Labor Day Weekend Carp Fishing

I headed out on Saturday for some carp fishing to get the weekend started - carp fishing style.

The results were a little less than I hoped for but it wasn't for a lack of trying. I ended with 2 carp and two catfish.

The alarms were silent after 1 p.m. so I finally threw in the towel at 4:30. Hopefully with fall approaching the carp will start packing on the pounds for winter preparations and the fishing will improve.

This carp is the first I've caught in a while now, so it was a welcome site in the net

Small and scrappy, but I'll take it 

A nice looking catfish, but not what we're after

And if the carp fishing doesn't pick up pretty soon, I'm tempted to finish out the season fishing for sturgeon. If I'm going to "blank", why not blank bigger?

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.

Carp Fishing Near Lake Erie

After the fiasco in Davison MI on Friday, I headed back out on Saturday to drown my sorrows with some carp fishing at a local spot I know very well.

Here are some pictures:

My spot on Saturday taken about 8 a.m.

The first cap I landed at about 2:30 p.m.

I really liked the scales on this fish. The picture definitely do them justice.

An perfectly scale pattern on this fish

Two heads close-up (better than one)

The first fish on Saturday was a small catfish

The second fish on Sunday was another slightly bigger catfish

I hadn't been "finned" by a catfish in more than 20 years, but this one got me when I tried to hold him for a picture. I guess I got a little too familiar with holding him for the shot with one hand and snapping the picture with the other. Needless to say, I didn't end up getting a picture after all.

I did clean the puncture with some anti-bacterial wipes I keep on hand while fishing and my hand was fine in about 90 minutes. I didn't get any swelling or numbness at all. Cleaning the wound was a great idea, because the last time I got finned I remember my entire hand swelling up and it being sore for several days.

Scouting a New Spot

A couple of weeks ago I headed out to a new spot with high hopes. It was a river location that feeds into Lake Erie near the park where I decided to fish.

With the warmer weather and relatively shallow waters, the moss and weeds were very heavy. Although much heavier than I like, recent reports regarding state record fish being captured in this location convinced me that it was probably worth overlooking the weeds and giving a shot.

I started the day with rods casted near, far and medium distance. After an hour of no bites, I tried 3 in close. Then I followed that with two at far distance and one medium. Although I could see fish, the bites were non-existent. As luck would have it, I was seeing spawning fish just a few feet from the bank. They apparently had other things on their mind than eating my panko, field corn and butternut offerings.

Just I had almost packed up everything to leave, I had a nice run on my right rod. It also happened to be the rod farthest out in the river just past what I believe was the edge of a big bed of weeds.

I was rewarded with a fish weighing just under 20 pounds.

Caught on three pieces of flavored corn and a piece of fake orange maize.

I cropped this one a little tighter to show the size of the mouth a little better

I was casted out at least 70 - 80 yards in the river and although there was no current to speak of it still took quite a while to land this fish. An audience developed on shore consisting of several others who always hoped to catch a carp there, but never had the luck or skill. At least now they know there are some higher quality fish to be had from that river spot.

There was zero boat traffic while I was there. It probably had something to do with the 3 feet depths, which is pretty shallow for any motorized boats of size. I do think this spot is pretty popular with kayakers at various times of the year.

Vacation Carp Fishing in Missouri

For the past several years I have spent the 3rd weekend in May visiting relatives in Missouri to attend graduation ceremonies. It's a really great opportunity to do some carp fishing and try out some new spots. This year I tried an old spot and also a new spot. One on a lake and one in a nearby river.

Smallish carp from a popular park lake

Nice sized catfish

My spot on the Lamine River

Largest carp of the trip

First carp from the river

The river turns out to be a spot with some good potential. I definitely want to return to this river next year when I head back to the area.

Mirror Carp

A very cool scale pattern on this fish. It's only the 3rd mirror carp I have every caught, so I was pretty excited to see it in the net.

Mirror carp

First Carp of 2017

With a forecast of 60+ degree weather for this weekend I couldn't resist the chance to get out and try to land my first February carp and first carp of 2017.

I scouted a few spots last weekend and settled on a shallow pond connected to a small river. It was completely ice covered on Saturday of last week, but on Sunday the ice was a very thin layer.

I work nearby so I kept an eye on it during my lunch times a couple of times during the week. I did throw in about 9 baseball sized panko balls yesterday, but with the cool water temps I wasn't really sure if it would help or not.

I arrived at the spot at 10:45 with temps at 45 degrees. I had a fish about 90 minutes later caught about 15 or 20 feet from shore in no more than 3 - 4 feet of water.

