Are Active Carp Relevant?

[Happybeerbuzz]

I was out at the California Delta recently, and there were a bunch of carp jumping out of the water, clearing their gills so I understand from a bow fisherman.  There were lots of active carp doing it.  The bass bite happen to be poor on both occasions that I noticed this year. Is the presence of so many carp, active or otherwise, have an impact on bass fishing?  

[Scott F]

In river fishing for smallmouth, smallies will often follow carp around. Smallmouth will pick up various goodies that the carp stir up while they root around on the bottom. If you aren’t looking closely, you may not notice that one of the smaller carp you see in the group of fish is actually a bass. 

[Dens228]

I'm curious about this too.  During this year there's been several times that I've headed for spots that usually hold bass and find carp instead, with no bass. 

[scaleface]

I was standing on a culvert overlooking a pond that is back-water from the Mississippi. There were a whole bunch of carp in the middle  gulping surface algae , like they do so much . I thought   it would be fun to snag one .  I tied  on a Bomber Long A minnow and threw it past them , then started jerking violently ,  hoping to hook one .  One of the largest bass I ever caught smashed that lure . He was right in there with the carp . 

[OCdockskipper]

I believe it depends on what the carp are doing.  If they are spawning, where they are splashing around like drunken frat boys & mucking up the bottom drastically, then I tend to find most bass vacate the area.  If they are looking for food & disturbing the bottom in smaller groups, not really changing the water quality, then I will find bass amongst them or nearby.

[rtwvumtneer6]

58 minutes ago, OCdockskipper said:

I believe it depends on what the carp are doing.  If they are spawning, where they are splashing around like drunken frat boys & mucking up the bottom drastically, then I tend to find most bass vacate the area.  If they are looking for food & disturbing the bottom in smaller groups, not really changing the water quality, then I will find bass amongst them or nearby.

"Splashing around like drunken frat boys" that's hysterical.  I often describe the carp spawn at my local reservoir as "the bar scene at last call". There will be a 25-30' stretch of bank where they are 5-6 deep rolling on each other.  When that happens, I move on.  If it's just a few chasing each other or roaming, little to no impact.

[BuzzHudson19c]

Not really. Carp jumping and splashing, whether it be in the shallows when they are spawning or just the gill clearing jump, it doesn't indicate anything about bass.

 

 

[burrows]

Carp should all be made into dog food. 

[ww2farmer]

Of the two lakes I fish most often, Silver and Conesus the answer is.............it depends.

 

On Silver, when the carp are up shallow spawning, bass tend to be shallow, but not in the immediate area.

 

On both lakes, when carp are jumping over deep water, it means nothing.

 

On Conesus, when carp are sunning themselves in shallow water around docks, and inside grass lines, you better get up there and fish for bass, I have always, ALWAYS caught good sized bass in the area's I see carp shallow on Conesus. Oddly, on Silver, sunning/cruising carp seem to mean nothing.