A little float-fishing experiment…

My only chance for a little bank time this week came this afternoon after church.  A beautiful, sunny day in the 50s.  As soon as I got home, I quickly changed into fleece layers, put together a tub of groundbait consisting of graham cracker crumbs, bread crumbs, sugar, chili powder, and most of a can of sweet corn (saved a little to use for hook baits), and collected my fishing gear on the back patio.  Slipped into my knee boots, then slipped my heavy fishing coat over my fleece jacket—just in case it got colder than expected—and I was out the back gate in a flash.

Since during last week’s outing I had all my bites on my float rod (ultralight spinning outfit), my other two carp rods had already been re-rigged with puddle chucker (medium clear plastic) floats rigged waggler style (attached bottom only).  My plan was to fish all three rods on the float, using groundbait balls to attract fish into the vicinity of my three rigs.  I fished an Evolution Carp Tackle yellow plastic corn stack on my left rod, a CC Moore Live System boilie (a dough bait boiled so that it becomes firmer) tipped with a kernel of white plastic corn on my right rod, and sweet corn on my middle rod.  To get things started, I molded nine golf-ball-sized balls of ground bait, then tossed three to each of my three floats as close as I could manage by hand tossing.  I also catapulted one pouch of prepped (soaked and boiled until tender) birdseed/cut corn/whole corn mix around each float.  I also threw out a half-dozen boilies near my right (boilie) rod to give the carp an opportunity to have some free boilies and acclimate to this new food.  After getting all three rods positioned over spots I have been baiting pretty regularly for the past several weeks, I checked my watch—it was 3:32 PM.

My first take came on my middle rod within a few minutes.  As the float started to move off, I grabbed my rod, tightened up, and attempted to set the hook—nothing!  In fact, worse!  I snatched my rig into a nearby oak tree branch about 15’ off the ground.  Fortunately for me, somehow my rig suddenly fell from the oak branch it hit and came down without much trouble or the need to re-rig—no end tackle lost!  I quickly re-baited and re-cast, and, before a couple of seconds had elapsed, my float took off again!  This time I was able to get a good hook set, and, after a nice battle, netted a decent-looking fish a couple minutes later.  Safely on land, I removed the hook from its mouth, then weighed it in the net: 7 lb. 4 oz. in the net, which, when the net’s wet weight (1.5 pounds) was subtracted, meant a beautiful specimen a little under 6 lb.!  Once again, fishing my baited spot yielded another above-average specimen for this lake (average is 3-4 lb.).  In fact, after baiting almost daily in the same three spots and fishing them over several weeks, I have caught around a half-dozen specimens, all between 4 and 8.5 lb.!  When I went to take a picture, I found that this fish’s dorsal spine had gotten caught in one of the small openings of the net.  After briefly trying to loosen it by hand, I realized that I would have to cut the net to remove it.  While I was grabbing my scissors a few feet away, the carp flipped and flopped, and succeeded in securing its dorsal spine even more securely in several more net mesh loops.  It took several minutes of determined net cutting to finally free that serrated spine.  Once done, I snapped a couple pix with my phone, then gently lowered it in the net and released it back into the margins (the shallow water near shore).  It stayed in one place for a moment or two, perhaps getting its bearings, then slowly meandered off toward the safety of deeper water.

The rest of my fishing adventure can be told in few words.  As usual, I used my smart phone timer app to alert me every fifteen minutes, when I would toss out another ball of ground bait and catapult a half pouch of seed mix over each float in an effort to keep the fish in the area and feeding.

All three of my floats dipped, bobbed, and even partially submerged at times.  I had several other takes on my middle rod, none of which resulted in captures.  I did hook one for a few seconds, but then the hook pulled.  I got one take on the left (yellow plastic corn stack) rod, but was unable to hook that one either. No solid takes on the boilie (right) rod.

As it got darker and darker, I eventually had to affix, using tiny braces-type rubber bands, 2” glow sticks to each float’s antenna to be able to see them in the fading light.  I fished until just before 6 PM.  I got one more take on my middle rod just before leaving, but, again, no joy on the hook set.

