Category Archives: fishing

Fishing For Fun, Scenery, or Service

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Most people who do not fish, think fishing is all about catching fish and having fun. For some people who fish that is true catching fish is the only reason they are fishing, but it is not true for all fisherman. Many fisherman I talk with either when I am fishing or making good conversation fish for reasons other than catching fish.

Fishing is like any other sport or pastime, somedays everything falls into place, and you catch a lot of fish. On other days, perhaps most days, not everything falls into place and not many fish are caught. When these days occur, and they do same as baseball or other statistical sports most days are not dream days for catching fish. I imagine if fishermen caught all the fish they wanted to, they would become bored with fishing.

white-bass

Going to a new lake is always a new challenge, everything looks the same, there is water and there is shoreline. Where is the best fishing spot for this day? Everyone has their own best choice, and some people make better guesses than others. The best choices have the opportunity to catch the most fish.

water-trainI enjoy what I observe most of the time. Fishing at a lake with interesting scenery or wildlife is satisfying. Some times I see things most people will never get to see, like the water train on the right left.

horse-in-pond-2Other times I enjoy am enjoying the view and am pleasantly surprised by something I did not expect would happen, such as these people on horseback, out enjoying a spring afternoon. They were a ways from where I was sitting pretending to be seriously fishing, and there appearance was a pleasant distraction.

clouds-03Of course then there is the scenery all by itself. In June when the monsoon season hits, starting about one in the afternoon the clouds start rolling in. That is a not so subtle signal that whatever you are doing, you may want to finish up pretty quickly. Usually by three o’clock, the storm breaks loose.

Every once in a while fishing actually happens, and life is really good. Those few hours are busy and little of my time is spent watching what is going on around me. Before you start thinking the was all fun and no work filling coolers with Carp, I want to define the purpose of fishing on its most basic level.

carp-in-coolersWhile someone may think I had a blast catching all these fish; okay I did, it was fun! There also was a second more serious reason to my fishing. The reason the Carp are in two coolers is because of where they are going. One cooler of fish went to the south end of town to be used to feed, a few Dogs, Ducks, a Goose, and a few Cats. The second cooler of fish went to the far north end of town to a Dog rescue center to become, ‘Doggy Stew’.

So when you see someone out being lazy snoozing by the waters edge with fishing pole close by, remember they may there on serious business and not just to relax and enjoy the day away from it all! Yeah right, I almost believe that sentence, and I wrote it.

If you find yourself wondering how to do something for others, look at what you love to do. For myself, I am happy to have found service in something I love to do. Perhaps there is something in what you love to do that serves others too?

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Hook and Bead Carp Fishing Setup

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Here is what I use for my hook and line setup, and hook baiting when Carp fishing.

I make a hook rig like the one below:
carp-hooks

The hooks I use are number 4 Salmon Egg hooks although any similar size hook will work just fine. I have used every size hook from a number 10 hook to a 2/0 walleye hook. The biggest concern is using a hook appropriate to the size of the Carp you will are likely to be catching.

The red things are part of a stone bead necklace I picked up at one of the bead stores for about four dollars. I have over 200 beads now. If I were to buy glass beads they would be a lot more expensive and I doubt the result would be any different. I doubt Carp care what type of bead I am using.

The line to tie the bead to the hook is twenty pound test (spider wire type line). It goes by different names, but is generally all the same type of line I am guessing. I bought mine at a sporting goods store because I did not think I could use a whole spool full. Buying a packaged spool line may have been cheaper, so you may want to check prices.

On a side note, I have found that a pair of pliers used to cut wire works better than the nail clippers I was using. The line is very tough and nail clippers are not.

For tying the line to the beads, I use a modified surgeons knot which is a modified overhand knot like you use when you tie your shoe. I tie it twice like tying a square knot instead of once as the web page shows because the need is different. It is easy to tie, and seems to work okay.

I use simple single half hitch knots to attach the line to the hook. The green stuff on the knot at the hook is cheap nail polish to make sure the knots do not come untied. I picked green because it was the cheapest color.

I tried plastic pieces from a craft store instead of stone beads, but the Carp crushed the plastic while chewing the bread. Small buttons seemed to work okay, but I soon ran out and they were not as cheap as the stone bead necklace.