With the warm weather, I had hoped for a couple more. Apparently the carp had other plans. Here is the one fish I did manage to land today.

One bite, one run, one fish.

First carp of 2017 and the first fish I have ever caught in February

 

How to Catch Common Carp

With temperatures at 7 degrees this morning the carp fishing is very, very slow locally where I live in Southeast Michigan. That leaves more time for updating information on the carp fishing blog.

I have written articles featuring specific hooks, fishing line, fake maize, etc. in the past and plan to get back to doing more of that in the next several weeks and months. I am far from an expert, but I have learned a few things in the past 4 years that helped me and a few others learn to catch more common carp.



Catch and release carp fishing

There are few things more frustrating for a new carp fisherman than spending hours on the bank and failing to catch a fish. Occasionally channel catfish will bite the corn, maize, boilie, etc. being used to target carp, which is a bonus that helps reduce the disappointment, but only for awhile (at least in my case).

But there are things we can do to help increase the odds. Some are obvious and others not so much. Please don't take this list of carp fishing tips as the "one and only way" to approach the task; and please decide whether it makes sense for your personal situation, but I hope some of my experiences help folks who are new to the pursuit catch a few more fish.

1. Fish in waters that hold carp in larger numbers

You might think this tip is obvious, but I think it bears mentioning. There are likely carp in most every water locally where I live, but some waters hold more of them in total. And in some bodies of water the carp "school" or "shoal" up in common areas in concentrated numbers. So it makes sense for me that when faced with a choice between casting a line in Water A with 15 to 20 carp per acre vs. Water B with 100 to 200 carp per acre (as an example for the sake of demonstration), going with Water B is the simple choice.

• Where can you find this type of information on waters that have a greater density of carp?

There are several options and at one point or another I have used many strategies, but the fastest approach is to make contact with other local carp fishing enthusiasts. There are groups on Facebook and websites for clubs such as Carp Anglers Group that focus on carp fishing, which will help you a lot. Do a Google search for carp fishing in your local area, do a search on You Tube, on Facebook, on Instagram, find a local hunting and fishing forum and ask others for tips, read the fishing survey reports for various lakes available via the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) websites in your state, etc.

Going to a water that you think may hold carp and walking the shore line looking for obvious signs of carp is another good option. It takes more time and effort, but it can pay big dividends in the long run. Finding the places within the lake, creek, river, or reservoir that hold carp will help you decide areas to concentrate on when you come back later to fish those areas.

2. Use bait that has been tested and proven to attract carp

Techniques for catching carp are very different than those used for catching sunfish, bluegill, walleye or bass. Top water buzz and spinner baits won't get the job done. Float fishing with night crawlers might yield an occasional carp, but it won't catch them consistently day-after-day in most waters.

Sweet corn, bread, and boilies have proven successful over the years. And to kick it up a few notches higher, adding sweet flavors to those offerings works even better.

A productive day

 I prefer flavored maize/corn over bread and boilies, and more specifically; corn/maize flavored with a fruit such as pineapple or sweet flavors such as butternut, anise, or vanilla. Commercial carp bait makers offer many different varieties that I encourage you to try, but you can start out with sweet corn straight from the can dipped in corn syrup or even maple syrup. But if you get serious about catching carp I'd recommend you try flavored maize sold by Trilogy Carp Baits or World Classic Baits to start. I mention those to bait companies because I have personally tried their products and fully support the effectiveness of their flavors like "Brendan's Bumbleberry", "Sweet Anise", "Sweet Plum", "Four Seasons", or "Scopex.

3. Learn to ties a knotless knot aka "hair rig" to improve the odds of catching carp

While placing sweet corn directly on a hook can work, threading it on a "hair" that floats below the hook works much better. Search for "How to Tie A Hair Rig" on YouTube for a tutorial.

4. Use "pack bait" or "ground bait"

Mixing up some bread crumbs, oatmeal, Wheaties, panko breadcrumbs with some type of binder for moisture like water or cream corn works well enough to allow the mixture to be molded around a lead and adhere tightly enough to be casted. It's not absolutely required to catch carp, but it will increase the odds dramatically.

Two pieces of flavored maize
 tipped with a piece of plastic corn

A picture of the typical pack bait
molded around the 2 or 3 oz. lead

Experimentation is encouraged. From time to time I have added chicken feed, bird seed, flavoring, peanut powder, salt, chili powder, and even peanut bird suet pellets to my pack bait mixtures. Try not to go overboard and add everything on the list all at once. I don't think it's necessary.

