<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 oNotOptimizeForBrowser/> Hello,

I am new to the forum and I’ve been reading them but I’m still at a lost.  I am in need of some serious help.  This is my second season fishing and I’ve been targeting Carps since I began fishing this season around May.  Nothing I have tried has worked.  I fish the Hudson River in New York Sate.  The current there is pretty strong.  I read somewhere that it can reach three to five miles per hour.  The Hudson is also a tidal river and it gets two high and two low tides a day.  The surface also freezes during winter and some of the ice layers I’ve seen are over a foot thick.  After the ice is gone the water is incredibly muddy.  Actually, one can say it’s pure mud.  There is also a lot of grass and water chestnuts, and this season the vegetation was at its worst compared to the last fishing season.  Lures did not work out very well this time around and fishing with lures required high tide or a surface lure.  You will loose your under the surface lures if used during low tide because of the amount large rocks.

By June the water is pretty clear.  It is never clear enough to see beyond three or maybe four feet.  During low tide I have been able to see the carp just in two feet of water and three to five feet right in front of me while I stand on my usual bolder.  I have not seen lots of them, but two to three at a time.  The smallest carp I’ve seen was probably about a foot and the largest size I’ve seen was probably about 25 inches.  One time I even followed a carp with a two/three inch minnow plug.  I put the lure right in front of it.  I followed the carp as it swam.  I even touched the side of its head and it’s belly with my lure and it paid no attention to my lure!  That carp didn’t get scared, it didn’t run away, it did nothing!  It kept on eating something I couldn’t see while my lure was right in front of it!  That carp was relaxed and worry free.

Another time I put fruity carp bait from a company called “Eagle Claw.”  The bait resembles an oily version of “play dough.”  It smells so good that I’ve been tempted to try it myself!  The carp ate all around my bait for a few minutes and then it swam away very slowly.  It practically touched the bait with the side of its lips!  I tried chumming with corn, but as soon as the corn hits the water the current will take the corn away before it even sinks two inches.  I have also tried this corn bait from a company named “Magic Products” and nothing.  Bread, marshmallows and earthworms have not work either.

My tackle includes 3ft of 20lbs clear leader with 30lbs moss green braid, #6 hook on a hair rig and I have also attached the bait directly on the hook, a three-way swivel, a 3oz bank sinker, and a 1oz sinker during slack tide.  I have also tried a hair rig, fish-finder rig, dropper rig and a three-way rig.  The fishing rods are 7ft, 8ft or 10ft.

 

Will really really really appreciate some help. I’m really at a lost. Any other suggestions???

 

Thank you for all your help.

 Hector

I don't know much about tide water nor the Hudson, but I will share what little experience I have gained in Missouri. I try to stick to what is natural. I use corn next to a corn field or by a grain terminal in the fall around harvest time. I will use mulberries from a mulberry tree growing next to the water. Cottonwood trees produce cotton and carp will gorge themselves on it when it is falling. I'm not familiar with the vegetation in New York, but keep an open eye and an open mind. With a heavy current, you might look upstream to find what food source they are eating in their season. Also a drainage pipe or run-off ditch may carry a food source for a long distance. You might check your local laws and rules, but if the current is carrying away your chumming corn, then try a mesh or cloth bag filled with your chum, weighted down and tied to a rope. They might not be able to eat any, but it should leave a good scent trail. I hope something here will help you. I'm not an expert, just a guy who loves to fish. good luck.

Try soaking corn in vanilla and using a free running weight. I have caught several carp over 30lbs this way.

Hector, I don't know much about Carp fishing, but I do fish in NY (NY Bight) which covers NY Harbor and its surroundings. I too deal with tidal changes and currents...very strong currents. I not only have to deal with the current from the ocean, but also the currents from the Hudson and East River. At Breezy Point Inlet, the current and swells are extremely dangerous...3 currents and ocean swells have sank many boats, and drowned many jetty fisherman over the years. Keep on fishing how you would normally fish, but keep in mind of the tide change. A rule of thumb is Spring In, Fall Out. What that means, is During the Spring, fish the incoming tide and Fall fish the outgoing tide. Slack tide is not really a good time to fish, you always want some sort of water movement (current). Incoming tide will bring in all the bait fish the carp and other predators feed on. Out going will send them back out down the river. Look for rips and breaks in the current where carp might stack up and use as ambush points. Fish those points on both tides. As for chumming the waters, invest in a chum-pot, there about 15 dollars which you can get at most tackle shops and they are weighted, so they will sit on the bottom..or you can add more weight to them by putting in a few sinkers if the current is too strong. Good luck.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to catch carp is Get a tub of OLD FASHIONED OATS make sure not to get instant mix them in a bucket with some cinnamon add a can of cream corn and a can of regular sweet corn. That will pack together good. You're on your own when it comes to finding a sinker big enough to hold bottom. Try and find a eddy somewhere that the water is a little slower. Take a couple pieces of the corn and put it on your hook and use a slide sinker. Get a handfull of your oats and push the lead into them and pack them tightly around the lead and your hook cast out and wait. After a few minutes the oats will break apart and expose your baited hook. You may want to loosen your drag or open your bail because the carp will usualy grab your hook and run. Send me a message and I can give you a few places to look for carp specific gear.