Fishing Hat Recommendation

Since I am follicle-challenged aka "bald" with little hair, it's important that I wear a hat while fishing. I have been wearing a Barmah Canvas Drover hat since 2007 and 2015 might be the year to replace it with a new one. The hat has held up well. I will likely purchase the exact same hat again (the one in the Amazon link below).

 

 

I wear sunscreen and try to hang out in the shade while fishing if possible. Spending all day outside with no protection is a bad idea. Sunburn is not a good thing. And it's not good for your long term health.

 

 

This hat has brought me a lot of fishing luck too. I was wearing it when I
caught this carp - my first in 2013.



How to Generate Money from Carp Fishing

12 pounder caught in the fall

I went to high school near the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. Bass fishing is very popular in that area. I recall sitting in history class one day and the teacher asked each student to explain their plans after high school. Most responded with college plans, some responded with plans to work in local businesses and one responded with, "I'm going to go on the professional bass fishing tour."

Intrigued by that response I later learned that his father had been a guide on the lake for 25 years and earned his living mainly by hunting, fishing and teaching others to do it too. A few months after graduation, that same student was in the local newspaper for winning an event on the Redman fishing series.

We can't all be professional fishermen and we certainly all can't count on earning enough money consistently from carp fishing competitions here in the U.S. to earn a realistic and consistent living from doing it. But I think there are options for supplementing our incomes and earning some part time money following our carp fishing passion.

It's a long shot to gain full-time or even part-time employment with a tackle or bait company; and even more remote that one of them would contact you at random and offer to sponsor your carp fishing efforts. I guess it can happen, but the odds of it happening are very long (maybe even 1 in a million).

Starting a bait company or tackle company catering to carp fishing is another possibility, but that requires a fairly high up front investment and ongoing working capital to sustain it for the long term.

That leaves eBay, Craigslist, garage sales, flea markets and trade shows buying and selling used fishing equipment. I have a very good friend and fishing partner who has taken this approach and does earn money doing it. Being successful requires some special knowledge about the more valuable antique tackle to make it lucrative. That is simply knowledge that most people don't possess and don't have time to learn.

That leaves us with creating our own website...

Besides this carp fishing blog I have others and some of them are monetized with advertising and affiliate links to Amazon. In my opinion, it's more realistic to earn some money from carp fishing efforts with a website. Here are some ideas for potential methods:

1. Affiliate programs like Click Bank
2. Adsense ads and other ads and banner programs
3. Building a list
4. Amazon.com products
5. Relevant fishing advertisers
6. Create your own fishing product
7. Teach fishing lessons
8. YouTube.com
9. Write a book about carp fishing
10. Do all of the above

I have been earning money from simple websites since 2001 using a mix of the items on the list above. If that sounds like something you would like to learn more about, let me know and I'll be happy to help if I can. Or you can read some of the free step-by-step training materials from this affiliate training website.

Potential Carp Fishing Headquarters

I love Class A RV's. I have been day dreaming about owning one for more than 15 years. New ones are way out of my price range and many of the used ones have seen better days. Lately, I have noticed a trend in the used diesel RV's - pricing on nice used units have decreased the past couple of years and are quite reasonable these days (in my opinion).

 

 

This very nicely maintained 1999 Allegro Bus 34 ft. diesel pusher with 300 hp Cummins would make a very nice traveling headquarters for an avid carp fisherman. The wood floors are perfect for a fisherman's RV because they are super easy to clean compared to carpet.

 

I am not ready to pull the trigger on this particular RV, but I would really love to purchase one like this one at some point in the future. As of 2/8/15 the Allegro Bus is still available for sale for $29,995. It is located in Greenville SC.

Here's another excellent motor coach listed on eBay. This one was relisted on 2/8/15. It will likely sell for somewhere in the mid-$40's range.

Wounded Warrior Project

Last year I pledged the proceeds from the Amazon.com affiliate links on this page to the Lupus Foundation. For 2015 I am pledging the Amazon.com proceeds from this page to the Wounded Warrior Project.

The Wounded Warrior Project has a tri-fold mission:

To raise awareness and enlist the public's aid for the needs of injured service members.

To help injured service members aid and assist each other.

To provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members.

I hope I can generate some funds for this great non-profit service provider. The work they do is helpful to so many soldiers in need.

To donate to the Wounded Warrior Project directly, click here

Pier Fishing Michigan Website

I found a tool today that helps anglers find pier and shoreline access sites. Here's a video regarding an access site in Monroe. I'll definitely be checking this out. It's been my experience that where there are catfish, there are often carp as well.

