So What Do Carp Really Eat?

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Informative as ever, thank you Ian but I noticed no mention of spods/spodding...

Laaallaaaalllaaaa I CANT HEAR YOU LOL . No absolutely no use of that thing. I did try a sneak it out with me on the recent Fishing Magic day on the Test fishing for Grayling but the game keeper persuaded me to put it away in the car. You can be very persuasive with a shotgun slung over you shoulder I find LOL.

Thats was interesting Ian, I need to read it again and try to understand a bit better [/insert Thicko smiley thingy].

I have thought for some time that almost any bait will be picked up if you can get the carp in and feeding on your bed of offerings. I think (assume) that they will start troughing on hemp (for example) and if you have a lego mans head in the middle of the bed it will get picked up and ejected. If the lego mans head is on your hair rig hopefully the carp will get hooked.

If that is what happens then maybe the amount of "suck" the carp is using is matched to the current feed, so maximum chance of the bait being picked up it should suck up at least as easy as the loose feed, unless of course the bait item has been singled out for consumption.

The scenario of them troughing down on bed of freebies would also help explain how they can seem to become pre-occupied with hemp, etc.

Sagalout its interesting you talk about the amount of suck I have for a long time looked and tried to get my hook to weigh next to nothing by trying to stick black hi buoyancy foam to the hook and whittling off the excess to try and get the hook to sink slowly. Now I believe I have managed this but then I start to think about the way the hook should work within the carps mouth and worry that the weightless hook may not drop into the bottom of the carp mouth and therefore not snag the bottom lip.
Food for though.

Ian Gemson said:

way the hook should work within the carps mouth and worry that the weightless hook

Click to expand...

I hadn't thought of that, good point Ian. I might stay with my current method of a highly noticeable lump (colour, red luncheon meat, or leakage, paste). I have had good success fishing a hair rigged 6mm pellet over a bed of 6mm pellets.

Now I am thinking about it, last year the 6mm pellets did not work as well as the year before. The difference was I had changed from CC Moores to Skretting. I am now wondering if that was the reason, or maybe it was other conditions. The conundrum of fishing

---------- Post added at 08:13 ---------- Previous post was at 07:50 ----------

I have just read the first article in "freespool", the link that noknot has kindly posted. Interesting that the guy is saying he thinks there is one suction level and to use smaller baits and bigger hooks and cites a rig that has a weight near the hook to drop the hook into the bottom jaw of the carp.

Another article in freespool buy a learned clever type bloke states that carp particulate or gulp the food and can regulate the suck required for either method.

This is all very interesting and thought provoking.

In the days I spent a lot of time carp fishing we in our little group used to kill the odd carp and we always examined the stomach content. It is surprising how much silt and detritus a carp will suck in. Also large volumes of daphnia and midge larva.

I remember catching one common carp of about 8 lbs that spewed up a lot of carp fry.

I completely relate to the penultimate paragraph. Although most of my carp fishing these days is usually carried out free lining or with a with a float/bubble (margins, up in the water, surface fishing) I have, when used, had much success using unflavoured artificial maggots/casters in conjunction with a funnel web of mixed pellets. Three of these buoyant baits, attached to a hair on size 10 ESP raptor, or similar, float just above the pellets – the weight of the hook keeping it concealed in the mix. Why this is so successful I can only speculate. Possibly when a carp homes in on the scent of the meal and has decided it’s ‘safe’ it will then not be able to see what it is actually hoovering up as it’s eyes are to the side of the head – therefore the buoyant artificial is the first thing that is sucked into the carp’s mouth. We have tried this with most artificial baits over the years and the result is always the same – so no preferences for the fish – it’s just that I’ve been using the same three ‘casters’ (change the rig often of course) for some years now and have sort of got used to them.

Carpaccio ?