What Do You Feed Grass Carp in the Winter
Carp fishing is growing in popularity in North America for good reason. Determining what carp eat and which baits they'll hit is important. Carp are a strong, powerful fish that fights hard and feeds on baits that don't stink. They have a pretty wide-ranging diet that requires a closer look.
What do carp eat? Carp are omnivores which feed on small insects, vegetable matter, decaying matter, plankton, fish eggs, and even occasionally small fish. I witnessed carp feeding on the surface on dead and dying shad in a local reservoir a few months ago.
I grew up regarding carp as "trash fish" but in recent years, I've grown very fond of carp. In fact, carp have become my favorite species of fish to target in this past year. I love writing about carp almost as much as I enjoy fishing for them. In this article, I will cover everything carp eat and how to make baits to catch them.
I know this is a bit random, but if you ever wanted to go on a guided or chartered fishing trip in freshwater or saltwater, you should check out Fishing Booker. They are the leading database of certified and professional fishing guides at the guaranteed lowest prices.
They have countless listings for such dream destinations as the Florida Keys, Corpus Christi, Great Lakes, San Diego, Central America, Montana, and many more. Click here to visit Fishing Booker and book your trip of a lifetime at very affordable prices.
Everything a Carp Eats & How to Catch Them
Common Carp's Natural Diet
The common carp consumes a diet rich in vegetable matter and some protein sources. This species is omnivorous but leaning more in favor of being vegetarian from my personal experience.
They love feeding on decaying and some living vegetable matter on the bottom. They will suck up food and muck in their mouths then blow out the mud while retaining the food.
Carp also feed on insects which do make up a large portion of their warmer-month diets. Grasshoppers, moths, flies, and larvae can be seen being gobbled up by carp on many late evenings at the water's surface.
Carp will definitely feed on plankton and fish eggs during the spring. They don't rely heavily on eggs but will steal eggs when available. Although much rarer, carp will eat small fish too.
You'll never catch a carp on a crankbait or fishing with fathead minnows but I have observed carp feeding on dead shad floating on the surface. In fact, they were so focused on fish that they wouldn't even look at my corn or bread I was offering them.
General Breakdown of Common Carp's Diet
Vegetation
Common carp will eat some living vegetation matter but really like eating dead and decaying vegetation matter on the bottom.
Carp will spend hours a day shoveling dirt off the bottom with their vacuum mouths to feed on weeds and other vegetation. They will retain the food matter in their mouths and spit out the mud and inorganic debris they intake.
For this reason, a great place to find carp is near emergent weedlines as they will be feeding on both new growth weeds and decaying vegetative matter. This is the best place to look for common carp, especially in late spring.
Fish Eggs
Carp love feeding on the bottom and one of their favorite bottom food items are fish eggs. Most nests and beds are defended aggressively by fish but carp are like bulldozers.
If they want to eat eggs from a nest, no angry bluegill or bass will stop them. They will just lower their head and push forward.
Eggs are a very seasonal treat for carp but during mid-to-late summer, fish eggs can be a favorite carp food source. I have heard of carp fishermen using flavored and cured salmon eggs to catch carp during this time window but have never tried it myself.
Insects
Carp definitely consume a lot of insects as part of their regular diet. You may see carp on the surface slurping up bugs any time of the day but during the summer, you'll most commonly see this around sunset until about 2 hours after dusk. This is when insect activity is highest and carp will be in the mood for insect protein.
If you check out my complete breakdown of the best fishing times of day to catch carp, you will be armed with information most other carp anglers won't know and you'll catch a lot more carp.
To catch these carp, tying a grasshopper to the line or using floating fake corn is ideal. Speaking of grasshoppers, click here to learn what fish you can catch using grasshoppers as live bait and how to rig them without killing the grasshoppers.
Fly fishermen can also benefit greatly from this activity and hook into one of the strongest fighters in freshwater on the fly which can be very challenging.
