Don't Apologize for Catching Fish

Today I saw a post on a popular Facebook Group of a spectacular looking fantail carp.

The poster had taken some stunning pictures of the fish, which would be a once in a lifetime fish for most carp fishermen around where I live.

The poster felt a need to apologize for the fish not being very "big" (i.e. less than 30#).

The fish was likely a mid-teens fish, but the weight is beside the point. For me, those comments apologizing for the size detracts from the great looking fish.

I did the same thing in the past myself. As carp fishermen I think we sometimes place too much importance on weight. I'm getting away from posting weights on my catches unless it's a 20# plus fish (and I don't post all of those depending on the body of water).

Fly Fishing for Carp

Sometimes the cold weather of late fall and early winter gets expensive.

When temperatures drop into the low 30's and overnight lows get no higher than low 40's for day time highs, carp fishing ceases in my normal carping spots. Lack of fishing means I have some time for research. Lately, I have been looking into fly fishing for carp, smallmouth bass, pike and even muskie if the opportunity arises.

Never having fly fished before, the learning curve will be steep; but any worthy pursuit requires effort. That's what keeps it interesting for me.

My local fly fishing outfitter is about 7 miles away, so I stopped in on Friday afternoon to check it out.

I met some nice guys at Schultz Outfitters who love fly fishing and spent time with me discussing the possibilities and considerations.

I also found a plethora of videos on YouTube to help pass the cold months and help cure my no-fishing-itis.

I would love to find some used equipment to save a few dollars, but I will buy new too. The winter months provide some time to pull together a proper budget for spring fishing.

Based on my trip to Schultz Outfitters the ballpark all in investment is approximately $450 for gear and then $150 for 1-on-1 lessons.

I am not a boat owner, so being restricted to shore fishing and wading-accessible spots should help keep costs down too.

November Carp Fishing

I miss the good old days when we had 60 degree weather in November.

This is a screenshot from a video of a capture I had 4 years ago today. The fish weighed 22.5 pounds and was my 3rd fish that day (I caught 2 more after this one).

22 1/2 pound carp

2015 and 2016 were outstanding for carp fishing in November.

Carp Fishing Art

It's been a dreadful few days locally weatherwise. I was hopeful to catch a few more carp on Friday, but the approaching cold front had other ideas.

So, absent carp pictures, I've been working on some abstract photos this weekend.

These photos were taken near a river with the sunlight creating an interesting reflection of the fall colors using random camera settings.

I may have over done it on #2, but it was an interesting experiment.

Michigan Fall Colors

I fished all day on Friday. Carp were jumping to the left, right and center of the swim.
I absolutely crushed the same spot 3 weeks ago, but today I didn't get a single, solitary bite, bump, run, or fish.

I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night (I haven't been in one since May), but I did see some nice fall colors.

Urban Carp Fishing

I caught this nice looking carp in late summer on the outskirts of urban Detroit.

Chunky Monkey 2 Years Ago

The photo below was taken 2 years ago this week.

The 20 pound fish was a welcome surprise that day because this swim has not been producing fish of that size with regularity any longer.

Focus on Your Own Effort

Quote of the day from Eric Kim -

Spend large swaths of time NOT looking at anyone else’s work. Spend more time looking at your own work! 

I couldn't agree more about this  concept. I try to follow this philosophy in my personal life.

Improving Carp Photos

It's always frustrating when our hard work catching the fish ends with a sub-par photo. 

Here's a nice option for you - a photo app called Snapseed. Examples of the kind of possibilities the app has to offer are included below with the original and filtered photos.

Original 

After filtering in Snapseed

Mirror Carp at Huron River

I haven't caught many mirrors over the years, so this one was very welcomed earlier this summer at the kid's fishing event.

Exploring New Carp Fishing Spots

The past two days I have been exploring potential new fishing venues. Today's trip was also a strikeout for catching carp.

After arriving at the chosen location at 7:30 a.m., I learned that the park remains closed until after 9 a.m.

