River carp fishing in michigan?

Question

ok there is this small river by my house that i fish in. i fish off of a small bridge. the river has medium sized carp that i see swimming around, that often hang out under the bridge. any suggestions on what to use to catch them? i know carp are not too easy to catch so i need advice!!

Answer 1

Tony,

Carp are very easy to catch.  I would agree, canned corn works best.  It may do you no good to throw any into the water, this would depend upon current.  I've also caught them on worms and was with someone that sprayed WD-40 on a piece of sponge. Not very environmentally conscious but it worked.  If you are using worms, you might also catch bullhead/catfish, suckers, panfish, or occasionally turtles.

Whatever size line and hook you use, the hooks should be very heavy. Carp have tough mouths and will break thin hooks. I suggest bringing needle nose pliers to remove the hook.

You will need enough weight to keep your line and sinker in one spot, otherwise it will drift downstream and could become snagged in rocks or logs.

I do not recommend trying to bring the fish up to the top of the bridge.

Answer 2

Hi , sweetcorn on a hair rig is a good bait.  Worm is also a good natural bait to use.  You can also float bread on the surface,this is a good way as you can see them take the bait.  Check out this site for some good carp that I put in my lake

Answer 3

carp are very picky on what they take. your best bet is corn or bread. make sure you have heavy sinkers because carp are typically bottom feeders

Answer 4

Michigan fishing rocks.

I fish carp in the Pine, Charlotte,Carp Rivers in the Eastern U.P. of Michigan.

My rig is a 9ft. med. action spinning rod. a 20 lb.test main line with a sliding sinker on the main line and a crane swivel on the end

To this i add 12 lb. test leader about 2 ft.

Tie a size 4 hook on the end. Bait: i use a gob of night crawlers or a clump of wax worms.

Tip: spread caned corn over the area you want to fish 12 hours before you fish.

tackle resource: http://www.barlowstackle.com

information resources:http://www.in-fisherman.com

Answer 5

carp is carp... i use whole kernel sweet corn- off the cob or out of the can; night crawlers, commercial carp bait. they do spook easy. you need to get as close to the water surface as possible.

try these set-ups: main line to a swivel, on the main line, put an egg or pyramid sinker, below it, but above the swivel, a plastic bead, then a leader of the same test as the main line, a # 6 to # 2 light wire circle hook. OR  main line to a swivel, put a 6 to 8 inch leader with a plastic bead above and below the sinker, to another swivel, then a leader to the circle hook.

circle hooks are about 98% in getting the hook into the side of the mouth not the throat. light wire because the carp have sensitive mouths. the second sinker set-up is so you can reel the line to the swivel, when the fish takes the bait, the second swivel stops the line from moving when it hits the sinker, fish hooked itself.

i use a medium heavy to heavy rod and reel combo, with no less than 15 pound test. i have had carp shred less than 15 pound.