Michigan Urban Carping in November

I couldn't let the Veteran's Day Holiday, a day off, and 63 degree temperatures pass by this late in November without heading out to a local fishing spot ahead of the significant rain coming our way later this afternoon.

I caught a little guy to start and a bigger one just before I finished packing up to leave. 

The water is pretty cold. The second fish felt like it just came from spending time in the freezer. 

With 20 degree overnight temperatures right around the corner, these are likely my last two fish for 2021.

See you next year cyprinius carpio.

Improving Carp Photos with Snapseed

I caught this fish a few minutes after arriving to this remote lake location and making the first cast.

Typically, my preference is to get the lines in the water first and then begin focusing on the smaller things like tidying-up, setting up the landing mat, laying out the weigh sling, etc. and this time I caught the fish before I really wanted to.

I hadn't yet quite had time to consider the best location for taking photos of the catches, which resulted in a poorly lit, rather overly back-lit result.

But with a little practice, the Snapseed app, available on almost any current-model Smartphone, can help improve the result significantly.

A crop here and there; a small amount of sharpening, some white balance adjustments; and the result is significantly better.

Snapseed will never offset everything lost by a poorly lit photo vs. a better planned effort, but its a great help.

Photo tip: Positioning the fish so that the sunlight was to the side with the focal point on the fish's head would have helped improve this photo straight-from-the-camera before any Snapseed edits were performed.

But don't go overboard, because too much of a good thing can be a very bad thing - as in, fake looking fish. 

This can happen by over-sharpening, using too much contrast, or too much High Dynamic Range abbreviated HDR. Just a few years ago, using HDR techniques was pretty cumbersome requiring overlaying 5 or 6 photos (or more) at various under or over exposure levels (EV or exposure value) to extend the luminosity of the photograph to "improve" upon it. With Snapseed, you can do it with a click of an icon on your Smartphone.

Poll: To Euro Pose or not To Euro Pose

Since I've been carp fishing these past 8 years or so, I've seen thousands of fish poses. Poses range from hugging the fish with forearms and taking a selfie with one hand to the famous European carp pose where the fish is held over a landing mat with two hands and instead of looking at the camera the fisherman looks instead at the carp's head.

Carp are revered in most of Europe whereas carp fishing is still gaining momentum here in the U.S. Enthusiasm for carp in the U.S. pales in comparison to bass or catfish.

Thousands of dollars and hours are spent in Europe to catch relatively few fish per the level of expense. There just aren't as many carp in European waters and the ones that are caught are often in private lakes owned by a "club" or "syndicate" (think country club or the U.S. version of a sportsman's club).

I chuckle now everytime I see one of the Euro-style photos. They seem a little out of place at times and I get a little uncomfortable at the reverence being displayed.

As for me, I'll stick to looking directly at the camera in my carp photos, but just for fun I'll throw in an Euro pose for some amusement.

Truth be told, when I started carping I tried the European-style poses a few times. My wife made fun of me and busted out laughing several times, so I stopped doing it. :-)

And now for our poll:

Do you use the European-style poses in your own carp photos?

Black and White Carp Photo

I am playing around a little more with black and white carp photography this weekend.

This was a color photo that I converted using Snapseed.

You can add drama, subtract glare, or brighten photos that are otherwise unpleasant. 

5 Tips to Catch More Carp

Do you want to catch more carp? Join the club. But seriously, I will share 5 definitive tips below that will help beginners (and pro's) catch more common carp and buffalo.

1. Find the snags (or vegetation), and you'll find the carp

If you have ever watched popular Saturday morning bass fishing programs with Bill Dance, Jimmy Houston, Hank Parker, you have heard them preach about bass liking to hang out near cover to ambush their food sources. 

Carp also hang out near the snags like fallen trees and other submerged items. The obstacles provide them cover and, in rivers especially, relief from swimming against the current. The traps offer a "catch-all" for foods that carp like to eat (mussels, organic matter, algae, etc.).

2. Attract the carp with the right baits

Carp prefers organic bait like corn or a boilie (a hard, rolled bread ball). 

