Ranger: The Affordable Landing Net for Trophy Carp Fishing

The picture above is of my American Made in the USA Tournament Series Landing Net by Detroit's very own Ranger Products.

I have tried a few other of the budget priced Euro style landing nets in my almost 4 year obsession with carp fishing and they have all fallen by the way side. I am not saying they were bad products at all. But I am saying they are only good to a point.

They are acceptable for landing a few small carp from time to time on waters with level bank areas and without any steep inclines that require a lot of leverage to lift carp up to 30 pounds 4 or 5 feet to the landing mat.

But if you want to purchase 1 landing net that will do the job, do it well, and not bend, break or warp when you need to lift fish up onto the bank, then you want a Ranger net.

The net in the picture above has a 48" extension handle, 30" hoop, and is very heavy duty. It is the flat bottom tournament series model 9855FB that is popular with muskie fishermen.

I purchased it for about $70 at Dick's Sporting Goods. I liked it so much that I bought another one recently. The knotless nets are rubber coated. I haven't had any trouble with the nets snagging carp fins, which is more than I can say for the Euro style nets I have owned.

The only downside to these nets is the heavier weight that makes it a little less convenient to land carp when fishing alone, but it's not a deal breaker by any means. I got the hang of landing carp within this net after catching a few fish.

Gamakatsu: The Affordable Hook for Carp Fishing

When Resistance Tackle closed down its website the cost of carp fishing increased. There are other sources of carp gear, but in my experience when there are fewer sources prices tend to rise. So I decided to begin looking for ways to reduce the cost of some of the basic carp fishing supplies.

I decided to look for some more affordable carp hooks. My normal hooks sell for about $8 per 10 hook pack. I found the Gamakatsu G Carp Wide Gap hooks, which are fairly new to the carp tackle scene, although Gamakatsu has been making fishing tackle for many years and is very popular in other fishing styles and fishing pursuits - think bass, crappie, blue gill, walleye.



My new carp fishing hooks in size 6

These hooks have similar features to other "brand names" known for carp tackle in Europe. In fact the G Carp hooks have a lot in common with the Korda wide gap hooks I have been using very successfully for a couple of years.

10 pound common

PTFE coating, wide gap, micro barb, and upturned eye are all key selling points of the G Carp hooks.

I have been testing the hooks now for a few sessions and I really like them. And at a 50% discount compared to the Nash and Korda equivalents I can afford to buy a lot more of them too!
Here is a carp I caught on the hooks from the packet above earlier in the weekend.

In the interest of full disclosure and so you can benefit from my testing and experimentation, when I re-order more G Carp hooks I will be getting them in size 4.

I spent some time looking for them on Amazon, Wacker and Carp Kit but they seem to be in short supply right now.

I suspect the size 4 hooks will provide an improve landing percentage by ensuring a quality hook hold and therefore a reduction in hook pulls.

I will continue testing these hooks and will update my results here on the blog from time to time.

Michigan Carp Fishing Near Lake Erie

Today I returned to an old favorite location that I placed on hiatus for a while. I hadn't fished this spot since early March and prior to that last August. It used to be a favorite spot that was very productive with fish in the 20+ pound range every time out. I stopped fishing here when that production slowed down significantly, but decided to give it another try.

I love my Ranger Big Game Tournament Series musky net

Today's big carp

Today's carp with the most interesting scale patterns



 

 

I like the tail on this one.

 

Taste of Belleville - Rubber Duck Race Fundraiser

I would like to let you know that I now have tickets available for the annual Rubber Duck Race Fundraiser that is organized by the Belleville Rotary Club in conjunction with the Taste of Belleville event.

You do not need to be present to win. Tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20 and there is a chance to win up to $1,000.

Let me know if you need a ticket or two (or 5 or 10).

Gamakatsu Wide Gape Super G-Carp

Gamakatsu Wide Gape Super G-Carp hooks

My primary hook for the past couple of seasons has been the Korda Wide Gap in size 4. I purchase them from a carp fishing vendor for $7.99 per pack of 10.

When Gamakatsu introduced a specially designed carp hook series I decided to explore whether they might work for me as either a substitute or replacement for the Korda hooks. I have been testing these Gamakatsu Wide Gape Super G-Carp hooks for my last couple of carp fishing sessions. The G-Carp hooks sell for 50% less than the Korda's I have been using.

My only regret is that when I requested feedback from another well-known carp fishermen who has been using these G-Carp hooks exclusively for several months as a "tester" he recommended a size 6 hook. After using the hooks for a couple of sessions I wish I had picked up some size 4's instead.

I have landed a few carp using these G-Carp's, but I have experienced some unexpected hook pulls too. With the Korda's, I had a streak of more than 6 months without a hook pull. In the past couple of sessions I have had 3 hook pulls with the Gamakatsu's. I do not think it's a fair comparison though at this point. While the size 6 G-Carp's are close in size to the size 4 Korda's, the G-Carp size 6's are slightly smaller.

I regret this experience because I do not think it's a good indicator of the potential these hooks provide. Compared to the Korda wide gap's they are very similar. The structure, point, shank and overall design are quite close to the Korda's.

When I place my next order for some carp fishing tackle I am definitely going to include some size 4 G-Carps in the mix. Once received my testing will continue.