Carp do not have teeth, but they have chewing plates in the back of their mouths. They use these plates to chew small shells, seeds, etc. Carp can not bite, but when it comes to small shells and seeds, they are no slouches.

The distance or length of the line from the bead to the hook is important. If it is too short you may hook the Carp to far inside their mouth. Too long and you may miss hooking them at all. The length I have these tied off at is a good length for the size Carp I catch.

I generally go through four or five hooks each Carp fishing trip myself. Occasionally I give a couple away to someone fishing for other fish who wants to have some fun and actually catch a fish instead of standing at the bank with a fishing rod in their hand.

I also use on my line:

1/4 to 1/2 ounce sliding sinker

One more bead by itself

One small barrel swivel

I cut off about sixteen inches of line from the reel

I place a sliding sinker and one bead on the line attached to my Carping rod

I tie on a barrel swivel which will separate the sinker form the hook

Tie the 16″ piece of line on the swivel

Tie the hook rig on the line

I always check my knots. Any number of big Carp and not so big Carp have never been landed because knots were not tied properly.

nibletsNext comes the bait. I use whole kernel corn on the hook itself. Del Monte Whole kernel corn as it is the sweetest (7 grams sugar per 1/2 ounce). Usually three to four nib-lets on the hook itself.

Then I take a pinch of white bread, or dough and form it into about a dime size ball around the red bead. The bead is used to help hold the bread or dough ball in place.

I cast gently because too much force and the only thing going to the bottom with my line is an empty hook and bead.

Carp fishing close to the bank, or in shallower water generally results in smaller Carp. Although you will catch more Carp and catch them faster.

Casting out as far as you can cast results in bigger Carp, although fewer of them. Bigger Carp are more cautious.

One warning, do not leave your rod unattended. Carp are very light biters. More rods have disappeared into the lake from Carp than any other fish. When Carp ‘bite’ they have a barely noticeable tap tap tap on your line.

Then they either swim off with your bait in their mouth, or they feel the hook and get scared and race away. Either way if you are not close to your fishing rod it is gone, so stay close to your rod!

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Not quite fishing, not quite melancholy

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I sure have a burning urge to go fishing! It is worse right now because our winter is unusually warm this year. Match that with three hundred days of sunshine a year, and it is hard to remember that summer fishing is not all that great to start with, but winter fishing is worse.

Like other outdoor people who are starting to have had enough of winter and want spring to get here quickly, I too wander the sporting goods stores and sporting goods sections of stores. Unfortunately even that small fishing fix is short lived. My fishing rods and reels are in good shape, and there is not much in the way of new tackle.

Reading the online want ads of the sporting goods section is not helping. There are used rods, reels, boats, and motors for sale, probably by desperate sellers, but I don’t need any more equipment.

I read the fishing web sites, wishing spring would arrive a few days faster. I also think about where I would enjoy fishing this year. Those pictures of really big fish don’t do a lot to satiate the need to have a fishing rod in my hands with a fish at the end of the line.

I used to think of being able to go to the west coast and do some ocean fishing. I was able to go a few times. Fishing for Rock Cod, and Ling Cod in three hundred feet of water was hard work. The five pound sinker needed to get and keep the squid we were using as bait on the bottom did not make it any easier. It was a lot like work actually, as the Rock Cod never survived the trip up from the bottom. I only caught one Ling Cod.

I was able to go once in the summer on a half day trip and we fished for Sand Bass – I think they were called. They were a blast to catch and I remember limiting out on them. I also caught a number of Barracuda. They are about the same as Northern Pike, and about as mean as Musky in fresh water fishing.

I enjoy the way ocean fish fight! One little three or four pound Sand Bass gave the fight of a much larger freshwater fish. The fish were much more aggressive when taking the bait too. There was no little tap, wait ten seconds, tap, tap. It was always smash, grab, and run.

Of course losing fish big Barracuda was a little frustrating. I think I have a nice fish hooked. It suddenly feels like it is really big because it just became really serious about putting up a fight. Then the line goes limp, and I would reel up a fish head with no body attached.

Eating all that fish afterwards is the perfect end to a great day of fishing. The Barbecue would be going with thirty or forty pounds of fish on the grates. Family and friends would be over drinking a cold beer or two, laughing, and thinking about the meal that is only minutes away.