Many people fish with artificial lures, and others use plain old red wiggler worms. Carp sometimes bite those items, but less frequently. You don't have to leave it to chance and luck. 

Carp are attracted to organic baits like sweet corn, maize, cooked field corn, etc., and seem to get especially hungry when you offer those baits. Flavored items such as pineapple, butternut, vanilla, blueberry, strawberry, plums, banana, etc., and even whisky or bourbon work well.

3. Don't overfeed the carp

Try not to over bait. One of the quickest ways to struggle, or stop them biting once they start, is to overfeed them. 

Using pack baits for carp fishing uses only enough to cover the lead. If you leave a lot of extra bait in the water, the carp will happily eat the "freebies" and avoid your hook baits. Make sense? 

The more carp in the swim, the more bait you can use; but you can only reel in one fish at a time. (LOL). You never know when carp will begin to leave the swim due to feeling threatened, excessive sunlight, lack of the sun, temperature changes, perceived threats (jet skis, boats, etc.), and a myriad of other possible reasons. To improve your chances with the carp who remain or enter the swim, try not to overfeed with "free" food/bait later on.

4. Be ready when they bite

The worst thing to happen when you get a carp to bite your hook is being unprepared. 

Have your net set up, the drag on the reel set correctly (not too tight, not too loose). Use sharp hooks, select a good line (25# monofilament or 50# braid are good starting points), and the correct rod type (with a light action tip). Use a hair rig, aka "knotless knot," to present your hook bait. Try not try to muscle the carp to shore. Any one of these areas being below par reduces the chances for a successful capture.

5. Fight the carp with a lighter drag

You will get the hang of the proper amount of pressure to apply to the fish with experience, but less drag is better than too much drag. Too much drag can cause a hook-pull and a lost opportunity to land a carp. 

Imagine having a 30# (or bigger) carp on the line and losing the potential fish of a lifetime due to faulty technique. Make sure you understand how the drag functions on your particular reel. I like to start with a loose drag and then tighten it periodically as I reel in. I can sense the strength/energy of the fish as I reel in and tighten or loosen the drag as needed.

A Pair of Common Carp

A couple of Michigan common carp caught near Lake Erie.

This spot used to be a very popular Southeastern Michigan venue for carp fishing, but after commercial fishing cleaned it out a few years ago it's lost a lot of it's shine and curb appeal. 

With some less-than-perfect conditions this morning, I wanted to stay close to my vehicle and not walk very far to fish. 

The temperatures hovered around 44 - 45 with a strong wind and heavy cloud cover. It was positively miserable for fishermen (and the fish weren't thrilled either apparently). 

I did manage a fish early and another while packing up (one of my favorite kind).

This carp played with the hook bait for 15 minutes before sounding the alarm

I got this one while packing up

Michigan October Carp Fishing

After watching the weather report this morning it dawned on me that the weather is turning colder and my potential fishing days are becoming fewer. 

With forecast highs of 53 for today, I knew it would be pretty chilly to start off at this inland lake. The temperature upon arrival registered 36 on my vehicle gauge. There wasn't any frost today, but it's on the way, I'm sure. 

I started catching fish immediately and kept catching them every 20 to 30 minutes until noon-ish. After no more fish at 2 p.m., a change in wind direction and heavy cloud cover; I decided that 9 catches with one just under 22#'s turned out to be a better day than anticipated.

Most of the 9 carp I caught today were in the upper teens with the largest weighing just shy of 22 pounds.

I've noticed a trend in carp fishing that the largest fish is quite often one of the first couple of fish that are caught during a session. It pays to be on-your-game when you make the first casts.

Iatrogenics and Carp Fishing

Iatrogenic is a medical term meaning caused by the healer. With more and more carp fishing experience, I am learning that many of my fishing failures are self-induced.

For example, during the early 1970s, the government got a bright idea to help farmers struggling to earn a respectable living due to depressed corn prices. If you are a farmer and the price of a bushel of corn decreases by $1 because there is oversupply in the corn markets, and you have 1,000 acres producing 200 bushels an acre, your gross income reduces by $200,000.