Night fishing can also be hot for carp too since insects abound. To learn which fish bite at night and how to catch them, click here to check out my article.
Fish
Carp are not known for being predators of quick-moving prey like minnows or shad but they will eat them, especially dead fish. I haven't heard any stories of carp feeding on healthy living minnows or shad before but I suppose anything is possible.
What I have seen is carp feeding on dying and freshly dead shad on the surface. In fact, when carp are in the mood for feeding on dead fish, they don't seem to be interested in anything else. I would never recommend using baitfish as carp bait though as the bite is far too unreliable.
Vegetarian or Omnivore
Many people think carp are vegetarians because they can never catch them using standard baits that catfish, for example, would bite. Carp will occasionally grab a worm but this is a rare occurrence.
The truth is catfish will eat worms well before any carp shows interest. If you don't want to catch catfish, read my article on avoiding catfish while carp fishing.
The truth is though that carp are omnivores and their diet consists mainly of vegetation like weeds and decaying plant matter, as well as insect, insect larvae, fish eggs, and even small dead fish.
Carp will consume plankton too as a means of adding additional food to their diet, particularly in the winter. This list of food sources is largely backed up by a study conducted by Garcia-Berthou (2001). A study by Marsden (1997) showed common carp fed heavily on the eggs of lake trout.
By the Season
Spring
During the spring, carp are moving into shallower water. All winter long, they spent in deeper holes to chase the warmer water.
As the surrounding bays and inlets start warming up, carp move into these shallows to feed on stuff that died off over the winter, decaying vegetation, insects, and fish eggs.
Fish eggs become a real treat for springtime carp that is hard for them to pass up. I would say that during the spring, carp like to feed on vegetation, and decaying plant matter the most.
And the best place to find them is in the margin areas around inlets and shallow mucky-bottom bays.
Summer
In the summer, insect activity really heats up around a lot of carp lakes and rivers. This leads to a lot of late afternoon surface feedings.
Mosquitoes and moths I have seen really get hammered by carp in these later summer hours. Carp will often feed on the bottom during the day munching decaying matter and some emergent vegetation.
In early summer, there may be some remnant fish eggs remaining for carp to gobble up but their summer diet consists mostly of vegetation and insects.
As baitfish stress out and begin to die during the summer heat, you may observe some carp start to shift to eating these dead shad and minnows from the surface.
Fall
During the fall, a lot of green matter that spend all summer growing starts to die off as water temperatures fall. The cooling water temperatures mean that vegetation matter will decay more slowly thus expanding the carp's feeding windows.
In early fall, insect activity may still be high and carp will dine on insects in the late evening. I think your best bet for catching nice fall carp is to fish with pack baits or boilies near the edge of dying weedlines or along the margins near deeper water. Insects fished on the surface may also draw strikes. Floating boilies and bread offer a good alternative.
Winter
During the winter, there is still an abundance of food for carp. Vegetation like weeds and grasses are dying and decaying. Carp really seem to like feeding on these slow-decaying matter. There will also be a lot of baitfish that begin to stress and starve.
You will see a lot of dead shad and shiners around any lake you visit during the winter. Up north, you will see baitfish frozen in the ice.
Carp will readily gobble up a dead fish small enough for swallowing. Carp will also feed on some plankton in the wintertime if other food sources are limited.
For a complete list of all the gear I recommend and use for carp fishing, check out my complete carp gear list. I really believe in every item on this list and I'm confident the items will help you become a better carp angler.
Homemade Carp Bait Recipes that Carp Love to Eat
Jello-Sweet Corn-Panko Pack Bait
This is my go-to pack bait for summer carp. Mix a can of sweet corn, Jello powder, and panko bread crumbs together. Work the mixture until it clumps together without being too sticky on your fingers. This is a fairly slow-releasing pack bait that dissolves slower than some others.
