2017 Winding Down

I had the day off of work on Friday, but with temperatures in the low 20's I did not head out to my planned fishing spot as planned. The air temperatures remained in the 20's the entire day, so I didn't get to do any fishing on the Veteran's Day Holiday either. Major bummer...Last year I landed my current personal best of 29 pounds 2 ounces on Veteran's Day.

2016's best

With the winter slow down on the way, it's a good time to start making a shopping list for carp fishing items you need for next year. With fishing slowing down, sales are the carp equipment retailers slow down also. This provides an opportunity to pick up some nice merchandise for "sale" prices.

If you need carp rods, reels, landing mats, nets, etc. it's a good idea to keep any eye out on websites like Carp Kit and Johnson Ross Tackle to see what items they may have on sale. You can pick up some name brand items for very good prices if you keep an eye on their websites.

And it's not just the higher dollar items that go on sale either. If you need hooks, flavoring, fishing line, etc. you can buy them for 50% off (or better) sometimes. I've purchased Korda Wide Gap hooks for 50% off multiple times.

I have also been able to purchase 50# braided fishing line at Cabela's for 50-60% off in the fishing off season as well. I like to go in January. They often have fishing line at very good discounts.

Happy shopping.

Four Carp for Fall Weather Pattern

Fall fishing can be hit or miss. The cooler nights with temperatures nearing 32 degrees takes a toll on water temperature in local rivers and lakes sooner or later. The cool water slows down the fish, which slows down feeding and, therefore, eventually puts the brakes on fishing.

It's still possible to catch carp, but it takes considerably more effort, time and prior planning.

Yesterday weather yielded strong winds and temperatures in the mid-40's for a high with rain headed from west to east toward my fishing location. There were two very short periods of sunshine and the rest of the day was overcast.

My strategy for cooler weather is to use less bait, recast more often to keep fresh bait in the water, using brand new hooks for every session to increase the odds of hooking up and watching the rods very closely.

I have found that fish bite softer in cool weather, so a sharp hook helps a lot. If the fish are biting aggressively, you can get by with a hook that's been used for a session or two, but I prefer to increase the odds in my favor as much as possible. The cost of a hook runs me about $0.69 each for the Korda Wide Gap hooks I use. That seems like a small price to pay versus running the risk of a "blank" aka "not catching".

Here are some pictures:

This one's a little scrapper for sure. This little guy did not want to be captured in the net AT ALL.
It took a while to land him.

This carp was very healthy looking.

I love the scale pattern on this one.

I've actually caught this fish previously. I can only speculate, but the missing lip indicates to me that it may have been hooked before. It kind of looks like the upper lip may have been pulled off, which can happen if the drag on the reel is set too tight, if treble hooks are used, or for a variety of other possibilities.

This fish is built for future growth.

This fish has been through some challenges. The missing scales and overall condition of the fish indicates the fish has been in the thick of trouble in recent weeks or even days. While I can't say for sure what caused the scrapes and scale issues, I can say the fish was a healthy swimmer. I found the darker head coloration compared to the rest of the body scale colors fascinating.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I can get in one or two more days of fishing next weekend. If the high temperatures drop into the 30's this week, I may be out of luck for 2017. I'll be on the look out for a warm water discharge in the meantime to help extend my fishing into the winter if possible. If you know of a warm water discharge (a place where the river or lake doesn't freeze in winter), please let me know.