So the administration in charge at the time developed a way to offset those losses using a subsidy payment - a corn bailout for corn farmers. It's had many unintended consequences for farming in general and the general public's health. The government subsidy increased production and high fructose corn syrup usage in drinks and food as new uses for corn was needed. 

Liquid fructose is cheaper than natural sugar, so there is a profit motive. Researchers confirmed that it is addictive like cocaine and shows up in surprising places (i.e., lists of seemingly unrelated foods), creating higher sales and profits for food processors.

Researchers have correlated that increase in consumption of corn by-products to increased occurrence of diabetes, which has drastic consequences for many. Too much sugar creates an imbalance, weight gain in most people, excessive snacking, binging or over-eating, and on and on.

Now the government has run up colossal deficit spending balances, and the political consequences of fixing the issues "correctly" are too significant to cut back on bailouts. 

Corn farmers have grown used to the corn pricing assistance, and, meanwhile, our health care costs have risen to the point of being unaffordable.

(And don't get me started on tax incentives for the wealthy who don't need them.)

While carp fishing, we create our own unintended (i.e., iatrogenic) consequences:

• We often fish in the exact location, so fish become timid to our baits.
• We use too many freebies, and the few fish around fill up on free stuff and leave the area before finding our hooks.
• We spend a lot of money on expensive and unnecessary equipment. 
• We blame our lack of catching on the fish, not biting when our skills are lacking.
• We tell everyone else (including bow fishers).
• We fish in bad weather (example: right after a cold front runs through).
• We use too much flavor for our ground bait.
• We use rigs too complicated to tie consistently to work correctly.
• Trying to save money, we use dull hooks instead of replacing them.
• We over sharpen hooks causing metal fatigue and bent or broken hooks.
• Rather than fishing another several hours, we get discouraged and give up.
• We fish close to home when a long drive to a better location has better potential.

 I think you get the idea.

 If you are going through a fishing dry spell and landing a fish has become difficult, try going back to basics. Simple is better sometimes.

Black and White Photos for Fishing

I enjoy black and white photos. They are especially interesting for architecture, documentary photography and street photography. In color photos, the errant glare, flare and overexposed elements of photos are distracting at times. 

It's sometimes said that "serious photographers" shoot photos in black and white. Black and white format is often used for fine art photography. A short walk through the photography section of almost any museum will reveal monochrome and other photos sans colors. 

A quick Google search will reveal some fantastic black and white photos for every genre. I could spend all afternoon going down the black and white photography rabbit hole. Leica even makes a camera that only captures digital photos in black and white format.

But does black and white format work for fishing photos? 

I took a quick attempt at converting a compressed photo I posted to Facebook a few weeks ago and converted it to black and white using the rudimentary tool provided in Windows. A serious attempt at doing this would require using Photoshop, Lightroom, or other similar software with the full size, non-compressed photograph in Jpeg or RAW. Using the Raw format would probably work best.

Anyway, here's my "fun" photo for today.

I can't say that I'm in love with it, but for an occasional carp fishing photo here and there, I think it's a nice change of pace. Punching up the contrast helps sharpen the photo and makes it more interesting for me than a straight Windows filter.

Exact Science or Trial and Error

The Internet and various social media platform posts would have us believe that x + y = z, and that by using this bait and that hook, fish will be caught. If only it worked that way...

In another example from a recent 60 Minutes episode about the newest technologies, someone will eventually figure out how to use "deep fakes" to produce photographs of fish without actually catching any.

Fishing, in its true sense, relies on randomness and trial and error for the most part.

Baking a delicious cake relies on a recipe with various items like:

• Flour
• Eggs
• Baking Powder
• Oil
• Vanilla

Recipes are developed over time by adding ingredients in various quantities and then tasting (i.e. testing) the results.

• Does it need more or less of various combinations of these items? 
• Is it missing something vital? 
• Should it cook more? 
• Cook less? 
• Higher temperature? 
• Lower temperature?

Fishing works similarly.

You can search Google for tips regarding best fishing hooks, best fishing line, best baits, best places to fish, or even best moon phases; but then you put those ingredients together to form a fishing strategy. 

