I live a block from town lake and really need to get out and do this sometime. Whats the best way for me to use my bass gear to get on some fish without ruining stuff? I'm not looking to get all the way into $500 worth of crazy carp gear just yet... should i just be setting the drag loose and hoping for the best?

Also, is night time the best or can you catch some all day? I have tomorrow off so if its good during the day i might grab a chair and a 6 pack and have myself a time...

Here are some suggestions:

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3797279/Re_Carp_FAQ#Post3797279

I like to use a rod holder, angled so the rod points skyward--when the rod is in the holder, you want the line and rod to make a 90-degree angle.

Set your drag so you can pull some line out with moderate force. If you use a small circle hook, this setup creates a "trap" of sorts; when a carp picks up the baited hook and swims away, the rod acts like a spring to slowly pull the hook into the fish's lip. You don't need to set the hook with this arrangement; just wait for the rod to bend over, pick it up, and start reeling.

I like this idea. I am a terrible sweet corn fisherman in that I've been freelining for so long I have no idea when to set the hook with a Carolina rig. I am ashamed to admit that I have yet to catch a carp with sweet corn on the sliding rig this year. Lots of cats and turtles, just no carp.

What kind of rod holder do you use Brett?

on thing I would say is make sure you have plenty of line on your reel I have seen people get spooled out there pretty quick when using bass type gear.

I use a sophisticated rod holder that I imported at great cost through a specialty tackle vendor called...Walmart.

The rod holder is little more than a coiled piece of stiff wire with a long, straight section at the bottom. The wire is coated or painted with a rust color. You push the straight part into the ground and put the handle of your rod inside the coil. Cost is about two bucks. Cheap, portable, works great.


That's the beauty of the system. If you set it up right (and use monofilament line--that aids the "spring" part of the trap), you don't set the hook at all. The fish hook themselves when the circle hook is drawn into their lip.

The original idea came from In-Fisherman magazine; it's essentially the same system they advocate for catching eating-sized catfish from shore.

I've been wanting to try freelining for a while. Maybe I'll give it a go this fall.


Good point. Some 1500-size spinning reels can only hold about 100 yards of line.

Smiley do you catch a lot of carp on circle hooks? It goes against the reasoning for a hair rig, to catch their lips as they suck the bait in and blow the bait out.

Other fish, sure, they're designed to keep them from getting gut hooked.

Not saying you're wrong, but it goes against the grain of what I'm used to for carp.

I don't wanna speak for Brett but I don't think he is talking about a hair rig, but rather putting the kernels directly on the hook.

I don't use a hair with a circle hook; I just put a couple kernels directly on the hook. And, yes, I've caught several dozen carp with the setup I described.

Interestingly, there was a discussion a year or two ago on the CAG site where several people claimed they caught carp with a hair rig on a circle hook.

Thanks Ben and Brett.

Back to topic!

back to the mans question, as described above I use the same method with the cheap pole holder at a 90 angle with a circle hook with some sweet corn and let the carp do all the work, once hooked have yourself a blast.

I've caught most of my carp on hair rigged maize, using a running (carolina) rig. In 95% of the cases the carp have hooked themselves. With a heavy enough weight (1-3 oz) you don't need to worry about dropbacks, either (where the fish has picked up the bait and is swimming toward you rather than away) as the line will run through the weight and still pull off your reel. My rods are mostly 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 feet long. You will just need to make sure you're somewhere the fish come relatively close in to be able to reach them. There are some places in Town where they hang out 100+ yards from shore.

As stated above, turn your drag waaay down so that the line comes off easily. You can always turn it up again when the fish is on. Lost rods and reels get expensive!

like mentioned use a carolina rig ( you can pack a oatmeal method ball around the weight ) and learn to tie a hair rig .this is all you need because the fish will hook himself and you WILL know when hes on