What baits to use for canal fishing in Bethlehem PA

Question
HI, me and my friends are always going fishing in the canal. We catch a descent amount of fish but compared to how many are in there we should be catching a lot more. We have a few big pickerel(25+ inches) and some 14+ inch bass. We haven't caught any carp yet but we would like to. Any lures or technics for catching them like those guys on the TV shows.

                               Thanks,
                                    JT

Answer
Hi JT,

I can't help you with the specifics of your canal since I have never fished there.  I can tell you that if you are catching fish and are now looking for bigger fish, sometimes you just have to fish for them.  

This could mean bigger lures or baits for starters.  Big golden shiners or sucker minnows for Bass and Pike, especially now in fall.  I have caught some of my biggest bass right now while fishing 6-7" Chubs for Musky.  Bigger fish are going to be attracted to a bigger bait.  It's that simple.  But remember that you are also eliminating some of the smaller fish too, so you won't be catching as many, but the size will get bigger.  

Also, try to fish deeper for bigger fish.  Many times the juvenile fish will spend a lot of time in the shallows and the bigger bass or Pike will start to spend most of their time deeper.

And lastly, look for the nasty days to fish.  Big fish didn't become big fish by being stupid.  You need every bit of help you can get so look for fronts going through, rain, snow heavy wind.  I always call those "big-fish days".  I always found that the more uncomfortable it is for me, the better shot at a big fish there is.  

As far as those TV shows, there is a lot of editing going on and yes they catch some fish,  there are also a lot of hours of fishing you don't see.  They also only fish in some of the best water with a good population of bigger fish.  Your canal may just not have that potential.  If You put those TV guys on your canal, they may just catch the same type of fish you are catching.

For the carp, you will need to fish the bottom with corn, bread dough, or one of the commercial carp baits.  They will rarely chase down a lure or minnow.  

Good luck,

Marc