Commonwealth carp?

[damonspreng]

Went to look today and saw a monster carp...what to use?

 

[john montana]

They are tough in there. I have caught them on the fly but only in the morning before the crowds chase the fish off the shoreline. Some nice fish in there.

 

[bass]

I take my kids there carp fishing early in the spring (before they stock the trout). We usually do quite well on corn or doughball, nothing fancy. Later in the year the water gets pretty weedy and it is tougher fishing. At that point we usually fish the Willamette.

 

[GungasUncle]

I used to fish commonwealth a LOT, but the carp fishing has become very tough in the last few years compared to what it used to be. My go-to rig there was an ultra light rod, 4lb line, #6 octopus hook, and a large corkie pegged with a tooth pick about 4-6 feet above the hook. No weight. Press sandwhich bread into a ball onto the hook and cast out. Didn't need to cast far - the carp would cruise the shoreline. When the corkie starts twitching, be ready. When the corkie starts moving - set the hook and hold on. Make sure the drag isn't set too hard or you pop the light line. Mucho fun.

 

[bass]

I used to fish commonwealth a LOT, but the carp fishing has become very tough in the last few years compared to what it used to be. My go-to rig there was an ultra light rod, 4lb line, #6 octopus hook, and a large corkie pegged with a tooth pick about 4-6 feet above the hook. No weight. Press sandwhich bread into a ball onto the hook and cast out. Didn't need to cast far - the carp would cruise the shoreline. When the corkie starts twitching, be ready. When the corkie starts moving - set the hook and hold on. Make sure the drag isn't set too hard or you pop the light line. Mucho fun.

That is an interesting sounding rig. We usually use ultralights but fished them on the bottom. Sounds like your approach would work well with the weedy water (which is why we quit going there for carp once the water warms up). I will have to take the kids out and give your approach a try this summer. Thanks for sharing.

 

[GungasUncle]

That is an interesting sounding rig. We usually use ultralights but fished them on the bottom. Sounds like your approach would work well with the weedy water (which is why we quit going there for carp once the water warms up). I will have to take the kids out and give your approach a try this summer. Thanks for sharing.

I was fishing on bottom with this rig - Commonwealth is only 3-4 feet deep in much of it's perimeter - it's deepest is barely over 10' in the middle in the summer. It's not a deep lake by any means - which is one of the reasons it gets so weed choked. The thing with the weightless rig - carp are very finicky, and they will spit a bait before you can react quite often if they feel any weird resistance. THe weightless rig gets rid of that resistance, and the fish will mouth the bait a lot longer. I've watched them drag my corkie 8-10 feet before setting the hook just to see how long they mouth the bait before making the decision swallow or spit. Typically I set the hook as soon as I see it start to move, because I don't want them swallowing the bait, since I am almost a 100% C&R carp fisher. I might keep one for crab bait at some point - but since I don't eat carp, I don't keep them. I won't kill them just because they're carp either. They're much sportier fish than hot dog trout that brings in the crowds.

It's really funny when you hook into a hot carp, a crowd gathers to watch you battle it - and as soon as they see that golden flank and realize it's not a trout - 9 times out of 10 the crowd disperses like they were never there. Usually the only ones that stay are parents and little kids, because kids generally don't have the "oh, it's just a carp" hang up that adults do.

Why someone would rather catch and release 10 inch stockers than 7-10lb carp is beyond me, but whatever floats their boat!

 

[bass]

I was fishing on bottom with this rig - Commonwealth is only 3-4 feet deep in much of it's perimeter - it's deepest is barely over 10' in the middle in the summer. It's not a deep lake by any means - which is one of the reasons it gets so weed choked. The thing with the weightless rig - carp are very finicky, and they will spit a bait before you can react quite often if they feel any weird resistance. THe weightless rig gets rid of that resistance, and the fish will mouth the bait a lot longer. I've watched them drag my corkie 8-10 feet before setting the hook just to see how long they mouth the bait before making the decision swallow or spit. Typically I set the hook as soon as I see it start to move, because I don't want them swallowing the bait, since I am almost a 100% C&R carp fisher. I might keep one for crab bait at some point - but since I don't eat carp, I don't keep them. I won't kill them just because they're carp either. They're much sportier fish than hot dog trout that brings in the crowds.

It's really funny when you hook into a hot carp, a crowd gathers to watch you battle it - and as soon as they see that golden flank and realize it's not a trout - 9 times out of 10 the crowd disperses like they were never there. Usually the only ones that stay are parents and little kids, because kids generally don't have the "oh, it's just a carp" hang up that adults do.

Why someone would rather catch and release 10 inch stockers than 7-10lb carp is beyond me, but whatever floats their boat!

I often fish the doughbait with no weight (the dough is the weight), but still I think the line gets somewhat wrapped in the weeds and creates the resistance that causes the carp to spit the bait. If I am fishing towards the middle (in the winter) I use the minimum sliding weight possible. I love the idea of getting to watch a cork take off as the strike indicator.

I agree that catching big carp is a ton of fun. Nothing like the sound of a screaming drag and the pull of a big fish! (Same reason I love sturgeon fishing).