Secret Fishing Spots

When I started carp fishing, I was so enthusiastic and excited about it that I told everyone I met about it. My friends, family and co-workers knew about my new love of carp fishing; and anyone else who would listen to me talk about fishing got the spiel about how much fun I was having with it. For most people to step out of their comfort zone and try something new, they need to have some successes right out of the gate; so I helped point them in the right direction and sometimes took them out fishing just as others did for me when I started.

Periodically I hear conversations and read posts on social media pertaining to "secret" fishing spots. It reminds me of the excitement I felt when I started and how it made me feel as a newbie (and to this day) when others helped point me in the right direction. When I first started carp fishing, I was really surprised to find that people actually had "secret" spots. That was a new concept to me.

I later learned from carp fishermen with a little more experience that sometimes telling others about a "secret" spot can be undesirable.

Examples:

-- It becomes so popular with others that the "best" spots are seldom available and almost always occupied when  you want to fish in those specific locations.

-- Bow fishermen might go to the spot and shoot the biggest "trophy" carp purely for spite, meanness and thrill they get out of killing animals (kind of barbaric, but perfectly legal).

Four years later I have reached the conclusion that there are not really any "secret" spots on "public" waters. "Public" waters are open to the public. No one person has more rights to one "public" water than another person. Just as a boater has no more right to a lake or river than a shore fisherman. We have to share the water and share the fish too.

I have also learned that it's nice for new comers to find the honey holes early on. Catching fish helps build skill and leads to even more catches. Without success, many people will quit before they actually know enough to even begin experiencing the real possibilities. With success, new comers become "hooked" on carp fishing sooner and they stick with it longer term; which helps grow the sport. Growing the sport helps everyone involved because more carp fishermen leads to more vendors, manufacturers and purveyors of carp supplies, equipment, tackle, and gear. The increased competition helps reduce prices for fishermen and increased sales helps the businesses at the same time. It's a win, win.

We can attempt to disguise the photos when posting on social media (I've done it myself), but it really only keeps it "secret" for a short time. Someone always figures it out eventually.

As I have gained experience, I find myself venturing out more and more on my own to find new places to fish - my own "secret" spots if you will. And when I am out fishing those spots it never fails that I meet someone who see's me catching carp and tells me about how they also have caught carp there, that bow fishermen shoot fish there, their grandpa caught them with corn, grandma made bread balls wrapped in bacon to catch them (true story), and so on. So my "secret" is only a secret to me. Others have known there were carp to be caught in those spots long before I got there. But I still enjoy looking and finding these hidden treasures when I can. It just adds another element of enjoyment to my personal fishing journey. It's another aspect to the hobby that helps keep me interested.

If you want to know where I fish - just ask me. If I know you well, I'll provide more details than if I don't. I meet a lot of people while carp fishing and many have become very close friends. So stick around and continue reading about my carp fishing efforts (and sturgeon adventures coming soon). Or better yet, come out and fish with me and my friends sometime. I think you'll enjoy it. :-)

Big River Carping

I spend a lot of time fishing lakes for carp. They are my preferred waters for carp fishing.

But occasionally I do enjoy fishing rivers. The fish are stronger, longer and tougher. Pound for pound they are more powerful overall. Detroit River is an obvious choice for big river carping here in southeast Michigan.

Saturday we headed out to a favorite Detroit River spot and settled in for a session.

It didn't take long for my fishing partner to land a couple of mid-teens carp. And a couple of hours later, some carp starting hitting my net.

Here are some pictures.

I loved the scale pattern on this nice muddler

Another small muddler

And I caught this sheepshead on a night crawler while trying my luck in my first attempt fishing for sturgeon (I have a sturgeon tag).

Although it only weighed a couple of pounds, it's still my personal best sheepshead (first and only sheepshead in fact)

This spot on the Detroit River has yielded several fish for me in the past year, but none have been larger than 19 pounds and change. I'd love to find some more productive spots because the potential in that river for big carp is significant.