So I picked an alternate location nearby. After arriving there I noticed a posted memorandum stating that accessing the lake and fishing from that location is prohibited by local city ordinance.

I identified a 3rd location and fished it for 3 hours.

In summary, I no longer recommend setting out in search of new waters without a great deal of intelligence gathering in advance. It will save a great deal of gasoline, money, time and ultimate frustration.

Carp Fishing is Hard Work Sometimes

Shallow men believe in luck, believe in circumstances.

 Strong men believe in cause and effect.  

Ralph Waldo Emerson

October is Carp Fishing Discovery Month

I left the house early today to do some exploratory carp fishing in the Jackson County area. We arrived at the first spot at 6:30 a.m. with it still pitch black. I used the flashlight on my cell phone and quickly determined that the access for fishing was extremely limited.

What looked like wide open bank space on Google Maps was actually posted "no trespassing" and "private property". It ended up being the driveway to a lakefront residence, unfortunately. It looks like it used to be part of the park, but not any more. :-(

So we headed to an alternate spot 12 miles away near a boat ramp that I've actually looked at previously. With the weather, the boat traffic was very sporadic but I'm not really sure there were any fish in the swim.

There were not signs of fish surfacing at all, but we tried for 3 hours or so. But with no beeps and no signs of fish, we determined that the day was a bust.

Has anyone else been out this week in the spirit of "Discovery Month"?

Have you "discovered" some new fishing spots?

Posing Your Carp Catches

A mid teens fish I caught recently 

There is a train of thought in carp fishing that says, "You must not look directly at the camera when posing your fish." The idea, I've been told, is that by not looking at the camera it gives more respect to the fish. If you look at my pictures of the carp I have caught you will immediately notice that I do not subscribe to that train of thought.

It's my personal preference to look directly into the camera, but I do not disrespect or disregard the fish. I respect both the fish and the person who is interested in my carp fishing hobby enough to seek out my pictures. It is my belief that looking directly into the camera conveys my appreciation for your interest in carp fishing and for taking the time to seek out my carping blog.

Thank you.

Time Lapse Mode for Carp Photography

The Hyperlapse Mode on my Samsung SmartPhone provides the capability for taking some interesting photos while out fishing.

I haven't used it yet, but I plan to begin experimenting with it on my next fishing trip this weekend.

This mode basically provides capability to take photos at specific intervals. Then those photos are looped together into a video.

Have you tried it yet? I'd love to see some of your results.

Small Mouth Buffalo

I love catching small mouth buffalo. Many people mistakenly call them "buffalo carp". They are not.

Without getting all scientific,  they don't have barbells. And small mouth buffalo are commercially raised and sold for fish meal used in animal feed.

The largest specimen caught in the United States weighed 82 pounds. I only wish they grew to that size in Michigan.

This one weighed 16 pounds from Lake Erie

Triple Run; Triple Release

This video was taken in 2016 and it brings back some great memories. I had 3 fish on the lines at once. It's only happened to me one other time and I landed those also. 

Remaining calm is key and focusing on one fish at a time helps. I left the rods in the holders and tightened to drag a little to slow them down slightly.

Fish for Enjoyment

Fishermen are competitive.  I am no exception. I like to catch fish where others have avoided or ignored. If a particular lake or river is difficult then I'm more likely to desire fishing there.

I ran across a quote recently from street photographer Eric Kim:

"Ignore your 'competition' - because you have no real competitors.  You are in a category of your own, therefore it is pointless to try to compare yourself with others."

Those words are a good reminder that we will likely enjoy fishing for our own enjoyment more than if we focus purely on its competitive nature.

So the next time someone asks why you fish for carp or display skepticism with the weight of a fish, recalling that quote might help.

A fish picture I processed in Snapseed, a free post -processing application

And if you want to improve your general photography knowledge, check out Eric's website.

New Best Carp for 2019

This 31 lb. 6 oz. carp was the 5th of five fish caught on Day 1 of my fall carp fishing extravaganza this past week. I don't often show a lot of emotion, but I think you can tell from this video that this fish made me pretty happy.

