Had the craziest thing happen on the Shenandoah yesterday. I was working my Rage Tail Anaconda off the rocks and I came through an eddy behind a tree, felt the pickup, and set the hook. HOLY COW the fight was on!!! At first, I was thinking "OMG LUNKER..." and as the fight stayed underwater I was more and more convinced it was a catfish.

10 minutes later I got it to the surface, and it was a BIG carp. I was only using 10lb floro, so I was very careful. It pulled drag about 1000 times before I finally wore it out and got it in. A little over 15lb.

Hooked through the upper lip. Perfect hookset.

It TOOK the bait. I've never caught a carp on a plastic worm! Has anyone else? Just the weirdest thing.

-JC

I never caught a carp on a plastic worm, but I have caught carp on a naked jighead.

One day I beached my boat to walk the shore of an island. I was fishing for smallmouth bass

and was rigged with a 1/8 oz orange ball-head jig. While walking the shoreline, I came upon a large wad

of closely stacked carp in about 2-feet of water. It was something I've never seen before or since.

They were not big carp, maybe 3 to 6 pounds. They were so closely stacked that I decided to have a little fun

and try to foul-hook a carp with a naked jighead. Much to my surprise, as soon as the jig hit the bottom,

a carp sucked it up. I caught one carp after another on that little orange jighead, and every carp

was hooked in the trumpet-shaped lips and not one was foul-hooked.

To this day, I still don't know what that was all about.

Roger

I never caught a carp on a plastic worm, but I have caught carp on a naked jighead.

One day I beached my boat to walk the shore of an island. I was fishing for smallmouth bass

and was rigged with a 1/8 oz orange ball-head jig. While walking the shoreline, I came upon a large wad

of closely stacked carp in about 2-feet of water. It was something I've never seen before or since.

They were not big carp, maybe 3 to 6 pounds. They were so closely stacked that I decided to have a little fun

and try to foul-hook a carp with a naked jighead. Much to my surprise, as soon as the jig hit the bottom,

a carp sucked it up. I caught one carp after another on that little orange jighead, and every carp

was hooked in the trumpet-shaped lips and not one was foul-hooked.

To this day, I still don't know what that was all about.

Roger

they often eat berries that fall in the water. that might be your reason

Many years ago I was wading in my swimsuit fishing a culprit worm that I had just sprayed with fish formula. I had a light tap and the line took off and I set the hook. I thought I had the world record bass on but after a few minutes I saw a behemoth of a carp on my line. I started to chase after it and ended up in water up to my neck. After about 10 minutes (it seemed like an hour) I grabbed him by the gillplate and hauled him to shore. I weighed him on my old trusty 25 lb. Zebco De-Liar and he bottomed it out. After a few pictures, I was going to whack him on the head and bury him but after the battle he gave me, I let him go. Easily the hardest fighting freshwater fish I have ever had on my line, including muskies.

Iv never hooked one but had them chase and pick up a plastic. Just yesterday I had a luck e strike floating worm or a flick shake head wacky style tossed it into a ball of carp and they all dove after it and I watched them suck the worm up to eat it but never got the hook into one.

they often eat berries that fall in the water. that might be your reason

Ya know, I think you've got something there.

I was thinking that it might've resembled a salmon egg, but berries is much more credible.

I wasn't smart enough to look up, but I was probably standing under a berry tree

Roger

Many years ago I was wading in my swimsuit fishing a culprit worm that I had just sprayed with fish formula. I had a light tap and the line took off and I set the hook. I thought I had the world record bass on but after a few minutes I saw a behemoth of a carp on my line. I started to chase after it and ended up in water up to my neck. After about 10 minutes (it seemed like an hour) I grabbed him by the gillplate and hauled him to shore. I weighed him on my old trusty 25 lb. Zebco De-Liar and he bottomed it out. After a few pictures, I was going to whack him on the head and bury him but after the battle he gave me, I let him go. Easily the hardest fighting freshwater fish I have ever had on my line, including muskies.