Plenty of carp have been caught on plain old bread molded around a hook and floated free line-style on top of the water. In fact, for those confident enough to use that method consistently, with the ability to stalk the carp, locate them in a body of water, and then deliver the bread bait to that exact spot have had a great deal of success.

The best part about carp fishing for me is trying different things and deciding what will work best in a given body of water under specific conditions.

5. Pre-bait

I don't usually go to my planned fishing spot the day prior and through bait into the exact spot I plan to fish, but when I do I always catch more fish. Most of my fishing spots are 30 minutes from my house or more, so heading out the day before isn't usually possible. I wish it was something I could do more consistently. Here's why:

Sometimes I go out to my spot, cast and start catching fish within a few minutes. Other times I cast out and wait...and wait...and wait. I have spent a lot of time analyzing and thinking about the reasons for this.

There are all sorts of scientific explanations that might help explain it - like temperature, oxygen levels, available natural food sources, barometric pressure, etc. - but it can likely be boiled down to one simple concept and I suspect it's correct the majority of the time.

• Sometimes there are numerous fish in the area and sometimes there are not.

I am sorry to disappoint you if you were hoping for something more substantial, but many times the simple things are most meaningful and insightful. And that's were pre-baiting might help.

• If there are fish already present, pre-baiting gets the fish feeding on the specific bait you will be fishing with.
• If fish are not already present in the spot then pre-baiting adds the missing ingredient - food to attract the fish.

Or, as I often have to do, if you can not pre-bait and pack your patience; because if the fish are not present it may take awhile to draw them into the spot by casting and re-casting for a few hours to draw them in. That's why after fishing for 6 or 7 hours, many of the fish are caught during hours 8 and 9 (or not caught at all because we give up before the fish arrive and start feeding).

I also recommend a close reading of the current fishing guidebook before implementing any of these suggestions. There are some restricted streams where pre-baiting restricted.

The State of Carp Fishing in the United States

Many of my friends and family are perfectly content spending the day fishing for 1/2 pound and 1 pound bluegill, 2 pound crappie; and 3 or 4 pound largemouth bass with an occasional channel catfish hooked every now and then. Carp provide a viable alternative to those smaller fish. Catching 10 - 12 pound common carp is normal among fishermen targeting carp.

When I am out fishing in some of the local spots people commonly ask me whether I eat the carp I catch - I don't. Their next reaction is usually very negative. Some people actually shake their head at me in disbelief and continue their line of questioning with comments about it being a waste of time to fish for something you can't eat. Some more knowledgeable fishermen who have tried eating carp or know others who have, often comment about removal of the "mud vein" to help improve the taste.

22 pound fall carp

There is another group of people - including many visitors to this site - who are sickened by the fact that I take great care of the carp I catch and do everything I can to return them to the water unharmed to be caught again another day. Some of them leave comments on my posts expressing their disdain that I promote carp fishing to others as something desirable to do. One person left a rather lengthy comment about how I shouldn't be returning carp to the water at all. He said I should kill them all like he does when he bow hunts for them. Really? Well, no.

I know bow fishing is a legitimate way to catch fish, but I do not support bow fishermen who shoot fish and leave them laying on the bank. I've seen pictures posted on the internet with three or four bow fishermen posing with at least 50 or 60 carp laying on tarps with comments below the picture bragging about their kills. Call me a cynic, but I have a lot of doubts about those guys eating one single fish from their kill. I've seen other pictures and comments about taking the kills and planting them in flower beds for rose bush fertilizer. I understand it's not illegal to bow fish, but I think it should be illegal to kill fish (or any other animal) just for the sake of killing something and then discarding it like an used cigarette butt or an old newspaper.

Bass fishing in the U.S. hasn't always been a multi-million or multi-billion industry either. Bass fishing has benefitted from promoters who have profited handsomely from tournament fishing series and television shows.

Carp fishing is going to get there too someday. It's been widely popular in Europe and other parts of the world for decades. I am completely confident that carp fishing will rise in popularity too. There are economic benefits for companies that cater to carp fisherman. Right now it's probably still in the niche stage, but the momentum is slowly shifting. The possibilities for carp fishing in the U.S. are huge; and I want to be prepared to ride the wave when it does finally arrive.

Here is an example of the popularity of carp fishing in the U.K.: Carp Universe Magazine

More Photo Editing Examples

It's so tempting to edit all the fish pictures that are taken. Sometimes I convince myself that a tweak or two will make a difference, but I am not always right. The two photos below help demonstrate the downside to "over-editing" a photo.

The edited photo has been cropped slightly and the lighting was adjusted to make the fish brighter.

I like the original photo much better than the edited version. The edited photo looks "fake" and even slightly out of focus. The original photo may have been out of focus, but in the original photo it does not stand out and is not as noticeable. The editing emphasizes the lack of focus even more.