The site in the video is a "no fee site" with plenty of parking, restrooms, paved walkways with shore and pier fishing access.

 

I can't believe it's taken me two years to find this site. It definitely looks promising.

 

Anyone else use this site/tool to find shore access fishing spots in Michigan?

Carp Juice Flavors

My order of R & W Carp Juice arrived today. Here's a few pictures of the flavors I'll be using and testing in 2015:

19 bottles of assorted carp attractants

Pineapple Extreme

Peach Plus

Banana Nut Extreme

I have traditionally used pineapple as my primary "go to" flavor for a couple of years. This season I decided to try some others. If you don't try something different from time to time, you might not realize what you're missing out on...right?

Prepping Hair Rigs Today

I spent the day prepping some rigs and equipment. Here are a couple of rigs I tied:

Size 6 hooks

These are the typical hooks I have been using for carp fishing - size 6 from Resistance Tackle. The hook length on these is exactly 5 inches with the hair a little less than an inch.

Scouting Fishing Spots Near Monroe

I developed a small case of "cabin fever" this afternoon and decided to get out and scout some potential fishing spots.

I found this one in downtown Monroe:

Veteran's Park

I had high hopes for finding an access point to the River Raisin from the shoreline, but not being familiar with the area I did not achieve that goal today.

There is a campground directly on the river off of Front Street, but it was closed today so we couldn't get close enough to tell whether it would fit the bill or not.

There is also a pier near the Edison Plant but it is closed from November through March apparently.

Misconceptions About Carp



A beautiful common caught on Memorial Day in 2014

Most people in the U.S. think of carp as a nuisance or even an invasive species, but in other countries throughout Europe and many other areas of the world; carp are THE fish to go fishing for. Known widely to anglers in Europe, they were brought here purposefully in the mid-1800’s following a rise in European immigration to North America.

They might be a nuisance if you want to catch a mess of catfish for a summer fish fry, but I personally wouldn’t call them invasive.

• A starling in most of the U.S.? Yes.
• A Burmese Python in South Florida? Definitely.
• A bighead or Asian carp in Illinois? Absolutely. 

I am specifically referring to common carp or German carp aka Cyprinus carpio; not to be confused with bighead carp aka Fypophthalmichthys nobilis or Aristichthys nobilis; and silver carp (the jumping variety) aka Hypophthalmichthys molitrix. The bighead and silver carp were not purposefully introduced to the main American waterways, but are believed to have “escaped” from southern catfish farms following a flood in the 1970’s.

Short Session vs. Long Session

Big Carp News has an interesting article about the pro's and con's of long vs. short fishing sessions. Most of the time I can only allocate a certain number of hours to fish on any given weekend. I try to arrive early before sunrise and start fishing. Then I try to stay for as long as I can; usually around 4 p.m.

In Southeast Michigan I am not aware of more than one place that allows overnight camping. I know of another place that does allow overnight fishing, but it has the potential to be a little "sketchy" late at night. It's in a somewhat industrial area. Still, I might try it sometime if I can find a couple of other guys who want to fish an all day and overnight session at that venue.

I am sure longer sessions are better than short sessions and I have seen fishing be slow all day long and then pick up unexpectedly in late afternoon. Leaving even 30 minutes earlier can sometimes mean the difference from catching a couple of fish vs. catching 5 or 6 fish.

Southeast Michigan Carp Fishing League

I'm going to move this post up a little higher in the list of articles. It's a new year and this activity provides something to look forward to when the weather turns later this spring.

Inspired by the recent video posted by John Finney at Carp Quest on YouTube, I am currently brainstorming some ideas for a little friendly competition among friends next year.

 

I would like to drum up some interest in a Honor System Carp League in 2015.

  

It would work something like this:

• Sign up to participate in the league.
• No cost to sign up.
• The participants would establish a list of venues by popular vote.
• The frequency could be once a month or twice a month; again established by popular vote.
• League participants would fish specific venues on specific weekends.
• Fish could be caught on either Saturday or Sunday of the specific weekend.
• Fishing could occur anytime after midnight on Friday and before 8 p.m. on Sunday.
• We would make a post on the CAG Facebook page for Southeast Michigan Carp League Results on Sunday evening and then post our single big fish picture and weight in a comment under that post.
• The pictures would have to be posted by 8 p.m. on Sunday night of that weekend.
• No posts would be accepted with a timestamp after 8 p.m. Sunday.
• The closing post on that weeks main post would be the tally of the final results.
• I'd keep a running total of the results on this page as well, so it would be easier to read without scrolling through a bunch of Facebook posts.
• The league could run for a specific number of weeks: 4, 6 or 8 as a example and then crown a champion.
• There are a couple of ideas for scoring (revised today based on a suggestion in the comments below): 1) best 3 carp caught, 2) 10 pts. for biggest carp each weekend, 3) 1 pt. for every pound of carp netted, photographed and posted during the weekend time frame.

