Hunting carp requires good gear, tasty bait, and perseverance. When a trophy fish engulfs your bait, you do not want to miss it! A bite alarm is an indispensable tool. An analog alarm is better than no alarm. But, I prefer to go high-tech. So I purchased two Fox Micron+ bite alarms.

The Micron M+ has high-end features at a low-end price. First, the unit operates on two standard AAA batteries, which are readily available. Second, the Piezo speaker and 5 mm red LED will sound and light when a fish is swimming away with your bait. I like to turn the indexed volume knob on the front all the way up. But, when stealth is required, I turn the volume down. Third, the robust rubber ear inlays prevent rod slippage. I target BIG fish. Rod slippage is not an option.

If you are targeting carp, you need a bite alarm. If you go digital, I strongly recommend the Fox Micron+ available from Wacker Baits.

This year I decided to start fishing the dark side of the Cape Cod Canal. So I ordered some jigs from James Jewkes. The four things to consider when buying jig heads are: weight, geometry, hook, and color. For the Cape Cod Canal, I would recommend 4 oz, 5 oz, and 6 oz jigs. These three weights will work the lower portion of the water column as the tide floods or ebbs and the current changes correspondingly. The geometry of the jig head determines how the jig is going to function. For example, round heads will drop and bounce across the bottom. Flat sided jig heads swim through the water column. Pointed jig heads sink fast. Hence, the head geometry depends on what and how you want to jig. The most important component of a jig is the hook! James Jewkes’ jigs come with a strong and sharp 8/0 Mustad hook. Jig head color is important because it forms part of your presentation’s color profile. I like white, red, chartreuse, and black jig heads.

I am a fan of two-tone bucktails, which are effectively Lefty Deceivers with a lead head. I tie my own bucktails because the color profiles I fish are not commercially available: chartreuse/white, blue/white, yellow/white, red/white, red/yellow, blue/green, chartreuse/yellow (a.k.a. “parot”), black/yellow, black/chartreuse, black/purple (a.k.a. “blurple”), and black/blue (a.k.a.”bluk”). Frankly, I am surprised more surfcasters do not fishy bluk jigs, which mimic black sea bass.

Soft plastics catch fish! But, they do not cast or sink well unless they are weighted. I like to fuse soft plastics with a lot of tail action onto jig heads. This presentation casts better and can work the entire water column. When fish shun plugs and bucktails, I serve them “rubbah”!

Mounting a soft plastic onto a large jig can be challenging. I use a power drill with a 3/8″ drill bit to bore out the tip of the soft plastic. This results in a better fit without splitting the soft plastic. I use a strong adhesive to fuse the soft plastic to the lead head.

When you cast up-current and let your jig work the dark side of the Cape Cod Canal, you will hook fish! But, you will also lose jigs!! Buying naked jigs and tying your own bucktails or mounting soft plastics will reduce your cost by as much as 80% and give you a custom presentation!!!