I never thought almost fifty pounds of fish would be eaten by twenty-some people, but all the fish would go somewhere. I was always sure I didn’t have more than a slab or two myself. I couldn’t have eaten more than a pound or so…but it would all be gone.

Freshwater fishing is a lot different. On most days it is hoping that I can catch enough fish to make one meal. I miss Crappie fishing in Minnesota. There was nothing better than everyone getting a limit of spring Crappie, big enough to fillet, and having fried Crappie and a cold beer for dinner. With enough Crappie left over for a sandwich or two later in the evening, or the next morning of course, probably with coffee, because all the beer would be gone.

I seem to have all my fishing thoughts written out. I can see my bag of fishing tackle, and my rod a few feet away. Perhaps it does not help having my fishing equipment where I see it every day. I am better off than a friend though, who took some wild life biology classes some years ago.

He loves to bow hunt deer. He found out out from his studies that deer in the southwest have about a thirty year peak number cycle. He became sad when he mentioned that the last peak cycle was ten years ago. He said with his eyes almost starting to water and that almost undetectable crack in his voice, that he won’t be around to hunt the next peak of the cycle.

Sometimes mortality is hard. My ocean fishing partner is no longer around, so memories of ocean fishing may be all I will ever have. On the bright side someone felt sorry for me and gave me some elk meat. It was very, very good, there was no beer though…. Only a few more weeks now and I can be at the lake thinking about the monster fish I will likely never catch. And that is okay.

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Carp Cooking

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Moving beyond my post Culinary Carping, the more adventurous Carp fisherman, sooner or later finds themselves in the kitchen cooking up Carp bait of some form or another. I started cooking before I caught my first Carp this year. I think it is a man thing, There is a lot more satisfaction catching Carp on bait I made than on a few kernels of corn from a can.

I wish I had some secret recipe that knock Carp dead, but I do not. I search the net for recipes, and have used basic recipes. So far my results are mixed, but it is still fun catching Carp using a bait I made. Instead of sharing some secret recipe that I do not have, I thought I would provide a few thoughts from cooking in general that you may not be aware of. Thickeners are a good place to start for those that want to try or use dip baits or gunk baits.

Thickeners besides thickening, do two basic things. They either make your sauce shiny or they make it dull. Generally if you want your dip or gunk to be shiny corn starch is the thickener of choice. If you want your gunk to be dull, flour is a better choice.

There is an old not much used any longer thickener out there, but I have not used it in so long I do not remember if it makes a sauce shiny or dull. It is called Arrowroot. It is also the main ingredient in baby teething crackers. If you do not want a slight flour, or corn flavor in your dip or gunk, arrowroot may be worth a try.

When it comes time to thicken your sauce, there is an easy way to get started. Use cold water, and better yet use water for your clothes iron. Failing that use bottled water, rain water, or lake water. There is some talk on the net about the chlorine and fluoride in tap water, but I am not an expert, and you may know if it makes a difference or not. Put your water in the refrigerator long enough to get it cold before you need it. It works better the colder the water is.

Use a cereal bowl, or other small bowl and add the dry thickener of your choice to a dry bowl. Add a few drops to a teaspoon full of water and mix with your just cleaned (odorless) fingers. If you get clumps, press them against the side of the bowl and they will disappear. If you end up with clumps you can’t get rid of a tea cup sized strainer does the trick. The mix should not be be watery, and it can not sit too long, especially if you use corn starch. Corn starch does not really mix well with water so larger particles will settle to the bottom of the bowl.

Once you have it well mixed, and the sauce is simmering, add it little by little to the simmering sauce. Stir as you add, and do not add too much at one time or it will not thicken correctly. Also take care to bring your sauce to a simmer each time. The corn starch or flour will become clear in your sauce when it reaches a proper temperature. If you are desperate to thicken your gunk, but have no thickener, oatmeal, or crushed soda crackers, and instant potatoes work in a pinch. Of course there thickening power is not as good as the common thickeners. Instant potatoes only stay thick for a few minutes. Sometimes that could be just what you want.

One time saver I found for Carp dip or gunk bait is starting with a jar of something from the store. Already made pineapple, or strawberry preserves are a good starting point. You might also check out ice cream toppings. Check ingredients so you know what they are made out of. Ensure you are paying real ingredients and not some other flavorings made to taste like the real thing. Adding kool-aid to the mix, or baking flavors is also a possibility. One good thing about carefully made Carp bait dip or gunk, if it does not work for Carp, it can be a good ice cream topping…two scoops or three?