I'd be open to other ideas for improvements on the above guidelines and feedback on whether anyone might be interested in participating with me.

 

If having a league with running totals is too much of a commitment, we could just do one off weekends and have individual weekly winners. Or we could do some other variation of the above that I haven't thought of yet.

 

Here's a list of possible venues I am thinking of that have plenty of access as an example:

• Ford Lake
• Belleville Lake
• Mill Pond Park in Saline
• Huron River in Flat Rock
• Sterling State Park

Again, I am open to other locations. The qualifier is that they would need to have plenty of shoreline access so we'd be assured of fishing access no matter when we went to fish. This would also be an attempt to level the field and make it fair for all as much as possible so you can still catch fish if the "honey hole" area isn't available.

Another alternative is to make all the locations eligible every single weekend. That way if one location is not available, you could move to another one. That would also allow for fishing more than one venue during the weekend as long as only 3 fish are scored.

Here is a summary of my initial thoughts on how the score keeping would work:

Motivational Quote

Believe where others doubt. Work where others refuse. Save where others waste. Stay where others quit. And you will win where others lose.

Author Unknown

Fishing Poetry

I found this poem today while looking through a file cabinet in search of another file I misplaced. This was written in 1990 during my senior year of college for my Contemporary Poetry class.

Me and My Fishing Pole

 

Back to nature at Little Dixie,

It's just me and my fishing pole.

Nothing disturbs me here. There are

No cars to honk their horns. There are

No ringing phones or doorbells.

 

All that remains in my earshot is

the fait whispering of water rushing to the shore.

I hear the splash of geese skimming across the water.

I hear the nesting bluebirds feeding young ones in a tree.

I see the squirrels, and rabbits, and fish swimming near and far.

 

I long for days like these with nothing much to do.

No papers or homework, no bills or yelling roommates.

I wish I had more time, away from life's subtle pressures.

I'd spend time alone enjoying the simply soothing times

escaping hustle and bustle if it's only for a day.

 

Brian Pearcy

March 20, 1990

1st Draft

Poem #8

TUF Line XP Braid for Carp Fishing

TUF Line XP

 

I have been in the market for some braided fishing line and purchased some tonight on Amazon. I have been using Power Pro for about 18 months. After a brief flirtation with Big Game monofilament, and disappointing results, I am returning to braided line.

The picture shows the Tuf Line XP 1200 Yard Braided Fishing Line in yellow, but I prefer the olive green variety. I got 1,200 yards for $104 and free shipping. Locally I have been buying Power Pro for about $28 per 300 yards, so 1,200 yards would be $120; plus I have to drive to the store and pick it up.

Carp Juice

Now is the perfect time to accumulate supplies that have to be ordered and shipped vs. picked up locally.

Here is an order I am preparing for some R & W Carp Juice:

Any body got any other suggestions for flavors to try I might have missed?

Linda was just looking over my shoulder and suggested more Grape Ape. She used it last year a few times and caught well with it. Now it's her favorite flavor. I guess I need to update my order before I press "submit"

More Pictures from the Auto Show

If you are looking for some new transportation to your favorite carp fishing spot, some of the pictures in the video below may help you choose your new ride.

My personal favorite is the Raptor 4 x 4.

Downtown Detroit River and Auto Show

We were in downtown Detroit today for the auto show and checked out the river. It's still ice covered so it looks like any ideas for fishing the Detroit River anytime soon will need to be placed on hold unless it's near a warm water discharge.

Detroit River and a view of Windsor Ontario Canada from COBO in downtown

 I am posting a few auto show pictures below. They aren't pictures of new personal best common carp, mirrors, koi or wild goldfish but I hope you still like them.

BMW i8



BMW i8 rear deck

BMW i8 front view

BMW i8 right front

BMW 650i convertible side profile

BMW 650i convertible right front

BMW 650i convertible rear quarter

BMW 650i convertible left front

Dodge Viper

Jeep Renegade

Ford GT

Ford Mustang profile

Ford Mustang front grille

Buick Avenir right front profile



Buick Avenir right rear profile

It was a nice day at the auto show, but I can't wait to get back to carp fishing this spring. It's time for those temperatures to start warming up.

Michigan Carp Fishing Pictures

It's warmer today, but with snow on the ground and ice over the lakes I can't fish. So I did the next best thing and looked at fishing pictures. Here's a compilation of some from 2014.

