How to catch carp with corn – tips and rigs to help hook up

Carp… there aren’t many more divisive fish species out there. Some people love them (mostly the fancy kind you keep in your pond) and to some they are an invasive species that need to be eradicated. Either way there is one food source that most people will feed for fish for carp with, corn. It’s brightly coloured, smells great, easy to find, cheap and also makes a great snack if the fish just aren’t biting. The humble corn kernel is one of the best baits to catch carp, so let’s run through how to catch carp with corn.

Is corn good for carp fishing?

The simple answer here is, yes, definitely, very much so. Why do carp like corn? Carp feed at the bottom by sucking up mud and filtering through their gills. They are omnivores meaning they will eat almost anything available from insects, larvae, plant matter, algae.

Imagine sifting through mud and getting the smell of some sweet corn, this would surely stand out as a tasty treat. Corn is also visually appealing to carp as the colour stands out for the surrounds, think about how attractive that bright yellow kernel must look against all the mud and algae.

What kind of corn do you use to catch carp?

Sweet corn is always the best for carp fishing. It is easily available, cheap, and the carp love it. You don’t need to add anything else to your sweet corm bait, the corn itself has all the sugars etc that will attract carp. So you just need to open the can, thread a few kernels on your hook and cast out. It also makes a decent snack while you are fishing.

PRO TIP: 
Make sure when you buy your can of sweet corn you buy the can with a ring pull top. Don’t risk forgetting the can opener and having to try work out how you can open the can to get your bait!

You can use other types of corn, but we find that the canned sweet corn tends to work best. I’ve used frozen corn (which has an added advantage of acting like another ice brick in your cooler) as well as feed corn but both need a bit of preparation before they go on the hook. This definitely is a disadvantage because it takes away from time you could be fishing.

There is also plastic imitation corn on the market, kind of like the soft plastic of the corn world. From my point of view, I don’t know why you would use this when it’s so easy just to have a small can of sweet corn ready in your pack (interested in opinions on this). A can of corn is much cheaper, smells a lot better and is…. Well… much cheaper but maybe the imitation corn baits are good for the people that remember their tackle box, but never their can of corn. Other than that, they are a bit bigger than sweet corn kernels, so I guess a little easier for the carp to see…

Can I just put corn on a hook for carp?

Yes… and no. You can just thread the kernels on a hook but you need to make sure that you get that bait down to where the carp will be feeding for the best chances of hooking one. Carp feed on the bottom so you need to use a carp fishing rig that sits your corn bait close to the creek/stream/river bed. This is one of the most important things to keep in mind when you are thinking about how to catch carp with corn.

PRO TIP: 
Corn is much easier to keep on the hook if you thread your hook through the narrow side of the kernel.

How do you rig a hook with corn?

There are two ways to rig a hook with corn for carp fishing. The first is simple to thread the corn kernels onto the hook itself. You can use a single kernel, though I think 3-5 is a better number as it makes the bait a little more presentable to the fish and also make sure it doesn’t get lost in the vegetation on the bottom of the lake or river.

You can also use what is called a hair rig. This is where you thread some line through a few kernels of corn and then tie that “hair” to the curve of the fish hook. This makes it look like the hook has a tail of corn. The hair rig method is more difficult to set up but is the better option. With the sting of corn the carp will suck it up followed by the bare hook, meaning a greater change of hooking the fish.

What size hook to use for carp fishing with corn?

Don’t go too big with your hook size, go for about a size 4 to 8 hook. Carp tend to vacuum up their food so you want to have a hook that is big enough to hold a decent amount of corn, but not so big that they can’t vacuum it up into their mouth easily.

What time of day is best for carp fishing?

Carp tend to feed more in darkness rather than light, but are not completely nocturnal feeders. The best time to day to fish for carp is either early morning or at dusk and into the evening.

Preparing your corn to use as carp bait

A big part of how to catch carp with corn is how to prepare the corn to use as bait. While you can use corn straight out of the can as carp bait, a lot of people will tell you a lot of different methods to best prepare corn to use as bait for carp. Some are tried and tested, some are old tales that have hung around as the best option, some are just downright lazy (see #1 in the list below). As far as my experience, the more effort you put into preparation doesn’t always lead to more or bigger fish.

Here are a few different ways that you can prepare your corn to use as bait for carp:

1. Straight out of the can, the lazy method. I usually keep a small can of corn in my pack when I head out on a fishing trip because most of the time I’m not targeting carp so am an opportunistic carp fisherman. I’ve found that using corn straight out of the can works as well as any other method, but that is just my experience. No preparations required, just pop it on the hook and cast it out.
2. Cook the corn beforehand. This is usually done with feed corn rather than tinned to soften it up and release some of those yum corny juices. Essentially it’s as simple as soaking your corn overnight and then simmering in water for about 50 minutes to one hour. Once the corn cools down it’s good to use as bait.
3. Mash the corn up with some bread. The idea here is to mash the corn a bit to release the juices so they can carry in the water and attract the fish. The problem with crushed corn is you can’t get it onto a hook, so using the bread as a binder means you have a mouldable bait ball that you can use. It also gives the opportunity to set a bit of a larger bait on your hook and is event great to use to burley up the water and attract fish into a section of the river/creek/dam you are going to fish later.

