Michigan Mirror Carp

I've had good luck catching mirrors the last few weeks. 

I caught another today while participating in The Longest Day fundraiser to benefit the Alzheimer's Association.

I want to highlight the mirror separately (and the big fish for the day).

 

Fall Carp Fishing in Michigan

I fished for 7 1/2 hours today, but could have probably still been catching as I write this if I wasn't fishing alone.

This spot has a huge weed bed that runs from about 20 feet to 150 feet off shore. You have to cast out past the weeds and then fight the fish through the very thick weeds. It's a good workout. Of course you end up losing about 30% of the fish.

In the past I've pulled 25# and 31# carp from this spot including another 7 or 8 #'s of weeds.

I managed to land 10 fish (the most ever from here) ranging from about 3 pounds up to 20 pounds (18 pounds was the next largest). But perhaps best of all I landed a nice little mirror. It's my first mirror from here.

The bigger fish seem to head elsewhere in the afternoons, so it pays to be on your game from the jump. There is heavy, heavy boat traffic here in the traditional boating months. It's a spot I only fish a couple times a year if it's raining or too cold for comfortable boating.

It's also a good spot for blanking.

This session is a great example of the need to be prepared when you go carp fishing. You really need to be on your game to consistently land carp. It can make the difference between a great, enjoyable day and a day filled with frustration.

Recasting quickly can increase your catch rate dramatically. At one point the action was so fast that I literally couldn't keep rods in the water.  Fish move in shoals, so if you catch one there are likely others nearby.

You need a process for landing the fish, capturing the photo, releasing the fish and recasting without wasting time or energy. Doing this when fishing solo takes some pre-planning and preparation. Taking the time to do it can help you catch many more carp throughout the year. If you catch 200 carp and being organized helps improve your results by a 10% rate, that's 20 more chances to land your new personal best. 

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

Mirror Carp

I was lucky enough to catch this very nice mirror carp this past weekend in the Saginaw River.

Mirror carp

I am going to post some other pictures from the Carp Anglers Group Midwest Regional tournament in the following days.

The 2017 event is definitely my favorite so far.

2017 champions

Independence Day Weekend Near Lake Erie

The plan for this weekend was to fish a pier on Lake Erie that I have been looking forward to try for several weeks. The area is currently experiencing an algae bloom that has tinted the water in that area a very dark green color. Based on my experience in the past it's very tough to fish in those conditions, so we opted to try another location nearby.

I have been unable to fish for a couple of weeks due to a nasty battle with walking pneumonia the past 10 days or so. It started as an allergy, progressed to bronchitis and kept getting worse until it started affecting my breathing. Today was great therapy and I am feeling much better now.

The decision to switch locations paid off. Here are a few pictures of the fish I landed today.

A nice mid teens common carp

A nicely scaled 10 pounder

The second carp caught today with nice coloring

The first carp was landed shortly after lines in early this morning

This is only my 3rd or 4th mirror I have ever caught. It's very rare to catch a mirror carp at this particular location.

My streak catching small mouth buffaloes continues.
Despite handling the fish with great care, this time of year the small mouth buffaloes are always marked up quite a bit.
I am guessing it's left over from spawning activity.
To make this picture a little more palatable, I touched up a couple of the rough spots on this fish.

I also caught a small catfish, but can't seem to find a picture of the fish on my phone tonight. If I do, I'll post it up too.

My fishing partner today, Erik Sevo, landed a nice 21 pound common carp that is a new personal best for him and also landed his first small mouth buffalo tipping the scales at 15 pounds 14 ounces.

Congratulations Erik!

Fully Scaled Mirror and Nice Mid-20's Common Carp

I have been carp fishing for almost 3 years at this point. That's 3 solid years concentrating on carp specimen fishing. I don't fish for anything else.

There is a local venue known for mirror carp. I fished the venue a lot when I was starting out because it's loaded with carp and it's close to my house. I see others catching mirror carp at that venue on a regular basis, but they have been elusive for me at that venue. I fish there because the action is usually fairly steady, although a 20 pound common would be considered "large" for that particular location. I had always hoped to catch a mirror and finally did last year.

There is another venue that I fish quite a bit as well. I like it because it's near Lake Erie and there is a chance to catch a nice lake fish at any given time, especially in autumn.

I was at that location today hoping to catch a new personal best, which for me is 27 pounds or greater. The action was fast and furious for me beginning within 30 minutes of my first cast.

I never really considered the chance to catch a mirror carp at that location, but today I was rewarded with a very nice fully scaled mirror.

Mirror carp

I caught 14 fish in total ranging from 4 pounds to 24 + pounds. Most of the fish were in the mid-teens.

Here's a picture of the largest fish I caught today. It's not a new personal best, but I enjoyed catching it.

24 pounds

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.