UTER
Photo: George Chernilevsky, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Cyprinus carpio
How to catch Common carp
Common carp feed in 45–90°F water and bite best at 62–80°F. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows them in 48 waters.
10 pts · trophy at 30"Feeds 45–90°FBest 62–80°FIn season nowLakeReservoirRiverPond / pitCanal
About
The golden ghost of the flats: introduced everywhere, scorned by most, and one of the hardest-pulling fish in fresh water. Sight-casting a fly to a tailing 20-pounder on Lake Michigan's clear flats is a game on its own.
How to fish it
Chum a spot with corn and fish a hair rig on the bottom with the drag loose; or stalk the shallow flats in summer with a fly or a small bait.
What it eats
sweet corn and boiliesdough ballscrayfish and nymph flies
Live bait for it
NightcrawlersWhole on a #6 to #2 hook under a bobber or on a bottom rig; threaded on a spinner harness drifted for walleye. The bait that catches everything in fresh water.
What to fish it with
the sizes that fish itLeader10–20 lb fluorocarbon
Hook#2–3/0
Jig head1/8–1/2 oz
Braid10–30 lb
The rule
not confirmed hereRules differ by state — check your state's fish and wildlife agency before you keep one.
The current rule →Where it is, month by month
PPeakSSpawningAArriving·AroundLLeaving
Great Lakes
Fresh water by state