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Another day, another Carp

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I was Carp fishing again yesterday, morning through the afternoon. I enjoy fishing even when the fish are not biting. Today started a little slow. I was fishing around some dead bushes in about four feet of water. I hooked one Carp, but of course it was on my lighter rod with ten pound test. The Carp made it into the brush and that was all she wrote. I got a flash of the Carp spinning around a branch, and then the line broke, of course.

A few minutes later a family showed up and set up next to me. Normally I would not mind, but there was only about twenty feet of what I thought fishable water in front of me, and they were staking claim to half of it. The lake is huge with miles of shoreline, and they have to park right where I am at. Oh well, fishing was slow there anyway.

I move down to another vacant spot, but it looked more like a backwater slough than part of the lake. I left that for another spot I have fished twice before. I finished my day with a less than great record. I hooked six, landed two and lost four. All Carp except maybe one of the two that I lost before I saw what they were. My fishing day came to an end when a storm that was on the other side of the lake decided to change location.

I am curious about a fish I have not landed. I hooked and lost this same type of fish the other day too. Since this is the second time, I am now curious as to what it could be. If you have any ideas, leave a comment or send me an email, I sure would appreciate it.

The bite is not a tap, tap, tap, pull, but rather an instant deliberate pull away from the shore. Once I set the hook, it goes on a short run, maybe five to ten feet, and then turn and heads back to shore, not at high speed but fast enough the rod is not doing a lot of work. Then it seems to turn and head away again, quickly cutting back towards me, and that is the end of that.  Any guesses? The lake has Bass, Walleye, Pike, Catfish (Channel and Flathead), and who knows what else has been introduced by fisherman. I can’t imagine Walleye sharing backwater feeding areas with Carp, but what do I know….

I have tried a couple of homemade Carp bait recipes, but nothing seems to do better than canned corn. Both of the homemade recipes tasted pretty good to me. They were mainly flour, corn flour, strawberry, pineapple, and the second one had red chili in it. I don’t know if it is me, or the fact that corn is such a good bait. The score for corn out fishing the homemade recipes is over 11:1. Maybe 12:0, as one fish may have been interested in the corn that was also on the hook.

Bread has not done much either. Of the twenty or so Carp caught in the last few weeks, bread has taken only two Carp. I am using cheap white bread, but it seems a little dry, maybe it is the wrong brand for Carp fishing. Perhaps I need another brand of bread rather than the store brand which is the cheapest bread?

I had my license checked today which I thought was amusing because I was Carp Fishing. I guess as far as the State is concerned, a line in the water is revenue, and they don’t care if I am fishing for something not considered a game fish in New Mexico. The Warden told me White Bass were hitting, but at six to eight inches long, they don’t have a lot of appeal for me.

I have two more homemade recipes I am going to try. I would like to say I created something the Carp here will eat at least as well as corn. I have some fresh blueberry’s in the fridge. I will have to see what appeals to me in the morning.

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Carp fishing for the rest of us!

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I really enjoy Carp fishing! Although it is fun to catch real game fish and take them home and eat them for dinner, I enjoy catching many bigger fish much more than one or two smaller game fish. Living in New Mexico, many of our lakes have been contaminated by gold mining of the past, and in some areas some fish contain excessively high levels of mercury. The high mercury content makes bigger fish a risk to eat from some lakes in the state. For these reasons Carp are perfect to fish for!

I always laugh when someone is fishing with me in a non trout lake. When they learn I want to fish for Carp, they look with a disdain usually saved for the most awful of odors. You want to fish for Carp, why? That is the usual question. Because it is the most fun, and most action you can get at almost any lake is the usual reply.

A good example is when I was fishing at Sumner Lake recently. There were two of us fishing for Carp, an two others who wanted to catch Channel Catfish. The fishing started out lopsided, it was Catfish one, Carp zero. I was starting to wonder if maybe I should put on something a catfish would find appealing.

Then I got the familiar tap, tap, tap, of the rod tip. Of course, I knew what was coming next. After a few minutes of a tough fight I was unhooking about an eight pound Carp. The two people fishing for Catfish tried not to look to excited, it was only a Carp after all.

A few minutes later my partner was reeling in a large sucker that put up quite a struggle before slowing slowing down enough to be netted. It was now Carp two, Catfish one. The Cat Fisherman were holding firm, but it was hard for them to hide their excitement. Catching hard fighting fish is a lot more fun than watching your fishing rod do nothing while you cook in the sun.

A few hours go by, and it is now Carp five and Catfish one. The Cat Fisherman can’t take it any more and ask, how do you fish for Carp? They take off their stink bait and put on some whole kernel corn, cast out, and wait for what they hope will be some throbbing rod, reel drag screaming action.

