I've got a pond near me filled with carp. It's shallow and muddy, I've surprised if it's four feet deep anywhere. But it's an average sized pond for around here. Anyway, it's chock full of carp, and I can't seem to catch them. Every time I go, I find them in these little pods/schools of maybe 10-22 big carp, slurping at the surface. They're doing it all over the place, I can usually see several groups at once doing it.. I haven't seen this in any other lake, maybe it has something to do with there being so many. Are they spawning? Feeding? Just doing random carp stuff?

[video:youtube]https://youtube.com/shorts/XgBQn3vhaY8?feature=share[/video]

The video isn't very good, but there's two schools doing it right next to each other in the video. Ivan paddle fairly close, close enough where I can try to crack them on the head with a paddle, but to no avail. They'll scatter if I try to scoop them up with a net, and cast nets can't be used here. I'd like to find a way to catch these, it's be a good source of coon bait it I can figure them out.

Try a flyrod with a surface fly or a surface fly behind a float on a spinning rod.

if water temp is high , I suspect they are adding air to the water they take into their gills

can you gig or bow fish?

Yep...bow and arrow. They may be low on oxygen if the pond is very crowded. Or they could be sucking cottonwood fuzz off the surface?
Spears are legal too.

Thin them out!!!

Interesting....it would make sense that theyre trying to get more oxygen. I think I'm going to give the spear/gigging thing, that sounds like a blast. A bow might be a little tricky from a kayak though.

Up in the Sandhills a few years ago they say to have removed 390 tons of carp from Rat and Beaver Lakes. It's hard to believe but that's what the G&P claims.

Sounds like maybe mullberries are ripe and falling into the water.

Colder water is capable of holder a higher density of dissolved oxygen than warmer water. As shallow as that pond is I would guess you are correct about them gulping oxygen

You sure they are not mating them things breed the year round. Here if the lake is calm they swirl in large groups in the shallows and in the grass and flooded trees.

Float them a grasshopper, or a big bushy dry fly with a shot of Bang Crawfish scent.


They'll slurp it.

Yup. Couple ponds like that around me too. They dont eat much when oxygen is low either. Shoot or spear is the way to go. You have to move kind of quick and quiet and kill as many as fast as you can, they will muddy the water pretty quick and be impossible to see.

Around here when they exhibit that behavior they a feeding on cottonwood tree flowers. Carp require a much lower level of oxygen to survive and they will gulp air, but four feet deep x average size = fairly oxygenated water
JMO. June and July are archery carp here next door because of the cottonwood flowers.


I just watched the video. That “pond” would have to average less than a foot of depth to be oxygen depleted enough to get carp gulping air. DryFly fishing with a big bushy elk hair caddis might take fifty casts but the fight would be memorable. Position your kayak almost 90 degrees to their travel on your left side if you’re right handed let them swim to you. I’ve got pictures of bow shot carp averaging 15+lb taken this time of year doing exactly what the ones in your video are doing.
If you want to know for sure which behavior it is, if they are swimming slowly and making V wakes in groups they are feeding. If they are vertical and treading water with their lips at the surface blowing bubbles and not going anywhere they are oxygenating the water, gasping. The two behaviors are different and distinct.

Wife catches the heck out of carp behind the house she is on track to fill a good sized freezer this summer. She caught 16 the other day a few go to her cats the rest go in the freezer to get cut into steaks for cages.

I've seen it many times on my lake ... early in the morning when its calm ...
I've shot many with my bow ... just sneak up on them in my row boat , and try to figure out which way their body is positioned..
They form groups or pods and do it all around the lake and usually over deep water ..
Much easier if you have someone else rowing ..

Weighted treble hook.

This is what I would use if legal. Use a heavy bunker, treble hook, that is well sharpened. You need to get through the scales into the flesh or the scales will just pull loose.

Keith

Chum with some canned corn, add a few kernels to a hook and cast where you had been chumming; then hang on!

I've taken them with a gig when they're feeding like that.

let us know how it goes ,