Fish for Enjoyment

Fishermen are competitive.  I am no exception. I like to catch fish where others have avoided or ignored. If a particular lake or river is difficult then I'm more likely to desire fishing there.

I ran across a quote recently from street photographer Eric Kim:

"Ignore your 'competition' - because you have no real competitors.  You are in a category of your own, therefore it is pointless to try to compare yourself with others."

Those words are a good reminder that we will likely enjoy fishing for our own enjoyment more than if we focus purely on its competitive nature.

So the next time someone asks why you fish for carp or display skepticism with the weight of a fish, recalling that quote might help.

A fish picture I processed in Snapseed, a free post -processing application

And if you want to improve your general photography knowledge, check out Eric's website.

New Best Carp for 2019

This 31 lb. 6 oz. carp was the 5th of five fish caught on Day 1 of my fall carp fishing extravaganza this past week. I don't often show a lot of emotion, but I think you can tell from this video that this fish made me pretty happy.

It was a good day.

More Carp Fishing Pictures

Here are some more pictures from earlier this week.

The first one provides a good example of how not to pose a fish. Finding some shade helps filter out the harsh light making for a much better picture. Shaded light will help prevent or at least minimize the blotches of white that occur from over exposure.

After that first picture I moved locations for picture posing and achieved much better results.

I love it. He's saying, "Put me back in the lake please."

Those streaks of white are very frustrating,
but preventable.

Much better

Similar pose, different fish

Fins up, near perfect photo for a carp selfie

More Michigan Fall Carp Fishing 2019

I don't always have the luxury of fishing when I really want to. I'm limited to weekends, holidays and vacation periods.  When I have bank time on the schedule  I like to arrive early.

This week's venue is located about an hour from home. Traffic can be a challenge with construction this time of year, but it's likely to occur on the trip back home.

I arrived about 15 minutes predawn and was unpacked and on my way to the spot when the first signs of sunlight appeared.

I could hear fish surfacing in the area, although they weren't all carp. The lake is popular with bass fishermen too and some were definitely bass. There's something about that sound that causes my heart rate to rise.

Setting up my bank sticks, alarms and nets first helps "mark" the spot, although in the offseason it's seldom an issue here.

I mixed up some panko, boiled feed corn, boiled bird seed, some deer mineral attractant and some flavored field corn using some "nut" powder as a binder to hold the ground bait mix together.

I caught my first carp within 15 minutes of casting and always feel the familiar relief - there would not be a "blank".

Over the course of two days I caught numerous carp in all ranges of size from low teens to twenties. I even managed one a little bigger than that too.

Here are some pictures from my favorite day on the bank this fall so far. Tune in later for some pictures and video of my biggest fish of the session.

22 pounds

This was not my biggest fish of the session

Close Up

Alternate side view

Thick, strong carp

Round and thick carp

Catch and release

Michigan Fall Fishing - Pictures from September 2019

Before I post the pictures below, I'd like to reflect back to earlier in the year and summarize what has brought me to this point.

At times 2019 has been a frustrating year for carp fishing. I got off to a slow start in the spring, thanks in part due to some cooler than expected weather, several weeks of rain on the weekends, a shortage of available time for fishing an some distractions at work.

With the work distractions behind me as of late May, I started focusing more on catching carp, and less on things I had little, if any, control over.

I had several great sessions with numbers in double figures at local venues. My favorite summer venue this year was at a local river that is under carp fished in my opinion. It has plenty of shade. The fishing spots are on a paved path, close to the parking lot and restrooms are located nearby. But even better...the river has plenty of carp ready to be caught. The carp in the river are strong, healthy and fun to catch. For comparison purposes some of these river fish weighing 10 to 11 pounds on average provide the same strength of the 18 to 19 pound fish from a popular local lake that is frequented by carp fishing enthusiasts. The current, thick weed cover and sometimes fairly lively current provide some challenges to keep the fishing very challenging. 

I caught some fish at the Detroit River, several in Lake Erie, some at another local river in urban Detroit, in the St. Clair River, in a new-to-me-lake with limited access and lots of recreation boaters, and at an extremely popular park at a venue near Ann Arbor. 

Some of my past "go to" spots that have yielded fish weighing up to 37 pounds, turned cold in 2019. One venue in particular used to be good for multiple carp weighing in the 20's each and every time out, but the best I have managed in 2019 from that spot is a 24 pounder back in late April after 3 days of 8 hour sessions. Those 24 hours of bank time returned only that one fish.

Fall fishing in Michigan is always promising and I always save some vacation time that I use to get in a few extra fishing trips before the cold weather sets in later in mid-November. I usually focus a little more on October, but we're going to be traveling to Tennessee in a couple of weeks so I have fished more in September.

I spent Thursday and Friday fishing at a spot that I've fished twice previously with some promising indicators. It's packed with weeds. It's packed with boats. It's packed with people at certain times of the year, but with some prior planning it can be a good spot to fish occasionally. It's a good spot to go on a rainy day, but pack your rain gear and portable shelter because there isn't anywhere to keep you dry.

