Exploring New Carp Fishing Venues

I have some "go to" carp fishing venues locally that produce carp fairly consistently. Over the years some have ebbed and flowed in their production for a variety of reasons ranging from algae blooms to lack of summer rainfall at optimal times, commercial fishing, the effects of bow fishing, over fishing by those who harvest fish to eat, excessive jet skis, power boating, etc.

So a wise carp fisherman must constantly be on the look out for potential new venues. Venues with upper teen to low twenty average size, easy access via public parks, and close to home. There are plenty of venues that have some of those characteristics or even all during certain seasons (fall or spring as examples). But the holy grail for carp fishing are venues that hit all three of those requirements consistently.

At the current time, I don't have a venue like that close to home. I could drive 3 hours west and fish Lake Michigan where some of my carp fishing acquaintances have been landing 30 pound fish throughout much of the spring and summer. Unfortunately, the distance and driving time put that out of reach for a one day session with my current work schedule and family commitments.

I have Lake Erie and the Detroit River nearby, but neither I nor anyone I know personally has been able to land quality fish consistently in the past two years from those locations fishing from a public access area like a pier or park. I suspect there are some high quality fish to be caught from a boat that can seek out the areas where carp are congregating during a particular month, week or day, but one of the reasons I find carp fishing so attractive is the low cost aspect that does not require a boat and the expenses that come with boat ownership.

That leaves me to branch out north, south, east and west in search of new venues.

Today, I headed south and fished a new lake that I've never visited before. I don't know anyone who has fished it for carp, but I made contact with someone who has caught multiple carp from this new-to-me location. So I pulled out of the drive way at 5 a.m. and arrived at 6:45 a.m. 

I was fishing by shortly after 8 a.m. 

Finding a location was a bit of a crap shoot because although I was able to find a map of the venue online, the spots I hoped to fish with the deeper water depths were inaccessible from the shoreline once I arrived and saw them up close. They had drop offs from 10 to 20 feet or more.

I settled for the closest accessible area and set up there. Instead of the 12 foot water depths I hoped for, I fished in 6 feet of water.

To make a long story short; I fished for 8 hours and finally got my first screaming carp run. Yes....8 hours of silence (not even catfish).

Here are some pictures of the lone fish I landed:

The lonely loner I caught today

The scales were in good condition and he had nice coloring

Carp close-up

Carp tail fin shot

I am sure this lake holds carp in greater numbers than were indicated today. A local father and son team fishing for channel catfish provided some insight that I hope to act upon during my next visit.

Some additional online scouting and research will probably pay dividends before my next visit.