A strategy that hasn't been implemented remains a dream. 

The experience of fishing actually hones skills and knowledge to a level that improves fishing results to the point of changing strategies based on season, water temperature, location, etc.

You may have a goal to catch fish, but at some point leaving the keyboard and comfort of the living room couch to actually "go fishing" is a precursor to actually catching them.

Sometimes the fish just aren't biting our baits. It could be the bait, it's presentation, or a host of other things. No matter if we use all the right ingredients, the fish must be in front of our rods to catch them. So, perhaps more important than science, trial, error, luck, equipment or anything else - finding the fish location in a particular body of water is step one.

People brand new to fishing, or new to carp fishing, are often frustrated that more experienced fishermen sometimes resist sharing their secret "spots". This reminds me of the rivalries that sometimes occur between wives and mother-in-laws over the "secret family recipe" for their specialty dishes (noodles, spaghetti, meatballs, etc. in my own family). And between husbands and father-in-laws for barbecue rib spice rubs, smoking woods, or bbq sauces (not a problem for me because my father-in-law doesn't like to cook).

Lots of trial and error, blood, sweat and tears go into finding a productive fishing location and the "recipe", so there is hesitation to "give it up for free". The solution is to share information and collaborate on your efforts so that when something is given there is also something gained.

Pier Fishing for Carp

I have spent a big part of my carp fishing season fishing on public piers. Piers provide access to water that is often restricted to shore fishermen due to industrial, residential, sports (i.e.golf course), development, or by government ordinance.

Success from pier fishing requires some prior planning. Most notably, a good net capable of supportive a 30# carp or 20# catfish is key, especially if you plan to catch fish weighing more than a pound or two. There is zero chance of lifting a 15 # (or more) fish 8 feet from water to pier decking by lifting the rod like you might for small shad, perch or walleye.

It's also key to bring along a chair, supplies, and some type of padding to lay the fish on for unhooking (i.e. an unhooking mat). A wagon is helpful because once you are out on the pier it's inconvenient to keep going back to your vehicle. When you're walking to the vehicle, you're not catching fish.

Bringing a friend along is preferable. Netting carp alone from 8 feet above the waterline is a challenge. You can share the netting duties to save your arms and back.

Public piers are very popular attractions. Locals and tourists are attracted to piers like a magnet to metal. They love sightseeing and walking along the water, seeing a sunrise, viewing a sunset, and talking to pier fishermen to ask a variation of these popular questions:

• Catching anything?
• What's running?
• Do you keep them?
• Do you eat them?

And, believe it or not, boaters also like to buzz the piers from time to time. They may even run over your lines or cause a breakoff.

So, when you fish from a pier, be prepared for all the scenarios, pack your patience, and have fun.

Back at the Detroit River

To cap off a weekend of good weather and good Michigan carp fishing, we headed back to the Detroit River this morning in search of El Diablo, Godzilla, and King Kong...carp. 

The foot traffic was very light. The wind was minimal. The classic rock on the USB kept us entertained. The tunes brought back some memories from 30 years ago when KFMZ was THE station in Columbia, MO (now defunct I think). And, the carp bite was steady at times but (as is normal at the river) cut off at noon.

I got my first fish before dawn and the last around 11:30 or so, ending with a smattering of fiesty youngsters determined to avoid the net.  

Here are some pictures. I wish I could fish at night someplace like this because the photos turn out pretty well under the lights.

If you like catching carp, but haven't tried carp fishing on the Detroit River, what's holding you back?

The next carp you catch could be the fish of a lifetime.

Big Carp Fishing on Detroit River

Today I spent my last day of Friday 2021 vacation time carp fishing on the Detroit River. From here on it's Saturday or nothing fishing-wise (fingers crossed its not raining).

The potential for catching big carp in the river requires carp fishing equipment that's up for the job. I used my 12' rods, reels with 25 pounds of drag pressure, carp fishing hooks, and 50 pound braided fishing line.