Using kernel corn on spinning gear, I've caught some mammoth carp in New Jersey's Paulinskill River.

In short, I can fully relate to the ball you had battling a 25+ lb carp on a worm rod!

Roger

I've never had a carp take an artificial bait but I wish they would. We have grass carp here that go over 40 pounds and they are a great fight. I've foul-hooked big grass carp on lipless cranks about a dozen times now and have landed two - one was 37.1 pounds - the other was about the same size but I didn't pull it out of the water to weigh it. The 37lb fish jumped twice - it was great.

Hope you get some more!

Yup,Berkley powerworm.Also caught one on a tube bait and another one on a creature bait,and the last one on a brown weedless skirted jig with a brown trailer.

sure have. 7" berkley power worm night fishing. I caught 2 off one point. I thought I had a state record.

Just last week I landed 2. One was 14 lbs, the other was 20 lbs. Both were landed on my poor drop shot rod. I was dropshotting a roboworm (oxblood color). I loosened the drag up and fought those dog gone things for almost 20+ minutes praying they wouldn't snap my rod.

never caught a carp on artificial, but agree that they are excellent fighters. i caught one at night two years or so ago on a nightcrawler while catfishing, it was in the 10lb range if i had to guess. i was using a berkley glowstik rod with a cheap berkley 2 bearing reel or something like that with 25lb big game. when i set the hook in the carp the reel made an awful popping sound i assume from the drag being too tight, it was like setting the hook in stone. it was a good fight. now i can swing for a hookset with that reel and hear it pop even when nothings on the other end lol. i really need to replace that reel

I've caught them on crappie jigs and small crankbaits but not plastic worms that I can remember. My dad caught one on a #7 shad rap while he was trolling that had it so deep only the bill was sticking out of it's mouth. They are great fighters and a ton of fun to sight fish for with small jigs and light tackle. I landed a 12 pounder on a 1-4lb test rated ultralight with 3 1/2 pound test with a 1/100 ounce jig sight fishing last fall in a small stream, it was a pretty awesome experience.

i caught one on a 5inch zoom fat albert grub and that sort of counts as a worm

No carp, but I caught a smallmouth buffalo last summer on Kentucky Lake using a 4" Northland ringworm. I didn't even know what it was until a few hours later when I had an opportunity to do a bit of searching online.

Not on plastics but I did get one on a lipless crank bait I was yo-yo'ing down a steep bank. They always put up a great fight.

Never caught one on a plastic worm but did get a 22 pounder on a 1/8th yellow feather jig in the big blue river in Kansas. I was like 15 at the time and was one ell of a fight on 8 pound test line.

Not a worm, but I just caught one today on a plastic crawdad on a jighead. First carp I ever caught on something besides live bait or doughballs/corn/other weird carp type bait.

On a spinnerbait. As soon as the thing hit the water, something huge sucked it in and I thought (as many others in here did) that I had a lunker bass. Nope, just a huge carp. The fight was great though. I think it weighed 24lbs? and that was on 12lb line, whew.

Here's a funny story that happened Saturday. I was fishing tube baits and went over a patch of weeds.My line started swimming sideways,I set the hook and the fight was on.I notice right away from the first jump it was a Carp.After fighting it in on 6# test line I see that my line is tangled up in a weed clump with somebody else's previous broken off line. Since I was on a small standing dock I had to jump in the shallow part of the water to get the carp and that tangled mess of weeds and tangled up line.I finally get it in and low and behold the carp actually had a walleye jig and a grub in it's lip hooked nicely. After I grabbed the carp and unhooked it it swam away happily.Apparently I snagged some broken off line and ended up with a carp,a walleye jig and my tube back.

I was lucky to land it to be honest...

nope. but i do a lot of carp fishing when im not bass fishing at a local pond. they got some 20+ pounders. the pond is 50 yards long and about 20 wide. 12-30 ft deep. I always use 4 lb test since they can't spool me and just play them out. what a blast it is!

http://carponthefly.blogspot.com/