A Great Session Near Lake Erie - Great Weather and a New Personal Best Common Carp

Luckily I had the day off of work because the weather was very unseasonably warm today here in Southeast Michigan. After several days of cooler weather last week and falling water temperatures, temperatures in the upper 70's were bound to lead to some interesting chances to catch some carp. The carp did not disappoint.

The action started early with a few average sized fish. About 9:30 a.m. I hooked into a solid fish on my left rod and the fish crossed over the middle and right rods before doubling back to under the middle rod approaching the net. Everything was going very well to that point. The fish was tiring and Linda had the net in perfect position. To that point I hadn't really seen the fish yet, so boy was I surprised to see it approaching the net. It was the biggest fish I have hooked all year! Come on new PB!

I loosened the drag a little because the fish was spooked by the net. He struggled right and then back left into the netting zone. The fish hovered over the net, but was so big the tail wasn't quite in...and then it happened...yep, the dreaded hook pull. But at that point the fish was obviously tiring because Linda said, "don't worry, I can still get him." The fish didn't realize it was no longer hooked because it continued to hover in the water for several seconds. Linda pull up on the net, but the tail wasn't quite in yet. Somehow the fish eluded capture and we both were super, super bummed. I am pretty sure the fish was a 30+ pounder. The head on my Ranger net is 34" and the fish was bigger than that by several inches. So for the next couple of hours we relived the moment and discussed how to do it better next time; hopeful to get another chance at a quality fish. The next chance eventually came around 2:30 p.m., but the fish was a several inches shorter and a few pounds lighter.

Here are some pictures from today's session:

5 pounds

5 pounder posed

6 pounds

8 pounds

11 pounds

12 pounds

13 pounds

14 pounds

17 pounds

26 pounds 6 ounces, and my new personal best common carp

The release of my new personal best