ccmtcanada Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 (edited) I started fishing for carp last year. After the Steelhead run was over and nothing else was open yet except panfish, I was itching to target another species. Also, since no one else on my tourny team was going to target them, I figured I'd give them a try. I started out using roe, corn or worms on a single hook, but hookups were very few and far between. Long story short, I was able to meet up with some of this board's premier carpers and I learned a TON from them. Hair rigs, ground bait and boilies became my arsenal to catch these big fish. I saw a fellow OFNer's (Gawel) post in the classifieds for an Okuma Baitrunner reel and decided to buy it from him. It's a very solid reel...and I was hoping to have some luck with it. Last night, Bly and I headed to one of our spots and between the two of us, only one fish was caught....but man....it was a big one. My new personal best! It came in at 36 1/4 inches and weighed 27 pounds 3 ounces. Here's a pic of it.... I was sitting in my chair...not really sensing any action on the line. I hold the line with my index finger...I'm not comfortable with those fancy pods and bite alarms, as I like to feel every little line bump and action. Anyhow, the line slowly starts to peel out....I wait about 5 seconds....and as soon as the line starts to go out a little faster, I disengage the baitrunning feature and set the hook. Suddenly, this carp goes on run after run....for a good 5 minutes I made absolutely NO ground on it. Finally, I'm able to turn this fish around and I slowly get it to move towards me. It takes off on a few healthy runs again, but finally I got it in. I suppose my next goal is to get a 30 pounder... Edited April 27, 2008 by ccmt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toronto_Angler Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 Good stuff CCMT! Can't wait to go carp fishing this year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douG Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 Quite the tussle, Cliff. Very nice fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jace Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 wow. that's a nice fish. Although i havn'et tried it yet, I've watched a ton of carp fishing videos from the UK. Some of them are just fun, most of them are very educational like a series i got with underwater cameras to study feeding behaviour when using different tactics. Watching international fishing videos and rod building is how i get my fishing fix in the off season. Looks like a blast, i don't know why i've never gone out to try it. Anyways, thanks for the fish pic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatherof3 Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 wow,congrats on the pb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfisher Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 That's a pretty hefty beast; nicely done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medmart Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 That a beauty Cliff congrats on the PB rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Urban Fisherman Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 That's it Cliff, I'm goin' Carpin this morning! Beauty fish dude. UF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greencoachdog Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 Great report and pic Cliff!!! Thats a big ol' Carp... almost looks like a Manatee!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scuro Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 I like my baitrunner too. Nice fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b2kptbo Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 Good one Cliff, WTG... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beans Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 Cliff:...Congrats on the carp and the new Okuma baitrunner...gotta love the sound of the line running through a bite alarm !!! To pass along a tip on the Okuma...sometimes when the bail arm is in the twelve o'clock position the free spool is not "free"...always pull about an inch or two of line out to make sure it running "free"... It took me five fish before I got to learn to disconnect the "free spool" before lifting the rod...nothing like twenty pounds of angry carp on the end of your line and a lovely "birds-nest" at the reel... :wallbash: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shane Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 WOW! That's a big carp. WTG! Beats my best carp by 3 1/4 inches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowPoke Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 Nice one Cliff... got rid of the "new reel smell" didja? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyk Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 nice hawg! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 Very nice Cliff. That's a huge carp. No pic of the baitrunner? Everybody loves reel porn Joey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
007 Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 'Beauty' fish Cliff! Congrats on the PB. You're off to a great start to the season. 007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victor Posted April 28, 2008 Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 real nice fish cliff! congrats on the PB ... that swim sure holds quality and quantity!!! your new PB is one whole lb ahead of mine, guess i gotta fish hard this year to keep up with ya. To pass along a tip on the Okuma...sometimes when the bail arm is in the twelve o'clock position the free spool is not "free"...always pull about an inch or two of line out to make sure it running "free"... i have heard alot about this for the okuma reels as well ... just make sure your rod/reel won't get yanked out i'm not sure if getting that baitrunner is a good thing or bad thing ... you should talk to randy (wolfville) about this ... when we first got our baitrunner ... it was so exciting hearing the free spool go when a fish grabs the bait that it slowed our reaction/hookset haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfville Posted April 28, 2008 Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 Okauma makes good reels, especially considering the price. It will serve you good. BTW, I fished that same spot twice already this year catching nothing...and you went there at twice that I know of (happen to be the same day both times except I went in the morning and you at night)....... I'll tell my wife that I'll start night fishing now..... Still haven't caught any carp this year after logging 10 hours of bank time..... I might have to put my Okuma for sale soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denisk Posted April 28, 2008 Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 If anyone is interested the first Maco match is this coming sunday at Jaycees park in Guelph. For more info check out the Maco site www.matchanglingclub.com It's a fun style of fishing and actually very competive, check it out and see how many fish you can catch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccmtcanada Posted April 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 wow. that's a nice fish. Although i havn'et tried it yet, I've watched a ton of carp fishing videos from the UK. Some of them are just fun, most of them are very educational like a series i got with underwater cameras to study feeding behaviour when using different tactics. Watching international fishing videos and rod building is how i get my fishing fix in the off season. Looks like a blast, i don't know why i've never gone out to try it. Anyways, thanks for the fish pic! You should go and give it a try sometime. You don't need all the fancy carp equipment to catch these guys. I don't use bite alarms, bank sticks or pods. I don't even chum the area that I catch these fish at either. They are pretty powerful fish and a lot of fun to fight on the line! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccmtcanada Posted April 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 Very nice Cliff. That's a huge carp. No pic of the baitrunner? Everybody loves reel porn Joey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccmtcanada Posted April 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 i have heard alot about this for the okuma reels as well ... just make sure your rod/reel won't get yanked out i'm not sure if getting that baitrunner is a good thing or bad thing ... you should talk to randy (wolfville) about this ... when we first got our baitrunner ... it was so exciting hearing the free spool go when a fish grabs the bait that it slowed our reaction/hookset haha. Haha Victor...I dont need to worry about that as much...I still hold the rod in my hands so I can keep my index finger on the taut line. It's amazing how much activity you can feel this way....it gets you ready for the fish. You can feel when a carp bumps into your line, when it sucks up your hair rig, but blows it back out, when they are feeding all around and picking at your feeder and even when their big tails move the water. I prefer it this way....so no bite alarms and bank sticks/pods for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccmtcanada Posted April 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 BTW, I fished that same spot twice already this year catching nothing...and you went there at twice that I know of (happen to be the same day both times except I went in the morning and you at night)....... I'll tell my wife that I'll start night fishing now..... Hey Wolfville...there are certain areas where they seem to hang out this year that are different from last year. (at least at night). We'd love some company out there...just let us know when you're likely to head out and we'll hook up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsn Posted April 28, 2008 Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 Very nice ccmt. Congrats on the PB. I'm still searching for the trophies too. Most areas I fish now has slowed down due to the cool down of temps. dsn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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