Lake Erie Carp Fishing

The carp fishing plan for yesterday included fishing at a new venue on Lake Erie that I have always wanted to try but never got around to it.

We arrived as dawn was arriving. Paid our $10 to park. And headed to the fishing spot. Once dawn was in full swing it became clear that we had our work cut out for us. The two foot ways and spray from Lake Erie made it challenging to have confidence that carp would be feeding.

Here's a picture of what I'm talking about:

A local arrived later on and after a short conversation he pointed out that most of the days this location has very calm waters and is a joy to fish. We were lucky enough to get around to fishing it on the worst day possible year-to-date.

So we decided to move to another location.

I caught a carp and a catfish at the second location, but left disappointed with the low production.

Mid teens common carp

Carp on the landing mat

This fish was caught on a Gamakatsu carp hook. I've written about my testing and experiences with Gamakatsu in this article and others on this carp blog regarding the suitability of the Super G carp hook for carp fishing.

I do recommend a size 4 hook if you decide to try Gamakatsu for carp. I used two pieces of corn for this fish, but 3 pieces will also catch fish if rigged properly. In my experience testing the Super G hooks they hold better if the hook has some room to "turn" and "hold" in the fishes mouth. If the corn rests snug against the hook when hanging freely on the hair rig, I have experienced more hook pulls and lost fish. I have found that an 1/8" gap works well for me.

If you are using Gamakatsu hooks for catching carp I would enjoy hearing your impressions of them in the comments below.