I did have a fascinating encounter just after sunset, but before total darkness.  Throughout my fishing today, from time to time, I could see some kind of water mammal swimming to and from the same spot on the near shore about fifty yards down and to the right.  It looked too big to be a muskrat, but it was far enough away that I couldn’t be sure if it was a nutria or an otter.  Just as the encroaching darkness was almost complete, I saw my aquatic friend swimming toward my right rod’s float.  As it got closer, it became obvious, both from its size and elongated shape, that it was indeed an otter.  I have been seeing otters in this lake here and there for the past five years.  At any rate, I suspected that it might have seen my glowing float and was moving closer to check it out.  Even though it was quite dark and I was sitting motionless on the ground, I know it saw me, because, at a distance of 30 yards or so, it stopped dead still in the water, waiting.  After a minute or two of checking me out, my suspicion was confirmed, as it then swam up to my glowing float and grabbed it.  At that point I kind of barked/hissed at it, as I did not want it taking a chunk out of my float while trying to determine if it was edible or not.  On hearing my noise, it immediately submerged and, I surmise, vacated the premises.  A little later as I was bringing in my rods, I saw it swimming across in front of me from right to left near the opposite shore.  Judging from its comings and goings from the same spot throughout the afternoon, it must have a den on the near shore, as I kept seeing it swim out from the same spot over and over, taking various headings with each trip out.

What did I learn from today?  I had 3 or 4 takes on my sweet corn rod, and only one on the fake corn stack.  That argues for sweet corn as a superior bait vis-à-vis either fake corn or boilies—at least on this day (but perhaps also true for this time of year).  I also learned that it is a bit harder to set the hook reliably when float fishing.  When the carp grabs the bait and really takes off, one can usually tighten up and set the hook successfully.  Today’s takes were fairly timid, with the float slowly submerging and moving off—I missed at least three of these, which is not the hookup rate I’d like to see.  I was using blowback rigged hooks on #6 Korda longshank hooks that seemed to be quite sharp by the fingernail test, so who knows?  Maybe on such timid takes, I need to wait until the fish really moves off with the bait before attempting to set the hook.  More testing and experimentation called for!

Well, at least I netted my first December carp of this year (and hopefully not my last!).  Hopefully this week I can keep a little bait going in every day and keep those above-average sized fish hanging around my fishing spot.  A nice little respite on a lovely Sunday afternoon before resuming the busyness of the work week!

A single bar of gold…

…makes all the effort worth it!  After spending all day catching up on neglected household chores (updating checkbooks, budget spreadsheets, and the like) by virtue of one week’s sickness followed by another’s commitments outside the home, by 3:30 this afternoon I was ready for a break!  I was finally able to get to my baited spot on the neighborhood lake around 4:15, and all three rods were in the water by 4:30.  Like last week, I fished two bolt-rigged carp rods (far left and right) and one float rod (directly in front of me).  My left rod was baited with three prepped deer corn kernels tipped with a yellow plastic kernel (to give a little more buoyancy) on a blowback rig.  The right rod was baited with the same white Evolution Carp Tackle plastic three-kernel corn stack I had such good luck on last week (also on a blowback rig).  Both bolt-rigged rods used an in-line method lead that I packed with a method mix of oats, calf-starter pellets, sweet corn, and liquid molasses flavoring.  My middle rod was baited with two kernels of sweet corn on a #10 Korda Krank hook two feet under a puddle chucker float. Once cast, the two outer rods were placed in bank sticks with bite alarms atop.  I catapulted three pouches of prepped pigeon feed/cracked corn/whole corn mix over each rig to hopefully get the carp grubbing around the vicinity of my hookbaits.

