Off and Running

Here is one of 8 carp landed in the last three outings. Yes,
spring is here (at least temporaily) and the fishing are hitting.

I'm back fishing to a semi-normal basis mixing skiing with fishing these days.  Some days I am doing both.  I got out three times in the last 6 days and landed 8 carp up to 10 lbs. The are hitting and getting more active by the day.
Realize that carp can be sluggish in the early going.  The water is certainly under 40 degrees and that contributes to their sluggishness on the hit and on the fight. I've been experiencing a lot of "taps" and abbreviated runs in recent outings and that is quite normal for this time of year.
I am just using sweet corn either on the hair or on the hook.  I have been experimenting with two different rigs on two different outfits.  The first rig is the traditional hair rig which is baited up with 2 kernels of sweet corn off a #8 hook.  The second rig is just a straight monofilament leader with a hook tied at the end.  The hook is a #10.  I hook two small kernels of sweet corn on the hook. My thoughts on this is that the more concentrated bait on the smaller hook might just be the ticket to catching sluggish hitting fish.  Both rigs have small method balls packed around the sinker.
But, so far, I  seem to be catching equally on both rigs. So, maybe that hair rig is not needed in the early going???  More experimentation is needed.