Despite being prepared to catch big river fish right out of the gate, I had a couple of mix-up's to early in the morning where I didn't perform well resulting hook-pulls. (For anyone new to catching carp, a hook-pull is just like it sounds - pulling the hook from the fish's mouth.) I was trying to steer the carp in snaggy shallow water, which wasn't the best choice. From that rough starting point, we changed fishing strategy and began walking the fish downstream a little ways to deeper water. It worked. We had no more hook pulls.

My third fish wasn't a carp, but rather a good-eating-sized catfish we didn't photograph. The remaining fish from today are in the photos below.

The first carp we landed was a hard fighting fish with a deformation that is stunting his growth quite a bit. The fish looks much bigger than it weighed on my scales (22#'s), but it's convinced me to replace my 7 year old Rapala scale from K-Mart.

The second fish weighed 21#'s. The third fish isn't looking like a carp (to me). I think it's a  hybrid goldfish variety.  The head is more buffalo than carp to my eye, but goldfish hybrids are becoming pretty common locally.

Given the free time, and good weather, I am sure there are much bigger carp to be caught from the river. Low to mid-30#'s would not surprise me at all, but the vastness of the river makes it a daunting task if shore fishing.

The weather is beautiful this week. I hope you get a chance to get out and enjoy it.

Detroit River Common Carp

The Detroit River provides numerous fishing opportunities to catch a variety of fish ranging from small to large and everything in-between.

Walleye, perch, white bass and small-mouth bass sure do get alot of focus locally, but there are many other fish available to sports fishermen who like catch photo and release fishing. Sturgeon, gar, muskie and pike are available as well, but a highly under-fished variety is the ciprinius carpio aka "The Common Carp".

It's the largest, most accessible, reasonably easy to catch fish available in the river. 

A medium action rod about 8' long, a 4000 or 5000 series reel spooled up with 25 # mono or 50 # braid will make it easier.

If fishing from an elevated position like a pier or dock, a net with an 8' handle and 30" or larger hoop will help a bunch as you lift the typical 10 to 15 # carp out of the water. I use a flat-bottomed Ranger tournament muskie net, which works well.

Detroit River Carp Fishing

I had the day off and took the opportunity to catch a few carp near snags and current breaks on the Detroit River. 

The river continues to surprise me. I've fished it before a few times each year, but after concentrating on the river a lot in 2021, it has demonstrated its' worth as a carp fishery. 

There are other places where the carp might congregate that increases a chance at bigger fish, but the numbers are definitely available and we've had two at 26 #'s, a 24 # last year and a few others over 20 #'s this year so the chances of bigger fish are there too.

I ended the day with 6 carp landed. The largest was almost 20 pounds (19 lbs. and 11 oz.) and the next largest was almost 19 pounds (18 lbs. and 10 oz.). 

The value of the 50 pound braided fishing line I use demonstrated itself today. This particular location is a popular public park. There are lots of snags consisting of orphaned perch, walleye, crappie rigs, and others. The 50 pound braid allows you to muscle the carp rig through the trash and break the lighter monofilament line. 

In the slack current spots where the carp like to hang out (and I like to fish) the river deposits tree branches, sticks, tires, etc. Those obstacles can lead to frustration for carp anglers, so when river fishing it pays to have a mindset going into it that you will lose some tackle.

My first two casts ended up in snags and line break offs. The novice me would have been so angry that I sulked and complained the entire day ruining the fishing experience for everyone present. The more experienced me simply moved those two rods further down the shoreline to different locations and snags were no longer a big issue.

There are carp fishermen who avoid snags like the plague. There are others who actively seek them out. I'm someplace in-between at this point.

It's difficult to lose $5 per cast to break offs, but I will trade 6 fish for $10 every time out. However, I really need to be on the lookout for some weights that are more environmentally friendly for fishing near snags.

Chucking lead into the river and breaking off is not too good for the environment on a long term basis. I know "everyone does it", but I'll do my part to help if I find suitable substitutes.

Vacation Day Carp Fishing on Detroit River

I caught this one early on my vacation day. The carp in this spot are slow to bite and seem to give up early with little activity after 9:30 a.m.

