. Replaced the straight eye bait hook with a circle hook, although i did miss a few fish once i got the feel for it the 2 fish landed (13-15lbs) were hooked perfectly in the lip. No need to worry about hooks being swallowed anymore. Thanks for sharing.

[bigugli]

Here's a couple "paylake" carp caught today.

[hammercarp]

WTG! Bruce.

[fish.boy55]

with tht rig doesnt it sit on the bottom and get stuck in the weeds and does bread and corn puffs work and were on L.gIBSON DID U CATCH THE CARP?

[blairwelsh]

Great looking Carp Bigugli.

all muscel

Hey Guys.

I want to introduce you to a method for catching carp

AWESOME INFORMATION!

Hope everyone catches and releases our friends, the Carp.

Guy in France just caught one that was 94lbs (New World Record)

I bet some of them here in Ontario will get that big....

[Sprout]

gotta try this setup, still waiting for my first carp. Just curious, what kind of line setup do you have between the hook and the swivel?

[jackz905]

thank you for posting all those pics i love to learn how to tie new rigs and test them out

[jackz905]

with the bread pack is the bread suppose to squezzed enough so it doesnt fall of or is it suppose to fall apart when u cast it

[bigugli]

with the bread pack is the bread suppose to squezzed enough so it doesnt fall of or is it suppose to fall apart when u cast it

The bread pack should stay on the hook. The idea is that once on bottom it crumbles off the hook and the corn puff sits on top of the pile of crumbs .

[jackz905]

alright thanks does it work better then corn usally that and bread balls is basically all i have used

[DaveC]

Awesome of you to take the time to explain the techniques you use to catch carp. Thanks,

[hammercarp]

I thought I would add some more to this thread further explaining this system of fishing carp.This will also give those that haven't had a chance to look it over.

Here is a reprise of the basic rig.

Paylake Rig for beginners

The basic paylake rig has as it's hallmarks, simplicity and effectiveness. There are only 5 components. A hook , some monfilament line , a large swivel and a sliding weight. You can use a plastic or rubber bead between the weight and the swivel to protect the knot . That is it.

Let's start with hooks, any wide gap straight eye hook in sizes 2/0, 1/0 and 1 will do. Eagle Claw, Mustad Gamakatsu and Owner make hooks that are suitable. The Owner hooks have a very small barb . You can pinch the barb on the other hooks to facilitate unhooking the fish quickly and with less damage. Sometimes when using one of these hooks it falls out when the fish is on the mat. They still provide a very secure hold on the fish while playing it because the light weight combined with a very taught line keep the hook in place. On some hooks like the Gamakatsu Finesse wide gap hooks you can straighten the turned up eye with a a pair of pliers or small vice. These are a very common hook in tackle shops because they are popular with the bass guys. The Owner bait holder SSW STRAIGHT EYE - CUTTING POINT™ is over all the best hook for the job. The hook design with the cutting point works with the design of the rig to give you a good hook up. They are not cheap at about a buck a piece and are not as readily available as other hooks.

For the hook link or snell I use Berkley XL17 lb test or Berkley XT 17 lb. Test. I use the XT sometimes in current.

Egg sinkers from ¼ oz. to 3 oz are suitable. I most often use the ½ oz size. I have rarely used 3 oz. when I fished deep water with current . The size of your weight is important and you should use the lightest weight you can get away with. You can also use river sinkers which are basically flattened egg sinkers.

This rig pictured is configured with a single hook.

I will go through each component of the rig in order to give you a clearer idea of how it works and why it works. I will start in the upper right corner and go counter clockwise to the upper left.

The hook. There are 3 important features of the hook used. It must have a wide gape or gap. This is because you are putting your bait directly on the hook. This will accommodate the bait and allow for hook penetration. The hook should have a straight eye. This will work with the snell to give the hook the right angle for wrapping around the carps lips. Turned up eye hooks will work against the mechanics of the rig and will make it less effective. Turned down eye hooks will over exaggerate the angle of the hook and lessen the probability of the hook point penetrating. The hook should be strong enough to hold without bending or straightening.

The snell knot. There are a number of ways to snell a hook. There are many on line videos available demonstrating the snell. I tie mine from the shaft close to the hook eye with the loop on the under side of the hook shaft. After snugging the knot against the eye and tightening it I take the tail end of the line and bring it back and over through the top of the hook eye. It is important to make sure you use the curve of the line to achieve the desired shape of the rig, which is an opened up “C” with the hook curve on the inside of the “C”.

The hook link or snell. 17 lb. Test Berkly XL was used . This provides the necessary stiffness to create the spring effect which makes this rig so effective. It is the same as the mainline so there is no need to buy extra hook link material. Braid, no matter how heavy, simply will not act in the same way.

Figure of 8 loop . The figure of 8 knot has a very good “knot strength” and will not pinch the line and weaken it. It also does not distort the “C” shape of the hook link or snell. There are also on line videos available demonstrating how to tie this knot.

A large barrel swivel. It is important to use a swivel with large round eyes. This facilitates quick hook changes . Buy brand name swivels of decent quality. Really cheap ones break.

The palomar knot is used to attach the barrel swivel to the mainline. This knot is simple and has good knot strength.

The plastic or rubber bead helps to prevent the weight from damaging the knot at the swivel.

The egg sinker. This is a run rig so there is no bolt effect. The angler sets the hook. Just enough weight should be used to pin the bait to the bottom and to maintain a tight line from the rod tip to the wieght.

17 lb. Berkly XL is used for the mainline. This is compatible with the large strong hooks used. This will allow the angler to play the fish effectively and land it in good time. This means that the carp will recover more easily upon release.

Rubber stop. I use a piece of eraser rubber to prevent the weight from damaging the rod tip when I put the rod away. This is not essential to the rig.

Each component of this rig adds to it's effectiveness. It is a system. It is simple, effective, well thought out and not expensive. If you change components you will likely decrease it's ability to hook carp.

I hope you have some fun with this. By that I mean banking lots and lots of our scaly quarry.

[hammercarp]

I have also made a YouTube video. It is a slide show demonstrating how to make some pack baits for carp. You can click on the YouTube logo and then the icon beside it to go to full screen. This will help in reading the text.

[Bryan]

Greta Job! this video will be very usefull, thanks... I'm hoping this will help me catch a new pb this year.. my biggest yet is only about 8lbs

[niagarangler89]

HC doin' what he does best!! Thanks for the refresher Lorne, as always, an easy and informative read.

I can't wait to experiment with the paylake rig and pack bait for some big carp this year!

[bigugli]

It is a good simple, yet effective, tactic for carpin