Great common carp in Commenwealth today!!!

[mlw]

There are a few guys around here who flyfish for carp,
check Carp on the Fly , I have tried it without much luck yet, but I can tell you that the angling pressure on prime carp water in Oregon is considerably lower than on trout and steelhead water, which can be a nice thing.
Michael

 

[troutmasta]

Just watched your you tube video, Super Cool.:clap:. That was a big fish. I fish the willamette a lot and have seen them literally swimming on the surface like river otters or som thing:think:. Its wierd. I know they eat them in the eastern parts of the world. Do you eat them in the UK?

 

[Drew9870]

Very Nice youkay,

By the looks and the sound of the lake, I am gonna have to plan on hitting it someday soon, it looks like prime Carp water, but since there are many ducks and seems like plenty of people feed the ducks I would recommend a bread ball on a size 12 treble with no weight and 6lb test mainline, some Carpers say a treble is a no no for carp, NONSENSE is all I have to say along with some older carp experts from a Carp Forum.

Most of the carp in Oregon could definetely be considered virgin, and because of it, I believe it makes them harder to catch because they are not used to eating anything but natural food, and you have to ween them onto something of your choice. Another thing, the only two carp I ever had slam my rod were on a glob of nightcrawlers otherwise you have to pay close attention to the slight nibble of them inhaling and exhaling your bait (I can't get the hair rig mastered, so I use a slide sinker rig).

As for species of Carp, we also have (probably illegaly stocked) a few Koi's wondering around the state, I know of 3 different Koi's in two ponds and they are well over 10lbs. I must ask, where did you find the Crucian Carp?


I believe you need to come to Salem sometime and show me what I am doing wrong when I tie the Hair Rig, maybe I could show you the gravel pit around here that holds the monsters (caught my 30lber out of it), it is also one of the ponds that holds a 20lb pure orange Koi.

 

[youkay]

sorry its been so long coming back and updating, had a work thing out in vegas, good times!

I hit up bethany lake today with my light gear, man the bottom is weedy! fished with corn again, had a few small nibbles then one massive take - by massive I mean when i struck to set the hook it almost pulled me into the lake, my clutch was set completely off (0 drag) and it just ripped about 10 yards of line anyway then a few seconds later snapped me. biggest fish I've ever hooked into by far... it was the same rig and setup I was using for the 10-15lbers at commonwealth and it broke it like butter.

going again next week with the big guns, I know theres at least one huge huge carp in there now haha, at a guess from the way it pulled it has to have been 25+

 

[Growbug]

Carp are one of the best coarse fish in the UK, whole books are written about how to catch them and gravel pits are the arena for many a carp match.
They are wiley little (big) buggers.
Before I moved over here, I used to fish some of the ponds and lakes that the Germans made on their way home in WWII. Doughbaits in mesh feeders are some of the most prized recipes around. Mix breadcrumbs (both dried and fresh), catfood, unsalted canned corn, and mud. Use the stuff as groundbait and swimbait. But.. over here you can't do that.
I would highly recommend floating a nice 1" round piece of load crust. Rig so that the U of the hook goes through the crust and then back into the soft bread. The crust will sit on the top of the ater with the white fluffy bread underneath and the hook sits upside down in the water. Carp comes along.. sucks it off the surface.
Also try dog biscuits. and no.. i am not joking. You have to drill a hole through, then thread your leader through that and let the hook shank sit in the hole. The weight of the dog biscuit allows you to cast further. The biscuit will sit on the surface and then, when it gets waterlogged, start to sink. Wait until its been under about 5 mins before retrieving and rebaiting. As the dog biscuit dissolves, it will bait your fishing area.. since its actually the bait you are using, it serves two purposes.
Carp also love nightcrawlers, you can use a nightcrawler with both the bread crust and the dog biscuit. Rig then hooked once through the collar, and on the outside on the biscuit/bread so that the U of the hook pins it to the main bait. The wiggling of the floating bait will call them in.

Hope this helps.

----
after watching that vid and hearing your accent.. you prob know all of the above.
I grew up just outside Manchester (and I hate football because of it)

 

[1aB]

Carp will also take small lures fished slow as close to bottom as possible. My jig mentor John in PA just sent me this pic of a typical one out his way - other species bite being slow he got about 10 of these in the past week on 4# spinning gear & "Micro Spoons", smallest around 15#. I accidentally caught lots of smaller ones in CO on trout/crappie fluff jigs. Sorry, I need to figure how to post thumbnails.

 

[topbloke]

That's a really nice fish there in your video mate!

I'm from England and live over by the Nike campus just a stones throw from Commonwealth lake. I've walked around the lake a few times and seen the carp floating on the surface in the summer months. A couple of years ago I saw a Koi which must have been at least 10 lbs.

Have you tried Bethany pond just off 185th Ave? I've fished it a few times and caught commons up to 16lbs and had plenty of double digit fish.

Also, another awesome place to try is Sauvie Island. I know a few good spots there, and you can literally pull carp out one after the other all day long during the spring months.

I've got a float setup and also a ledger setup, but I prefer to float fish as I feel more involved. I just read that you're now allowed to have two rods on still waters in Oregon, so maybe next time I go fishing I'll use both rods.

If you feel like going fishing with me sometime I'd be more than happy to show you some of the proven spots that I fish.

