How do you keep tortillas on the hook when carp fishing

[Cartman]

I know that people use corn tortillas for carp bait. Does anyone please have any tips on how to keep the tortillas on the hook. I try cutting a strip of corn tortilla for bait, but almost every time I try to fold one it tears on the creases, and more times than not it flies off when I cast. I wonder if there is a particular brand that is better or some way to prepare the tortillas before using them.

Thanks in advance.

[Fishnfun]

The way I do it requires some pre-fishing preparation but is not difficult. I cut the fresh tortilla into pieces a little larger than what I want to fish with. The pieces will shrink a little when dried. Because the tortilla is round, the pieces come out in square/rectangle/triangle shapes. The shape doesn't matter. I spread out the cut pieces on a pan or flat surface and let them dry. The dry pieces are brittle. I scoop them up and store them in a plastic baggie. The day before I go fishing, I take out some of the dried, brittle tortilla pieces and run them quickly under some water. The pieces will start to soften. Do not let them soak in the water for long. Less water is better than too much. I immediately spread the pieces out on some newspaper to absorb the excess water and to prevent the pieces from softening too much. After the newspaper has absorb the excess water, you can feel the texture of the tortilla pieces. Test with a hook. The feel is almost like soft leather as the hook penetrates the tortilla. Put pieces in a baggie and go fishing. Again, less water is better than too much. If, when fishing, you find the tortilla pieces are too hard, just add a little water into the baggie. They soften quickly. I use the cheap 99cents store tortilla.

The guys I knew living near the LA River would make the tortillas into dough balls. They did something with micro-waving the tortilla with some water, smashing it all up and then sticking it into the refrigerator. I can't remember the exact details but it seem too complicated for me since I didn't fish the river that much and my method worked fine.

Good luck.

[Cartman]

Thanks, FishnFun. Sounds great if it makes the tortillas like leather. I saw some Chinese guys folding tortilla strips into thirds and putting them on hooks, but like I said, when I tried it they just fell apart. Unfortunately they didn't speak any English. Incidentally they did use an interesting rig which I put to use successfully at Quail lake, a reverse dropper loop rig with three hooks and some floating foam at the end. They caught two monster carp in a couple of hours at the Pudd. I am putting out some tortillas to dry as soon as I get off this post.

[adriiiian]

heat them up or dry them a little so that they dont break apart as you put it on the hook

[SHOOTER2496]

Just pop them in the microwave for a few seconds till' they're warm then put them in somthing that will keep them warm and when you get to the spot your going to fish fold a piece in half and put it on the hook. Works for me, but try to keep the tortillas warm!
Tight Lines :Fishing Hole:
-Anthony

[Cartman]

heat them up or dry them a little so that they dont break apart as you put it on the hook

Thanks adriiian. Good advice. I was thinking they were breaking because they were too dry.

[Cartman]

Just pop them in the microwave for a few seconds till' they're warm then put them in somthing that will keep them warm and when you get to the spot your going to fish fold a piece in half and put it on the hook. Works for me, but try to keep the tortillas warm!
Tight Lines :Fishing Hole:
-Anthony

Thanks Anthony. Will do. There is so much about tortillas I did not know.

[Marley]

Would using masa as a dough bait be comparable?

[Perris_holic]

What if you took the corn tortillas and added water, flour and garlic and made it all into dough balls do you guys think that would catch carp and catfish?

[Cartman]

What if you took the corn tortillas and added water, flour and garlic and made it all into dough balls do you guys think that would catch carp and catfish?
Hi Marley and Perris_holic,

Dough balls work great, and there are lots of things you can make them out of and lots of fun and crazy ingredients you can add. I was just wondering how to use tortillas since I had seen these old Chinese guys use them with great success, and my attempts ended in a big mess. The other guys' tortillas stayed on, and they caught fish. Mine crumbled and separated in layers. The pieces that I did manage to get on a hook flew off when I cast them out. Granted I am trying to cast them pretty far out with some heavy weight, but still, it worked for the Chinese guys. I have some ideas to try now.

As for dough balls, let me add one more recipe to the thousands people have already been using. This one comes highly recommended from a Korean friend who is heavy into carp fishing. I must say I have used this, and though I have not caught any carp yet, I did catch three really big turtles the first day I tried it at the Pudd.

You take like half a bag or more of Cool Ranch Doritos and grind them to powder in a food processor. They will smell great and be kind of greasy, but they won't stick together very well. Then pick up a little box of corn muffin mix (costs $.50 to $.79) and mix them together. Put some in a bowl so in case you screw up you don't ruin the whole batch, and add a VERY LITTLE bit of lake water and squish it around til you get a good consistency that will stay on the hook. It will last on the hook surprisingly long, and it smells good enough to eat. Carp are supposed to love it. Who knows, maybe they do if they can get to it before the turtles do.

[reservoir dog]

You can leave them out the night before so the tortillas get a little tough in texture and that should make it stay on the hook. But make sure they're not too dry where they turn into tortilla chips because then you'll need salsa. Good luck out there John! :Thumbs Up:

[Skyler]

Try chewing gum. You'd be amazed at what it will hold to a hook.