This is a great intermediate bait both for carp that are actively feeding and carp that aren't feeding much at all. This is a great bait for when carp are eating debris and insects off the bottom.
Kokanee Killer Cured Sweet Corn-Quick Oats-Grits
This is a very fast dissolving mixture that works best for carp actively feeding and who need a quick stimulus to earn their attention.
Dump a can of sweet corn with the canning water into a container and pour some Kokanee Killer cure in. Mix it around and let the corn cured for at least 30 minutes. The longer they rest, the better the flavor and the firmer the corn will be.
I like to start the corn cure before I leave and by the time I arrive at the lake, the corn is nice and ready for use. Mix oats and grits together then pour in the cured sweet corn. Mix the concoction together until it balls up nicely and add it to your method feeder.
Tamale Powder-Corn-Kool-aid Pack Bait
I just learned this from a guy I met at the canal a few weekends ago. He was killing it catching carp after carp to my one sad little carp. Turns out this is all he likes to use and it always works for him.
Buy some cheap tamale powder from the grocery store and follow the directions on the packaging for making tamales. The labeling I bought just says 1 cup water to 2 cups powder. I added my Kool-Aid (cherry of course) to the water before adding it in.
Once added, the Kool-Aid gives the pack bait a nice flavor and smell. I also added in sweet corn kernels since my actual hook bait was going to be fake corn. I have only tried this bait once but did catch fish and definitely saw the other catching a lot right next to me.
PVA-Friendly Mixtures
PVAs are quick-dissolving plastic membranes that can hold a good amount of food and be cast a long distance while remaining in-tact. The purpose of a PVA is to act like a self-containing chum pouch.
In states where chumming is illegal like California, a PVA affords a fisherman the ability to essentially chum without actually doing so.
Once exposes to water, the PVA membrane quickly dissolves away leaving a very nice pile of food for carp to eat.
The thing with PVAs, however, is that they can easily dissolve before you are even ready to cast the bait if you use the wrong type of filler bait. PVAs dissolve on contact with water so you need to eliminate the water.
An example of a PVA-friendly bait could be sinking boilies or cured corn. Sweet corn naturally contains a lot of water even if you remove the kernels from the water they come canned in. By curing the corn, you effectively draw out the moisture from them.
You could use special curing salts designed for PVA fishing or something like Kokanee Killer curing powder which I really like since it gives the corn nice scent, flavor, and color as well. By curing the corn, you will make it PVA-friendly and the PVA membrane won't dissolve until after you cast it.
Best Carp Bait for Fast-Action
I love pack baits more than any other type of carp bait. Carp will be eating aggressively in the late evening so I like to fish with a quick-dissolving pack bait like a Kokanee Killer-cured sweet corn-Grits-Quick Oats pack bait.
That thing dissolves very fast but the cured corn adds some awesome scent and flavor to draw in the carp fast.
When carp are in the area feeding, it is important to select a quick-dissolving bait that will grab their attention. Slow-release baits are fine for slower feeding carp but will release too slowly for fast-feeding carp that won't want to linger in an area without obvious food.
Best Carp Bait When Bite is Slower
When bites are slower to come by, I think it is important to fish with a pack bait that releases good scent but breaks down more slowly. Boilies definitely fit the mold of a well-scented bait that breaks down slowly in water.
Another bait I think works well for slow carp fishing is the Jello-Corn-Panko pack bait. It does tend to break down slower than some of the other pack baits and the Jello really releases some good scent into the water to draw in carp.
If your state allows chumming, I think a great way to increase your success is to chum with birdseed mixtures or even throwing a handful of boilies into the water. Boilies are expensive to buy but if you make your own, they are dirt cheap.
I wouldn't recommend chumming with store-bought boilies unless you have a lot of money to spend. If you plan on fishing in one spot for a few days or a week, I recommend chumming that site on a continual basis.
This will draw more carp into the area and could lead to better and better carp fishing each day. Birdseed works great as a chumming feed since the seeds are small so carp will have to stay there longer to eat them and they won't fill the carp up.
