The Hunt For Big Fish with Larry Dahlberg

Dear Larry The King,
I missed my opportunity to load up my bait tanks on suckers this spring so i am now concentrating on getting big golden shiners (for bass and esox bait) and some small carp for flatheads
My question is how big of a carp dare i use to entice a flathead? i will use limblines or jugs to present them. I can usually get them from 8" and up. I was thinking of slapping a 6 pound carp on a jug.
Also, i have circle and J hooks of every conceivable size to use and i usually hook carp thru the tail meat to prevent the hook from turning back into the bait.
Any thoughts or suggestions on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Steel Neal

Hi SN
If you've got huge flatties I don't see why a 5 pound carp wouldn't be a bad idea. In a captive pond I once visited in Texas, at the end of the day the workers would toss dead cormorants to big flat heads and they ate them like popcorn! I'm sure a big carp would be easier to swallow..
Have a great season!
L

Dear Larry The King,
Cormorants?
Sweet!
i'm sure the carp taste better too.
As for hooking them up?....big tuna circle hook in the caudal peduncle sound good to you?
Your faithful subject,
Steel Neal the Urban Hillbilly
(actually i am half Greek, my people came from Crete and the rest Scots Irish, But Crete is a seafaring nation steeped in fishing tradition)

Yup, a big circle on the underside of the tail and you might need a pound worth of sliding sinker to keep mr carp from getting out of control.
Good luck
L
ps The sight of those big flatties bubbling up out of the depths and sticking their mouths out of the water to swallow a cormorant whole is forever burned on the back of my eyelids!

Dear Larry The King,
depending on where i go...i was thinking of rowing the baits out in my boat and using a half a brick and a rubber band to keep them from wandering off
Steel