2 Detroit River Common Carp

I caught two more common carp at the Detroit River today. The "Strait" aka Detroit River, is one of my favorite carp swims.

The fish in this particular location run on the smaller side of about 11# or less this year. I did catch one just shy of 17# three weeks ago, but other than that one....mehhh.

Today I used my usual panko packbait with Cherry Blast flavoring and the Trilogy flavored hook bait.

Detroit River Common Carp

I caught these common carp at the Detroit River in Michigan today while fishing near Trenton.

The first one was landed very early upon arrival and the second one hit the net around 10:30 a.m.

I used panko, bird seed, chicken feed, corn and peanut suet for a pack bait mix and Trilogy Cryptic King Corn for hook baits. Cream corn was flavored with chocolate hazelnut.

It was the first time fishing this particular spot on the river, which provides a nice current break from the normal heavy flow.

Detroit River Carp Fishing Phone Videos

I snapped a couple of videos of two releases from yesterday's session at the Detroit River. This is a technique I often use when fishing alone at a lake or river where I can get closer to the water without holding the phone out over the water.

About the time I was holding the landing net in one hand and trying to take the video with the other, I realized the risk I was taking by holding my $400 Galaxy S9 smart phone out over the railing. Visions of me dropping the phone into the river never to be seen again were dancing through my mind.

A far better choice would have been to ask my fishing partner for more assistance with the net to allow both hands for securing the phone.

I also have a GoPro 5 that I really should be using more often as well. It's perfect for these types of video captures.

Detroit River Carp Fishing

Detroit River - We ended up with three common carp today before the rain became too heavy and frequent to ignore any longer.

If you are looking to fish someplace new, with different obstacles than a lake provides and like a challenge; give the river a try. It might surprise you. 

We think of the river as a vast open body of water, but you can catch.

I caught this one early 10' from shore

This one weighed just under 17 pounds

This one was hooked awhile before I realized it

You don't need to cast far. A few feet is fine. It will be easier to deal with current, weeds, boaters, lack of heavy leads, etc.

I've actually learned that heavy leads sometimes cause snags and lost tackle, so use the lightest leads you can get get by with.

Two Common Carp

2020 has been a rough year for carp fishing in Michigan.

By this time of the fishing season I would typically have caught at least 20 - 30 carp, but this year I've caught only 2 common carp and 2 big mouth buffalo.

This Detroit River fish was in pristine condition. The scales were perfect.

This fish was smaller than I hoped, but very welcome for my first carp of 2020.

I'm always on the look out for new fishing locations for carp fishing. Many of my typical go to spots are not producing fish consistently right now.

The lull at established spots creates a need to locate, scout and fish new place to catch carp. Being an effective scout for new carp swims pays dividends in the long run, but in the short term it can be pretty tough.

Some ideas for effective scouting:

• Michigan DNR website
• Recommendations from fellow fishermen 
• Carp fishing forums
• Facebook groups
• Google search
• Blogs
• Fishbrain
• And on and on...endless possibilities 

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.

Detroit River Carp Fishing

We in the Detroit area are lucky to have such great access to a water with tremendous potential for big carp: Detroit River.

I like to fish the river a few times a year at least. Truth be told...I'd fish it even more if I ever find a spot where I can catch fish consistently.

My friend Bill and I fished the river last weekend. We both caught fish, which is never a bad thing.

Here are a couple of pictures:

My spot on the Detroit River



A quality carp I caught from the Detroit River





Detroit River Carping Spots

We investigated 3 more spots on the Detroit River last weekend.

The first spot was a wonderful looking pier accompanied by a half-mile of shoreline access. We decided not to fish that spot on Saturday due to the crazy amount of grass and moss floating in the water. It's a spot that we'll try earlier in spring and later in fall; after the vegetation subsides a little more.

We headed further south and tried Rotary Park for a few hours, but only managed a nice channel catfish.

This spot is full of snags. I managed to lose $25 or more worth of leads, hooks, swivels, etc. and decided to try another spot with fewer snags and hopefully more hungry carp.

The next spot was another pier a couple miles to the south. I really enjoyed fishing there, but the carp were non-existent on Saturday. The locals assured me that carp are caught quite often, but I had no success to the point when the thunderstorms and lightning literally rained on my carp fishing parade.

In the words of Arnold - "I'll be back."