On a mobile device, the edited version appeared acceptable, but in the larger format of the laptop or desktop, the photo suffers quite a bit.

Edited photo

Original photo

This appears to be a clear case of "too much of a good thing" actually creating an undesirable result.

I think the photo stands on it's own without any adjustments to the lighting. The photo seems to stand on it's own in hindsight, but if I did anything to it at all; I should have cropped it slightly and be done with it.

PVA and Sweet Corn for Carp Fishing

I  ran across this video today and want to give it a try next spring.

Carp Fishing Video

This video shows what carp fishing is all about.

Exploring New Carp Fishing Venues

I have some "go to" carp fishing venues locally that produce carp fairly consistently. Over the years some have ebbed and flowed in their production for a variety of reasons ranging from algae blooms to lack of summer rainfall at optimal times, commercial fishing, the effects of bow fishing, over fishing by those who harvest fish to eat, excessive jet skis, power boating, etc.

So a wise carp fisherman must constantly be on the look out for potential new venues. Venues with upper teen to low twenty average size, easy access via public parks, and close to home. There are plenty of venues that have some of those characteristics or even all during certain seasons (fall or spring as examples). But the holy grail for carp fishing are venues that hit all three of those requirements consistently.

At the current time, I don't have a venue like that close to home. I could drive 3 hours west and fish Lake Michigan where some of my carp fishing acquaintances have been landing 30 pound fish throughout much of the spring and summer. Unfortunately, the distance and driving time put that out of reach for a one day session with my current work schedule and family commitments.

I have Lake Erie and the Detroit River nearby, but neither I nor anyone I know personally has been able to land quality fish consistently in the past two years from those locations fishing from a public access area like a pier or park. I suspect there are some high quality fish to be caught from a boat that can seek out the areas where carp are congregating during a particular month, week or day, but one of the reasons I find carp fishing so attractive is the low cost aspect that does not require a boat and the expenses that come with boat ownership.

That leaves me to branch out north, south, east and west in search of new venues.

Today, I headed south and fished a new lake that I've never visited before. I don't know anyone who has fished it for carp, but I made contact with someone who has caught multiple carp from this new-to-me location. So I pulled out of the drive way at 5 a.m. and arrived at 6:45 a.m. 

I was fishing by shortly after 8 a.m. 

Finding a location was a bit of a crap shoot because although I was able to find a map of the venue online, the spots I hoped to fish with the deeper water depths were inaccessible from the shoreline once I arrived and saw them up close. They had drop offs from 10 to 20 feet or more.

I settled for the closest accessible area and set up there. Instead of the 12 foot water depths I hoped for, I fished in 6 feet of water.

To make a long story short; I fished for 8 hours and finally got my first screaming carp run. Yes....8 hours of silence (not even catfish).

Here are some pictures of the lone fish I landed:

The lonely loner I caught today

The scales were in good condition and he had nice coloring

Carp close-up

Carp tail fin shot

I am sure this lake holds carp in greater numbers than were indicated today. A local father and son team fishing for channel catfish provided some insight that I hope to act upon during my next visit.

Some additional online scouting and research will probably pay dividends before my next visit.

Lake Erie July Session

It had not rained more than a few sprinkles in our area for 7 weeks...until last night. And that much needed and long awaited rain overnight affected the fishing today.

I did manage to catch a small catfish early on this morning, but that fish was followed by several hours of no fish, no bites, and no screamers coming from the BFS indicator carp alarms.

But I kept plugging away at it. Casting and re-baiting. Casting and re-baiting.

And the fishing gods rewarded those efforts with a nice mid-teens common carp, which is one of the cleanest, brightest, most vivid commons I have ever had the please of landing.

Mid teens carp

The picture of this particular fish illustrates some interesting things that I would like to expound on a little bit.

While I did manage to pose the fish in some good lighting to show off the nice scaling and coloring on the fish, I should have posed the head toward the camera more. In this shot the tail is pointing more toward the camera. If the head had been pointed toward the camera more effectively, the gill plate would display better.

Notice how my hands are placed under the fish to support it's weight, and notice how my fingers are tucked away and not placed inside the gill plate in any way. A carp's gill plate is very sensitive. If penetrated with a hand, pliers, grippers, etc. it's easy to damage the fish. Damage to the gill plate can cause bleeding and might even kill the fish. This is something to be avoided, which allows the fish to continue growing and hopefully be caught again someday by another angler. That is my goal with every carp I catch. Provide good care and release them back into the water.

