How to Fishing for Grass Carp

Grass carp, or white amur, were introduced to the United States from their native Asian range to control aquatic vegetation in public and private lakes and ponds. These fish can consume their weight in plant matter each day and can weigh up to 100 pounds. Like the common carp, fishing for grass carp can be difficult. Misplaced or sloppy casts send the fish bolting for cover, and few tackle shops offer baits that appeal to carp. But anglers lucky enough to hook a grass carp find the fish fights well, jumps often and is sometimes among the biggest fish in the body of water.

Instructions

Bait Fishing

1 A few days before you plan to fish, bait areas where grass carp are likely to feed. Open a few cans of canned corn and toss the contents into shallow coves, about 10 to 20 feet from shore. For a cheaper alternative, place a few pounds of dry feed corn in a 5-gallon bucket, cover with water, and place it in direct sunlight for three to four days. The seed corn is ready for chumming when it smells sour.
2 Select a 6- to 7-foot light action to medium-light spinning rod and a reel spooled with 6- to 8-pound test monofilament line. Tie on a size-1 hook and pinch a few split shot 12 to 18 inches onto the line above the hook. Use as little weight as possible. Grass carp tend to reject baits on heavily weighted lines. Loosen the drag on your reel. Grass carp make long, strong runs when hooked, and an appropriately set drag can help you land more fish.
3 Hook your bait. Large, mature grass carp feed heavily on plant matter. Good bait choices for grass carp include cherry tomatoes, mulberries, ficus berries, dough balls made of bread and corn, and, on occasion, earthworms.
4 Make long casts and keep a low profile. Skittish grass carp spook at sudden movements along the shore or from baited hooks landing on their heads. Watch the fish as they feed and anticipate where theyre moving. After you cast, leave the bail open. The open bail, or free spool, feeds line to a carp that has taken your bait without feeling resistance, and gives you a better chance to successfully set the hook.

Fly Fishing for Grass Carp

5 Select a 6- to 8-weight fly rod with a matching weight-forward floating fly line. These rods should have the backbone to help you land a hefty grass carp. Tie on a tapered leader in sizes 2X to 4X.
6 Match the hatch. While grass carp can be caught incidentally using nymph patterns, select flies that resemble their primary food source: plants. Select flies in sizes 6 to 8. Traditional lightly weighted patterns in green tones, like olive, can fool grass carp. Fly tiers have also created patterns to imitate a corn kernel, a piece of bread, a mulberries or a ficus berry. For a realistic, natural pattern, try Sister Carol's Grass Carp Fly, which resembles a few strands of aquatic weeds. Some fly shops offer a few carp fly patterns, or you can tie your own.
7 Look for actively feeding fish. Tailing carp will be foraging, head down, along the lake bottom. Search for carp that are swimming through the shallows and pausing to eat the occasional morsel. These fish are most likely to take a well-presented fly.
8 Make precise casts. Anticipate where the carp is likely to move to next and cast the fly so that it lands roughly five feet ahead of the fish. Allow the fly to slowly sink or float on the surface.

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