It was a good day.

More Carp Fishing Pictures

Here are some more pictures from earlier this week.

The first one provides a good example of how not to pose a fish. Finding some shade helps filter out the harsh light making for a much better picture. Shaded light will help prevent or at least minimize the blotches of white that occur from over exposure.

After that first picture I moved locations for picture posing and achieved much better results.

I love it. He's saying, "Put me back in the lake please."

Those streaks of white are very frustrating,
but preventable.

Much better

Similar pose, different fish

Fins up, near perfect photo for a carp selfie

More Michigan Fall Carp Fishing 2019

I don't always have the luxury of fishing when I really want to. I'm limited to weekends, holidays and vacation periods.  When I have bank time on the schedule  I like to arrive early.

This week's venue is located about an hour from home. Traffic can be a challenge with construction this time of year, but it's likely to occur on the trip back home.

I arrived about 15 minutes predawn and was unpacked and on my way to the spot when the first signs of sunlight appeared.

I could hear fish surfacing in the area, although they weren't all carp. The lake is popular with bass fishermen too and some were definitely bass. There's something about that sound that causes my heart rate to rise.

Setting up my bank sticks, alarms and nets first helps "mark" the spot, although in the offseason it's seldom an issue here.

I mixed up some panko, boiled feed corn, boiled bird seed, some deer mineral attractant and some flavored field corn using some "nut" powder as a binder to hold the ground bait mix together.

I caught my first carp within 15 minutes of casting and always feel the familiar relief - there would not be a "blank".

Over the course of two days I caught numerous carp in all ranges of size from low teens to twenties. I even managed one a little bigger than that too.

Here are some pictures from my favorite day on the bank this fall so far. Tune in later for some pictures and video of my biggest fish of the session.

22 pounds

This was not my biggest fish of the session

Close Up

Alternate side view

Thick, strong carp

Round and thick carp

Catch and release

Michigan Fall Fishing - Pictures from September 2019

Before I post the pictures below, I'd like to reflect back to earlier in the year and summarize what has brought me to this point.

At times 2019 has been a frustrating year for carp fishing. I got off to a slow start in the spring, thanks in part due to some cooler than expected weather, several weeks of rain on the weekends, a shortage of available time for fishing an some distractions at work.

With the work distractions behind me as of late May, I started focusing more on catching carp, and less on things I had little, if any, control over.

I had several great sessions with numbers in double figures at local venues. My favorite summer venue this year was at a local river that is under carp fished in my opinion. It has plenty of shade. The fishing spots are on a paved path, close to the parking lot and restrooms are located nearby. But even better...the river has plenty of carp ready to be caught. The carp in the river are strong, healthy and fun to catch. For comparison purposes some of these river fish weighing 10 to 11 pounds on average provide the same strength of the 18 to 19 pound fish from a popular local lake that is frequented by carp fishing enthusiasts. The current, thick weed cover and sometimes fairly lively current provide some challenges to keep the fishing very challenging. 

I caught some fish at the Detroit River, several in Lake Erie, some at another local river in urban Detroit, in the St. Clair River, in a new-to-me-lake with limited access and lots of recreation boaters, and at an extremely popular park at a venue near Ann Arbor. 

Some of my past "go to" spots that have yielded fish weighing up to 37 pounds, turned cold in 2019. One venue in particular used to be good for multiple carp weighing in the 20's each and every time out, but the best I have managed in 2019 from that spot is a 24 pounder back in late April after 3 days of 8 hour sessions. Those 24 hours of bank time returned only that one fish.

Fall fishing in Michigan is always promising and I always save some vacation time that I use to get in a few extra fishing trips before the cold weather sets in later in mid-November. I usually focus a little more on October, but we're going to be traveling to Tennessee in a couple of weeks so I have fished more in September.

I spent Thursday and Friday fishing at a spot that I've fished twice previously with some promising indicators. It's packed with weeds. It's packed with boats. It's packed with people at certain times of the year, but with some prior planning it can be a good spot to fish occasionally. It's a good spot to go on a rainy day, but pack your rain gear and portable shelter because there isn't anywhere to keep you dry.

