How can I avoid catching carp?

[Dick Dastardly]

Thanks Budgie - that seems the way forward - simple (or maybe not so simple) sight fishing.

Would seem to be Dave as on both of the waters Ive fished that contain them they seem very "visual" often cruising sub surface.Not much help Im afraid.

[Vagabond]

try using cherry tomatoes and fished up in the water.

 

Thanks Newt, I can see the way you're thinking there and will have tomatoes (and maybe other fruits) as Plan B.

 

LOL. On the subject of using fruit, I can still remember a few years back when I tried your suggestion of fermented sultanas, and found I was catching bream after bream in a water where bream were uncommon!

[Anderoo]

Thanks Newt, I can see the way you're thinking there and will have tomatoes (and maybe other fruits) as Plan B.

 

LOL. On the subject of using fruit, I can still remember a few years back when I tried your suggestion of fermented sultanas, and found I was catching bream after bream in a water where bream were uncommon!

 

Sorry to go off topic Vagabond, but how do you prepare fermented sultanas? Might be worth a punt for the Wingham bream?

[Vagabond]

Sorry to go off topic Vagabond, but how do you prepare fermented sultanas? Might be worth a punt for the Wingham bream?

Here is what the search brought up.

Two or three years back, I tried fermented sultanas, following a post by Newt on the subject.

 

Tried them on a club water where it's normally "a fish a chuck" on almost any bait.

 

The water is stuffed with rudd, roach, tench, carp and brown goldfish, with a few bream.

 

The sultanas were ignored by everything except skimmer bream. Got a dozen or so - and that from a water where in a bag of 100 mixed fish, you would normally expect just two or three bream. Bream are known to have a "sweet tooth" so perhaps that result is not very surprising.

 

Have not used sultanas since (bream are not my favourite fish)

 

Have never tried raisins though.

 

However, the original thread lies with the Dead Sea Scrolls, but from what I remember I soaked the sultas in a weak sugar solution until they started to swell and take on a life of their own. You may have to experiment to find the optimum point at which they attract bream.

 

 

I note I disclaimed using raisins - that is for fish. Raisins have a number of uses in connection with acquiring roast pheasant, but we don't want to lead our younger members astray....

 

 

Might try raisins for grassies though

[Newt]

Vagabond - the small (cherry) tomatoes tend to sort out grassies since most places I've fished, they really like them while Cyprinus carpio really don't seem to. Fished under a float at 1-2 feet deep might just let you add yet another fish to your life list assuming that UK grass carp have similar tastes to ours.

 

Use as a hook bait or on a hair so the skin is broken or, if you figure out some other way to rig them, punch several tiny holes in the skin.

 

Over here, nothing but grass carp or buffalo will tend to take the little tomatoes. I dunno about your bream or other species that we lack.

 

Sultanas - soak in warm water until they have rehydrated and started to ferment just a slight bit (and I like a weak sugar solution better than plain water). It usually takes 2-3 days at room temperature. Then drain the water and store them in the fridge where they will keep for about a week. The white/golden ones have done better for me than the darker ones.

[Mat Hillman]

Who has actually caught grassies? - was it a fluke? - what bait/rig/ location tactics were used ?

 

 

The only grassie I've ever caught took sweetcorn fished lift style - I was after tench at the time! but it was in a fishery well stocked with carp!

 

Mat

[Alan Stubbs]

A few years ago, I lost a grassie having tempted it with 2 lobbies tipped with artificial sweetcorn.

 

It was in very shallow water - no more than 3' deep and along the edge of a bank of rushes. I was after some carp I'd seen cruising along there a few days earlier, but didn't realise it was a grassie until it got close to the net. I lost it through my own stupidity...I allowed it some slack.

[Newt]

A note to anyone who hooks a sizable grass carp - their habits when hooked are often very different than normal carp.

 

You should expect a very lackluster fight at first but they are likely to come to the net very green and if you net them and try to put them in a weight sling, your battle may be over dry land and you may lose.

 

I strongly suggest when the fish reaches the bank if there wasn't much of a fight that you leave it in the water, have a friend prod it gently with the net handle several times and get ready for a screaming run and strong fight.

 

The fish should behave like a normal carp after that.

[Ken L]

A proper comercial carp in your photo there Vagabond.

Not a lip in sight !

[Vagabond]

A proper comercial carp in your photo there Vagabond.

Not a lip in sight !

 

Afraid so - that's why I'm trying to avoid them!

 

I must say I didn't enjoy the ambience too much either......

 

In my enthusiasm to get to grips with a grassie, I had forgotten what awful places some carp commercials can be.

 

Won't be fishing there again.

Edited August 13, 2009 by Vagabond