New River, New Carp Swim

Today I fished a new river and new swim for the first time. The fish were stingy with their bites, but I ended up with 3 catfish and a carp; landing one of each.

Here are some pictures:

I caught the catfish on a boilie hookbait and the carp on some flavored corn. The regular ground bait of panko, cream corn, bird seed, field corn, peanut suet and flavors did the trick.

Fish Art

This mural adorns the west side of the Schultz Outfitters location in Ypsilanti.

Go check it out the next time you're shopping for fly fishing items.

New Mirrorless Camera

Entry Level Sony Full Frame Mirrorless Camera

Deja Vu Carp Times 2

Fishing at the Detroit River today for carp, I had two catches at 15+ pounds each. To my surprise, it appeared to be the same fish.

It wasn't very easy to tell because the fish had a couple of missing scales on the side opposite the camera.

The first catch was at 10:15 and second at a little after Noon. We managed a better photo the second time around.

These catches demonstrate an important concept in carp fishing: consistency. Consistent casting and baiting will help you catch more fish.

After you have identified a likely location that holds fish, recasting to the same spot does three things:

1) Holds fish already there in the location for a longer period
2) Draws more fish into the spot
3) Increases the odds you may catch one or more fish

You can't catch what's not in front of you. So its a smart strategy to hold what's there and bring more in. More fish for longer periods translates into more fish selfies! Yay!

Link to more info about carp fishing on the Detroit River: The Strait

Update: Upon closer inspection of these photos it is apparent these are two different fish.

Deeper Pro+: A Useful Tool for Carp Fishing

I have had the Deeper Pro+ for two years. It is a useful tool for carp fishing.

I have used the tool when scouting new spots more than for identifying actual fish location, but it is useful for both tasks.

The set up and synching with my SmartPhone was very easy. Using the Deeper, fishing or scouting for carp is pretty  straightforward.

Here are some examples of the capabilities:

Courtesy Deeper

Courtesy Deeper

Courtesy Deeper

The brown signals the contour and green signals vegetation. A fish is signaled by an unmistakable fish symbol.

During my first attempt at fishing a new spot on the Detroit River, the Deeper helped me decide where to make my first casts. The depth finder capabilities signaled that my spot ranged from 5 feet to 11 feet deep all within a 50 foot cast. It also helped identify an area relatively free of snags.


I should use it more and more, but it does draw battery power so when fishing alone I tend to conserve battery use in case I need to make an emergency phone call.

We Need More Fishermen to Start Carp Blogs

It's no secret. Facebook and Instagram are taking over the world of photography.

They have just about cornered the market on carp fishing communications also. And I don't think that's a good thing.

I get it. It's easy to post on Facebook and Instagram. It requires no special knowledge, programming or skills. It's as simple as snap, crop (if needed) and share using our phone.

The "likes" on Facebook and Instagram provide an instant dopamine rush. The feedback is quick and nearly immediate.

Why is that not so good?

We have ceded control to Mark Zuckerberg. We are building his empire and adding to his net worth. We are granting Facebook permission to use our fish photos, likenesses and fishing experiences to sell advertising to companies and products to our friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, etc.

Having a personal website is a possible way to begin taking some of that control back. Developing our own platforms to share our carp fishing adventures is a way to regain some amounts of control and build something of our own that builds our own worth.

If you have always wanted to have a blog, website, discussion board, etc. of your very own...why not do it now? Why not today?

If you have a carp fishing website and would like to have it listed here, please let me know.

We can build a network of carp fishing information outside of Facebook and Instagram. I'm a big fan of that.

If you have a website and want to work on improving Search Engine Optimization here's a link that may help.

If you want to start a side hustle but need to build your skill set, free online courses on sites like Coursera or Codecademy are a great place to start.

If you're looking for blogging options Blogger, Wix, and WordPress provide a few options for consideration. All offer free options, but for more customization the paid WordPress platform is the better choice. Blogger is the easiest for a web programming novice.

When you start your blog, you may find the post I wrote about choosing a niche useful.

Koi/Carp Hybrid Catch

Two years ago today I caught this koi. It is an ogon variant of some type that has likely hybridized with common carp. It's the first and only koi for me.

Zen and the Art of Carp Fishing

Carp fishing isn't always easy. Blanking, aka not catching fish, happens sometimes. And it is frustrating.

• My first inclination is to start re-casting more frequently
• Second, I change packbait ingredients
• Then I change hookbait flavor or types
• If all else fails to work, I typically pray for bites :-)
• I also try different spots within a swim starting medium, near and far distances to find the shoals of fish

Any time a new area is being fished for the first time, a blank is always a possibility. It's the nature of exploration. 

It takes a while to find all the ins and outs of a venue. I fish two swims that produce fish in very defined areas spanning 10 to 20 feet square. One is a small opening in the thick weed bed and the other is a drop off immediately beyond a flat "shelf". Those characteristics take time to locate and understand in any new spot.

I have learned that blanking becomes easier on my ego if I place less emphasis on catching fish and more emphasis on enjoying the process and being mindful of "not being mindful".

Here's the formal definition from Wikipedia:

Zen is an expression meaning mind without mind - and a state of no-mindedness. The mind is not occupied by thought or emotion.

With the "zen" approach, it becomes less about disappointment and more about enjoying being outside in nature.

May you find your zen during the next fishing session.

Or, to put it another way (in the words of famed philosopher Immanuel Kant), find your "purposeless purpose", meaning "to escape the rat race."

Fishing for "no purpose" is the best kind of meditation (and medicine for the mind).