Weekend carping - May26

[MJL]

Decided to spend Saturday carp fishing…Not like I do anything else during the summer. Headed northeast to the Kawartha region to see how the fish were doing. A few of my friends had reported dismal results the last few weeks with nothing really to show for their efforts – Or gas money. Looking at the forecast and weather reports leading up to Saturday, I had a gut feeling something was going to happen.

 

Woke up at 4:27am and did my usual routine.

- Eat breakfast

- Brush teeth

- Pack car

- Go to bathroom

- Feed lucky fish

- Go to bathroom again

- Pack missing stuff into car

- Go over checklist

- Pack more stuff into car

Off we go at 6:01am

 

Arrive at the swim at 7:40am and bait up – We stopped in at Timmy’s on the way for some donuts.

 

We were welcomed by a flock of baby ducks waiting for some free handouts

 

Not long after, roughly 20min after arriving, the fun begins. We’re greeted with this gorgeous fish

 

 

Action was a little slow after that first fish, my dad and I would get line bumps every few minutes however the fish were striking short. We both reel in and I find that my hook-bait is tangled with my method feeder and my dad’s rig is snagged up in some wood…No wonder…NOTE TO SELF, CHECK RIGS IF YOU MISS 8 CONSECUTIVE TAKES

 

After we corrected our mistakes, we were getting runs fast and furious. At one point we were into a double header where both fish took our hook-baits at the very same second and both decided to head in the same direction. Fish were actually taking our baits even before they would hit bottom.

 

Weighing a long one which barely fit inside the “Monster weigh sling”

 

Weighing in at 23lb 10oz

 

Dad with one of his in the low teens

 

A golden apparition in his element

 

The golden apparition in my element – Well, not really, he put up quite a tussle when I tried to get him into the sling. He whacked me twice in the face with his tail and slimed my shirt.

 

One decided to take me for a ride through a jungle of snags and branches. I had to keep my rod low to the water to prevent the tip getting caught in the overhead branches.

 

Then it chose to go around some overhanging shrubbery

 

Closer to victory

 

Victory is mine

 

The aging warrior. I was surprised with the fight this fish put up. It was missing his left pectoral fin. Big tail + chunky physique = power to go where you want, when you want. This one weighed in at 24lbs 2oz

 

 

 

A great day overall. 24 fish were landed between my dad and me, with only a couple lost fish – One of which snagged my dad up in some serious roots and forced me to go for a swim; it eventually broke the hook link material and swam for freedom. Fish had a preference for maize soaked and boiled in my secret Agent-X formula. Tried a few different flavours of boilies + paste baits and got a few knocks but didn’t manage to get a run out of them. Arms and shoulders are sore. Back is aching but I love it. I really should study for my managerial economics exam coming up…There’s always tomorrow…Or the day after.

[Rich Clemens]

Great report MJL and love those landing shots. Some monster sized carp there and I'll bet you had a good time hauling in those girls.

[007]

Great report MJL. Looks like you had a blast. What chunky looking carp - I wish I could catch one like those. Loved the great action shots. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. Out of curiosity what rod, rell and line weight were you using?

 

007

[dsn]

Where's shot of you gong for swim? LOL I'm still waiting for my 20 pounder.

 

 

dsn

[ccmtcanada]

Wow...great day out there!!! Twenty four fish...unbelievable! I've been fishing so far with just boilies and some Berkley Power Bait...and had just moderate success. After reading up on different feeders and mixes to mold around it, I think I'm heading to the bulk barn today to mix some up! I may add worms to my mix though...LOL.

 

Anyhow, great report and pics...thanks for sharing!! It gets pretty frustrating sometimes...seeing 50 of them in a small area and nothing!! haha.

[Victor]

looks like things have picked up !! i like that shot with you netting the fish haha ... went to the Grand yesterday and got skunked ...

 

did u test out ur new bigpits?

[Crazyhook]

awesome pics and report man! Nice work

[Guest Johnny Bass]

Nice. Looks like the action was fats and furious. The first carp looks like he has a mohawk.lol

[ccmtcanada]

So a question for carp experts...I've been reading up on method feeders and noticed you guys used one...I'm going to use a recipe that a fellow OFNer shared the other week. My question is, how long do you let the food dissipate from the feeder? Do you just leave it there? How long do you keep your line in the water without retrieving and casting again. I usually leave mine in for about 45 minutes without touching it. Thanks!

