Had a hook-up with a big grass carp last month and the carp won - broke me off and stole my Red Eye Shad. Today, I won and got my lipless crank back and the carp.

 

Little skinny guy - probably not getting a lot to eat over the winter - 42 inches long but only 34 pounds. He did try a jump and made it about halfway out of the water then splashed down. Water temp was 44 degrees and I think grass carp aren't happy in that cold of water - although it was foul-hooked in the tail, it only took 7 minutes to land this guy (it usually takes from 20 minutes to an hour).  He did make a great run the first time I got him close to the bank - he was up on the surface, pulling drag, and made about a 30 foot run splashing about half-way out of the water - looked like a salmon swimming upstream over rapids.

 

Tackle was the usual - 7'mf St. Croix Premier and the 5-Year Challenge PQ with 10lb YZ-US line.  One change was that this was the first large carp I've fought since I changed out the stock PQ drag washers with carbontex washers. The smoother drag allowed me to keep the drag tightened down even when the fish was near the bank. With the stock drag, I would typically loosen the drag the closer I got the fish to the bank to avoid a break-off if he made a run and the drag stuttered.  Of course, the loosened drag then meant that it took longer to land the fish.

 

As usual, I had to go in the water to manhandle the fish up on the bank - my soaked shoes are out in the garage...

 

 

Note the rear treble on the lipless crank - a bit more bend and it would have been bye bye carp! 

 

Very cool! I'm amazed at what guys catch carp on (foul hooked or otherwise). I can't remember the last time I caught one, and I've even tried! So to land one on a lipless is even more of a "wow".

That is not a carp, it's a buffalo. They get gigantic, literally too big for your net!

The fight is very similar to a smallmouth except they don't jump. The TN State

Record is 62.7 lbs.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ictiobus 

That is not a carp, it's a buffalo. They get gigantic, literally too big too big for your net!

The fight is very similar to a smallmouth except they don't jump.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ictiobus 

 

Nice to know, and easily mistaken. Either way, I'm still amazed at what carp are caught on, LOL.

It's a triploid grass carp, and those things are crazy as heck. Put up great fights at that size

There are several similarities, but that fish is a smallmouth buffalo:  

 

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/species_a_to_z/SpeciesGuideIndex/smallmouthbuffalo/tabid/6757/Default.aspx 

Just google image both of them if you want more proof. Note the dorsal fins between the two and also their mouths. The buffalo carp's head and mouth is pointed downward and has a sort of elongated dorsal fin. 

 It's awesome that it was caught with a lipless crank, either way, IMO! 

Very cool! I'm amazed at what guys catch carp on (foul hooked or otherwise). I can't remember the last time I caught one, and I've even tried! So to land one on a lipless is even more of a "wow".

 

This is the 8th, and smallest of these large grass carp that I've caught over the last few seasons (not counting a little 7lb baby I got once).  The biggest was 48 pounds. All were caught on 10lb test and all on a lipless crank. 7 of the fish were foul-hooked, 1 fish actually hit the lipless crank on the fall and was mouth-hooked (it might have thought the lipless crank was plant matter falling through the water column). Great fighters.  The one today tried a jump, but the first one I caught several years ago (37 pounds) jumped twice - the first time it completely cleared the water - the second jump it didn't quite clear.  Really impressive!

 

Here's the 48 pounder:

 

 

...and here's a particularly fat 41 pounder:

 

 

...and here's the 37-pounder that jumped twice:

 

 

That is not a carp, it's a buffalo. They get gigantic, literally too big for your net!

The fight is very similar to a smallmouth except they don't jump. The TN State

Record is 62.7 lbs.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ictiobus 

 

RW - this isn't the Tennessee river, the Mississippi, or other big water.   I only fish my neighborhood, man-made, small lakes; in this case, a little 38 acre lake.  The only fish in these lakes are what have been stocked. The only fish this large that have ever been stocked in our lakes are, as mentioned, triploid (sterile) grass carp.  They are stocked for aquatic weed control.

LOL Is it a coincidence that the biggest one I caught (40 pounds) was also on a lipless crankbait? Snagged it on the tail, but I just wanted my lure back, which I got 10 minutes later when the fish tired out.

Not a coincidence.  If you think about it, a lipped crank would probably deflect off the carp.  The lipless crank is typically worked fast, and when it hits the carp it has a chance of snagging on a fin or whatever.  Other treble hook baits usually aren't worked fast enough to hit the carp before it can move out of the way.

 

Another factor is what bait is often used to work large grass flats for bass?  Lipless crank.  Where is a spot that grass carp like to chow down?  Grass flats.  

 

Of the 8 I've landed - one was mouth hooked, two were snagged on the dorsal fin, and five were hooked in the tail/caudal fin.  

lol Awesome. I love catching them when you can. Some places they'll become conditioned to people feeding them bread. The rest is history. 

It's funny how rarely I snag a carp on a regular crank versus how often I get them on lipless baits. Maybe it's because I fish them quickly over shallow flats and grass where the carp hang out I suppose. 

 

It's always impressive when one of those big grass carp gets airborne. I caught a 35lb grassie on an ultralight several years ago that jumped and tailwalked like a marlin   . 

...............It's always impressive when one of those big grass carp gets airborne. I caught a 35lb grassie on an ultralight several years ago that jumped and tailwalked like a marlin   . 

 

Yeah - it's great!  Normally, only the saltwater guys get to see 30-40 pound fish go aerial...

Funny here in south Fl. the grass carp dont really fight at all, even the huge ones.  Just like pulling in a 5 gallon bucket. They always seem to bleed alot too.  The huge Blue Tilapia and landlocket stripped mullet fight well though.

Funny here in south Fl. the grass carp dont really fight at all, even the huge ones.  Just like pulling in a 5 gallon bucket. They always seem to bleed alot too.  The huge Blue Tilapia and landlocket stripped mullet fight well though.

 

Too bad - you're missing out!     BUT - you're right next to the gulf so you got salt and fresh water beasties to enjoy...

 

(BTW - The last time I was in your neck of the woods...it was only woods and swamp!)

The Mo. conservation dept. puts carp in a lot of the lakes to control the weeds.  If you cast a bait into a school of them it looks like a cattle stampede when they take off.

The Mo. conservation dept. puts carp in a lot of the lakes to control the weeds.  If you cast a bait into a school of them it looks like a cattle stampede when they take off.

 

All our grass carp are stocked for aquatic weed control as well. They definately like to school...and they're very skittish. I'm always surprised that they don't see the lipless crank coming and move out of the way. Except for one little 7 pounder, all the grass carp I've snagged have been 30 - 50 pounds - no middleweights (15-30 pounds). Perhaps the reason is that the large ones just have too much mass to move quickly enough to get out of the way, and the middleweights are more agile. I'd actually rather catch more of the middleweights as I have a feeling that I would get more jumps out of them than the big guys.

 

There is an annual stocking of grass carp in my 11 lakes so that all year-classes are present; this is done so that the entire population doesn't die off about the same time. So, I know there should be middleweight fish out there - just haven't caught one yet.