I zoomed in closer on this picture using Microsoft Paint. I have to admit that
my fingers are really too close to the gills when posing this fish. While my index
finger is not technically penetrating the gills, it's a little too close for comfort.

It can take several years for carp to reach 15 or 20 pounds in weight. For trophy sized carp - those over 30 pounds - it can take up to 15 years to grow to that size. To catch a trophy sized, once in a lifetime fish; carp need to be treated with respect when being caught and released. And if we are lucky, they will reward us, a friend, or another cap fishing enthusiast with a new personal best in the future.

A few hours later another fish graced the landing net. Although somewhat smaller than the first, I was thrilled to see it after a very slow fishing day.

Single digits common carp

And here is another picture of the first fish being returned to the water.

I try to return the carp to the water gently, allow it a short time to revive, and then swim away on it's own.

A word of caution: Please do not "throw" or "drop" carp back into the water. Carp are heavy fish and dropping them from 3 or 4 feet above the water line can cause them to hit the lake or river bottom if the water is not deep enough to support their weight. This is hard on the carp and can cause injury or even death.

18 Pound Common Carp Video

This video of an 18 pound common carp landed in Bigelow Park on the Saginaw River was taken by my wife during the 2016 Carp Anglers Group Midwestern Regional fishing tournament.

Carp Fishing in Bay City Michigan

Here is another video from our weekend fishing the Saginaw River near Bay City, Michigan.

Saginaw River Carp Fishing

My wife shot this video last weekend during the Carp Anglers Group Midwest Regional Tournament.

 

This is a video of me fighting and landing a 16 pound river carp in high winds and moderately heavy current. Some people wonder I why I enjoy carp fishing so much. I offer this video as an example.



2016 Michigan Fish In Event

The Michigan member of the Carp Anglers Group are hosting the first fish-in of 2016 on Saturday April 2nd at Sandy's Marina on Belleville Lake.

Time: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

This will be a fun, friendly and social fish in. If you have always wondered about carp fishing, but didn't know who to ask or how to get involved this is your perfect chance to get involved and learn the ropes.

20+ pound common carp

 



 

Catch and release

Saturday Carp Session

I headed out this morning with high hopes. The weather forecast predicted a sunny day with temps in the low 50's. With temps in the low 20's, lots of frost, and puddles of frozen water on the bank when I arrived at my favorite carping spot this morning, I was a little nervous.

I got lines in by 8:30 and started waiting. I waited some more. And waited some more. I re-casted. And re-casted again. And then again.

By noon I was having some doubts about keeping my streak of catching fish alive (4 straight sessions).

And then the sun came out strong and proud. Activity started picking up on the rods in fits and starts. Then the right rod got a run.

As luck would have it I was in mid-cast on the left rod and had to stop mid-way through to pick up the screamer. It was muddy, wet and slick on the bank today and I felt a sharp tinge in my left side when I turned to grab the screamer. It truly felt like I had stuck myself with a sharp object. By the time I got to the rod the fish was gone, but my pain remained.

I pulled a muscle about midway down my rib cage and it hurt like everything and then some.

But the pain was all better about 30 minutes later when I caught my largest fish in 2016 so far.

18 pounds and change

This fish snuck up on me today. When I saw it in the water it didn't look very big, but once it was in the landing net it was much bigger than I realized.

Most of the fish I've caught in 2016 to date have been in the 10 - 11 pound range, so an 18+ pound fish was a welcome addition to my fishing efforts.

One of the pretties sights in carp fishing - releasing the fish to be caught another day by another carp angler

I really liked the contrast of the fish against the green on my carrying sling

Heading back home again

Second Time Out Catching Carp in 2016

It was a cold day to be standing at the water's edge this morning. When I arrived at my chosen spot near Lake Erie at 7:30 a.m. the temperature gauge on my Explorer registered 26 degrees. Before I even opened the door I pulled the stocking cap down a little tighter over my bald head because I could tell from the way the vehicle was swaying in the wind, this session would be a cool one.

I scouted the venue once before when it was iced over, but today was my first day fishing the location. It has a lot of bank space and it's on a river known for a large carp population. Since Lake Erie holds some 30+ pounders (at least), I had hopes that I might catch a lot of carp and that one might be at least in the 20+ pounds range.

I tied on some fresh hooks, baited up with some corn and casted out.

Since it was my first time fishing the spot, I decided to re-bait every hour until I landed a fish. And after 3 hours I landed a nice fish with a wonderful golden hue.

A nice little golden bones to celebrate the weekend

Unfortunately it was the only fish I caught today, but with a 4 day weekend coming up I hope to catch some more soon.

Stay tuned.