Dave Mercer and Gerald Swindell - Carp Master Classic Waddington New York - Facts of Fishing

“It’s always amazed me how certain species of fish are looked down upon by some people,” Mercer said. “I’m not a proud man. I just want something to pull on my line.”

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.

July Fourth Carp

I fished close to home today.

It's a lake that is very popular with pleasure boaters and jet skiers. I was the first person through the gate at 5:45 when the ranger opened up for the day. I figured I'd get in several hours of fishing before the hooligans arrived.

I put in 7 hours, but ended up with only 1 fish. I am happy to have caught it though because the jet skiers, water skiers, bass fishermen, jet boats, etc. were wearing me out at the end.

Here are some pictures.

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!

Michigan DNR Bulletin - Know the Difference: Invasive versus common carp

The Michigan DNR published an informative bulletin titled "Know the Difference: Invasive versus common carp" on 6/30/16 featuring some very insightful information about "naturalized" carp aka "common carp" and "invasive" aka "big head", "silver", "black" or "grass" carp.

Common carp close up

From the article:

Common carp weighing in the mid teens

Because they have been widely distributed and their demand as a food source has diminished, common carp sometimes are referred to as a nuisance species. However, they are not considered invasive in Michigan.

I enjoyed the article because it helps explain some critical differences between what is actually "invasive" and what is not.

Michigan Out of Doors Carp Fishing Episode

 

 

I am proud to say that I fish with the guys featured in the carp fishing segment. They are some of the best carp fishermen in Michigan and the entire country.

Two Carp Fishing Videos Near Lake Erie

I returned to an old favorite spot today. It used to be a spot where you could count on several 20+ pounders every session, but due to commercial fishing the size has decreased significantly. I decided to give it a try again after a several month absence. I ended up with several small commons up to about 8 or 9 pounds. I am sorry I don't have a bunch of big fish to post, but I am a weekend warrior carp fisherman with limited time and resources I am willing to commit to the carp fishing obsession.
 

Here's another one I took later on. After a slow period earlier things kicked into high gear around 3 p.m. If I'd stayed longer I probably could have caught 10 of these smaller fish. I found a good sized pocket of them today, but I still had fun catching every one of them. I'm not picky.

Two Nice Pictures From Last Weekend

Friends of mine took these pictures while fishing together last weekend. They shared them out on Facebook today and I liked them so much I wanted to save them here as well.

Thanks David and Veronica for being great fishing partners last weekend. I look forward to joining you again soon on the bank.

Headshot close up

Traditional pose

Please don't be too worried about the two reddish scales. I did not damage the fish while landing it. The scales were like that before the fish was netted.

It's the middle of the spawning festivities at this particular fishing spot and several of the fish we caught, both large and small, had similar reddish spots. I can only assume that the spawning activities caused some of the scrapes.

Carp Fishing Social at New Venue

My friends David and Bill, members of the Carp Anglers Group, met up this morning with plans to spend the day at a local water that hasn't been fished heavily for carp (if at all by a C.A.G. member besides Bill and I).

Bill and I explored this spot on the Raisin River in the fall of 2015 as part of "Discovery Month". I caught a couple of mid-teens carp and Bill caught a catfish tipping the scales in low double digits. We vowed to come back and fish the venue again someday. With some of our other favorite carp fishing spots heavily inundated with spawning carp who aren't much interested in feeding on panko, chicken feed, and cream corn we decided to give this venue another shot to show us what carp it holds.

The fishing spot

I arrived at 6:30 a.m. with David and Bill joining me in short order. We had lines in the water a little before 7:15 and it didn't take long for the carp to start making the alarms sing the familiar tune that announces to the world, "Carp on."

The first couple of runs resulted in lost fish. But I finally hooked a small 2 pound channel catfish around 8:30 a.m. David caught a catfish and a carp during this same time frame.

I caught a couple of smaller carp a little while later. The carp were small enough to leave me wondering where the bigger fish might be hiding.

Small common

Slightly bigger small common

A little after lunch time a much bigger, crafty and veteran of carp of the Raisin River decided to feast on our panko ground bait offerings flavored with some peach flavoring.

19 pounds 6 ounces

The 19 pounder was a post-spawn fish and marked up quite a bit from the spawning activities being engaged in recently. But this fish proved to me that there could be 20 pounders (or maybe a little bigger) lurking in this new water.

The it got quiet for a while.

Then the rain came.

And then a few more carp decided to grace our net, weigh sling and pose for a Facebook picture.

This isn't the greatest picture because it was taken during a light rain. The lens on my camera phone fogged up.

David's wife caught a nice 16 pound carp to round out my day of fishing before heading home when the rain picked up even more.

I am sure David will post a copy of it on Facebook for those that are friends with him.

In the final analysis the day was a success. We caught fish in numbers and two with decent size. I caught 6 carp and a catfish. And that's good enough to bring me back again to fish here again.

Missouri Vacation Carping

We spent last week in Missouri after traveling there to attend my niece's high school graduation.

During the 9 day trip I did manage to find time for carp fishing. It was a new spot I had never fished before, so I didn't really know what to expect. Luckily the carp didn't know that and cooperated anyway.

9 pounder

13 pounder

Missouri River view

Carp fishing lake

Interesting clouds rolling in just prior to a short lived storm

Someday I hope to get back there to fish again.

I am confident there are some monster sized carp in the Missouri River, but it's tough to find a spot to fish out of the very strong current.