September Sunshine Carp Session

Today is my last day for carp fishing this September. October is just around the corner and last year the cooler temperatures yielded 2 new personal bests. But first things first...Here are a few pictures of some carp we caught today at a local lake.

It was a great day to be outside today

First fish today

Second fish today

Close up of the second fish

Biggest fish caught today

I loved the colors on this fish

Close up of the release

Back in the water, ready to add a few pounds before we catch him again some day

It's back to work tomorrow, but we have plans to fish a new spot on Saturday that holds some large carp from time to time. It's in the Ann Arbor area and relatively close by, but I've never had a chance to fish there before. I'm really looking forward to it.

Fantastic Day at Ford Lake

I had today off from work and spent it at a local lake with a large population of common carp. This was my 3rd day of fishing out of the last 4 days. Here in Michigan it's going to get cold soon, so I want to spent as much time as possible fishing while the weather is still cooperating.

I caught so many fish I lost count. I didn't get pictures of all of them, because the action was fast and furious for 90 minutes or so. I would land one and immediately get another run. I had three doubles today and couldn't keep up with all the fish. I lost 2 fish in the process of landing those doubles. But one of the doubles stands out above any of the doubles I've landed. Check out the pictures below and see if you can tell which fish I'm talking about.

17 pounds

Release

Close-up Swim Away

One of many I took after my photographer had to leave

In the net

Another after my photographer left

Another net shot

15 pounds

My first mirror carp, 14 pounds

 I have seen people catch mirrors at Ford Lake, but after catching 60 - 70 common carp from the lake this is my first mirror carp. This was the first fish caught during a double run. I wish I'd had more time to enjoy my catch, but the alarms were screaming.

If it hadn't been for another fisherman who snapped this picture for me, I might not have been able to land this nice specimen. I was trying to land 2 fish at once. Luckily, this one didn't get away.

Another net shot landed shortly after the mirror above. This was the smallest fish caught today.

The day ended with another double run and I landed them both.

 As I started to pack up supplies to leave I caught these two commons during a double run. The larger fish tipped the scales at 15 pounds.

12 pounds

That last picture was taken earlier in the day and was the 2nd fish I caught today. I really like the scale pattern on this fish.

Overall today will go down as one of the best days of carp fishing I've ever had. I've caught more numbers before, but all but two of these fish were caught after my helper/photographer left for the day.

It was good to meet one of my readers who happened to be fishing nearby today. He landed some doubles today as well. Between the two of us I think we caught 20 - 25 carp today.

Sunday Morning Fishing Session at Ford Lake

Today's fishing session got off to a slow start with some rain rolling through shortly after I put the lines in the water. Then the wind gusts started. Then the white caps and 2 feet rolling waves started hitting the shoreline.  Luckily, the carp didn't seem to mind.

We ended with 9 fish landed and a couple of others lost at the shoreline. The biggest fish was 19 pounds, which is good size for Ford Lake. The smallest was about 3 pounds (maybe even less I didn't weigh him). Here are the pictures:

19 pounds

15 pounds

12 pounds

10 pounds

12 pounds

8 pounds

13 pounds

This fish goes down in history as the smallest carp I've ever caught.
I didn't weigh it, but it couldn't be more than 3 - 4  pounds max.

Today I did quite a bit of testing throughout the session, but my biggest test was to stop the trend of hook pulls I was experiencing last weekend. At one point last Saturday I had 7 hook pulls in a row.

To make the testing as objective as possible I only changed one variable at a time. I started by loosening the front drag. I didn't change hook length or hair length. Loosening the front drag helped a lot.

Secondly, I eased up when fighting the fish. I simply picked up the rod, cranked it a couple of times and tightened the front drag keeping the rod tip upwards. Then I started the retrieve. That also seemed to work well. I lost 3 fish on a line of weeds about 30 feet from shore and another one that beached himself faster than we were able to get the net under him, but I only had one hook pull today. I feel much better about my fishing technique today.

I also tested using a longer hook length on a rod or two later on. I caught one fish on a 5 1/2" hook length, but all the bites and runs were coming on the 3 1/2" and 4" hook lengths today.

July 4th Carp Fishing - Belleville Lake Michigan

Picture courtesy Michigan DNR web page

I haven't been able to fish for carp in 3 weeks time due to family commitments, so I couldn't wait to get out today and hit the bank.

I headed out to the Rawsonville Road Michigan DNR Boat Ramp. In the first 20 minutes of putting lines in the water I had 2 good carp runs and non-committal run that I feel sure was a catfish.

Things were just getting interesting when a pleasure boater sped away from the boat ramp close to shore and ran right over the top of my fishing lines. I am sure he was within 30 feet of the bank. Line started peeling of my middle rod at a fast clip. Luckily, I was able grab the rod before the boater pulled it into the water to save my $100 rod and $50 reel.

Near the Belleville Lake DNR boat launch

Not even 15 minutes later, a bass fisherman trolling nearby threw his spinner bait over two of my lines and snagged them. I am 100% confident he knew exactly where I was fishing. He was within 20 feet of the bank. When he untangled the lines he even had the nerve to act like it was somehow my fault! Unbelievable! That took the cake and we packed it in for today.

I hope I have better luck tomorrow at North Shore Park on Ford Lake.

Carp Fishing Pictures

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

Carp Fishing Beginner

My first carp

When I started fishing exclusively for carp I must have performed 30 or 40 Internet searches for “how to carp fish” and “catching carp”. Many of those searches on Google.com, Yahoo.com and YouTube.com returned very informative videos, blogs, and discussion forums about how to fish for and catch carp. Many of those resources helped me tremendously and shortened my learning curve and helped me catch carp sooner versus later. I skipped over a lot of the trial and error experimentation that would have occurred without those resources.

I caught my first carp July 21, 2013. My wife and I headed out to Ford Lake in Ypsilanti, MI after work for a few hours of fishing. Totaling 975 acres, Ford Lake was created by Ford Motor Company to generate hydroelectric power for their manufacturing plants in the 1930’s. It’s just a few miles from my home in the nearby Belleville/Van Buren Township area, so there will be many, many more trips to the lake which is one of the best known lakes in Michigan for carp sport fishing.

During my second visit to Ford Lake specifically for the purpose of catching carp, I hooked a large carp within 90 seconds or so of the first cast. It was so fast that I hadn’t even set up my fish net yet. As you might imagine there were a few anxious moments trying to reel in the fish and grab the net, which wasn’t even unfolded yet. It was definitely a Bad News Bears fishing moment, but predictable I guess since it was my first time fishing for carp.

Fishing for Carp

I started fishing for carp in July of 2013. I had never tried it before, seen it done before, or even thought about it before seeing some YouTube videos about it earlier in the spring.

After watching a few of the videos, I got excited about giving it a try. If you haven't fished for carp before or are just beginning to learn about the possibilities, maybe these videos will help you gain confidence and encourage you to move forward with a carp fishing plan.

Here are three videos from catfishmania, Bill Wazelle and fitzz1971.



I had fished for bass, bluegill, perch and catfish before, but I had never seen fish of the average sized carp landed from the shoreline. So I headed out to Ford Lake on a Sunday morning in July to give it a try for the first time.

I had a very vague idea about how to carp fish using a hair rig. I learned how to tie a hair rig by watching other YouTube videos.

As luck would have it, Bill Wazelle was at the lake that morning and gave me several pointers that helped a lot. I didn't catch anything the first time out on my own rig, but Bill let me reel one of his in to get a feel for it. It happened to be a 16 pound mirror! From then on, I've been hooked on carp fishing.