One of the two hooks into a hard fighting fish and lands a very big Sucker. My partner reels in another nice Carp. The two Cat Fisherman can no longer control themselves, they are barely containing themselves waiting for their turn to hook into a big Carp that will make their heart beat and their blood race.

One of the greatest things about Carp fishing is what you do not need to fish for Carp. All you need is a rod and reel, sinkers, hooks, and some bait. I am no Carping expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I have more than my share of fun catching Suckers and Carp. Put a light sinker on your line, tie on a hook, check your knots, and you are all set. It gets fancier of course, but this is all you need to have serious fishing fun.

For bait all you need is some cheap white bread, or canned whole kernel corn. Thread two to four pieces of corn on a small hook, size six to ten. I like Salmon egg hooks the best. If you are using bread pull off the crust and feed it to the ducks if there are any around. Take the white part of the bread and make a marble sized ball tight around the hook.

Cast it out, distance does not really matter, but try not to fish in weedy areas as Carp are mostly bottom feeding fish so you want your bait where the fish are, not floating above them on weeds. Ensure the drag on your reel is set right or you will end up breaking your line and losing a lot of fish. Remember the fish is on the end of your line and likely not going anywhere, but losing a hooked fish is a chance you take.

One final word of advice, imo, Carp make more rods and reels disappear into rivers and lakes than any other fish. I suggest holding on to yours, or tying a light cord on to your rod, and tying it off to something that can not be pulled in. Have fun!

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Fishing or fishing, it was a great week!

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I spent a week with two of the Grandkids this week. I am on vacation, so I had nothing but time to spend with them. It was a great week, lots of fun! The oldest just discovered fishing this year and is taking it very seriously. The younger one also went with us fishing, and when bored found ways to keep entertained. It worked out very well for all three of us.

On to the fishing part…if you have not interest in fishing this post is not for you. If you enjoy fishing read on. The oldest had a fishing outfit, but it was geared more towards big bass which is not a fish he is likely to be fishing for in the local fish ponds where he lives. They are stocked with trout in the winter and catfish over the summer.

So what was there to do but find him a nice light weight trout spinning rod and reel. Almost fifty dollars later, he had a spinning outfit I would not mind owning myself. There is no close by trout fishing for him here, so he had to wait until he went back home to really try it out. It will be a while before he appreciates what he now owns though, as he doesn’t have much to compare his new outfit with.

Because there are no trout close by here, and fishing is generally spotty at best anywhere I could reasonably take kids to, I decided I would fall back on an old standby fish. I love to fish, it doesn’t matter what the species as long as it is catchable. I wanted both of them to catch the biggest fish of their summer, so I took them fishing for Carp.

If you have never fished for Carp, think of smart Bass with extra low gears. They are not dazzling top water fighting fish, but they are true powerhouses and fight until they are exhausted. You can catch them on almost anything, though they are mostly vegetarian. Canned corn is what I used this week as it is cheap, easy to bait with, and works well with kids.

Everything was set the first day out, except the fish. Almost four hours of fishing and it was Carp one (won?), and us zero. The second day of fishing was almost a repeat of day one except there were a few bites that did not get hooked or landed.

Day three looked like it was going to be a no fish week when the oldest had a bite. I coached him along and he landed about an eight pound Carp! He was one happy fisherman! I thought I was going to have to find some rope and tie him to something to keep him from floating away he was so bubbly and excited!

I went out for day four today, by myself unfortunately, as the kids have gone back home. I netted four Carp, and hooked six total. My biggest was about fifteen pounds. Once I hooked it and realized it was a HUGE Carp, I checked the time. Almost seven minutes later I had one big Carp halfway in my net. It was just too big to fit into the net I use! I imagine I brought in between thirty and forty pounds of fish today and it was a blast!

There were two men who showed up right after I started fishing today. They were fishing brush and other pockets for Bass. They had each been fishing a few hours, and were still waiting to catch one Bass big enough to keep. One of the men arrived at the spot I had moved to later in the day, after five hours of fishing he was still looking for an elusive Bass dinner. I guess it is fun to fish all day for Bass, but Carp are a whole lot more fun and not as hard to find.

They took a tole on my rods though. Not a big deal as they were inexpensive rods to start with. Two rods have bit the dust this week. One Carp pulled the reel out of the reel seat, and a second Carp snapped a guide eye. It had been a while since I fished for anything but trout, and I forgot what pure horsepower does to old fishing gear.

So it was a great week, and a great time for the three of us fishing. If you have never fished for Carp, you might want to give it a try. They are smart, and fight like crazy, and are present in almost every body of water around where you live. A cheap but sturdy rod and reel, a can of whole kernel corn, hooks and sinkers, and you are all set. Plus a license if you need on where you live. You can probably fish all summer for less than dinner and a movie on a friday night.

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