Missouri Vacation Carping

We spent last week in Missouri after traveling there to attend my niece's high school graduation.

During the 9 day trip I did manage to find time for carp fishing. It was a new spot I had never fished before, so I didn't really know what to expect. Luckily the carp didn't know that and cooperated anyway.

9 pounder

13 pounder

Missouri River view

Carp fishing lake

Interesting clouds rolling in just prior to a short lived storm

Someday I hope to get back there to fish again.

I am confident there are some monster sized carp in the Missouri River, but it's tough to find a spot to fish out of the very strong current.

I'm Not a Mailman, But I Do Qualify as a Carp Man

We made plans last to fish a "numbers" venue today. The location is near my house and with rain showers and high winds in the forecast I thought staying closer to home was a smart move.

When I arrived at the venue about 6:15 I was greeted with a rowing regatta and hundreds of people. There was a long line of vehicles waiting for the park gates to open and there were hundreds of pedestrians, students, rowing teams, etc. We decided to go with plan B at an alternative location about 25 miles to the south.

Arriving at the alternate location about 7:00 and greeted by sunshine, calm winds and blue skies things were looking up. But unfortunately, the clouds, rain showers and high winds caught up to us at the new location.

Fishing started out very slow as the wind and rain settled in for a bit, but when conditions changed to sunny, but still windy the fishing picked up a little. A familiar pattern developed. When there was sunshine, there were bites. When the sunshine hid behind a cloud bank, we had no fish.

It was a "grind it out" kind of day, but ultimately the patience paid some nice dividends.

Here are some of the 11 fish landed by me with the largest weighing almost 19 pounds. Neither rain, wind, clouds or catfish can keep us from landing a few carp every now and then.

 

Small mouth buffalo

Carp release

 

How to Tie a Hair Rig for Carp Fishing

Here is a "how to" video from Carl and Alex to help you learn how to catch carp using a basic "hair rig".

18 Pound Common Carp Video

This video of an 18 pound common carp landed in Bigelow Park on the Saginaw River was taken by my wife during the 2016 Carp Anglers Group Midwestern Regional fishing tournament.

Carp Fishing Video from Saginaw

 

 

A little video my wife filmed last Friday. This fish weighed 15 pounds and was my second fish that day.

Pictures from the CAG Midwestern Regional at Saginaw River

I look forward to attending the Carp Anglers Group Midwestern Regional each year. I have been making plans to attend the 2016 event since late 2015, so Friday morning I headed out early for the trip to Saginaw as a member of Team Michigan.

On Friday I fished a new area of the river (for me) and within 30 minutes of casting out I landed the first fish – a small 10 pounder.

It took several more hours to land a second fish, at 15 pounds, which was unfortunately my last fish for the day.

 

10 pounds

15 pounds and then some

Saturday morning we arrived at the peg draw anticipating a day filled with carp fishing and hoping for high quantities of high quality fish topping the 20 pound mark, which on the Saginaw River is fairly common.

I landed a 13 pounder very early on and a nice channel catfish later in the day, but unfortunately carp were regretfully absent from my swim the remainder of the day on Saturday.

13.1 pounds



Team Michigan was in second place heading into Sunday. My teammates started landing fish early in the day, but unfortunately my luck was running cold for the first few hours. I was fishing my particular spot in Bigelow Park peg for the first time. Heavy winds impacted my casting and prevented me from putting the bait in the proper zone. Teammates were landing fish closer to shore, so I tried that awhile. But I kept trying my preferred spot off and on with little success.

The winds subsided in the late afternoon. Casting and current improved substantially as a weather front approached. The skies turned dark blue and it looked like rain was imminent. I commented to my wife that all heck was going to break loose at any minute. Sitting back in the sport umbrella out of the wind, she asked why and I explained that it was likely to start raining hard soon and I had a feeling the fish were about to start feeding heavily.

14 pounder

16 pounder

18 pounder

25 pounds 9 ounces

It turns out I was incorrect about the weather, but right about the fish. After a tough day playing the waiting game on Saturday afternoon, these fish were a welcome arrival. Just when it seemed like they'd never come, things turned around.

This was my third time fishing the regional. I think this year's conditions offered the biggest challenges (at least for me), but a tweak here and there; and suffering through a pity party or two paid off with some nice fish at long last.

4th consecutive Team Michigan victory

Carp Fishing in Bay City Michigan

Here is another video from our weekend fishing the Saginaw River near Bay City, Michigan.

Saginaw River Carp Fishing

My wife shot this video last weekend during the Carp Anglers Group Midwest Regional Tournament.

 

This is a video of me fighting and landing a 16 pound river carp in high winds and moderately heavy current. Some people wonder I why I enjoy carp fishing so much. I offer this video as an example.