Thanks for that idea Kelly - I don't have a lot of trees with limbs around the lake. Do you think balloons as bobbers would work. Just toss a few in and if I see a balloon swimming around the lake, then I know I have something.
Also, what about other baits - I have heard cherry tomatoes might work (I want to avoid bread balls because I just want to target the grass carp and not get a bunch of catfish instead)
The balloon may not have enough spring to set the circle hook into the carp's mouth.
Bill is correct. Although circle hooks should never be "set" using convention cross-their-eyes methods, they still need some sort of counter-resistance to embed the hook through flesh (usually in the corner of the fish's mouth).
If you have no sturdy limbs near the shoreline, it might be feasible to rig a suspended counter-weight (on the shoreline) attached to the fishing line, but is held aloft by means of a trigger-device that is usually used for snares.
When the fishing line becomes taught, it trips the trigger and the counterweight applies tension to engage the hook. Might take a little tinkering to get it right, but the potential is definitely there (Rube Goldberg style).
Also, it will still be necessary to suspend the bait near the surface with a pole or float (a pole is better, to keep the bait from drifting). I'd stick with brussel sprouts to hopefully avoid turtles, who happen to love tomatoes.