Dave

 

[beaverfan]

Careful, you have to pick up a permit. Your standard license doesn't cover two rods. Just don't want ya to get a ticket.

 

[colbypearson]

They are without a doubt the best pound for pound fighting fish on the planet. In England, carp fishing is probably the number 2 sport behind soccer. If any of my British friends saw that video I'd get hate mail for the way I landed it on the muddy gravel. Carp care is essential, they can live for like, 60 years and grow to 80lb+, they do a lot of good for any eco system bottom feeding rotten vegetation.

I spent a lot of money on some match gear imported from england but its really not the best time for float fishing so I decided to try and improvise quiver tip with a small lead... i've never seen anyone my entire life catch carp of those quality in such a short time frame. I've now concluded that using british methods to fish for carp - works spectacularly!!!

My new carp rod arrived today and im expecting the rest of my dedicated carp gear on monday, I know theres some 30lbers+ in commonwealth and I will get them If I were to method feed or PVA bag here they would just go bonkers

thats sweet but best pound for pound i dunno about that we have salmon steehead and smallmouth carp are cool and fun but an 8lb smallmouth would whippem carp are definitely fun though and get big often too

 

[youkay]

Hey Dave!

Yea, I've fished Bethany a lot since posting here, had plenty of 10-15's out of there too. I got my 2 rod licence on the 1st but i've only had a chance to fish once this season, rain has been horrible on all my days off work so I got a day bivvie in the mail, I'll get even more funny looks now, seeing as how much gear I take out haha.

I'll be fishing bethnay pretty much every weekend from 7am onward soon as weather allows it, I have a new carp setup with delkim alarm i fish traditionally with (PVA/stickmix), then just use one of my light rods to ledger or float fish with. I've heard from some of the locals bethnay has some 20's and I'm desperate to catch one, the only problem is (and you'll notice a lot of these forums) most US anglers who catch them either kill them for no reason, or eat them.

Have you checked out CAG? google it, dedicated carp anglers group and forum where its a lot more EU style and more respectful of carp / carp anglers. Hope to see you out on Bethnay sometime!

 

[topbloke]

I've been a member of CAG for a few years but don't really post much in there, but lurk a lot. My screen name is carpbloke.

I just checked out your other thread on Bethany and I think you've been fishing the exact spot that I usually fish :lol:

I too have a "day bivvy" but I won't be out fishing until the weather improves a bit.

 

[Troutier Bassier]

So how many carp do you catch a day at Bethany? Im thinking about going there.

 

[topbloke]

This time of year it can be a bit slow, but during the spring you will be getting bites all day. I think I've had 10 or more during a spring session. All in the double digits.

Sauvie island also has lots of carp, but I dont think you can fish there until mid April.

 

[Troutier Bassier]

This time of year it can be a bit slow, but during the spring you will be getting bites all day. I think I've had 10 or more during a spring session. All in the double digits.

Sauvie island also has lots of carp, but I dont think you can fish there until mid April.

Why Not? Im going there in a few weeks for carp. Tons there. I went there when I was a child and caught 10+ carp a day there.

 

[topbloke]

I think I remember reading that fishing wasn't allowed there this time of year. Something to do with the birds breeding? I may be wrong though.

 

[Troutier Bassier]

Depends at where you fish at.

 

[topbloke]

I usually fish the lakes up at the far end. What are the rules on fishing those?

 

[Drew9870]

Welcome Topbloke, It's nice to have another Carp fisherman come around the forums.

I also am a CAG member, nametag Drew, and I hardly post either.

If you ever come around the Salem area, send me a pm or something beforehand, and I will show you some spots around here for Carp, I know of a Gravel pit with some Carp that could top out around 34lbs, biggest I caught was around 28-30lbs.


Do you have any doughbait recipes that work around here, I'm always looking for something new and effective.

 

[topbloke]

Hey Drew,

I just checked out some of your pics and it looks like you must be doing something right if you're catching all those carp!

When I go carp fishing I usually float fish for them using a G. Loomis float rod and 6 or 8 lbs main line with a 4 or 6 lb leader. I use Drennan floats which can only be picked up online or from England. The floats are VERY sensitive and detect even the smallest bites. The bait is usually FMV sweetcorn. I tried the more expensive sweetcorn brands, but the carp seem to like the FMV, which just happens to be the cheapest and smelliest. :lol:

I don't make my own dough balls. I have never tried it. I've got quite a few "bollies" which I bought online from some of the CAG sponsers. Haven't had any luck with them yet though.

If I was going to fish a deep gravel pit I'd probably fish close in to the margins (bank) with my float rod and use my ledger rod a bit further out. I've got a fox bite alarm for that rod, so I don't have to keep an eye on it.

I'd love to check out that gravel pit with you sometime soon! Perhaps a few of us from the forum could go up there and make a day of it.

 

[Drew9870]

Theres also a couple monster Koi's in the gravel pit, 6-8lb test is also the only line I'll use for Carp, along with 4-6lb leader.

I need to master tying the hair rig, or atleast making an effective one.

I have a couple thill floats I just recently picked up, they are about as skinny as a nail and about 6 inches long i believe, I have not caught a Carp on a float yet as I could never find any super sensitive floats.

Any tips on float fishing for Carp? Mainly for somewhat deeper water (8-9ft)