I haven't used doughballs in years, but the recipe that got me interested carp fishing, more than ten years ago was something I found on the internet called carp delight. I can't find the recipe, so here is what little I can recall from memory.
Ingredients:
- 1/2c cornmeal
- 1/2c flour
- 1/3c unsweetened pineapple juice
- 1/3c canned yams/sweet potatoes
- other ingredients I cannot recall
Preparation:
Mix cornmeal and flour with just enough water to bind it together. Take this doughball, put it in a sock, or cheese cloth, to hold it together and boil for 20 minutes. Let doughball cool until it can be handled. Put doughball in food processor, or blender, add pineapple juice, yams, other ingredients, and blend until smooth. Put finished dough into a ziplock bag and store in refrigerator until use.
I used to mold this around a single 2/0 hook that had a spring on the shank to retain the doughball. My friends and I managed a lot of carp up to 14lb at Caesar Creek, and we thought that was huge.
Since that time I have moved onto fishing for carp almost exclusively, and i have moved onto Euro style gear as well. I use hair rigged baits (sweetcorn, boiled field corn, boilies, artificial 'plastic' sweetcorn, etc) and a bolt rig for convenience and effectiveness. Fishing with this style has allowed me to catch a lot more, and larger fish. It isn't for everyone, and can get real expensive if you invest in all the gear that makes even more convenient, but I would have stopped fishing for carp a long time ago if I continued using doughballs.
With the
hair rig the hook is fully exposed, and when combined with a 1+ ounce lead, the fish will hook itself. As the carp tries spit the bait, the hook pricks the lip, which causes the fish to bolt, hence the name, and the resistance of the lead sets the hook.
With this setup it is important to have a reel setup so that the fish can run with the bait. Otherwise, you might end up losing a rod. This can be accomplished a few ways. Baitcasters with clickers, or spinning reels with baitrunner, the Euro standard, are built for this. However, you can use a standard spinning reel if you loosen the drag all the way.
Now all you have to do is wait for the run, which is relaxing, since you dont have to watch for line movement. When the carp takes the bait, the line will start peeling off the reel and the drag clicker will be singing. This sound gets the adrenaline pumping and all you to do is tighten the drag (to tight and the hook will pull from the carp's soft lips), lift the rod tip (no need for a jerky hookset), and the fight is on.