 

 

 

I have a Sony video camera that I plan to put into use for 2015. Hopefully we can capture some good footage of some runs, fights and landings. Hopefully we'll get video of a new personal best along the way.

Carp Fishing Tactics Observations

When I first started fishing for carp in early summer 2013 I used 3 pieces of corn on a hair rig and a mixture of oatmeal, cream corn and pineapple flavoring for my pack bait molded around an inline lead. I tended to recast with another round of pack bait about every 45 minutes. My catch rate was sporadic and inconsistent.

In 2014 I switched to panko bread crumbs instead of oatmeal, but stuck with the cream corn and pineapple flavoring. In the beginning of the year I experimented with waiting for longer periods of time between recasting with new pack bait. I extended the time to 90 minutes and even 120 minutes in some cases. Sometimes I would catch carp within 10 or 15 minutes of casting and other times it would be closer to 90 minutes before hooking up.



22 pounder caught in October

Toward the end of the 2014 I started noticing the hook ups were coming sooner and sooner. In fact most of the time, if I caught carp it was within the first 20 to 25 minutes of the cast. So I gravitated back to recasting every 60 minutes or so.

I actually think the time between recasts has a direct impact for me on the catch rate. It seems that recasting time after time to the same spots also helps draw in more fish to the area as the bait builds up in the water. Also, it seems like the time between recasts makes some difference in catch rate.

You might want to pay more attention to whether or not this impacts your carp fishing and make adjustments if you think it will help. I know I will.

Maybe this will work for you; maybe it won't, but it may be worth experimenting.

2015 Carp Fishing Goals

Last year I made out a list of 2014 goals for my carp fishing exploits. I've been thinking through my 2015 goals today and have included the list below. Most people probably don't care about them like I do, but posting them here will keep me accountable for doing my best to achieve them.

• I would like to help two or three new folks learn how to carp fish. I'd like to continue paying it forward. 
• I hope to catch 175 or more carp in 2015. (I need to average 5 fish per session to do it, which is a significant increase in last year's catch rate. Otherwise I need to fish a few more times.)
• I hope to catch multiple fish weighing more than 30 pounds, which would give me a new personal best.
• I'd like to catch a small mouth buffalo.
• I'd like to catch a koi or goldfish.
• I'd like to catch a fish from the Raisin River in Dundee and spend a few sessions fishing the river in Monroe.
• I'd like to catch multiple carp from Belleville Lake. I live with 2 miles of the lake, but can't seem to catch a carp from there to save my life. :-)
• I would like to fish at least 4 times per month starting in March and ending in November. That's 36 chances at a 30+ pound fish.
• I hope to continue developing the blog. I wrote 153 posts so far. I'd like to add another 150 posts this season with lots and lots of pictures with a few videos sprinkled in to make things a little more interesting and to add variety.
• I really hope people enjoy reading what I write, looking at the pictures I post and just hanging out reading about carp fishing. I do it to share what I've learned because someone was kind enough to share it with me about 18 months ago and I now love carp fishing. I am hopelessly addicted in fact!

What goals do you have for 2015? I'd love to read a few of them. Feel free to post them in the comments below.

Prepping for the Upcoming Year of Carp Fishing

A nice 17 pounder from the fall

I like this time of year. It's still much too cold to fish here locally with temperatures at 2 degrees this morning. But this is the perfect time of the year to begin preparing for what's to come. I love the anticipation and expectations for bigger and better fish when spring finally arrives.

I use this time to scout new spots via Google Maps/Earth and talk to friends about potential new fishing spots. I found a spot on the River Raisin today using that technique.

I also use this time to tie up a bunch of hair rigs. With 14 weeks until warm weather here, if I tie 5 or 6 hair rigs each weekend, I'll have more than 70 pre-tied rigs ready to go. That will keep me fishing for quite a while once the weather breaks. Preparing hair rigs bankside is a highly inefficient use of valuable and what's becoming scare fishing time for me. I prefer to keep 15 to 20 in my Korda rig box safe ready-to-go.

I plan to hit it hard in the spring because starting in mid-summer my time will need to be focused more on my day job responsibilities for several weeks (and possibly months). My time will be limited to weekends and holidays exclusively for a while, but hopefully things will free up toward fall when the bigger fish return.

For anyone trying to build up their supplies for the season, it's a great time to take advantage of a fantastic sale going on at ResistanceTackle.com. I ordered leads, hooks and baiting needles there myself last weekend. When the season gets a little closer I'll pick up some flavored maize, dips and a few dumbbell pop up boilies to round out my carp fishing supplies.