[MJL]

Great report MJL. Looks like you had a blast. What chunky looking carp - I wish I could catch one like those. Loved the great action shots. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. Out of curiosity what rod, rell and line weight were you using?

 

007

 

Hey 007, we were using:

- 1 Shimano Technium 2.5lb rod

- 1 Shimano Exage STC 2.75lb rod

- 1 Shimano 4500b baitrunner

- 1 Shimano 6000 Thunnus

- 12-15lb mono

- Various hooklink materials although supple braid (PowerPro + a few European brands) is what most of our fish came on - It's just my confidence material. I switched up to coated braid when my dad wasn't looking and nailed a few fish that were ejecting his rigs.

* Also had a few salmon/steelhead outfits in the car for stalking

 

 

So a question for carp experts...I've been reading up on method feeders and noticed you guys used one...I'm going to use a recipe that a fellow OFNer shared the other week. My question is, how long do you let the food dissipate from the feeder? Do you just leave it there? How long do you keep your line in the water without retrieving and casting again. I usually leave mine in for about 45 minutes without touching it. Thanks!

 

I'm not really an expert on fishing method feeders but I use them on occasion to gauge the activity level of fish. I use it to test various flavours and switch my hook-baits accordingly to what they prefer. I prefer to use a groundbait mix which is fairly hard for the fish to get off...Reasoning is I want the fish to attack the feeder in a competitive fashion rather than suck up the loose bits - By using a fairly stiff mix which stays on the feeder, I can get a better clue to what the fish's activity level is like and generally how many fish are in the general area - many beeps on the alarm = good activity level. If I'm only getting beeps and no takes after a while, I know something is not right with my rigs.

 

The other way which you can use a feeder is to use a loose mix to attract the fish to a given area. After a short while it crumbles off and sits in a clump on the bottom free for fish to suck up. It's a good tactic to use when fish are less active. This way is similar to using PVA bags which melt away when it comes into contact with water (PVA bags are expensive though).

 

Both ways work. It really depends on what you have the most confidence in using. I prefer using inline semi-fixed leads more than anything when ledgering - again it also depends on the type of bottom you'll be fishing too.

 

As far as reeling in, it depends on the type of water I'm fishing and the number of fish present. Where I was at on Saturday, if I wasn't getting at least some bite in 25min, I reeled in to check the rig and casted to another spot within the spot. Other times I may let it sit for an hour or two before reeling in. It's all variable..

 

looks like things have picked up !! i like that shot with you netting the fish haha ... went to the Grand yesterday and got skunked ...

 

did u test out ur new bigpits?

 

Still waiting for the spod rod to arrive.

[fishindevil]

WOW.....great report and nice pics, you guys sure did hammer those fish,well done,and you are right about the fight they give,they just dont quit,even on shore they just dont stop,...thanks for sharing cheers

[glirw]

Great report man . That is one spot I know all too well . Looks like the resident fish there are growing ! Last year it was all 15-18 pounders , now they're up to 20+ .... WTG !

[Mike the Pike]

Great report and pics.WTG

 

MTP

[urbanangler1990]

greaat pix and report

[Photoz]

AH H H H A H!! I RECOGNIZE those trees . . . and blades of grass!! Just to think, I had to decide between Hamilton & Peterpatch Saturday . . . I chose Hamilton!! I'll likely be going up to where you were in the morning, and MAY Y Y B E Port Hope Tuesday, but I'm gonna be gettin' some fishin' lessons on Wednesday down Hamilton way. As always your pictures & reports were spectacular, since the storm toppled those trees, it's made the fishin' there kinda interesting . . . more of a challenge? Especially off that l'il beach with the remnants of the tree! I managed to find a Stradic 6000 for my 2 1/2 pound Technium that I'm dyin' to try on a carp . . . tomorrow MIGHT be THEEEE day, eh?Anyhoooo . . . after another disastrous day on the water today, (don't ask!) I need some easy pickins!