michaelpthompson

What are you doing October 12? Here's a really experienced carp angler who is going to be fishing the tidal basin then and invited people to come along.

I use canned corn in my pack bait, but plastic on the hair. Never had a problem. I tie a fairly short hair.

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but based on the experiences shared here, has anybody used hominy (posole)? It's treated corn after all, and appears stronger than canned sweet corn. And for those of you who use fake corn, do you use a flavoring on it?

Looks like your situation is similar to what we have here in Colorado. Chumming (pre-baiting) is illegal. "It is illegal to introduce anything into waters of the state for the purpose of attempting to attract fish (e.g. chumming, artificial light, acoustic equipment, etc.) that is not attached or applied to a lure as defined" "A lure is defined as any man-made object comprised of metal, plastic, wood and/or other nonedible materials made or used to catch fish." So, if you use a method lead, or popup boilie rig, etc., you are fine as long as the bait it attached to the lure. Some here in Colorado question the use of pack baits and there seems to be some discretion among wildlife officers whether that is considered chumming. I do not consider it to be so, since I embed the hook in the packbait, and it remains attached by a hook link the entire time I am fishing. The packbait does tend to dissolve a bit and float around, but it was attached when I cast it out. An officer may disagree. I don't know, I haven't spoken with one. North Dakota regulations define bait in three categories: 1. Live bait and baitfish, 2. Terrestrial bait (such as nightcrawlers, and waxworms), and 3. Manufactured bait. "Products manufactured as edible fishing bait and other inert biodegradable substances are legal bait." Corn is not specifically manufactured to catch fish, but would certainly seem to fit within those definitions. It is certainly not prohibited. Same with bread, oats, bread crumbs, or other substances often used in carp fishing. Not specifically allowed, but it's hard to see a wildlife officer complaining about corn when nightcrawlers and salamanders are expressly allowed. As always, your mileage may vary. Game officers are very individual and may have their own definitions, especially for a species unfamiliar to them, such as carp. Another thing to keep in mind though is that the North Dakota regulations define common carp and silver carp as None-game Class III Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS), which "can be kept for consumption if legally harvested." but "cannot be released alive back into a waterbody after they have been harvested." So apparently, catch and release carp fishing is illegal in North Dakota.

Best wishes Philip. I hear they do carp fishing in Blighty too. :-)

That's the way it goes in Colorado Steve. Spring was last week. But you'll be plenty nostalgic for this cold wet weather when we hit the tenth day in a row over 90°F.

They have it on Walmart.com. I think you can order it and have it delivered to your local store; perhaps even your home.

Thanks for the info John. Actually, I did recently obtain some Mega Tutti Frutti glug from Ken Hutchinson and started using it on my pack bait. Only one trip with it so far, but I'll keep trying.

Here's an excellent video tutorial. It's not mine, but this is the way I do it.

Makes sense. One of the guys I follow on YouTube is in Virginia. I'm often jealous when he spends five days prebaiting a spot, puts out 6 or eight rods, etc. In Colorado, I can have one rod, except if I buy a second rod stamp, I can have two. And chumming or baiting is strictly illegal. It's nice to know we are such a widespread, even international community.

Well written article John, thanks.

Cannonball, read back a few posts for context. In Colorado, chumming is specifically defined and PROHIBITED by our state fishing regulations. That's why it's important to check state and local laws and regs. What may be perfectly allowable in Tennessee will get you a stiff fine from a very disapproving wildlife officer in Colorado. E.G., I have gotten a lot of great advice from YouTube on carp fishing methods, but I have to ignore a fair portion of it because it's illegal in my state.

CPW frowns on feeding wildlife of any sort, so even literally "feeding the ducks" would get you a ticket. So John, I fish a pack bait with my hook embedded in it. It's never softball size, just what I can pack into the contours of the lead with my hands. Maybe elongated ping pong ball size. I cast out and let it sit for 15 or 20 minutes. If it hasn't gotten any interest by then, I reel in and cast out in a slightly different spot.I can't see any way this could be considered chumming, but would love to hear your evaluation based on your conversations with wildlife officials.

Sorry, but I have to disagree with the estimable Swansea Steve. Here in Colorado, the official regulations define chumming in this fashion: So, in my state the act of "regularly casting out loose method balls or cage feeders at the start of a session every 5 minutes or so" would definitely be considered a violation. I fish with a method feeder and a hair rig with the hook embedded in the pack bait, so I consider that I'm fishing with a baited hook, and therefore not chumming. I've had some people question whether wildlife enforcement would agree with my interpretation, but I have not yet been contacted while fishing, so I can't answer that question

Thanks for all the great videos!