Showing posts with label personal best. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal best. Show all posts

Monday, April 30, 2018

My New 2018 Personal Best at 37 Pounds and 7 Ounces

The local Michigan guys know that I've been hoping to catch a 30# fish for quite some time.

I think I might be one of the last of the local carp angling club crew who hadn't caught a fish of 30 pounds or greater. The absence of the magic 30# carp has much to do with the waters I fish as anything else. The convenient water near me just doesn't seem to produce many big fish at this point.

Four years ago I had one in sight but the net person zigged instead of zagged; and it literally became "the one that got away". I've had a 29# fish once since then. I was fortunate enough to improve upon that fish and increased my personal best by 8 pounds and change to a whopping 37 pounds and 7 ounces.

I could tell the fish was special when it was still 50 feet from the bank and knowing that; I got really nervous as it approached the net.

This water has produced some 30# fish in the past, but none in recent years. This fish was completely unexpected and much bigger than any fish I know of caught on this water in at least 2 years.

37 pounds and 7 ounces; my new personal best

Look at that tail. For reference the mat is 36 inches long.
I didn't have a tape measure, but I am guessing almost 40 inches.

What a tail span



This fish was very long and very dense



When I have more time, I may be able to adjust some of the over exposure in these photos to bring out more of the details in the fish. The trouble with fishing in bright sunlight is the difficulty taking pictures in bright sunlight. It's kind of a bummer when you catch the biggest fish of your life.

Posing a fish like this is also not easy. It was heavy to hold it up properly and kept wanting to lean backwards. I did manage a few shots to give the fish the justice it deserves.

Here's an example of how posing affects the pictures of the fish we capture. The fish is heavy and I'm having trouble keeping it perpendicular to the ground. It's tilting backwards about 60 degrees and compared to the picture above you can see how different the outcome is.


Tuesday, November 1, 2016

New Personal Best Common Carp: 29 Pounds 2 Ounces

I have been fishing a lot this fall season. Beginning in late September when the temperatures started to cool down a little, I started thinking it might be possible to catch a new personal best common carp.

My previous best was 26 pounds and change. I caught that fish a short time after I started targeting carp exclusively almost 4 years ago.

I am lucky to work for a great company with fantastic benefits, which includes a generous number of vacation days. I scheduled a vacation day yesterday and headed out to one of my favorite fishing spots.

I ended up with 7 fish (6 carp and 1 catfish) overall, but one fish stood out above the rest - a 29 pound 2 ounce "monster" on Halloween.

While reeling in the fish I remember commenting to my friend Bill who was fishing nearby that the fish was kind of lazy and meandering. I carefully adjust the drag on my Sonik reels to ensure I had just the right amount of tension while keeping the drag lose enough to guard against the dread hook pull.

I wasn't making a lot of progress at first, but slowly and steadily the fish drew nearer the bank. And then the fish was safely secured in the net, I knew it was something special.

And the weigh scales confirmed it - 29 lbs. 2 oz.

I hope you enjoy pictures of that fish and the others.
Big carp, big mouth

This fish was not easy to pose properly. I am always surprised at the dead weight of fish weighing more than 25 pounds.

This is my favorite picture of the 29 lb. 2 oz. that has become my new personal best common carp.

Upper teens

This fish has been eating very well lately it seems.

This fish is on the way to bigger and better things. It's getting thick in the head, which is a sign of future possibilities.

Another mid teens

Look at that gut

Another quality Halloween carp

Another one
In case you are wondering, here is a picture of my previous personal best 26 pounder:

Caught in October 2014

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Small Mouth Buffalo and Common Carp Catches

I caught my first buffalo a few short weeks ago at 11 pounds. I broke my personal best twice in about 30 minutes on Monday afternoon.

One of these fish was caught on a WCB pink pop-up dumbbell and the other was caught on a homemade habanero boilie. In fact I caught 5 fish on my homemade boilies.

The first buffalo weighed # 20.4 and the second one # 21.11. I really enjoyed catching these fish.

I hope you enjoy the pictures.

20 pounds 4 ounces
The colors on this fish were very unusual


21 pounds 11 ounces
 
Profile picture?

Small Mouth Buffalo close-up
I caught 8 others ranging from # 20 down to # 7 for a total of 12 fish (2 catfish and 10 carp).


