Carp Fishing Magazines

[iCarp]

I love to fish for carp, and I've always been a great reader. It's been frustrating, therefore, to try to find anything in print about carp fishing in order to satisfy my twin cravings for fish and words. Here's a brief review of what I've run across lately.

 

Chapters has been stocking Carp World for a while now. The Great Canadian News Co., found in malls, used to stock Carpology a couple of years ago and has now started carrying Carp World. Otherwise, it seems impossible to find any carp fishing mags around here.

 

There's an interesting online magazine that's doing a great job of filling that void, though. What better way to connect with the small (but growing) community of carp anglers in North America than through the internet? Patterning itself after the U.K. mags, particularly the lively Carpology, but with a definite North American flavour, uscarppromagazine.com provides a blend of how-to, tips and tricks, reviews, and carp catching tales- all highly readable and at a great price. It's free. Right now, if you register as an online subscriber (also free) you get a chance to win a set of 3 Sonik SK3 carp rods- the 'buy two get one free' rods that have got the U.K. reviewers raving over the past year. I registered today, so wish me luck.

 

The 2009 Fishing Annual from Ontario Out of Doors Magazine has a great article on carp fishing by Lonnie King. For anyone thinking of giving carp hunting a try, just starting out, or looking to improve their carping skills this article, 'Tips and Tricks for Refined Carping' is a must read. The magazine is available at news stands now.

 

For a long time, coverage of carp fishing in the angling mags here, what little there was, often played it for laughs, so it's great to see a serious and informative treatment of the sport in the Fishing Annual. Heck, it even gets a mention on the front cover.

 

Another well written article appeared in a recent issue of the In-Fisherman magazine. Once again providing a serious and informative treatment of its topic, this article dealt with carp fishing in the Great Lakes tributaries. I found it particularly interesting and helpful because it wasn't just about carp fishing in general, but about catching them on the fly. As a longtime flyfisher I hope to try to catch my first carp that way this year. If you can, track this one down for a good read.

Edited April 23, 2009 by iCarp

[MJL]

Thanks for the headsup on the mags. You’re right about availability (or general lack thereof) of carp specific magazines. I used to occasionally get Carp World and Carpology at The World’s Biggest Bookstore in downtown Toronto if there was an article I was interested in. Now it seems they only carry Carp World…Quite pricey Mags too and many articles seem rehashed over and over from issue to issue.

 

I’ve always enjoyed Lonnie King’s (OOD) articles on carping as well as the ones found in In-Fisherman.

 

At the moment the only magazine I get is the one from CAG that comes once every few months.

 

If you’ve never caught carp on the fly, it’s a total blast. I used to take my fly rod down to some of the local flats around Toronto and sight cast to them. You need lots and lots of backing. LOL

[iCarp]

Okay, you've definitely got me determined to cast a fly for a carp this year, MJL. It sounds like a blast. I even have a couple of likely spots picked out- now to give some thought to tactics. Any tips would be appreciated.

 

About the mags, you're right about overpriced rehashing. It's hard to justify spending three times the cover price for a magazine that's two or three months out of date (I suspect that somebody has a sweet racket going on there shipping expired copies to North America for sale after they're pulled from U.K. shelves). It's especially hard when I sometimes have a hard time telling if I've already read the issue since it seems to have been run through the rehashatron (honestly, I root around my collection looking to see if I've somehow bought two copies of the same month).

 

Just got the latest issue of the CAG mag myself.

[MJL]

Olive woolly buggers with bead chain eyes were my #1 producer for fly fishing around Toronto. Another fly that worked well was a 2-3 inch piece of black rabbit strip tied onto a streamer hook along with lead dumbbell eyes. A good set of polarized glasses is a necessity. Look around for mudding or tailing and cast to it. When the fly hits bottom, strip it in a bit. I haven’t fly fished for them for about 4yrs but usually the local flats were good from mid-May till the spawn (usually mid June/early July depending on the weather). If you're able to wade slowly, you can get surprisingly close to them when they're busy hoovering up the bottom.

[iCarp]

Thanks for the tip about wooly buggers- I've got a bunch I tied up this winter for the trout that I didn't catch down at Queenston. There are some shallows down on the Grand that I might try soon. I thought that I might tie up some corn imitators too, or some variation on an egg imitator only in yellow. Still plotting, though...

 

Stalking them in shallows would be a thrill. Now where are my waders?

[tonyb]

I'll throw up a vote for the CAG membership as well...it's a newer organization and their magazine seems to be improving in quality and content all the time. Haven't had a chance to go through the new magazine yet, but looking forward to targeting Carp in May...going to be putting the boat to use targeting them this year

 

Check out their website: http://www.carpanglersgroup.com/?page_id=4

[iCarp]

Hi, tonyb. I agree, the CAG mag can be pretty good. The latest has some good articles about tackle care and how-tos. For anyone who's interested, the Canadian section of CAG is very active and growing. It can be found by clickinghere.

 

I'd be interested in hearing how things work out with the boat. They're definitely starting to bite so I'm sure you'll do well.