Seep Lakes (Columbia National Wildlife Refuge)?

[mallard83]

A couple friends and I were planning on going over to this area to camp and fish for "opening day weekend". I know the majority of the lakes over there open before the traditional westside lakes, we just want to avoid the crazyness this year. It has been years since I have made it over there so I am kind of lost on where to go exactly to catch a few nice fish and have a peaceful relaxing time.

I used to go to Canal Lake and did very well there for nice bows. We will mainly be targeting trout but are willing to target pretty much anything. I know I will probably catch a little flack for this but I would also like to try for carp. I always used to have fun catching them on light tackle even though they are a trash fish. Would the carp be active enough to bite by the last weekend in April? Along time ago we used to do really well on them in Scabrock Lake between Soda and Upper Goose on nightcrawlers. Where are some other good places for carp over there? Any suggestions?

[YellowBear]

Canal had a hot bite going this winter with loads of small Rainbows and a few Perch.
By the end of April you might want to look for the Carp in Soda.
They bunch up pretty good behind the island or in the upper bay on the north end.
There should be lots of Carp in the lind coulee in April. Head for the launch on M road.
On the north side of the bridge you will see a dirt road that heads east, follow it back to the willows.
The wife and I took a ride yesterday over to Potholes and Soda. The ice is gone and they are filling the system.
Soda should be at full pool in a couple of weeks.

[mallard83]

Thanks for the info. What would be a good setup for carp? When I have caught them before I used a medium light action rod with 6 lb maxima ultra green. And I was just using a single nightcrawler off the bottom (not inflated). I have heard dough baits work well. Is this true? I used to just wet a piece of bread for catfish in my grandfathers pond when I was young. Would that work? Also I have heard that fishing them with bait under a float is also productive.

[Misselley]

I've done some bass fishing in the seep lakes over the last few years. I can tell you that any seep lake you pick will be full of carp. Every lake I went to you could see big ones swimming by on a regular basis. I know a lot of guys bow hunt these guys too.

[YellowBear]

There is a lot of Carp info on the internet.
Some show recipes for different baits and rigs to use.
Corn, worms, wheaties, doughballs all seem to work.

I would think your medium lite will do the trick as long as there is open water.
If you are fishing were there is a lot of vegitation like the willows, I would use a much bigger outfit.
I will do a little checking around this evening and post what I find.

[sharpshooter223]

i have never acctually fished for carp (cause i dont know what to do with it after i catch it) but if i were going to i would probably just use corn or dough on a size 8-1 hook. a lot of carp bait recipes tend to include fruit or fruit flavors or vanilla.

one time fishing at bateman island around here me, my dad, and my friend were all walking out along the island to find a spot to fish for bass. along the way we kept passing these eastern europeans on their way back pulling large coolers. we asked them if they caught any and they told us they got a lot of "catfish". so we found a spot along the shore to try and get some bass while constantly hearing a large group of people behind us speaking what sounded like directions/organization. so we went to see what they were doing, and there was an intermittent pond in the middle of the island that was full at the time and along side it were a bunch of carp laid out. there was a group of 10 or so eastern europeans all wading through this 1-2 foot deep water with nets or their hands grabbing the fish. it was fun to watch but the smell of the carp got pretty bad.

i have been considering getting set up for bow fishing for carp but i havent yet for one reason, i dont know what to do after i shoot it (i dont really want to touch it and i sure dont want to keep it)

another time i accidently snagged a carp along the same island as earlier with a spinner while bass fishing and i can say that they fight good. after we got it on shore neither me nor my dad wanted to touch it, then its smell got bad enough that we just quickly unhooked it and then it flopped into the water.

if you really want to catch carp its hard to go wrong, around here they arent very hard to catch and they are EVERYWHERE.

[YellowBear]

Mallard, Check out www.socalcarpclub.com
This should be a good place to start.
Or just type in Catching Carp.
There seems to be a lot more info than I remember.