Detroit River Carp Fishing

I have lived in the Detroit Metropolitan Area for almost 8 years and have been carp fishing for almost 4 years. I have fished big lakes, small lakes, ponds, creeks, small rivers, medium rivers and everything else in between; but until today I hadn't spent much time fishing on the Detroit River that connects Lake Huron and Lake Erie with Lake St. Clair in the mix too.

This week I made plans to fish the Detroit River and head out to a place on the river that provides plenty of parking, plenty of bank space and some current break via an island that separates the spot from the main river channel with the primary ship traffic.

I switched out my normal 2 ounce leads and put on some 3 ounce on two rods and a 4 ounce on the third. Using some plum flavored corn dipped in some pineapple 3D powder I casted out about 7:45 and waited for some action.

I had a bite within 30 minutes, but that fish snagged up on some floating most and grass for a bit. Eventually the fish managed to get off the hook.

I casted all the rods again and waited. It didn't take long to get another screaming run. And with in a few seconds a second rod started screaming the adjacent alarm. Everything went from zero to a Detroit River Double Run in a few seconds flat.

The first fish was landed and then the second; and we knew immediately the second fish was more substantial. Both fish were hooked about 3 feet from the sea wall (a strategy I had to use today because the floating moss and grass was no match for a few ounces of lead) to help offset the massive current we were experiencing.

Here are some pictures of the spot and two fish.

Detroit River carp fishing spot

Detroit River Double Carp Run

19 pounder

15 pounder

The moss and floating bunches of grass turned out to be more than my patience would allow today and we packed it in after about 4 hours of fishing.

I will definitely be back to fish this spot again later in the fall and next spring. It was a nice surprise overall. A few folks mentioned that fish caught from this location tend toward the smallish side, but with the 19 pounder I am feeling this spot may hold a little promise than I gave it credit for. Time will tell once I put in a few more hours of fishing here.

Downtown Detroit River and Auto Show

We were in downtown Detroit today for the auto show and checked out the river. It's still ice covered so it looks like any ideas for fishing the Detroit River anytime soon will need to be placed on hold unless it's near a warm water discharge.

Detroit River and a view of Windsor Ontario Canada from COBO in downtown

 I am posting a few auto show pictures below. They aren't pictures of new personal best common carp, mirrors, koi or wild goldfish but I hope you still like them.

BMW i8



BMW i8 rear deck

BMW i8 front view

BMW i8 right front

BMW 650i convertible side profile

BMW 650i convertible right front

BMW 650i convertible rear quarter

BMW 650i convertible left front

Dodge Viper

Jeep Renegade

Ford GT

Ford Mustang profile

Ford Mustang front grille

Buick Avenir right front profile



Buick Avenir right rear profile

It was a nice day at the auto show, but I can't wait to get back to carp fishing this spring. It's time for those temperatures to start warming up.

Detroit River Carp Fishing

We headed out to a spot on the Detroit River to catch some large carp today, but someone forgot to tell the fish. We had no carp hook-ups today. There were carp surfacing in the area near us, but none were interested in our Panko and corn. I offered up some boilies later in the day with no takers.

My wife snapped a few pictures near sunrise that turned out pretty well.

Sunrise on the Detroit River

Setting up for a day of carp fishing on the Detroit River near Trenton
 

First cast of the day

It was a beautiful day to be outside enjoying the river view. It was pleasant with a gentle breeze and sunshine all day. Too bad the carp didn't come to join the party.

My best carp from this spot is 12 lbs. but I know the Detroit River has more to offer. I'll keep trying this spot from time-to-time because I know it holds a lot of promise for a new personal best carp. I don't think 30 lbs. is out of the question at all. It's a big river, so I am sure it has some B-I-G carp just waiting to be caught.

Why I fish for carp

I spent yesterday fishing for carp at Sterling State Park near Monroe, MI from 7:45 a.m. until almost 4 p.m.

During the course of the day guys fishing to the right and to the left of me caught good sized and good fighting common carp on light tackle. The guy to the right was fishing for bullhead catfish (and caught 5 or 6), but in the process he caught a common carp that fought like no bullhead catfish would. The guy to the left was fishing for walleye, but caught a few freshwater drum and a common carp on very light tackle. The drum were in the 7 - 8 lb. range and fought well, but the common was a monster. I enjoyed watching the guy fight the carp for more than 10 minutes. At first I thought it was a lost cause, because the carp was wining (by a landslide), but even the light tackle (and perseverance) eventually wore the carp down.

