Looking for New Carp Fishing Rods?

Hurricanes from ResistanceTackle.com
 

If you are thinking about purchasing new carp rods, but don't want to break into your savings account to do it check out the prices Resistance Tackle has this weekend on their Willow, Hurricane and Lightning carp rods.

The Willow is on sale for $78.75

The Hurricane is on sale for $83.99

The Lightening is on sale for $65.99

I have owned 4 of the Hurricane 3.0 test curve since late spring 2014 and have fished them steadily. I really like them.

From the Resistance website:

They are slim, light, responsive and have Fuji fittings throughout. They are an absolute pleasure to play fish on and that’s a fact! Their unique power progressive curve loads seamlessly along the rod length when casting and delivers a crisp tip recovery. This adds yards onto the casting abilities of the average angler.

I agree that purchasing these rods helped with my casting immediately. I was using entry level rods in 2.5 and 2.75 test curve. The 3.0's gave me more confidence and improved my casting from the first time I used them. I typically fish with 2 oz. leads with pack and estimate that I can consistently cast 75 to 100 yards. I don't have the technique needed to cast much farther than that, but for the venues I fish I don't really need to anyway.

If I were buying new rods today, I'd buy the Hurricanes again.

Prepping for the Upcoming Year of Carp Fishing

A nice 17 pounder from the fall

I like this time of year. It's still much too cold to fish here locally with temperatures at 2 degrees this morning. But this is the perfect time of the year to begin preparing for what's to come. I love the anticipation and expectations for bigger and better fish when spring finally arrives.

I use this time to scout new spots via Google Maps/Earth and talk to friends about potential new fishing spots. I found a spot on the River Raisin today using that technique.

I also use this time to tie up a bunch of hair rigs. With 14 weeks until warm weather here, if I tie 5 or 6 hair rigs each weekend, I'll have more than 70 pre-tied rigs ready to go. That will keep me fishing for quite a while once the weather breaks. Preparing hair rigs bankside is a highly inefficient use of valuable and what's becoming scare fishing time for me. I prefer to keep 15 to 20 in my Korda rig box safe ready-to-go.

I plan to hit it hard in the spring because starting in mid-summer my time will need to be focused more on my day job responsibilities for several weeks (and possibly months). My time will be limited to weekends and holidays exclusively for a while, but hopefully things will free up toward fall when the bigger fish return.

For anyone trying to build up their supplies for the season, it's a great time to take advantage of a fantastic sale going on at ResistanceTackle.com. I ordered leads, hooks and baiting needles there myself last weekend. When the season gets a little closer I'll pick up some flavored maize, dips and a few dumbbell pop up boilies to round out my carp fishing supplies.

Hair Rigs and Hook Lengths

I had the day off today, but it was too cold, windy, rainy and cloudy to go carp fishing. Guess what I did? Yep...I tied rigs to prepare for two sessions this weekend when the weather is forecast to be much nicer. For those reading this who might wonder about hook length, hair length, etc. I posted a picture of my rigs.

Hair rigs for this weekend

When I started fishing for carp last year I went on YouTube and learned how to tie the basic rig. Then I started experimenting. I started with 7 - 8" hook lengths last year. I had limited success.

This spring I took the opposite approach and shortened up the hook length to 3 1/2 - 4". It worked great this spring, but when the bite slowed down this summer I think the shorter hook length hurt my average catch rate.

Yesterday I purposely changed to a little longer hook length and I believe it helped me catch more fish. So when I go out this weekend in search of my new personal best common carp or first ever buffalo, I'll be using these 5 - 5 1/2" hook lengths.

The hooks in the picture are all size 6 from Resistance Tackle, except one size 6 OSC hook. The line I'm using is 50 pound test Power Pro.

Things to Do When You Can't Fish for Carp

It's overcast, temps are in the low 40's (upper 30's with the wind chill factored in) and the autumn leaves are falling. Let's face it, unless you like to freeze your you-know-what off, it's going to be tough sledding for carp fishing pretty soon here in Michigan. So, what to do when you can't fish? Here are some of my ideas:

Read books about fishing

• Watch TV shows about fishing
• Look at online fishing equipment catalogs
• Watch YouTube videos about carp fishing
• Think about fishing incessantly

You get the picture....

