wolfville

Rich, I don't know what you'll end up deciding, but I hope you the best either way. Nothing is all good or all bad, cherish what you have at the moment and that's what matters. BTW, before you go (if you do decide to go), send me all your carp swim locations in great details ;-)

I used to buy canned corn (the bait I use the most) at dollar stores, 2 cans for $1. This deal is hard to find now after the price of corn went up.

Hooking a pellet or dry cat food directly on the hook isn't easy, but you can learn from how UK guys fish for carp in commercial lake by using a hair rig with a bait band, then loose feed some free offering. I'm sure this will work for trout that are fed with pellets.

MJL led the folks from Canada to win the first CamAm cup carp tournament, that's something to make a good resume. Also his writing is pretty enjoyable and he is very knowledgeable in carp fishing. He may not outfish me most of the time but he got my vote.

I called MTO a few years ago for the exact same question and their reply was there is no law against children sit in the front passenger seat, but for safety reason if a child has to sit in the front seat, you should disable the airbag if possible. That was probably 3 years ago when I had my DelSol (2 seater), not sure if the law has changed. A call to them should get you the answer.

Looks like a good car. I sat in one and it has a lot of leg/shoulder room. Should be great if you don't often need to carry a lot of stuff around.

Those two spots are not action packed swims. Two hours should get you something if there are hungry carp around. Time of day you tried also makes a big difference. This morning I spent two hours in a swim where I caught 10+ in 3 hours two days ago in the evening, and didn't even get a bit this time (only thing caught was a big turtle It doesn't mean the swim isn't productive. Bait used is a big factor but wrong time, wrong tactic, wrong weather, wrong place are more important factors than bait. If sweet corn / maize don't work, I don't think using boilies will make any difference if you don't change other things. IMHO, boiles are only superior if there are other non-targeted species around and carp are of certain size, or they have been introduced to boilies. When sweet corn can be used (no gobies, no smaller fish like chub), you can never go wrong using it. Best way if you are starting, is to hook up with other carpers near you and start from there. You will learn a thing or two even if you don't catch. And it's always the blanked sessions that you learn more from. Good luck and happy carping.

Yeah, that's a good online store for carp stuff, I burned a few hundred bucks just this month ......... But like Victor says, I don't think it's the bait, there aren't many places in Ontario where boilies will outfish sweet corn or maize. Where you've been fishing and how? Maybe some of us can help?

Not too ugly from the picture in my opinion, but that carp does look odd.

There is a new tackle store opened in Markham (about 300 yards West of Kennedy, on the south side of HW 7) named Bass City, I saw they had leeches last time I was there.

Not saying I'm an expert but I'll say what I know. All carp don't spawn at the same time, it can last a few weeks until all carp are done spawning. Temperature is a main factor. There is a magic water temperature around 70F that would trigger most carp into spawning mode but still, they don't all do it at the same time. From my experience, carp start spawning when I start to blank, until I start to catch again ;-) But seriously, I think in this part of Ontario it can be anywhere between early June to late July.

I get mine from Queensville Feed (http://www.queensvillefarmsupply.ca/) you can give them a call. I think for a 80lb bag it's about $18. And you can find a lot more interesting stuff there for carp as well.

Don't grab the line when a big fish is on the other end. And don't describe fighting a 10lb carp in such a vivid/exciting way, you might get more people fishing for them. I too think you might have foul hooked the carp hence the hard fight, next time I land a carp I will make sure to check if I see your lure ;-)

Float fishing for carp on moving water is not easy. If you are just starting, ledgering is the way to go. I'd suggest you to do this, - Put a 1.5 - 2 oz egg sinker on your line, - Tie a swirl below the sinker, - Tie a piece of line (leader) on the swirl, you can use the same line as the main line but most people use something with a bit less breaking strength (this is so when you snag, you lose only the leader/hook. - Tie a size 6 - 12 hook at the end of leader. ( I would use size 8 or 10 to start with ) - Thread some canned corn (1 to 3 kernels, depending on your hook size). You can leave the hook point exposed for easier hook up, but should hide the hook point when you get shy bites. - Cast out to where you want to fish. An area of slack water in a river is nice if you can find it. - Throw one to two handfuls of canned corn about 3 to 5 yards (depending on the flow) upstream from where your hook bait is. The idea is to get them settle near your hook bait. - Throw another handful of canned corn every 20 to 30 minutes, or after every fish you can hooked into (landed or not). And last but the most important thing is -- keep your rod close to hand. I have seen rods pulled into water by a 2lb carp even though the anglers thought they are very close to the rod. We're talking about less than 1 second respond time. OR, open your bail arm if the water flow doesn't pull line out, even better yet, use a baitrunner reel but that is NOT necessary. About bite indication? Well, you'll know when you get a bite ;-) Hope this makes sense.

Glad you finally got into some fish ;-) Way to go... Mirrors fight differently, but the difference is in you, not the fish. If I see a mirror on the other end of the line I sure will be extra careful not to lose it (and the effort often might be counter-productive) Victor, I bet you that all the fish you lost this year were all huge mirrors ;-)

Terry, they do list carp as sport fish, you can also check the email from MNR stating this here. Victor, it was nice fishing with you, we'll have to do it again soon if your GF doesn't mind ;-)

Great write-up and thanks for sharing. Carp fishing has taken off in the last two years and more and more people are enjoying the sport. Nice to see you enjoy it as much as I do ;-)

Did you give the carp a cigarette after the picture? LOL Nice fish and keep them coming.

Almost a proper carp holding pose, you're getting there ;-) If someone tells me he catches fish of this quality in his backyard, I would believe he live in paradise.

BBR back in action ! You lost a lot of weight or it was just the camera? Hope everything is good with you. Fishing is the cure for everything. Take care.

Daniel, two Solar pods stolen out of your garage? What has the world turned into. BTW, where do you live? Spinnerdoc, I'll also keep an eye on the lost pod. Maybe someone kept it and is looking for its owner? Might help if you post on the GAG, Canada section. With so many people knowing about this, it may force it to be returned, doesn't hurt to try.

Pack the steelhead gears already.... carp are calling for ya! But those are nice fish too ;-)

You could try dog biscuit or corn pop, free lined sweet corn, worm, or anything else that doesn't sink too fast. But from my experience, if they swim in groups near the surface in the cruising mode, chances of catching them is very slim, especially if they can also see you. They tend to ignore everything other than the three letter words staring with a "S". (sun, or sex)

Sounds fun and thanks for sharing Cliff. No wonder Carole was a bit miserable when we fished together Saturday night ;-)

Congrats on the first fish of 09' and first Channel cat, I have yet to catch one.