Fishing for carp at Lake Luxembourg. February 2024 – June 2024

 

Bucks County Angler

 

       
Fishing for carp at Lake Luxembourg. February 2024 – June 2024

 

Believe it or not, there are some exceptionally sizable carp swimming around the rather small lake that is Lake Luxembourg. I myself have pulled up several large common carp in the last year or so alone. Most people will tell you that carp are basically vacuum cleaners, roaming the bottom of the lake, sucking up whatever they can and that's true for the most part. You can catch them on globs of raw chicken, bread dough, sweet corn, and a lot of other less than conventional baits. But, you're always gonna be successful with sweet corn and big fat night crawlers. Cutting the bigger ones in half so that there is more scent for them to follow underwater seems to be even more effective. At different times of the day, you'll want to cast out to different parts of the lake. In the middle of the day, say 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm, it's best to cast out into the center of the lake, where they're often times roaming and can be seen jumping out of the water. Earlier in the morning and later in the afternoon, however, it's better to cast your line closer to shore around fallen branches and logs. It's best to use a drop shot weight with a bottom bait fishing rig and because it's gonna take a while, it's a better idea to put a warning bell on your pole so that you can fish for bass and other breeds at the same time if you wish. Because carp are a larger fish, it's good to have a heavier test line say, 12 to 15 lb test for areas like Luxembourg. The carp tend to be active almost all year round, so you don't have to worry about only catching them in the summer. In fact, everyone that I caught was during somewhat colder weather. The largest of which was 13 lbs. And as you can see by the photo attached, has had quite the rough life as he's covered in scars from eel attacks and whatnot. Carp are a surprisingly enjoyable fight when hooked and tend to jump out of the water. Quite a bit much like bass. However, they tend to be much heavier than bass, so be prepared for a bit of a struggle. Sometimes, it's actually better to play them and let them tire themselves out, so long as your line is heavy enough that it's not going to break. Which believe me, does happen. You should also be aware that this exact same fishing setup will catch you quite a lot of bullhead catfish as well if you're out only trying to catch carp. Oh and just a side note for those of you who are looking to acquire photo trophies of your catches… These fish are very large and the easiest way to scale them is to do either full body shots taken by somebody else or close to your head and torso so you can better show off the full size of them







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