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Carp fishing articles now at The Carp Times

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I wanted to make a short post about my Carp fishing posts. I enjoy any fishing, and Carp fishing is especially fun. The Carp fishing site The Carp Times came across my blog and liked what I had. To make a short story shorter, my future Carp fishing articles can be found at The Carp Times.

Not exactly restricted to Carp fishing, there is an article in the works about thickening sauce with some Carp centric flavoring. If sauce or gravy making is an area you always wanted to know about, but were scared to ask, it will be published on the next site update of The Carp Times.

It is a great site, and still on the ground floor with a lot of good ideas to become a Carp fishing site with something for everyone. Even if you have never been Carp fishing, fishing at all, or choose not to Carp fish, it is worth checking The Carp Times to see what is going on in the fishing world. There is also a Q & A, if you have any Carp fishing questions you may have your question answered there.

In finishing, for my own and other great Carp fishing related articles, see you over at The Carp Times.

August 5, 2008 Edit:

After chatting the admin at The Carp TImes and sharing thoughts about The Carp Times, I have decided to publish Carp fishing articles here and The Carp TImes will link to them. The time involved in managing content on fast changing site such as The Carp Times is a lot more time and effort than anticipated. Hopefully this will reduce some of the load of the administration of the site. Thanks.

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There’s no fishing like Carp fishing!

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Since I am on extended vacation of sorts, I have mostly been doing whatever I want whenever I want – within reason. This week it has been even more Carp fishing. If you fish and can not understand why anyone would want to fish for and catch Carp, maybe this will help?

I love to catch Northern Pike. They are not much fun to eat because they have so many bones, but they are great fighters and a challenge to catch. Bass are the same way. However any Bass over a few pounds starts dropping swiftly on the taste scale. I love Trout, but they suffer a few problems of their own. Firstly, there are no wild Trout left that the average person has any real access to. The second problem with Trout is taste. Once a Trout goes over about twelve inches the taste starts to go south pretty quickly. Not to mention that trout are fed pellets in hatcheries until the day before when it was released into the pond or stream it was caught in.

For freshwater game fish that leaves Crappie which are outstanding, both catching and eating, but not available to everyone. Other panfish taste really good, or not so great depending on where they are caught.

Carp on the other hand are rarely eaten unless one is really hungry, or when I lived in Minnesota the springtime before they once again became mushy and their taste goes off. Most people, myself included fish for the sport rather than the eating, so does it really matter what fish is being caught as long as it is fun to catch?

I don’t think the type of fish caught really matters that much. I watched a lot of Bass fisherman fish hard all day long this week and land maybe one or two small Bass that really were not worth keeping. I watched a group of three people tonight Cat-fishing. Between the three of them they had two fish, perhaps eight pounds of Catfish. Not bad, but they had been fishing almost four hours, or twelve man hours of fishing time.

I on the other hand was able to measure my fish today by tens of pounds. I landed seven Carp, the largest of which was around ten pounds. The other six Carp were around or over five pounds each. Not bad for an afternoon of fishing. Leaving out the other seventeen people I counted fishing and catching nothing, who do you think had most fun today, the group of three or myself?

I think fishing for Carp wins hands down! Carp fishing takes a skill level equal to any one showing up at a lake with a fishing rod and reel can master. Carp fishing is cheap when you compare the cost of Carp fishing with the cost of catching other fish. Today I spent $0.86 for a can of whole kernel corn. I damaged or lost four hooks, for $0.60 (ten hooks for $1.46). I almost forgot the sinkers. One sinker, at about $0.17 (when I bought it years ago).

A Bass fisherman fishing from shore, is using some type of artificial lure, at $5.00 or more per lure. The Bass Fisherman needs many different types and colors because of the nature of Bass fishing. To be a productive Bass fisherman means that someone fishing from shore is casting into underwater cover, ie, stumps, brush, and weeds, or a combination of those. I have lost many dollars worth of lures on a day of Bass fishing and had nothing to show for my losses.

So for cheap fishing entertainment, with the biggest bang for each dollar spent, you can’t go wrong with Carp fishing. It is cheaper than Bass fishing and much more fun than catching hatchery trout the state planted in the pond or stream two days earlier.

Happy fishing!

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