Yes, They Will Hit!

In my last post I discussed whether carp would hit in non moving water in the middle of January.  I got my answer today as I banked a couple of good looking carp.  In past years I have landed a good number (upwards of 25 fish for the month) of carp in January.  But, it has always been in moving water with current. Carp tend to be more active in moving water in the middle of the winter.  I have had no success in the non moving water of ponds and lakes.  Well, today I got my first ones here in RI in non moving water.
I landed a couple and had a couple of more taps on the hair rigged sweet corn I was using. My advice to any winter carpers out there is this.  Go small.  I was using only two pieces of sweet corn on a small hair that came off a small hook (#8).  The hooklink was also short. Sweet corn is a great winter bait.
Don't expect any screaming runs at this time.  The carp are sluggish and they tend to tap away at the bait.  One fish even dropped it back a bit today.  I will pull if I see any tapping or movement of the line or rod.  Note that the fish are also very sluggish on the fight.  It's much like reeling in a tire at this time of year.  The only time they fought today was near shore in sight of the net.
So, yes, they will hit at this time of year in non moving water. That is certainly good news, and opens up the possibility for RI carpers to get their first fish of the new year.

This good looking common is one of two carp landed today in non moving water.
This warm weather has gotten things going real early in the year.

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