It takes a little effort to find the limited opening in the weed bed that will allow your hook baits to reach the lake bed. Cast in close and you're going to be in heavy weed mat. Cast out at long distance and you run the risk of boats running over your lines. The magic distance seems to be in the 60 to 80 yard range into a spot that is about 20 to 30 feet wide. I caught a few fish outside that general area, but they were few and far between. 

And now on to some of the pictures. I have other video footage and pictures I will continue to post when I have more time, but here are some of my favorites so far. Some of these photos could use a little more post processing to improve their clarity, but I'm fairly satisfied with them. They are screen prints from a video. When you fish alone, you have to improvise on the photos. 

High teens carp

Mid teens carp

Scrapper

I love the fall colors just beginning to show up

The scales on this fish were almost perfect

Look at that tail. When this fish grows up, it's got potential to get even bigger

I try to avoid "mat shots", but sometimes I snap them anyway to get a good look at the scale colors

The tried and true way to photo a fish when you don't have a friend with you to take a picture

Carp Fishing 2019 Fall Extravaganza

I spent two days this week taking advantage of the fall carp fishing opportunities Michigan offers. There's something about the fall that brings out the best in the fish and the best in anglers.


I suspect the anglers benefit from the cooler weather with improved concentration, preparedness, stamina and determination knowing that the season will be coming to an end in a few weeks.


The fish are more willing to eat our bait offerings as the natural food sources begin to reduce with the change in temperatures, daylight hours and weather patterns.


I caught a plethora of carp this week. I was fishing alone, however; and the photos were taken via video and then converted to stills. I wish the photos were better, but they're not. A few years ago I'd have been thoroughly satisfied with them, but my expectations have increased significantly as my experience has grown. It will take me some time to pull those off and prepare them.


Look for a full write up in a couple of days. In the meantime, here's the last fish I caught on Friday afternoon as the cold front was rolling in.

This fish was the icing on my 2-day carp fishing session on Friday

October is Discovery Month

A few years ago I fished a small local pond on a hunch and a vague rumor that there may be some carp on hand.

Carp exploration 

Fall carp in a local park pond

Fishing for Carp in Weedy Lakes

I have discovered this year that just like confronting life's challenges directly, if you want to learn to catch fish in heavy weeds you have to fish the weeded swims more often.

Practice makes perfect.

I've learned that a loose drag works for me. I palm the reel to stiffen the line when needed, but it also gives me feedback from the fish to ease up and let them run when needed too. It takes practice but its helped me tremendously this year.

Fins Up Carp Photo

I caught this mid teens carp recently

I love it when the carp, camera, lighting and my ability to correctly pose a fish while keeping all those variables in check come together to achieve an intriguing photo like this one.

I have found that rather than taking photos in direct sunlight, it's best to find some shade. The shade helps filter out some of the harshness that causes fish to turn "white" or become "blotchy". I have developed a huge dislike for "blotchy" photos recently. But best of all, they are entirely preventable with some prior planning (and a little luck).

Carp Photo Editing

I did a little quick photo editing for less than 2 minutes. I think it improved this photo, which was already pretty good, a few more rungs up the ladder.
We spend a lot of time working to catch a carp. So it's always nice when the photo does justice to the fish and everything that went into landing it and safely releasing it to be caught another day.

Late Summer Suburban Carp Fishing

I had a vacation day today.

If I'm in town during vacation there's an excellent chance that I'm going to be fishing. Today was no exception.

In this new-to-me spot I did pretty o.k. in spite of some thick weeds an a few boaters that drove pretty close to shore before making the U turn back to the main lake.

It was a hour there and 90 minutes back, but the 6 fish were worth the drive.

I used a size 6 Gamakatzu G Carp R hook, sweet anise tournament corn from Trilogy Carp Baits, panko, bird seed, cream corn, and peanut suet with a few ground up boilies for ground bait / pack bait.