Crosswinds Marsh Preserve

My primary spring venue for carp fishing is going to be Crosswinds Marsh near New Boston. I discovered this hidden gem in July 2014, but by that time the lily pads had taken over much of the area. I am hopeful that I can catch a few carp here in March and April before the lily pads take hold when the weather warms up.

Fishing Tip #5 for Carp - Bolt Rig

Yours truly baiting the hair rig.
You can see the 2 oz. lead in the picture.

I have written a few articles with specific tips about things I have learned that helped me catch more carp. It's only fair that I share what I've learned because many have helped me too.

In the past I have tried to rank the tips in order of importance, but thinking about it more today I realized that there is no one particular tip that helped me more than others. It was a combination of all the above!

I prefer flavored maize, hair rigs, inline leads and braided fishing line. I rig it all up using a "bolt" set-up.

Here is a photo series from Flickr.com that helps explain it in pictures: Click here The photos were put together by user TimJC513. I found them via an Ohio fishing forum.

I have used 2 oz. and 3 oz. inline leads from Resistance Tackle with success. I like to keep it lighter when possible, so I use 2 oz. leads 90 percent of the time.





I typically store the hook like in the picture below for casting. I have tried it a few different ways including 1) leaving it loose (hanging below the method ball) and 2) wrapping it inside the method ball (as in the Flickr pictures I linked above).



This picture was taken just prior to landing a 21 pound common carp
 near Lake Erie this fall.

The disadvantage to #1 is that it can tangle during the cast. The disadvantage to #2 is that sometimes the method ball will break apart during the cast leaving the hair rig laying on the bottom of the lake without the aid of the "method" to attract the carp.

If using a 1 oz. or 2 oz. lead for the bolt rig, be sure to keep the slack out of the line. It will help you catch more fish. With a 3 oz. or heavier lead, and appropriate test curve rod, you should be able to cast farther and when the fish "bolts" it will still get hooked if everything works as hoped. Even so, I still prefer the 2 oz. leads when possible because it's easier on your tackle, knots, rods, line, etc.

CAG Midwestern Regional - Saginaw River - Near Bay City

I just signed up for the CAG Midwestern Regional today. I enjoyed this team event last year. I hope the weather is a little better this time around.

We stayed in Bay City last year at the Doubletree and we plan to stay there again. It's a nice hotel within walking distance to downtown Bay City (as long as it's warm). Last year we had raging wind gusts of 30 - 35 mph for much of the weekend, but we still caught carp. For anyone who is planning to go in 2015 I'd encourage you to bring plenty of warm clothes along. You may not need them, but you'll be glad to have them if you do.

Here are a few pictures from last year's event:

Baiting up

My spot on day 1

This was the first fish caught in the tournament by the Michigan Team in 2014.
It only weighed 13 pounds, but at least I was on the board for a short time.

Our spot for day 2 of the event

I caught 4 fish on day 2, but for some off reason I didn't take a picture of the largest carp I caught all weekend. It only weighed a little over 15 pounds. By that time it took a 17 pounder to make it onto the team board.

My 4 fish on the second day, including the pike in the picture above, were caught in the last 90 minutes of fishing. It was quiet all day long and then bam, bam, bam, bam. It was an onslaught of small carp.

This is my favorite picture of the weekend taken on Linda's cell phone and featured in CAG's online magazine. Linda wasn't given credit for taking the photo in the magazine, but I'll give her credit here again.

The calm morning turned into a very, very windy afternoon on day 2.

2015 Wooden Shoe Carp Classic - Holland Michigan

It looks like I'm going to miss the event this year because I didn't see the sign-up for it until last weekend and it's full up at this point. I fished it last year and had an enjoyable weekend. My luck on the first day was terrible, but the second day was pretty good.

For anyone who will be going to fish the event, make sure you take a very sturdy net with a long handle. A 10' to 12' handle would be best. We were able to make our 6' handle work but it's borderline depending on the water level.

Here are some pictures from 2014:

My largest fish was in the 16 pound range if I remember correctly. I caught several nice catfish on day 2.

For anyone who missed the "official" Wooden Shoe Carp Classic event sign-up, but would like to take a nice drive to Holland and do some carp fishing anyway on another date; I plan to fish that venue this spring.

One of My Favorite Sessions from Later Summer 2014

I miss summer carp fishing!

My Favorite Fishing Spot for Carp Fishing

I can't wait for days like this one to return next spring.

Koi Pictures

If I can't fish for carp because it's too cold, I guess I can peruse pictures I took when the weather was a little warmer.


Koi at Belle Isle
 



Koi Close Up