13 pounds


10 pounds

Catfish

8 pounds

7 pounds

9 pounds

8 pounds

11 pounds

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Maybe It's Time to Find a New Fishing Spot

My reward for trying something different
Two weeks ago I plotted out a plan for four fishing sessions on successive weekends. My primary goal with the sessions was to establish a new personal best carp weight before the winter weather arrives.

For me, finding above average sized carp is not a simple thing. I've learned that you can't keep doing the same things over and over, hope for the best and  expect different results. If you want different results, you have to do new things; or do old things in a better way.

I have a favorite venue for carp fishing that is a 25 miles from my home. I've fished that spot roughly 20 times this past spring, summer and fall. My biggest carp from my normal spot weighed 23 lbs. My wife's biggest fish from that same spot weighed 24 lbs. Logic dictates that if I want to catch a common carp bigger than the biggest I've ever caught before, I needed to change spots, change bait, or attract bigger fish. I made the simple and easy-to-execute choice and went back to a spot that I fished earlier in the spring that yielded my current personal best of a few ounces shy of 25 pounds.

It was on the same lagoon near Lake Erie. I used the same baits, flavors, tackle, etc., but changed the location within that lagoon. And as you may have guessed by now....it worked!

My normal spot was beginning to see quite a bit of carp fishing pressure and in my opinion that fishing pressure slowed the bite a little bit. If four or five anglers are fishing the same spot over and over using the same baits and flavors, the fish might wise up a little and start to avoid the bait presentation. I have no idea of knowing for sure, but my theory makes logical sense to me. Someone else may shoot a hole in my theory, but it's a good a hypothesis as any other I've had lately.

I fished the opposite side of the lagoon in two spots that aren't as easy to fish because they require a 5 minute walk from the parking lot, there is no rest room and the mowing/tree trimming is not maintained as regularly. It's inconvenient, but I know from the past that the fish seem to run a little bigger on that side of the lagoon.

Overall average size from those spots for the past 4 sessions was close to the average size in my normal spot, but there were some big fish sprinkled in; two I couldn't land and one that I did. The one fish I landed weighed in at 26 pounds and 6 ounces besting my prior personal best weight by almost 1 1/2 pounds.

So the next time fishing slows down in your normal spot(s), it might be time to find a new one. It worked for me this month. Maybe it will work for you too.

Monday, October 27, 2014

A Great Session Near Lake Erie - Great Weather and a New Personal Best Common Carp

Luckily I had the day off of work because the weather was very unseasonably warm today here in Southeast Michigan. After several days of cooler weather last week and falling water temperatures, temperatures in the upper 70's were bound to lead to some interesting chances to catch some carp. The carp did not disappoint.

The action started early with a few average sized fish. About 9:30 a.m. I hooked into a solid fish on my left rod and the fish crossed over the middle and right rods before doubling back to under the middle rod approaching the net. Everything was going very well to that point. The fish was tiring and Linda had the net in perfect position. To that point I hadn't really seen the fish yet, so boy was I surprised to see it approaching the net. It was the biggest fish I have hooked all year! Come on new PB!

I loosened the drag a little because the fish was spooked by the net. He struggled right and then back left into the netting zone. The fish hovered over the net, but was so big the tail wasn't quite in...and then it happened...yep, the dreaded hook pull. But at that point the fish was obviously tiring because Linda said, "don't worry, I can still get him." The fish didn't realize it was no longer hooked because it continued to hover in the water for several seconds. Linda pull up on the net, but the tail wasn't quite in yet. Somehow the fish eluded capture and we both were super, super bummed. I am pretty sure the fish was a 30+ pounder. The head on my Ranger net is 34" and the fish was bigger than that by several inches. So for the next couple of hours we relived the moment and discussed how to do it better next time; hopeful to get another chance at a quality fish. The next chance eventually came around 2:30 p.m., but the fish was a several inches shorter and a few pounds lighter.

Here are some pictures from today's session:

5 pounds

5 pounder posed

6 pounds

8 pounds

11 pounds

12 pounds

13 pounds

14 pounds

17 pounds

26 pounds 6 ounces, and my new personal best common carp

The release of my new personal best