Smallmouth on top of carp?!?

[gmetime24]

I was fishing a local river this weekend and noticed something I never saw before. A couple different times I saw smallies hovering right on top of and right below really large carp. They would swim right along with them and stay directly above or below them. They were so close to the carp that they had to be touching them. Are those smallies waiting for the carp to kick stuff off the bottom?? Maybe locate craw dads easier?? Never saw this before and wondered what you guys thought

[robhj]

I've never seen that before but it would be interesting to know if there is a symbiotic relationship between them. If you start catching smarp, let us know. I'd love to catch a 30 lb fish on a topwater & watch it tail walk across the surface!

[djkimmel]

I have seen that a number of times. I can only guess it is a learned feeding opportunity or 'nothing gathers a crowd like a crowd' type of thing. A number of times I have seen 'giant smallmouth bass' only to realize they were really brown carp... only to realize that some of them REALLY WERE GIANT SMALLMOUTH BASS!!

Makes it real challenging when the eyes don't see quite as well as they used to, and being a redhead (or something), people have generally often claimed 'you are just seeing things.'

Sometimes I throw to them and hook a giant carp, and sometimes I throw to them and hook a giant smallmouth... I've been fooled a number of times in bass tournaments over the years. Sometimes even for more than a few seconds after hooking the giant smallmouth only to realize it's a carp.

The rewards of hooking a giant smallmouth instead are just too great and hooking giant smallmouth bass is just too great to not give it a try each time anyway. We are only human after all. And the times I've hooked to fish and it WAS a giant smallmouth bass are some of my fondest memories!

Now, if I had only hooked that one a few years ago in Anchor Bay... would have been my biggest smallmouth bass ever!! And I SWEAR that bass was acting like a carp! I even got the impression it KNEW I would leave it alone if I fell for the carp mimic act!?! It almost worked because it was such a big fish, but it was all alone and swam to close to my boat. Freaky, and I don't want to ever believe they might really be that smart... or we are all in trouble!!

[motocross269]

Sheepshead can be even worse...I have spent a few minutes trying to get what I thought was a bedding Smallmouth to bite only to find out it was a drum...

[djkimmel]

Oh boy... don't get me started on sheepshead! If there was such a thing as the Sheepmasters I would be the KVD of the sheephead circuits!!

I can say I have never actually sightfished one before, particularly from anything looking like a bed... My eyes aren't what they used to be... moto... you might want to see an optometrist?!?

[djkimmel]

I forgot to add that I have seen largemouth bass hanging with or around carp a lot more. I recall one old tournament on Mona Lake on a slow, hot, hot day when the bites weren't coming well enough to keep the easily bored angler (me) entertained. I saw a group of carp grazing in the weeds in the back of a bay.

I've never gone cow-tipping but I admit I have enjoyed making a herd of carp jump more than a couple times. I threw my lure behind them and ripped it through the middle of the carp pod sending them scattering in all directions only to find 1 of the 'carp' instead of running away, attacking the interloper (my lure) and turning into a 3+ largemouth bass that I landed.

I have been trying that pattern off and on ever since. Every once in awhile it works again but never quite as surprising at that time on Mona Lake. I was really green then.

[djkimmel]

I just thought of a great possible cartoon for Bill McElroy!

[Team houston]

I saw an In Fisherman show a couple years ago where they talked about that. By the way I have caught a Carp on a topwater popper.

[gmetime24]

I saw an In Fisherman show a couple years ago where they talked about that. By the way I have caught a Carp on a topwater popper.

Did they say anything about why the smallies will do that??

[Team houston]

Yes, when the Carp are rooting around and a crayfish gets away from them the smallies hope to capitalize.

[djkimmel]

I saw an In Fisherman show a couple years ago where they talked about that. By the way I have caught a Carp on a topwater popper.

Sometimes, I swear there are carp that think they are complete predators! I've seen them take minnows and caught I don't know how many on crankbaits including seeing them go after the crankbait in clear water so there was no mistaking the intent. I figure they are thinking the crankbait is a juicy crayfish dinner.

The popper is an interesting one that has not happened to me but I've definitely caught them on flies on top imitating mulberries, and also similar situations. I had fun on the Grand River that one day catching them on a floating white double egg sack-like lure I made up on the spot to look like seed pods they were eating falling from an overhanging tree.

[gmetime24]

Thanks for all your input fellas. Pretty interesting stuff!

[Mojo]

Sheepmasters !! lolol !! what a life !  DK with a sense of humor. 

At Burt we saw in 12 fow giant drum, with medium smallmouth dispersed inbetween them. My first thought was they compliment each others roaming defenses like zebra and antelope - whereas smallmouth can see better but drum sense vibration better.

I never thought about the opportunistic feeding, good thought.

[djkimmel]

Sometimes maybe fish are all in general area because it's a good area to be in?

[gmetime24]

In the river I was fishing that was definitely the case Dan. It's a shallow river so the 4-5ft holes hold a majority of the fish. I have seen smallies swimming near carp and sucker fish before just never saw them right on top and directly below the carp. It was almost like they were synchronized swimming together 

[Mojo]

In the river I was fishing that was definitely the case Dan. It's a shallow river so the 4-5ft holes hold a majority of the fish. I have seen smallies swimming near carp and sucker fish before just never saw them right on top and directly below the carp. It was almost like they were synchronized swimming together 

They have learned to be stealthy and hide their arches from even the latest technologies 

[djkimmel]

That's going down the wrong lane again for us anglers to think we can continue to outsmart the bass once in awhile!?!

[Berkley]

I have seen it many times on the Grand in the impoundments. I was fishing a long shallow bank at Webber and noticed a tons of carp in the shallows and you would see a fish that looked out if place in the middle of all the carp. Threw a horny toad out there and watched the fish come and grab it set the hook and its a nice smallmouth. Over the next hour or so I went down the bank looking for that odd looking fish in the pods of carp and every time I seen one it was a smallmouth and they were aggressive. Caught most of the fish I seen. Its the carp pattern. Seems to be a summer thing.