A couple of end-of-season carp

It' s been a bit too quiet on the artlure forum, so I thought that I would do a quick report.

Caught my new PB carp on lure a couple of weeks back at a very small and pressured Joburg dam.

Was using my 7 foot MH spinning setup to cast a Sada lead head loaded with a red/orange large curlytail at (or rather over and then reel onto bubbles and drop lure)the bubbles of feeding carp.

Got this solid 4.22kg carp about 20 minutes into my afternoon session.



It gave me a couple of good runs before I finally landed and again safely released it.



Then last week I got another nice carp on my Mitchell 4.3m telescopic carp dipping rod while fishing a trout and specimen carp venue near The Cradle. This time I was using one of my home-made lead heads and dipping it in the path of carp feeding at the surface against the reeds.

This 4.1kg model put up more of a fight than the previous carp - must be the big tail ...



Got a proper hookset.





The lure that did the damage.



Can't wait now for the winter so I can start dipping a couple of sunbathing catfish.

Cheers

Nice Catches
Since watching this type of fishing on “hier gaan ons alweer” my son and I have had great fun trying for carp on lure. It’s great fun when you get the conditions right (always being so windy down here and not able to see the bubbles)
My biggest problem is deciding on the hook size and weight.
Does it help putting some form of attractant or bait on the hook as well. We have put some hot-cross-bun on and had the odd bass take our line (go figure )
All in all ,with little 4’ rods ,walking the dam while the pap line is in ,it is great fun

tadeo wrote:

Nice Catches
Since watching this type of fishing on “hier gaan ons alweer” my son and I have had great fun trying for carp on lure. It’s great fun when you get the conditions right (always being so windy down here and not able to see the bubbles)
My biggest problem is deciding on the hook size and weight.
Does it help putting some form of attractant or bait on the hook as well. We have put some hot-cross-bun on and had the odd bass take our line (go figure )
All in all ,with little 4’ rods ,walking the dam while the pap line is in ,it is great fun

Click to expand...

Hi tadeo,

I have lead heads in #8, #6, #4 and #2 (probably the biggest I'd go and same as the one I dipped the 4.1kg on)

Smaller ones weigh about 3-4g and bigger ones 5-6g.

Best is to test what they're willing to eat and to make sure that the hook stands relatively proud with a wide enough gap for better hookups.

I use no scent, but some artlure guys have had success by using Berkley Powerbait Micro Wigglers, which have a bit of a stinky scent, as a trailer on lead head in place of curly tails.

Another rigging technique you ca try is to rig a curly on a bare hook and place a splitshot or mojo sinker about 20cm up the line. Helps when fishing over silty bottoms (lure won't sink into mud) and when casting to schooling carp.

Cheers

Thanks::tight:

This little one is one that was taken using white curly tail. The hook was one of the small (forgot the size) baitholder hooks we use for harders etc. with all the barbs smoothed off and a small splitshot above the knot. I thought I needed the extra length of the baitholder hook compared to the s4 or 6 vnc outbarb’s that I normally use. Problem is that most fish in this dam are bigger than the one in the pic and they end up pulling it open.
I’ve seen that adrenaline makes a good looking carp hook that is bigger/longer and looks stronger so I may try that next time.
must add that I’m new to fresh water ,so there is a lot of trial and error but we are really enjoying it

Hi Tadeo,

Maybe have a look at Mustad 34007 hooks, Gamakatsu SL45 Bonefish hooks and the Docks Longshank curved specimen hooks.

They've all worked well for me with carp lead heads - no chance of bending them open.

Cheers

Will do. Thanks again

nice catches to both!

Tadeo if he's not taking a curly or leadhead, chances are that it the presentation and/or the size/colour of the lure that's the issue and not the lack of scent. If it LOOKS good, he will eat it. They have very good vision

Thanks aqua. That helps more, cause the odd person has mentioned that they can't see well and go on movement (which I understand) and scent. I have found that not using any of the dip scents ,I get more grabs but not always getting the fish out.

well sure if he's in a cloud of mud its not a matter of seeing the lure,but feeding up on plants near the surface he inspects it first, I've seen too many rejections to believe anything else ;(