It takes a little effort to find the limited opening in the weed bed that will allow your hook baits to reach the lake bed. Cast in close and you're going to be in heavy weed mat. Cast out at long distance and you run the risk of boats running over your lines. The magic distance seems to be in the 60 to 80 yard range into a spot that is about 20 to 30 feet wide. I caught a few fish outside that general area, but they were few and far between. 

And now on to some of the pictures. I have other video footage and pictures I will continue to post when I have more time, but here are some of my favorites so far. Some of these photos could use a little more post processing to improve their clarity, but I'm fairly satisfied with them. They are screen prints from a video. When you fish alone, you have to improvise on the photos. 

High teens carp

Mid teens carp

Scrapper

I love the fall colors just beginning to show up

The scales on this fish were almost perfect

Look at that tail. When this fish grows up, it's got potential to get even bigger

I try to avoid "mat shots", but sometimes I snap them anyway to get a good look at the scale colors

The tried and true way to photo a fish when you don't have a friend with you to take a picture

Carp Fishing 2019 Fall Extravaganza

I spent two days this week taking advantage of the fall carp fishing opportunities Michigan offers. There's something about the fall that brings out the best in the fish and the best in anglers.


I suspect the anglers benefit from the cooler weather with improved concentration, preparedness, stamina and determination knowing that the season will be coming to an end in a few weeks.


The fish are more willing to eat our bait offerings as the natural food sources begin to reduce with the change in temperatures, daylight hours and weather patterns.


I caught a plethora of carp this week. I was fishing alone, however; and the photos were taken via video and then converted to stills. I wish the photos were better, but they're not. A few years ago I'd have been thoroughly satisfied with them, but my expectations have increased significantly as my experience has grown. It will take me some time to pull those off and prepare them.


Look for a full write up in a couple of days. In the meantime, here's the last fish I caught on Friday afternoon as the cold front was rolling in.

This fish was the icing on my 2-day carp fishing session on Friday

October is Discovery Month

A few years ago I fished a small local pond on a hunch and a vague rumor that there may be some carp on hand.

Carp exploration 

Fall carp in a local park pond

Fishing for Carp in Weedy Lakes

I have discovered this year that just like confronting life's challenges directly, if you want to learn to catch fish in heavy weeds you have to fish the weeded swims more often.

Practice makes perfect.

I've learned that a loose drag works for me. I palm the reel to stiffen the line when needed, but it also gives me feedback from the fish to ease up and let them run when needed too. It takes practice but its helped me tremendously this year.

Fins Up Carp Photo

I caught this mid teens carp recently

I love it when the carp, camera, lighting and my ability to correctly pose a fish while keeping all those variables in check come together to achieve an intriguing photo like this one.

I have found that rather than taking photos in direct sunlight, it's best to find some shade. The shade helps filter out some of the harshness that causes fish to turn "white" or become "blotchy". I have developed a huge dislike for "blotchy" photos recently. But best of all, they are entirely preventable with some prior planning (and a little luck).

Carp Photo Editing

I did a little quick photo editing for less than 2 minutes. I think it improved this photo, which was already pretty good, a few more rungs up the ladder.
We spend a lot of time working to catch a carp. So it's always nice when the photo does justice to the fish and everything that went into landing it and safely releasing it to be caught another day.

Late Summer Suburban Carp Fishing

I had a vacation day today.

If I'm in town during vacation there's an excellent chance that I'm going to be fishing. Today was no exception.

In this new-to-me spot I did pretty o.k. in spite of some thick weeds an a few boaters that drove pretty close to shore before making the U turn back to the main lake.

It was a hour there and 90 minutes back, but the 6 fish were worth the drive.

I used a size 6 Gamakatzu G Carp R hook, sweet anise tournament corn from Trilogy Carp Baits, panko, bird seed, cream corn, and peanut suet with a few ground up boilies for ground bait / pack bait.

  

9 Steps to Success in Carp Fishing

Develop a Plan:

A goal without a plan is only a dream. Write down the steps to achievement.

For me, setting a goal is inherent with developing a plan. I can't really have one without the other. If I do set a goal without defining a plan, then I'm really just dreaming. If my goal is to catch 10 carp during my next fishing session, it's just a dream unless I take some steps to make it happen (tie rigs, make ground bait, purchase hook bait, decide what body of water I plan to target, decide how much time I have to devote to the fishing session, etc.)

Always be Learning:

Learn what you need to know. If you want to catch more fish, then develop the necessary skills.

Read carp fishing forums and websites. Watch videos, network with other fishermen and read fishing magazines. When I learned that the Department of Natural Resources in my state publishes fishing surveys, I started reading them in detail. The DNR also provides a database of lakes with the prominent fish species most likely to be caught in those lakes. If I want to catch 10 carp in my next 4 hour fishing trip, I probably shouldn't target a lake that lists the predominant species as pike, musky, bass and walleye. I need to use sharp hooks, tie the rigs correctly, use appropriate reels, rods, landing nets, etc.