These two examples illustrate why I fish for common carp exclusively now.

When was the last time someone caught a 20 lb. walleye or a 30 lb. bullhead catfish? Aside from the pending world record walleye caught recently in Lake Erie, the average size most people catch is closer to 5 or 6 lbs. As for bullhead, the average fish ranges somewhere between a pound or two; with the world record at 7 lbs. dating back to 2009. But at Sterling State Park, Detroit River, Ford Lake, and Belleville Lake where I live the average sized common carp is almost always above 10 lbs. and it's becoming quite common to catch them near 20 lbs. with regularity. My friends catch 30 lbs. + carp with regularity now, although I am still waiting for my first above twenty at this point.

I grew up catching perch, crappie, bluegill and bass in local farm ponds, but after becoming addicted to carp fishing I doubt I can ever go back to fishing for those smaller sized and lesser fighting fish. After all, I've never caught a 3 lb. bluegill, a 12 lb. bass, or 30 lb. crappie. :-)

Many people approach me and ask what I'm fishing for when I am out on the bank, but when I explain that I'm fishing for carp most folks turn up their nose at the thought. Carp are not an inferior fish. Common carp (introduced to U.S. from Germany a century or more ago) are here to stay. In fact, I'd argue that the common carp is a superior sport fish to any other common fresh water species I can think of readily accessible without a boat.

So if you are out fishing and run across someone fishing for carp, don't automatically dismiss the pursuit as inferior. Keep an open mind and observe. You might discover that you like the idea of catching stronger, faster, and tougher sport fish.

Please don't knock it until you've tried it! It might surprise you too.

Even the small ones are strong fighters

Detroit River Carp Fishing

)  

I found this spot last fall. I can't wait for the weather to warm up a little more so I can return for some more carp fishing.

Braided Fishing Line or Monofilament

For as long as I can remember, I have used Stren brand fishing line when fishing for bluegill, crappie, and bass. So when I decided to try carp fishing last summer I purchased the heaviest Stren fishing line I could find locally, which happened to be a 300 yard roll of 14 pound test monofilament at K-Mart.



Photo credit: Amazon.com

That worked fine for my first few trips to local carp fishing spots at Ford Lake, Belleville Lake and the Huron River near Ann Arbor. But as my familiarity with carp fishing increased and I actually started getting bites, runs and landing a few carp in the 10 - 12 pound range I decided a change was in order.

For every carp I landed, I probably had at least 2 or 3 break offs. I had a very good trip to Ann Arbor where I was catching carp left and right, but my day would have been so much better if I had landed the ones which broke off before I got them to the bank.

I suspected my knots were the weak point at first, but after concentrating on tying the Palomar knot with purpose I realized that I wasn't losing fish to weak knots. I was losing them to abrasions and snags. Fish are actually pretty smart once they are hooked. They head to the nearest available cover in an attempt to "get away" and that usually takes them over some rough patches hidden to the eye. Submerged tree branches, tree stumps, rocks, boulders, concrete, etc. are likely candidates depending on the body of water. Many of those submerged obstacles are covered with zebra mussels, which will slice through monofilament fishing line like butter.

A fishing buddy suggested that I try spooling my reels with Power Pro braided fishing line to remedy the problem. I headed to Dick's Sporting Goods and purchased 300 yards of 50 pound line.



Photo credit: Amazon.com

It's available in the "slick" or the standard.

Photo credit: Amazon.com

I loaded two my reels with braided line and left one with the monofilament as a test comparison. Since that time I have had a lot fewer break offs and lost fish. I can't say it's entirely a result of the braided line though because I have caught an equal amount of fish on the inexpensive monofilament.

It could be that now I have a little more experience fighting the carp, my skills have improved, and I'm not "man handling" the fish as much causing stress on the line and contributing to the breaks myself.

At any rate, the braided line hasn't hurt anything either. In fact, over the winter I am going to spool my reels with some fresh Power Pro. I found it on sale yesterday for a buy one, get one 50% off at Dick's. They only had two packets of the green 50 pound left on the shelf or I would have picked up a few more packs. I'll stick to the standard stuff for now.

And I'll offer this disclaimer for anyone who reads this and feels that I am endorsing one brand over another...My personal best common carp (17.0 pounds) was actually caught on monofilament. It's the fish in the header photo at the top of this blog page.

Here's a picture of another nice fish I caught at the Detroit River in October; also on monofilament.

Detroit River common carp