Your hook is one of your most valuable and important parts of your gear. You can catch a carp on a cheap rod, cheep reel and cheep line, but the one thing that is going to make the biggest difference is your hooks. Make sure you have the right size and shape of hook for carp. And most importantly make sure your hooks are razor sharp.
Quick Answer: Choose a J-hook from size 4 to size 8.
If you really want to make sure you are using the right size hook for the right bait, then there are a few things to consider. That is what this article is about. If you are getting serious about carp fishing, then you need to learn all you can. Carp are incredibly smart and wary fish. They aren’t easy to trick. In order to increase your chances of catching big carp, you need to pay attention to every detail. Let’s get started.
Anatomy of The Carp Hook
Point: Make sure this is razor sharp! I’m not kidding, keep a hook sharpener on hand and check your hook often. Hooks can be dulled on rocks or even from catching fish.
Barb: Use a hook with a micro barb. Most quality hooks have micro barbs these days. They stay on just as well as regular barbs, and have better hook penetration. They also cause less damage to the fish.
Bend: The hook in the picture above is a J-hook. This is the most common style of carp hook. Some will have a little more bend into the shank which can help with getting a more powerful hookset.
Shank: Hooks come with different lengths of shank as well as curved shanks. The shape can affect how well the hook finds purchase in the fishes mouth and how well it stays in. Hooks with a slight curved shank are best for most carp fishing.
Eye: Hook eyes can be strait in line with the shank, bent out away from the point, or bent in towards the point. This affects the angle in which the line pulls on the hook. It is not critically important, but I prefer a slightly down bent eye. I feel this helps the point to dig in.
Gap: The gap is not as important for carp as it is for catfish. Carp have soft mouths without big jaw bones to hook around. They can be caught on very small hooks. The important thing is to match a bait with the right hook gap so that the bait won’t completely fill up the gap and prevent a hookset.
What Size Hook For Carp?
Carp don’t need big hooks. Hooks in sizes 4, 6 and 8 work well for almost all carp fishing, especially in the US.
Carp have soft, rubbery mouths. A hook can stick anywhere around it’s mouth and lips. What’s more important is the ability to keep the hook out of sight of the carp.
For whatever reason, carp are some of the most wary fish. They take their time investigating a food before sucking it in. If they sense anything strange about it such as the presence of fishing line or hook, they won’t eat it. Of course most carp in the US haven’t been targeted as much as fish in the UK, but it’s still better to try to hide these things.
Not Too Big…
One step in making a hook less obvious is to use a smaller hook. Not all baits can be threaded directly on the hook, therefore having a smaller hook will make it less noticeable to the fish. Weight can also make a fish suspicious. If the carp is used to eating your corn chum, then sucks up a piece of corn that is strangely heavy (due to your hook), then it might spit it right back out.
…And Not Too Small
The problem with going too small is that small hooks are generally weaker. They use a finer wire which can bend if you put too much pressure on the fish. If you want to fish really small hooks, then you’ll need to match it with light line and a flexible rod. Then be real careful not to put too much pressure on the carp.
Match Hook Size To The Bait
Choosing the right hook size for carp has more to do with what bait you are using rather than the size of carp you are after. Many people believe that bigger hooks catch bigger fish. This isn’t necessarily true with carp fishing. What a big hook can accomplish is preventing you from catching little fish. If you are using small hooks with small bait, you may end up catching a lot of bluegill.
One of the most popular ways to rig a carp hook with bait is to use a hair rig. The hair rig actually keeps the bait off the hook entirely. So you don’t have to worry about clogging up the hook gap when using a hair rig.
If you aren’t using a hair rig you need to be careful not to close up the hook gap. If you are fishing with corn, worms, or bread directly on the hook, then make sure you either use a bigger hook or thread the bait on in such a way that it doesn’t close the hook gap. Closing the gap will prevent the hook point from digging all the way in and past the barb. The carp will more easily be able to shake the hook loose.
Of course if you are using a very soft bait such as dough balls, then you can cover the entire hook. But I’d still try to keep the point near the surface of the dough ball or even poking out a little.
Hook Color
There is one more thing I want to mention before I wrap this up and that is hook color.
Choosing the hook color has to do again with hiding the hook. If you have a flashy hook reflecting the sunlight, then it’s likely to make the carp cautious. You’ll see that carp specific hooks often come in darker colors like green, black and grey. This is to help camouflage the hook to the bottom of the lake or pond.
In the US, choosing the perfect color match isn’t as big of a deal since carp aren’t heavily targeted here. But it can help to have a hook that isn’t too flashy. You could even wrap a little algae around the hook to help hide it.
Carp Hook Brands
If you live in the UK, you have access to all kinds of brands that are focused on carp specific gear and hooks. But here in the US it is a little more difficult to find carp specific hooks.
There is a website called www.bigcarptackle.com where you can get a lot of carp gear including hooks, in the US.
However, now that you have a good idea of what makes a good carp hook, and the right size hook for carp, you can start looking through the selections of fishing hooks in your tackle shop and find one that meets the requirements.
The other day I noticed my local Bass Pro Shops had a pack of Gamakatsu G Carp Specialist R hooks on the shelf. These look like great carp hooks. I bought the pack and am very happy with them.
Conclusion
Now that you know all about carp hooks and what makes a good one, go out and start experimenting. Start within the size parameters of sizes 4, 6 and 8.
If you are getting a lot of bites, but not hooking any fish, then try using a smaller hook and bait. It might just be that the carp in your area are smaller.
If you are catching a lot of little fish and want to try for something bigger, use a bigger hook. You might not catch as many fish, but your bait will stay in the water long enough for a big carp to find it.
You now have the knowledge to choose what size hook is best for carp in your area. So go get ’em!