Take Decisive Action:

Pursue your plan to achieve your goal aggressively with single minded purpose.

If your goal is to be a professional baseball player, you practice hitting, catching and throwing. A lawyer reads the law and learns it in detail. A business man learns marketing, promotion, hiring and firing. To me, it makes sense that a  carp fisherman should learn to make ground bait, identify and purchase carp baits that will be more successful than others on a particular body of water, learn to cast accurately with minimal effort, reel in fish without over thinking the task, how to effectively tire a fish out sufficiently before trying to net it prematurely, and on and on.

If you have been fishing for 4 hours a day, try expanding the timeline to 6 hours and see if that improves the results. If you have been fishing the same location for the last 5 sessions with few results, then switch up to a new location. If you have been losing hooked fish with dull hooks, try ordering some new hooks, hook patterns, change the hook length, sharpen the existing hooks, etc. Doing the same thing over and over will probably not change the results significantly.

Focus on the Goal:

Prioritize the goal over the “nice to haves” and “want to do’s”.

If your goal is to catch 10 fish in your next 4 hour fishing trip then you have to make sure you are prepared. For me, that means organizing my fishing gear, packing it where I can find it, loading the vehicle early in the evening the day before I plan to go fishing, mapping out the route I plan to drive to the fishing location, fueling the vehicle, identifying the specific location on the body of water I plan to set-up, etc.

If I decide to forgo those things and watch television, or go to a party the night before my trip and leave those fishing "priorities" to a later time, then I risk 1) forgetting "must have" carp fishing items (I've forgotten bite alarms and bank sticks in the past), 2) wasting time with unnecessary stops for supplies (cream corn, fuel, food, ice, can openers and drinks are items I've had to stop for in the past), and 3) arriving late to the fishing location only to find someone else already set-up in my preferred fishing spot.

Always be Improving:

If the progress is not what you thought it would be, then do better next time.

If something about the trip doesn't go as planned, make a mental note (or better yet a written one) for avoiding and preventing a repeat performance on the next fishing trip. For me, that means finding those missing bite alarms, hangers, bank sticks, favorite ground bait flavoring, etc. and put them in a good location to ensure they are not forgotten on the next trip.

Be Persistent:

Hard work and grit can overcome lack of luck, talent and or money.

My time for fishing is limited, so when I go fishing I need to make it count. Just because there are sometimes obstacles to my fishing plans, that doesn't mean I should just give up or quit. For me, that means I can't always fish the more desireable lakes or rivers on a given day and I have to stay closer to home.

My dilemna often goes like this: 1) Should I risk a blank at Lake X because I can only fish a few hours and there are fewer (but bigger) fish in that body of water, or 2) Since I have blanked the last 3 sessions, should I go to a location that has more fish and increase my chance of multiple catches? or 3) Since it's going to rain, should I go somewhere that allows me to keep the vehicle closeby?

Re-Assess the Plan:

If things are not progressing as expected, desired or needed; decide if the plan needs to change.

If I don't get the results I want, then I change the plan and sometimes change the goal. I decide if the goal is realistic. I decide if the plan is effective as is or needs changing.

Re-Launch:

If you decide to change the plan or adjust the goal, then re-group and start again.

You don't fail in the pursuit of a goal until you decide to give up trying. If you blank a few times, keep at it because on that 4th or 5th trip you might catch a new personal best. But don't get me wrong, sometimes giving up can be the best choice in a given situation. If there's a thunderstorm with lots of lightning headed my way, a shady character hanging around that makes me uncomfortable, or there's a tornado warning in the immediate area; I don't risk short term success for long term pain. Catching a new personal best or breaking a streak of blanks is not worth the risk of being struck by lightning, encountering a tornado, getting frost bite, or endangering my personal safety.

Enjoy Your Successes:

When you achieve a goal, celebrate it and enjoy the results of your hard work.


My final thoughts -

I hope these thoughts help you or at least guide you into developing your own plans and goals for what you hope to get from the sport of carp fishing.

Sometimes I think we forget that just because we see others achieving success based on their efforts and financial investment, doesn't mean that we have to desire those same plans, goals and results. We can decide at what level we want to pursue the sport as determined by the time we have available, the money we have to invest and even where we live in the state or country.

Big Carp Plans

I had big plans today. Then the weather forecasters had to go and mess it up. :-)

I was planning to fish a new (to me) body of water. But with the supposed rain, we stuck closer to home and fished a friendly venue where the vehicles can remain nearby.  I caught 11 carp and a decent looking catfish.

Once I dialed in on the proper casting distance, the fish "were on" (like Donkey Kong). The ground bait included prepared field corn, bird seed, cream corn, panko, peanut suet, and butternut flavoring. The hook baits included a piece of Enterprise buoyant fake corn soaked in Trilogy's bumbleberry flavor and two pieces of creamy butternut tournament corn from Trilogy. The catfish and one of the carp were caught on a pop up from World Classic Baits tipped with a piece of fake corn.