Best Bait When Carp are Down on Bottom
When carp are down on the bottom not visible feeding or sunning on the surface, it is a good idea to throw so sinking bait to them. I like using a good dense pack bait for these carp.
I highlighted some really good pack bait recipes above that work awesome for me that will do wonders for these deeper carp. You should try them. Pack those baits onto a solid plastic method feeder or method lead.
Sinking boilies work very well for these deeper carp. If you are making your own, make sure you don't microwave them as doing so will make them float. You want them sinking right to the bottom where they'll break down surprisingly slow.
The boiling action while you create them gives them a bit of a protective shell. PVA bags are another great idea in states that don't allow chumming like California where I'm currently at. You can fill the PVA up with PVA-friendly food that will dissolve on the bottom releases plenty of attractive food for carp to take notice.
Best Carp Bait for Topwater
When you see carp rolling, jumping, and generally feeding on the surface, it is time to try some topwater baits. If you are fishing in water less than 8 feet deep, you can still catch carp on the bottom even if you see some feeding on the surface.
Carp are very curious fish and can smell out favorable food items if they are nearby. They will be able to sense good food right below them as long as the water isn't too deep.
The best carp bait for the surface carp is either bread, floating fake corn, or floating boilies. These baits work very well for these carp.
If you have a fly rod, tossing some dry flies out there can certainly draw some awesome hits as well. Feel free to mix and match baits until you get bites. Just because carp are feeding on the surface doesn't mean you can catch down deeper in the water column.
Attractants Worth Trying
I'm a big fan of Kokanee Killer for curing sweet corn kernels and also as a carp attractant for addition to pack baits. It adds great color to the corn and bait along with giving it a nice scent and flavor that carp and many other species appreciate.
I bought one bottom of Kokanee Killer a few months ago and after curing about 6 cans of sweet corn, I don't think it's less than 3/4 full. It should last you a long time and it's priced pretty affordably.
Pro-Cure also makes a sweet corn formula that catches a lot of carp. You probably wouldn't want to add it as a filler for your pack bait but squirting a fair amount in before you mix the pack bait can add some awesome flavor and scent.
I think an even better and more efficient use of this attractant is to dab a little bit on the fake corn you are using as a hook bait. You could also just dip your fake corn into the water your sweet corn came canned in to give it some nice flavor and scent.
Jello and Kool-Aid are my favorite attractants for carp though. I love the smell of cherry so that's my go-to but I have had success with strawberry, pineapple, and blueberry.
What Do Grass Carp Eat?
Grass carp have earned a bad reputation because many people mistake them with their notorious cousins, the Asian carp which is famous for spreading up the Mississippi River and leaping out of the water in big numbers when a boat motor passes.
Grass carp are far less controversial and eat almost only aquatic vegetation. A big thing that separates their diet from that of common carp is the type of vegetative matter they like. Common carp prefer dead and decaying vegetative matter whereas grass carp readily eat healthy and living plants.
I have never caught a grass carp myself but looking at images online, I think they look pretty freaking cool and are reputed to put up one heck of a fight once hooked. Everything I've heard suggests you can use many of the same pack baits you would for common carp. Just make sure you place your baits near new emergent vegetation where grass carp are more likely to be.
Scientific Literature Referenced:
Garcia-Berthou, E. (2001). Size- and depth-dependent variation in habitat and diet of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Aquatic Sciences, 63(4), 466-476. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/02705060.1997.9663559
Marsden, J. E. (1997). Common Carp Diet Includes Zebra Mussels and Lake Trout Eggs. Journal of Freshwater Ecology, 12(3), 491-492. doi:10.1080/02705060.1997.9663559 (via: Taylor & Francis)
Source: https://freshwaterfishingadvice.com/what-carp-eat/
0 Response to "What Do You Feed Grass Carp in the Winter"
Post a Comment