You can also add some additional flavour to your corn while you are preparing your corn for use as carp bait. Add things like honey, garlic or molasses to the mix and give it a try.

What are the best rigs for carp fishing with corn?

Before we look at the best rigs to catch carp, let’s take a quick look at the equipment we need. Are you fishing to eradicate the carp from your local river or lake, or are you looking for a bit of a fight with the fish.

A simple bait fishing setup will be fine, with a lighter weight rod and line if you are looking for a bit of a fight in your carp fishing. Carp are a surprisingly sporty fish to catch so are a lot of fun on a light setup. They do get big and heavy so be wary about using a setup that is TOO light. A good rule of thumb is to look at the river/lake you are fishing and think about how big a carp could grow in that water, bigger waters = bigger carp = bigger rod/reel setup.

Lastly, if you are rigging lines to leave out overnight use a heavier rod and make sure it is secured. No use risking you gear and potentially losing it while you sleep…

PRO TIP: 
Carp have great eye sight so take that into account when choosing the parts for your carp fishing rig. Go for clear mono line instead of the fluro braided stuff, and no shiny silver hooks (go for the matt finish or dark coloured ones)

So then how to hook corn for carp. There are three main rigs that I think are the best rigs for catching carp on corn:

Simple Rig – a hook, a (shortish) length of line to a swivel and then a running sinker to keep it all in position. This is one of the most simple and universal of all rigs you can use for catching carp using corn. I like this rig because it can be so easily adjusted to your need. Usually I’ll be fishing in a river for bass or trout using this type of rig and see a few nice big carp cursing around. It is easy to then adapt this rig to suit carp fishing. All you would need to do is shorten the length of line from swivel to hook so you sit the corn bait lower to the river bed and you are good to go.

As for baiting this rig with corn for carp, it’s just as simple. All you need to do is thread a few corn kernels onto the hook and you are ready to catch carp using corn.

Hair Rig – We mentioned this rig a little earlier, it is a great rig to present corn as a bait for carp. This is one of the best rigs for carp but it does take some preparation. A hair rig sets your bait before the hook on a tail (or hair). The carp will suck up the corn bait and then the hook which means strong hookups. You can eve set up a few hair rig baits beforehand if you use a certain method where you set you corn on a loop that then attaches to a loop on your knotted hook. Here is a video of how a hair rig is setup:

Float Rig – the last rig I keep in my carp fishing arsenal is a float rig as it’s a great rig to use for leaving lines out overnight. For this type of rig you do need to use a leader from your float to the hook that has a high strength to thickness ratio to make sure the carp doesn’t notice a length of fishing line leading to it’s meal… talk about a turnoff!  Secure you float with a small leader to a fixed sinker to keep it steady, then a loose leader with enough length to sit your bait on the river/lake bed. Almost like the simple rig but with a float and then a long leader to the hook instead of a short one.

Can I use corn to chum up the water to attract carp?

• Mash up the corn kernels just a little bit. Don’t mash them into the consistency of mashed potatoes, just enough to break the kernels a little. This will help release some of those juices that carp find so attractive, remember carp have a great sense of smell.
• Add bread crumbs to thicken out the mixture a little more. Making it a bit more of a chunky mix will mean you corn chum will settle to the bottom a bit better and not get washed away.
• Add some jello powder. Sounds like a bit of a weird one doesn’t it? Remember again the carps really good sense of smell, adding some jello powder to your corn chum will murky up the waters with a sweet smell/taste and attract the carp to your area as they follow it to the source. Legend has it their favourite flavour is strawberry.
• You can also put your corn chum into a PVA bag to make it easier to throw out in a lump instead of scattering it everywhere. An important note to make here is that you need to get your corn chum mix as dry as possible or it can dissolve the PVA bag before you get a chance to throw it into the water. Drain off as much liquid as you can and even add a little bit of salt to the mix before you put it into the bag.
• A good alternative to a PVA bag is to use a piece of old stockings to make a bag. This will allow some of the juice to leak out slowly without you having to worry about making the mix dry (the wetter the better here). Just remember to retrieve the chum stocking from the water and dispose of it properly when you are done fishing for the day.

Now like most things, a bit of modesty is key. DON’T chum up the waters too much. You want to attract the carp to the area you are fishing, not give them a full meal and don’t want your bait. A big part of how to catch carp with corn is to make sure it eats the corn on your hook!

Some final thoughts…