I'm in charge of the annual family 4th of July carp fishing. I'm good at saltwater fishing but pretty much suck at the freshwater thing

I found some 40% Cotten seed cake. That was actually difficult. Llano Texas. Lol. We'll be fishing on lake lbj.

We do better with higher % cottonseed it seems like.

Anyway, we've always caught fish except Memorial Day. Not one carp. Lots of catfish, but we're after those nasty, trash fish.

I think we got the wrong cubes. First time we haven't caught them.

We use corn for bait. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas for something else? Even a bettter chumming idea?

Open for any and all ideas.

We tried the big red and Wheaties and never got it to work. I've got two days to chum in advance.

Thanks for any help.

For the Chinese carp the put in Lake Conroe a few years ago, we would chum with Alfa pellets about 30 minutes before fishing. Then use soft kibble dog food on a 4/0 hook. The kids had a blast

Add a 1/2 cup of peanut butter to 4 cups finely crushed bran flakes (not Wheaties) and enough Big Red/strawberry soda to make a very pliable and sticky ball. Your problem was using Wheaties as they don't have enough bran to hold the scent. Use just enough to cover a #10 or 12 treble hook. Use a leader tied to a swivel below a slip weight. Bait the area with some range cubes the day/night before and you'll not lack for carp.

I used to use fish feed or cheap dog food softened with water. Drilled some 0.25" holes in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket and hung it off a pier or boat. Throw in a few cups for chum and let the carp find the bucket. They come to suck out the food from the bucket and you drift a treble hook in front of them.

Thank you for the replies. I'll try it all. Lol. Got 25 people that'll blame me if it's not right

I've always chummed them up with canned corn and then used it for bait as well.

bran flakes and big red soda--mix/squeeze in a ziploc bag to where it's thick enough to stay on a treble hook. Too dry add soda, too wet squeeze out excess. Free line and reel until it's sort of tight, then watch the line. When the line starts tightening, get ready to set hook. I haven't changed recipe in 35 years. Range cubes or chicken scratch will bring them in. My personal best for 4 lb ultra lite--13 lber.

We mix dried corn and cat/dog food/fish food for chum then put canned corn on the hook last weekend at Medina. My 6 yo prob caught about 50 plus fish.

if using dog food, just put put bread balls on the hook. lot easier to mold to the hook and the carp dont know or care about the difference.

You mean Fido doesn't have a recipe?

Big red and corn flakes balls

BrownDeerAggie said:

---

Add a 1/2 cup of peanut butter to 4 cups finely crushed bran flakes (not Wheaties) and enough Big Red/strawberry soda to make a very pliable and sticky ball. Your problem was using Wheaties as they don't have enough bran to hold the scent. Use just enough to cover a #10 or 12 treble hook. Use a leader tied to a swivel below a slip weight. Bait the area with some range cubes the day/night before and you'll not lack for carp.

---

This and optional addition of strawberry jelly. BiG RED or Inca Cola is a must

Cattle cubes. That's all you need.

^^^^ this

jftx04 said:

---

BrownDeerAggie said:

---

Add a 1/2 cup of peanut butter to 4 cups finely crushed bran flakes (not Wheaties) and enough Big Red/strawberry soda to make a very pliable and sticky ball. Your problem was using Wheaties as they don't have enough bran to hold the scent. Use just enough to cover a #10 or 12 treble hook. Use a leader tied to a swivel below a slip weight. Bait the area with some range cubes the day/night before and you'll not lack for carp.

---

This and optional addition of strawberry jelly. BiG RED or Inca Cola is a must

---

This is the recipe we used for 40 years. Chum with cubes, corn, pellets and mix in the jello and you're golden. My grandparents had a place on the water in Sunrise Beach for 50+ years.

Thank you all for the replies. Going to try them all and see what works best.

We used range cubes for years and always had fish except Memorial Day. No idea why they didn't show.

Lots of cashfish. No carp.

I do know the higher % of cottonseed in the cubes helps them lady longer and works better. We think we got the wrong cubes last time.

Lol. This is a lot of work for trash fish. Cracks me up.
I can catch redfish and trout in my sleep

Need all the help I can get on carp.

Thanks again for the suggestions. Maybe I can get some good Picts and learn how to post.

Have a safe and fun 4th!!

Deer corn soaked in water for a bit.

Hold 2 lake records on deer corn and also shot a lot of them with a bow.

harge57 said:

---

Deer corn soaked in water for a bit.

Hold 2 lake records on deer corn and also shot a lot of them with a bow.

---

How long is a bit? Do I want to get it ripe or just soak it so it doesn't swell?

If you can catch redfish and trout in your sleep I'm sending my 6 yo to you. After last week he caught about 60 fish between the lake and perch fishing at a tank and then just got back from the coast and was disappointed in fishing. I cannot let him go the ways of his dad and being a fresh water guy! Also we didn't soak our deer corn-we just threw it out with the other crap mixed in and they had no problems with it.

Just long enough to soften and get on a hook.

Maybe 2 to 6 hours.

One thing I've noticed when pulling them in. They will eventually fill up, so don't put out too much food.

Also, small hooks and make sure you are all the way on the bottom.

Next time you're down I'll fix that.

Saltwater is hard. The fish move a lot. Let me know and we'll go. I've got a 25 extreme. It'll get us back and forth pretty quick

Never knew there were so many closet carp anglers on the OB.

Ive had beat results chumming with catfish food. Once they are in a frenzy its becomes like taking candy from a baby. Can catch them on just about anything. Best results with night crawlers. Cheapest way is a 80 cent cannof corn. A blast to catch the big ones on ultralight rods.
Bring a bow rig set up.

What RoboDuck said, but add some Mexican vanilla

Catch 'em all night !

Update on the carp ....

The peanut butter/bran flakes/big red/vanilla recipe worked great!!!!

We chummed them up with the cotton seed range cubes and caught a ton from 10#'s -30#'s

Buffalo and carp. Everyone had a blast. Thank you for the suggestions.

A side bonus was the catfish. The first night we caught 25 from 2 pounds-10 pounds. They liked that bait too.

Great time. Thanks again. Hope everyone had a safe holiday.