Here are some of my favorites of all the above:

TV Shows and YouTube

 

 

 

 Online Fishing Catalogs

Resistance Tackle

 

Big Carp Tackle

 

Ranger Nets

Books

Feel free to share your favorites in the comments. Maybe we can build a library of "things to do when you can't carp fish" that will serve as a resources for other carp fishing addicts this winter.



New Carp Fishing Rods

My new Resistance Tackle carp rods arrived this week. ResistanceTackle.com announced a buy-one-get-free sale on fishing rods in May and it was a deal too good to pass up.

I have been using Wychwood 2.75 and Black Widow 2.75 test curve rods, which work for carp fishing but were a little on the soft side for fighting some of the bigger carp I've been catching in recent weeks. I opted for the Resistance Tackle 12 ft. Hurricane 3.0 test curve rods. The Hurricanes were $275 for four rods. Compared to the 2.75 test curve rods, the additional stiffness should help.

Eventually I will be getting some new reels too, but those purchases will need to wait a while. Since I'm currently using Okuma Avengers I am hoping to upgrade to Okuma Epixor's or Coronado's.

Carp Fishing Rods

I started fishing for carp using a King Cat medium action rod from Cabela's. It's designed for catfish, but at $29.99 it's acceptable for entry level carp fishing on a budget. The Ugly Stik would also be a worthy low budget rod, although it's more than twice the price.

After a few weeks a friend I met on the banks from Ford Lake in Ypsilanti loaned me 2 Wychwood Signature carp rods and 2 Black Phantom carp rods.

I am currently shopping for some new rods. I am considering the Daiwa Mad Dragon 12' / 3.00lb test curve. They are not really "cheap" rods, but they are what I consider to be a step up from the Black Phantoms.

At $59.99 they are affordable and provide the opportunity to have 3 matching rods to go along with the matching Okuma Coronado reels that I have on my shopping list. There is absolutely nothing wrong with my Okuma Avengers, but they don't really have enough torque and stopping power to feel in control of some of the larger carp I've been catching lately in the "screaming teens and twenties".

Update: I took advantage of the special buy-one-get-one-free promotion on ResistanceTackle.com last night and ordered 4 Hurricane Carp Rods.

The Hurricanes are perfect for the majority of situations. They are slim, light, responsive and have Fuji fittings throughout. They are an absolute pleasure to play fish on and that’s a fact! Their unique power progressive curve loads seamlessly along the rod length when casting and delivers a crisp tip recovery. This adds yards onto the casting abilities of the average angler. The action provides the right level of forgiveness under the rod tip that is a must today especially with braided mainlines. They have a very modern understated finish which adds beauty to a classic finish of the rod. A classic Fuji 20mm hooded reel seat allows for all reel sizes. They have top quality Fuji rod guides from 40mm, 30mm, 25mm, 16mm and 16mm tip ring. The tip ring diameter allows for effortless casting whilst using shock or snag leaders. No stone has been left unturned in this rod design and the hook retaining clip is another useful addition.

I chose the 3# test curve rods. They also offer a 3.5# rod, but since I've been fishing with 2.50# and 2.75# rods for the past year I was afraid the 3.5#'s might be a little too stiff for what I'm used to.

I can't wait until they arrive and try them out.

No Carp Fishing: 12 Inches of Snow Today

With all of the snow we've been having lately, carp fishing is next to impossible here in Southeast Michigan right now. The lakes are frozen over. There is 10 inches of snow on the ground. And the temps have been ranging from 30 degrees down to 5. Tomorrow we're forecast drop down near ZERO. So I spent the day preparing a plan for spring fishing.

I need a landing mat, a rig storage box, a couple of additional alarms, more size 6 hooks and some Butter Nut flavoring.

I have enjoyed researching the various options on BigCarpTackle.com and ResistanceTackle.com. Some items are carried by both companies, some by one only, but between both companies I'll be able to find everything I am shopping for.

It's definitely addictive, because the more I shop the more I find "nice to have items" that I didn't know existed but now would like to have in the future.