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I have been watching some guys do carp fishing online. I have been thinking about trying to target some this summer. Any tips out there for targeting them? Also has anyone eaten a carp? The shows online I watch are always releasing and no conversation on eating. I am not sure I would, just wondering.

they're in every one of our local rivers, including the south nation and the st lawrence

I have eaten carp many times that was prepared by my asian friends. It is a very gelatinous fish. Certainly very different from anything else i have eaten. When I ask them how to cook it they always say "very hard, very complicated". It is a fish that is easy to cook WRONG and hard to get RIGHT (again, just what I am being told).

But to answer your main question - yes I have eaten it, I will gladly order it at chinese food restaurants, but wouldn't go out of my way to keep one or make it myself when I like so many other fish so much more.

There are certainly lots of online resources showing you how to prepare it and cook it.

If you want to try it... GO FOR IT. I have eaten several fish that guys online say "yuck" to. Example sheeps-head (freshwater drum) was actually pretty darn good on the BBQ.

I'm looking forward to doing some carp hunting this summer with a compound bow. They're good garden fertilizer, but I have only herd of asians eating them. My friend has a vietnamese neighbour that eats all the carp he kills. Interesting that they have a unique way of preparing them!

Resist the urge to buy all the special gear the Brits use. The fish in Canada are not as pressured as in Europe and some of the finesse tactics you see are overboard for what you need here. A good rod for the size you are expecting, some corn or boillies and your ready to go.

zippyfx wrote:Resist the urge to buy all the special gear the Brits use. The fish in Canada are not as pressured as in Europe and some of the finesse tactics you see are overboard for what you need here. A good rod for the size you are expecting, some corn or boillies and your ready to go.

LOL - Yeah, totally agree. I bought my dad all the hair-rigs, boilles, and gear.

Then we went fishing, had his rod setup that way.

Then I setup another rod with a big treble hook and two fat worms on it, hoping to get some Bowfin... instead we kept getting Carp!

At the end of the day we caught ZERO fish on the expensive hair-rig but caught three on the old hook-and-worms fished right on the bottom in 18 inches of water. One of the carp was about 25 pounds and took nearly 45 minutes to land (we took turns) on 10lb test line!!!

Secret tulip festival trick. When the tulip festival is on at the tail end (nice hot day) people on dows lake feed the ducks in droves with bits of bread, unwanted food, etc. Usually just past the boardwalk near the trees. Guess what hangs out below the ducks waiting for all that delicious chow overflow. CARP. If you are prepared to look a little odd walking through the tourists with your tackle, and dodging the ducks with your bait, you can use a simple bread ball and be prepared for the oohs and ahhs from the tourists who cannot believe the size of the fishies.

I love carp fishing! Like Zippyfx said, can of corn and a local river (especially the Rideau) and you are all set. BTW the Carleton side of dows lake is FULL of huge carp. You can sight fish with corn on hot sunny days. Only problem is getting them up from the water.


Rod

Thanks for responses. I will have to give it A shot

I am also planning on doing some carp fishing this year.

They are an open season fish, so I guess technically you can fish for them all year round.

Thanks for the great ideas on the carp fishing. I think my medium action rod should be able to handle them although I may need a thick spool reel. I suppose a baitcaster could work lol

I've been chasing Carp on the St. Lawrence for almost ten years now and my biggest is 33lb. I've met folks that have caught fish over 50lb, and others who have caught more than 80 in one day. With the size of fish, zebra muscles, and need to maintain some control from shore, I always use a 12-foot rod and a 12,000 size spinning reel that can accommodate at least 300 yards of 80lb brade. Strength to avoid being cut off by the zebras, and length to avoid being spooled. Even still, you can get spooled. Long rods are good at working the fish around structure when they get near shore but still have hundreds of feet of line out, and for chucking led up to 3-4 oz to avoid your bait being tumbled along by the current. You don't need to cast far. Some sort of bite alarm is nice to have as well, but that also means you're using a reel with a bait runner feature, which is a second lighter drag that allows the fish to run under only minor tension until you have the chance to grab your rod and engage the main drag. You don't need a $25 bite alarm, but without one you need to hold your rod all the time if you aren't using a reel with a bait runner drag system.

You might be able to catch big St. Lawrence carp on lighter tackle, and you can also catch Musky on lighter tackle, but is the challenge worth the stress you're going to put on the fish because it takes you that much longer to play? I know they are only Carp, but to me, a fish is a fish. If you want to read a bunch of articles on how to catch big carp on the St. Lawrence, I put up a bunch on my website www.OntarioCarpFishing.com. It's not hard to catch them and it is possible to catch 30-40 in a day with minimal loss if you use the right gear.

Like all of you I've been counting the days and marked the openers on the calendar but I can't wait! So I' thinking of trying for Carp in late April if the conditions allow on the assumption that there's no season for Carp. I've done some research but cant find much for Spring fishing for it. What I've got ao far leads me to think that Fitzroy park where the aptly named Carp rivr goes in might be a good spot or some of the bays on the Rideau or perhaps where the Jockvale goes in? I'd be grateful for your opinions as well as suggested presentations. I don't have Carp gear so I'm thinking of using my preferred Pike set up but and some corn tipped circle hooks. What do you guys think my odds are? Thanks in advance.

@karma thanks for the insight man.

I'll take a look at some of the articles.