Fall fishing can be very good at times, especially in lakes. When water temperatures fall back into the 50's at night, it seems to spur a return of better than average carp fishing prospects.

NBY-S18 Speaker for Fishing

I recently purchased the NBY-S18 speaker for $27 on Amazon and a couple of 16gb USB drives from Walmart for $5 each. 

This combination will provide hours of bankside music at reasonable prices. I have used the speaker for several hours at this point and the results are very good.

I have lots of CD's and now I can easily take them along while I fish.

My Continuing Struggle With Rude Boaters

The trials and tribulations of a carp fisherman (continued)

I headed out fishing this morning at O' Dark Thirty to one of my favorite fall fishing spots. The park supposedly opens at dawn, but after a few phone calls to the city offices, police department, and (after pressing zero), the Oakland County Dispatchers office who actually logged a non-emergency call to the local police station, frustration ensued. After wasting 2 hours, we gave up and headed to a second location 20 minutes away. 

We set up to fish and kept noticing boats rolling into the parking lot. If you guessed that I had another run in with a group of boaters, you're right. I confronted one who ran over my line and beached his boat about 20 feet from my rods. I let him know that either I have the worst luck with boaters or boaters in general are out to get me. He didn't apologize or anything, which seems to be typical of the boaters I've run across. 

On the way out of the park I ran into the DNR Officer. I explained what happened and she promised to make a visit to them and talk about it. I explained to her that I expect careless behavior from young, inexperienced boaters, but these guys were retired folks, experienced boaters, and driving antique boats. Bottom line, they should have known better.

Yours truly on a happier day of fishing

I would like to see more respect from boaters towards shore fishermen. Sometimes I get the feeling that boaters look down upon and consider shore fishermen "lesser" somehow. I can only base this view on how I have been treated by boaters. I am sure not all boaters fall into this category.

I am continually surprised and confused by the actions of boaters on lakes that I fish. My impression of the reasons someone decides to buy a boat in the first place have been turned on their head recently. I have always thought that a boat is purchased to fish out in the water, away from shore, but time-and-time again I see boaters actually beaching their boats on the shoreline rather than piloting them out in the actual body of water that they are designed to navigate. 

My suggestions and observations for boaters from a non-boater point of viewpoint:

• If you launch your boat, then enjoy your boat out on the lake away from shore. 
• I see little need to launch a boat and then immediately land it on the shore. 
• When you are out boating, be on the look out for people fishing along the shoreline.
• There is zero need or reason for you to land your boat along the shoreline within 20 feet of shoreline fishermen, yet I continue to see it done over and over, time and time again.

For boaters that continue doing these things, I can only assume that you really do have some type of vendetta against shoreline fishermen.

• Do boaters automatically assume they are superior because they are driving a boat?
• Do boaters see themselves at a higher social level, or as members of some "wealthy" group?
• Do boaters assume that shoreline fishermen are somehow in a an inferior social class or of lower financial means because they choose to fish from shore?

If that is the case, I'd be willing to compare my savings and checking accounts, 401K balance, HSA balance, mortgage account balance, automotive loan balances, and annual income with any boater that does feel this way. I am sure you might be surprised.

In a nutshell...please DO BETTER.

Best Carp Fishing Hooks

Looking for the best carp hooks? 

I highly recommend these G-Carp hooks from Gamakatzu. I have bent several hooks, but never one from Gamakatzu. 

I tied up 10 hair rigs recently and at one point there was blood on my desk. It was from these hooks. 

They're sharp and they're just plain good. I think they are the best on market, but I've also used Nash carp hooks successfully as well.

The best fishing hooks are not cheap. But then, you wouldn't trust heart surgery to the low cost provider would you? 

I know it's a stretch comparison, but for those of who fish regularly, losing a potential new personal best because a cheap, inferior hook bends during the fight might cause a few heart problems. 

Detroit Downriver Carp Fishing

This Labor Day has been very, very good to me. We didn't catch Diablo today at the Detroit River, but...after discussing that catching a triple is unlikely from this spot, guess what happened...yep, a triple - 3 on the mat. 

