5/8Oz Lipless Crank Fearlessly Attacks 48 Pound Grass Carp - And Wins! Then - Does It Again!!

[Goose52]

So I cast out my trusty 5/8oz lipless crank across a shallow grass flat - trying for largemouth bass. On the retrieve, the lipless crank spotted a big honkin' grass carp and promptly bit it on the tail and didn't let go. 51 minutes later, me and the lipless crank beat the 47 inch, 48.6 pound grass carp into submission. (translation: while casting for LMB, I foul-hooked the carp in the tail... ).

After landing the 48-pounder, I head home and decide that since the line has been on that reel for a few weeks, and with the stress from the carp, that I should respool the line. After lunch, I head back to the same lake as the morning...AND, good thing I had fresh line and a good knot 'cause the lipless crank does it again! Dang, all I wanted was a bass and I've got another huge carp on the line. After 1 hour and 9 minutes, I land the 45 inch, 44.4 pound carp - this one also foul-hooked in the tail.

93 pounds of carp fight fun in ONE day - makes the 13" LMB that I started my day with seem sorta puny- eh?

Tackle was a St. Croix 7' mf rod, BPS PQ reel, and 10lb YZ Hybrid Ultra-Soft.

48.6 pounder:

44.4 pounder:

And, just to show how thick these fish are - a top view of the 44 pounder:

[WookieeJedi]

What a carp-load!

[tomustang]

Something similar happened to me last week, I was using a MH and hooked the top fin. The heavier rod helped stop his run his boulder butt into the thick weeds so I was thankful. I love fighting carp, to bad it beats me up too easily. They sure are fun

[Goose52]

Something similar happened to me last week, I was using a MH and hooked the top fin. The heavier rod helped stop his run his boulder butt into the thick weeds so I was thankful. I love fighting carp, to bad it beats me up too easily. They sure are fun

Yeah - it seems like the fins is where they're vulnerable. The scales are too big and thick to get any hook penetration as the lipless crank hits the fish. Of the six of these big grass carp that I've caught, one was mouth hooked (must have thought the lipless crank was some plant matter falling through the water column), four were hooked in the fins (3 tail fin and 1 dorsal fin), and only one was through the scales and into the fish (in the tail again). Here's a 41 pounder I got last September that was hooked in the dorsal fin like your fish from last week:

[tomustang]

Them carp fins are the strongest as they come!

St croix's got a premier 7'6" light/slow BC I'd love to try on one of those

[clayton86]

this used to happen to me all the time its so annoying now I usually muscle it to either end it early or make the hook pull out ending it early. Ill take small mouth any day over the carp I foul hook fishing for smallies in my local river.

[Goose52]

Not me...anytime I have the opportunity to fight a 40-50 pound fish...I'm takin' it...

(Although, about 30 minutes into the fight with the 44-pounder, with my arm getting a bit sore, I was sorta wishing for the "instant gratification" of something like a 4 to 6 pound bass that you land in from 30 seconds to a minute or so...)

[CyRaX]

d**n that's a nice looking carp goose

the orange ones around here are ugly looking

[Goose52]

Yeah - grass carp are from a different genus from the European common carp. There's a bunch of different carp species - some are from the same genus...but the grass carp is the only species within their genus. So, just a distant cousin of the common carp.

[Hi Salenity]

I want to hook into one on my Kayak!!!

[Goose52]

I want to hook into one on my Kayak!!!

You bet! You'd have a free ride around the lake for as long as you like! Eat your lunch, catch some rays, maybe listen to some tunes, and let the carp give you a scenic tour...

I've caught all of these from the bank but I've often wondered what I would do if I hook one from my canoe. I would be reeling the canoe to the fish in essence. Then, once you're near the fish - then what? I guess just try to get your crank back and let the critter go it's way. I'm not gonna try to get the fish in the boat to get a weight or length on it....