You can target carp in just about any body water whether it be in a lake, river or pond. Almost every body of water will have carp no matter the size. Carp are not a predatory fish and do not eat other fish. So to catch carp you have to use artificial man made baits. I will focus on three main types of baits.

Baits

The first type of bait to consider when fishing for carp, is commercial baits. Several companies offer dough baits tailored exactly for carp. These baits are usually cheese flavored. Some people swear by these baits but I personally have not had much luck with these.

The second type is of bait and probably the most common is homemade dough baits. I find these to be the best type of bait for catching carp and the most fun. I find them fun because you feel a sense of accomplishment when you create a bait that is really successful. If you try to make your own bait you should try to focus on sweet items. Start with a base of either flour or cornmeal. Add in a liquid to bind your material. You can use something simple like water, or some people like to use soda. Big red is a local favorite or orange crush. Other options include vanilla, molasses,melted marshmallows and cereal.

The third type of bait that works well to catch carp is corn. This is by far the easiest bait to use and probably one of the better if not best producers. You can buy a 50 cent can of corn with a pull top lid and catch carp.

Techniques

Carp do not tend to use a lot of cover. The only cover I have ever seen make a difference is grass beds. Carp to like to cruise around underwater or submerged grass. Otherwise you should target open areas with little to no cover. During the summer the carp will come up very shallow at night. It is possible to catch carp in 2 foot of water, 3 foot form the bank at night during the summer. During the winter carp will go deeper. Carp also tend to not bite very well in the winter.

Carp are a fairly hard fighting fish and get quite large. You may want to have medium to heavy gear in case you hook into a large fish. Carp in some areas grow to over 20#. Hooking into a large fish and losing it because of light gear can really be a bummer. Carp are not very sensitive to line so using a heavy line doesn't seem to spook them. You will also want to use small hooks. Carp do not have a very large mouth.