One of these photos in the collage is of the same fish twice (unless I actually caught 9), but after landing 8 carp and 5 of very similar size and shape, they begin to look a like. 

The largest fish today weighed 13#, but it was a fun day and weekend of carp fishing. 

Zebco Dock Demon for Carp Fishing

In this age of bigger being better in carp fishing where 12' and even 13' rods are the norm, I have been interested in doing some testing and videos using smaller equipment. Inspired by a recent video by Catfish and Carp on YouTube, I am going to try to catch a carp using a Zebco Dock Demon (or similar) from Walmart. 

I would love to see others try it too and share the experience here in the comments below. The only rule I will follow - the rod and reel combo must cost less than $15.

Stay tuned.

Detroit River Carping

The Detroit River offers some great fishing opportunities at many public fishing venues. Public parks and piers provide access to the river where you can catch species from catfish to carp and bass to walleye; from musky to sturgeon and everything in-between. My favorite little known catch so far - a River Carp Sucker.

I spent some time this morning fishing a spot on the Detroit River that has seldom produced carp for us. But whether you call it luck, skill, or persistence the results improved today. 

There are other spots nearby that have also produced some catches, but based on my personal experience you may fish one day and catch; and fish another day and not. 

I think river fish tend to travel more and move around more than fish in a lake might have a tendency to do. And wind direction definitely plays a big part in the odds of catching carp from the Detroit River. 

My largest carp in the photos below weighed more than 21 pounds. 

If you decide to try fishing the river, aim for a day when the wind is low and slow. We ended up leaving around 11:15 a.m. along with most everyone else. 

This is a quick, hit it, get it and go spot apparently because no one was catching anything after 9 a.m.

Mid Teens Carp

Small, but scrappy

21 pounds

If you are looking for a camera, look around for a used Fujifilm 12 megapixel pocket sized point and shoot. It's better than many phone cameras and it saves your phone battery. You can buy them under $100 if you shop around.

Detroit River Ghost Carp

2021 is finding my carp fishing efforts focused largely on the Detroit River. These efforts date back to 2019 and 2020 when I started fishing the rivers nearby more and more. 

My efforts to fish public lakes near my home have become frustrating with boaters and jet skiers.

But I've caught some nice fish this year in the Detroit River at 3 different swims, which is rewarding. There are a few other Detroit River swims on the list for later this year as well. 

Here's an interesting fish from earlier today. I wish I'd thought to photograph the head from the top, but I did not.

Detroit River Carp Fishing for Lower Stress

"I don't need therapy, I just need to go fishing." I get mine most Saturdays, from April to early in November. 

Forty-six million people can't be wrong.

There are actually fishing therapy programs popping up across the country. 

I caught these carp today from the Detroit River.

I am speaking generically about therapy. Please consult a professional if you think you may need therapy or counseling. 

Fishing has provided me a powerful way to unwind and de-stress after a work week. It's difficult to successfully catch fish while angry. Trust me, because I have tried many times.

There are so many details involved in successfully catching fish that a calm and cool approach is needed.

Fishing usually occurs in nature, in peaceful surroundings, which has been a source of meditation for me. My blood pressure reduces just thinking about fishing. Sitting by the water adds a calm that is sometimes difficult to find sitting on the couch.

The next time you are stressed, try tieing a few fishing rigs. It's difficult to tie a fishing rig while anxious, upset or uptight. In my experience, the act of rigging baits for fishing forces me to become calm and very "Zen".

Kids Carp Fishing Event in Ann Arbor

Here are my pictures from the Reel Fish Reel Fun event today at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor.

It was a nice event. We arrived early. We conquered rain. We conquered wind. We conquered some strong fighting Huron River carp and shared carp fishing with some interested, studious, excited kids who hopefully left the event with some new knowledge and appreciation for what is one of the most accessible, largest average size, and strongest fighting freshwater fish available to the average angler in the Ann Arbor area.

We met, networked, swapped fishing stories and tips with some other local carp anglers. If you haven't hosted or participated in this type of kids fishing event before, I'd urge you to try it. It's an easy way to get more involved in the community and pay it forward.