My local lake has a fair head of carp to 18lbs and they know all about dog biscuits/floaters with hook and line attatched. They can however be caught with a big piece of crust or flake with the hook nicely concieled. The problem is hordes of rudd strip the hook in about 30 seconds.
I have used the following method to good effect and it may work for you.
I bait up with half a slice of bread around the hook squeezed onto the shank just as you would flake. I then carefully cast onto some lillies and carefully drag the bait to the edge of the outer pads. Then throw afew dog biscuits close by and wait for the carp to find them. They are taken readily without a hook in. When one comes close to your pad with the bait on just tease it into the water. The carp will have usually have scared the rudd off and after a few seconds will find your bait and 'slurp'.
You will of course have to hold the fish out of the pads, not to hard if you stop it getting up a head of steam.
I have used the following method to good effect and it may work for you.
I bait up with half a slice of bread around the hook squeezed onto the shank just as you would flake. I then carefully cast onto some lillies and carefully drag the bait to the edge of the outer pads. Then throw afew dog biscuits close by and wait for the carp to find them. They are taken readily without a hook in. When one comes close to your pad with the bait on just tease it into the water. The carp will have usually have scared the rudd off and after a few seconds will find your bait and 'slurp'.
You will of course have to hold the fish out of the pads, not to hard if you stop it getting up a head of steam.