Whirlpool Carping

[MJL]

After a month of not wetting a line, I needed to get out to scratch the itch. Decided to hit up the whirlpool with my dad for some carping fun on Sunday to get my fix.

 

Also of great importance (to me anyway) was to field test various baits I prepared in the off-season and tactics to use in an upcoming carp tournament. For the 3rd year (hopefully for the 3rd straight team victory), I’ll be a part of Team Canada at the CanAm Carp Cup in Waddington NY in Sept. With only 2 carping trips under my belt this season, I definitely need all the practice I can get. I couldn’t think of a more technically and physically challenging place to fish for carp within an hour and a half from home.

 

6am, I shove 54lbs of fishing tackle, bait and camera equipment into my hiking path. I also brought along 3 of my heavier carp rods, 7lbs worth of additional bait and my landing mat. My dad brought the lunches and paid for gas.

 

10:30 we make our way down the path and finally reach bottom. Every angler we saw on the way down (coming back up) skunked…Not very promising. Anglers already down there had taken all the other spots which were easier (and more comfortable) to fish…We got stuck fishing the fast water. I spent 30mins setting up all the gear while my dad sat in the shade.

 

The set-up

 

11am I got my first run…The hard work is only beginning

 

 

First Niagara carp of the year

 

A mint common carp

 

One surprise catch was this sheepshead…It’s the first one I’ve ever caught while carp fishing. He took mussel flavoured corn on a hair rig of all things.

 

 

One carp anomaly…In carping circles, it’s called a ‘muddler’ where the scales are irregular compared to ‘normal’ common carp. In this case it's 1/2 common & 1/2 muddler

 

Dad leaning into a nice fish…No hero shots with him…He hates touching carp.

 

These river fish have big tails

 

Ended up only fishing from 10:30 till 4pm…Fatigue got to the both of us (especially with the heat and the fish lifting). Nothing over 20lbs was landed but we got into great numbers of hard fighting fish – I just stopped counting after the 2nd hour. Fish came to various baits like flavoured corn, boilies and to some degree, pretty much everything I tried throwing at them. I will definitely be making my way down there again for some more “training” & “professional development” before the tournament .

 

Cheers and all smiles

[danbouck]

Awesome job! I got skunked going for carp tonight (other than the snapping turtle lol)

[young_one]

Wonderful pictures and very technical information, thanks for sharing!

[EC1]

Nice fish mike!

If I can finally catch crappie tomorrow, hope to see you sometime next week!

[splashhopper]

great pics and some nice fish too

[Bly]

Beautiful shots and congrats! Thanks for the ID on the different carp, caught a few muddler but didn't know there was a name for them.

[Photoz]

That's a great spot, but ya gotta be in real good shape and dedicated beyond belief to carp fishing to go away down there! I doubt I could even make it DOWN! Those are certanly healthy looking fish! Any of them have ripped up mouths? The ones out northeast of here are getting pretty battle scarred from people really 'horsing' 'em in. Just a word of advice though . . . . if Mother Nature should give you a nudge, and you have to heed the call, DO NOT use those nice big shiny leaves on the vines back in the bushes for toilet paper!! Pretty embarrassing going the the emerge next day and explaining to the doctor how you managed . . . . well, you get the idea anyway!

[Leecher]

Great report and pics Mike

Ya certainly got those carps dialed in.... great job dude

Good luck with the upcoming CanAm tournament.... looking forward to reading your report

Thanks for sharing

Jacques

[LucG]

Right on Mike! Even after all those skunked anglers you were able to key in on what was working. Looks like your completely setup for carp fishing. Good job.

[BillsTheBassMan]

A great report as always Mike. Recently I've started thinking about targeting Carp for my first time and I think I'm going to break the cherry tomorrow evening. I'm looking forward to it! Any suggestions for a carp noob?

 

Ryan

[hammercarp]

A great report as always Mike. Recently I've started thinking about targeting Carp for my first time and I think I'm going to break the cherry tomorrow evening. I'm looking forward to it! Any suggestions for a carp noob?

 

Ryan

Canned corn or some of the flavoured corn in a jar on a hair rig. Google up "hair rig" and you can find the flavoured jarred corn for carp in tackle shops.

[vinnimon]

Great job MJL

Never in my life have I ever seen a carp pulled out of there.

My first niagara musky was in that exact same spot,Bow alley, thats what I call it.

Lots of bows and salmon as well.

Congrats man,Its always worth the hike.

[Guest Johnny Bass]

Great report. That is some awesome looking scenery! Have to fish the whirlpool one day. How do you get there and how long is the walk to the spot?

Edited July 14, 2010 by Johnny Bass

[The Urban Fisherman]

Wow! What a beautiful spot man! I'd just like to down there to see it... The carp would be a welcome bonus! Thanks for the reports bud!

[Spiel]

Nice report Mike.

 

I love it down there though it's been some time since I fished it.

[bucktail]

54 pounds of gear!!!!

 

Man that must have been quite the hump back uphill , I think I would have died trying that!

 

Looks like a great day tho!

[daryl0815]

Awesome post man, you really seem to have the carp dialed in, good luck in your tournament!