Grass Carp

[BoldBear]

Today I had a look around a remote pool which I was going to target for some good Tench. The pool was previously a Trout fishery until this season; and I was told that it also had some large Roach and Tench in it and most importantly it had no Carp in it other than a few Grass Carp; so is not the usual muddy colour.

 

While doing a recce this afternoon; in the relatively clear water I spotted a shoal of at least 10 to 15 large Grass Carp from around 7lb up to at least 15lb plus.

 

Having only caught one Grass Carp before; more by accident than by design; I wondered what bait would be the best choice to use for catching them; I realise that they were stocked in an attempt to keep the weed down as they eat soft weed but do they also eat the same things as normal Common/mirror Carp? are there any Grass Carp experts out there who could give me any tips pertaining to baits & methods that would help me to catch a few Grass Carp by design?

 

Keith

Edited May 26, 2012 by BoldBear

[Dick Dastardly]

are there any Grass Carp experts out there who could give me any tips pertaining to baits & methods that would help me to catch a few Grass Carp by design?

 

By the simple fact that Ive only ever had 3 in my whole fishing career and only two of those were intentional I can hardly claim to know anything much about Grassies let alone be an expert Keith. My first (caught in France) was on a zig Rigged Pop Up (Think it was one of Nick Buss's Plum and no its no good I cant remember! Ive still got a bit of the flavouring in the bait box in the loft so might be able to find out but not sure it really matters! Plum and another fruit flavour mix anyway! on a bird seed base mix) about a foot 18" below the surface next to some soft weed/algae. I set the depth and cast this to where I saw a group milling around. Second was accidental on a floater on an anchored rig at night once again on the edge of a weed bed where I had seen other (not Grass) carp moving around. The third and last Ive ever caught was on a floating Mixer (dyed red) from Honeycroft (one time holder of the record) and I spent several hours over several days trying to get one to take whenever I saw them (once again close to cover but this time definitely feeding on something surface/just subsurface but couldn't make out what) So that's all I can offer first hand I'm afraid mate!

 

Doing my head in I might have to go up there now and check! Plum and Pineapple? Plum and Peach? just cant remember!

[robtherake]

Might be worth a crack with Budgie's zig bugs?

[Dick Dastardly]

Might be worth a crack with Budgie's zig bugs?

 

Possibly Rob.They certainly seem to be feeding on small insects in the surface film at times.I'm not even sure whether they actually "eat" weed or do it just to get the insects that are in it? I hope some one on here sees this and can offer a bit more info.

[BoldBear]

Thanks Dick and Rob.

 

I caught my one and only previous Grass Carp by accident using a 'Strawberry' & 'Bun Spice' flavoured boilee back in the late 80's when everyone made their own high protien boilie mixes.

 

I think I might try a floating fruity jelly type bait or a normal floating boilee fished on or near the surface to see if that works.

What are Budgie's zig bugs like? are they like small semi-floating nymphs or other insects?'

 

These Grass Carp haven't been specifically targeted before; as far as I know; so I can't wait to have a go after them.

 

thanks for your help

 

Keith

Edited May 26, 2012 by BoldBear

[Phone]

BoldBear,

 

I'm no expert but I've caught several hundred, maybe thousand. Some on purpose, some by accident.

 

Grass carp (White Amur) are strict veggie eaters. They do NOT eat bugs or animal protein. I've personally had my best luck using a "grape tomato". I'd think you guys would use a very short hair rig. They will take corn, bread ball, or just about any veggie (i.e. green bean). I believe I've caught more near the bottom than near the top of the water column. Actually, the best session I had was about mid-water under a float.

 

The key is locating them. You can chum grass clippings if you have them available. You're way ahead of me in that I've never seen them shoal. Usually two or three at the most.

 

99% of the grass carp in the US are triploid (cannot reproduce) so the number stocked is about all there are in any particular venue. They are an intentionally stocked non-native fish for weed control. You cannot harvest grass carp in most venues in the US. Not sure how you got them in England. My PB grass carp is, I'm sad to say, larger than my common carp. They have one enourmous run in them and you better be ready. Then it's like draggng in a boot.

 

Phone

 

The closest I've ever seen to a shoal was grass carp coming and going. They respond to underwater recordings of other grass carp munching on hydriyllia (sp). Kinda cool!

[Dick Dastardly]

Grass carp (White Amur) are strict veggie eaters. They do NOT eat bugs or animal protein.

 

 

Not acording to this-

 

"Diet: Despite their name, grass carp do not just eat grass! In fact, apart from young fish, plant material tends to make up quite a small percentage of the fish's diet. As with all coarse fish, grass carp begin feeding upon invertebrates before moving on to a wider diet including soft plants. Larger grass carp would struggle to gain enough nutrition from eating just plant material and so larger invertebrates, particularly molluscs become of increasing importance in the diet."

 

Taken from- HERE

 

No idea if yours are a different species Phone, ours are Ctenopharygodon idella ? And also no idea of the qualification of the person who wrote it either.

[Phone]

Dickd,

 

'Ell even your English grass carp don't eat right. Don't you have pond weeds? In the rest of the world the grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) is a herbivorous, freshwater fish species of family Cyprinidae. To avoid the nagativity of the word "carp" they have been renamed "White Amur" in the US...

 

Maybe you are correct. However I stick with my suggeston and statement - and if indeed the fish is classified a herbivorous fish I wouldn't fish for it with a bug. That may be why I've never caught one on a bug.

 

Phone

[Vagabond]

I think I might try a floating fruity jelly type bait or a normal floating boilee fished on or near the surface to see if that works.

 

 

These Grass Carp haven't been specifically targeted before; as far as I know; so I can't wait to have a go after them.

 

 

When I needed a grass carp towards a species hunt, the only local ones were in a large pond, outnumbered about 500 to 1 by ravenous pasties of about a pound apiece. Like the carp, the grassies responded to freebies of floating bread (nice and cheap)

 

The only snags were - they were shier than carp and kept well away from the bank. That meant it was quite difficult to be selective (as you can be with surface feeders under the rod tip - like snatching the bait away if the "wrong" fish comes to it)

 

You had to spot a grassie and then cast bread about 30 to 40 yards, and there was a narrow window between casting too close and spooking the grassie and not casting close enough, in which case a greedy pastie took the bait first.

 

Succeeded eventually, but as you are not pestered by carp in the scenario you describe, floating crust should work well.

 

The guys that fish that pond have used all sorts of fruit to try to select for grassies, but tell me that for everyone caught on a tomato, fifty are caught on bread (and for every grassie caught on bread there are several hundred small carp caught)

 

Once I had chalked up grassie on my species list I have not fished for them since.

 

 

PS I know of a canal in Lancashire which has a few grassies and no (or very few) carp. The locals catch quite a few grassies on crust or flake, which they cast to the opposite marginal reeds.

Edited May 26, 2012 by Vagabond

[Phone]

BB,

 

Under the circumstances described by Vagabond I too would probably suggest bread on the surface or perhaps shallow under a float. Grape tomatoes are a novlety type bait that seems to work for me. Often, I don't have any tomatoes when I spot some grassies and bread (or small bit of cereal based paste) seems to work too. I can't think of anything else I would use a grape tomato for so a "tomato effort" would only be for grassies.

 

Phone