[Mr T-rex]

Try flour tortillas.. They are soft and dont break like corn tortillas

[Cartman]

Try flour tortillas.. They are soft and dont break like corn tortillas

Thanks Mr T-rex. I'm definitely considering that, and I think you're right that flour tortillas will stay on the hook better. So many carp baits center around corn as an essential ingredient that I want to figure this one out. Plus, I saw it done, and I'm going to do it myself.

[Cartman]

You can leave them out the night before so the tortillas get a little tough in texture and that should make it stay on the hook. But make sure they're not too dry where they turn into tortilla chips because then you'll need salsa. Good luck out there John! :Thumbs Up:
Robert my good friend! Maybe I should take some salsa with me just in case, huh?

[angelsfan951]

do u use a c-rig for the set up or what kind?

[smooshsh]

Keep a lighter on hand. Heat it up on both sides really quick to change the texture slightly and pin it on a hook. Works for me. Let me know if this helps.

[smokehound]

I was having success with instant cornbread mix. Masa dough works great.


You can also toss some tortilla into a food processor, if you have one, and make a dough that way.

[Cartman]

do u use a c-rig for the set up or what kind?

Hi Angelsfan951. I naturally go to the carolina rig, but the rig I learned from these guys worked well for them and caught me a nice cat at Quail. Besids I am always interested in learning something new...always looking for the elusive silver bullet I guess. I tied it as what I think is called a reverse dropper loop. When my Chinese fishing friend saw my rig, however, he was not pleased and showed me how it was "supposed" to be done. His rig is a maze of criss-crossing intertwinned loops and snelled hooks that basically yield the same result. When I get a chance I will dissect his rig and learn to tie it. With tortillas and the foam at the end (some times they don't use the foam, but I think it is a good idea to get the bait out of the muck and growth at the bottom of the Pudd) providing wind resistance the extra weight and a long rod are useful for casting. Also the weight acts as a bolt rig setting the hook. My Chinese friends fish with crazy-long telescoping rods stuck straight up in the air. I bought myself a bright blue one for $17.00 at Uxcell.com, and it looks great shooting for the stars. I have a really cheap-o bait-runner reel I use, though with that much weight I don't think that feature adds much value. I have powerpro braid on it, though, and maybe that helps me get a little more distance with such a cumbersome payload.

Anyway, this is what I am trying. It's easy to put hooks on the dropper loop by sliding the loop through the eye of the hook and putting the point of the hook back through the loop and pulling, but with heavy line it doesn't cinch up very tight. If you have trouble getting the loop through the eye you can use another short piece of line to pull it through. You can use heavy line for this, especially if you're trying to catch catfish. Heavy line is less likely to end up all tangled.

36570

They use this for carp, but they also end up landing catfish with it. I think it's a great way to go after catfish, and I'm planning to put some shrimp on and hitting up SFD today if I get out of the house soon enough.

[Cartman]

I was having success with instant cornbread mix. Masa dough works great.


You can also toss some tortilla into a food processor, if you have one, and make a dough that way.

Hi Smokehound. I love discussions of different kinds of carp bait. There are all kinds depending on how you're going to be fishing. I'm going to try some cornbread muffin mix on my long Korean style pole. The idea with that style of fishing is to drop the bait intentionally the first several times you put in, and then make the mix so it stays on, at least a little while. They use mixes that you can adjust easily with water and kneading. Cornbread muffing mix in the little box, and my new obsession, COOL RANCH DORITOS, will be the next one I try with my long Korean pole except I HATE catching the red-eared sliders. BTW, I've had trouble getting the masa dough to say on the hook. Maybe it wasn't the right consistency at the time. There are a million carp bait recipes. If I wasn't too lazy I'd make some boilies, but unfortunately I am.

[Cartman]

Try chewing gum. You'd be amazed at what it will hold to a hook.

Yeah, Skyler, I'm sure. Thanks for the tip, but it's getting the stringy sticky chewing gum off the hook when I'm ready to pack up that bothers me. Ugh.

[Cartman]

Keep a lighter on hand. Heat it up on both sides really quick to change the texture slightly and pin it on a hook. Works for me. Let me know if this helps.

Thanks, smooshsh. It does appear that drying out the tortilla some but not entirely is the preferred method. Do you put on a single layer of tortilla or can you fold the tortilla after drying it with a lighter?

[smooshsh]

Heat it up, then fold. Here is a video. This will help. Skip to 3 min and you will see.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_9ghyF6wAc&feature=related

[Cartman]

Heat it up, then fold. Here is a video. This will help. Skip to 3 min and you will see.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_9ghyF6wAc&feature=related

"You gotta heat the tortilla up..." Dude, that was a great video. Everybody needs to see that one. I don't think I'm gonna be building campfires where I fish, but that tortilla sure got nice and pliable in the fire! Thanks for the link. Everybody check this one out. Great video. Poor fish, though. Dumb guy, but funny anyway.

[smokehound]

Ohhhh god hahaha.


:LOL:


Even carp make fun of ICP fans.