My first take came on the float rod within about the first ten minutes.  My float suddenly submerged, then started off toward the left decisively.  I quickly picked up my rod, tightened up the line, and set the hook.  Unfortunately, after a momentary feeling of weight, my 6-pound test line parted, leaving my float bobbing unattached some fifteen feet off shore.  Not anxious to part with that float if I could salvage it, I reeled in my left rod and started gently flip casting beyond the float (so as to not unduly disturb the swim), attempting to snag it and drag it back in.  I never did hook it, but dragging the lead and hook over it repeatedly moved it closer and closer to shore until I could reach it with my net.  Don’t know what happened exactly to cause the line to break, but the take had the unambiguous feel of a carp.  Turtles diddle and bob the float, and may even eventually submerge it and slowly move off with it, but their bites are usually not nearly as decisive as a typical carp bite.  Generally speaking, when a carp takes the bait, it swims off with it, and there’s generally no doubt about it.

After re-baiting, re-packing the method mix around the method lead, and re-casting my left rod, it was time to re-rig my decimated float rod.  Fortunately, the upper float stop was still threaded on the line, so all I had to add was the float, a small split shot squeezed gently on the line just below the float, a small cone-shaped sliding sinker (like bass fisherman use to weight plastic worms), and, at the end of the line, a small black swivel was tied using a Uni Knot, my go-to fishing knot for the past several years.  As I was getting out a hook link to attach to the swivel, my left rod’s bite alarm let out a series of short beeps, then a continuous beep.  I quickly jumped up, grabbed the rod, and began playing the carp.  The fish felt pretty heavy, but it did not put up the usual spirited battle.  It resisted a little, but none of the long, back-and-forth runs that usually characterize a typical carp fight.  Within a minute or two I had it in the net.  On the bank, this fish turned out to be a nice 7-pounder.  What it lacked in fight in the water, it made up for on land—I could hardly stop it from flip-flopping long enough to snap a picture or two.  Finally succeeding, I gently placed it back in the net and lowered it into the water, where it slowly and silently glided off into the depths.

A quick check of that rod’s bait revealed that it was undamaged, so I re-applied a fresh ball of method to the lead and re-cast.  With both my left and right carp rods in their bite alarms and ready to sound off, I picked up where I had left off when the left rod’s bite alarm screamed to life.  I tied on a six-inch hook link with another blowback rig and re-baited with four kernels of sweet corn on the hair.  After re-casting, I sat and awaited my next bite.

As the late afternoon gradually gave way to nightfall, I enjoyed watching the mirror-slick surface of the lake, here and there punctuated by the odd baitfish, predatory fish, turtle, or breaching carp.  A beautiful 2/3 moon was gradually rising above the opposite shoreline, illuminating the lake and the surrounding shorelines in its soft light.  Despite checking my baits, re-applying method mix to both carp rods, and catapulting out a little more seed mix every fifteen minutes, there were to be no more bites this night.  At 6:20 I started reluctantly packing up all my bits and bobs of tackle.  By 6:30 it was time to bring the rods in—always hoping for a last minute bite, which never materialized.

Comparing this day’s sortie to my last six days ago, today’s lone capture was on my left rod, wherein I had nary a nibble last time out.  In addition, this time I caught on a natural bait—prepped deer corn (albeit tipped with a plastic kernel), whereas last week all four of my takes were on wholly artificial baits.  This week I also had a float-rod bite on sweet corn vis-à-vis last week’s on night-glow plastic corn.  My method mix was similar to last week’s, but flavored this time with liquid molasses flavoring to complement the dried molasses (and the molasses that is part and parcel of the calf-starter pellets I added this time), versus last time adding liquid plum flavoring to the mix.  If this flavor alone accounted for the difference in action (which it may or may not have), the carp definitely prefer the plum flavoring, as I had nearly instant action last time, and approximately twice as many runs in the same time period of two hours.

If the weather and other factors permit, I will give it another shot tomorrow afternoon.  Looking forward to continuing the carp lab experimentation.  In addition to trying different types of method mixes, I am looking forward to trying different flavors of jumbo carp corn (I have about a half-dozen flavors.), boilies (again, I have between a half-dozen and a dozen flavors of these), pop-ups, and hey, I even have a jar of tiger nuts!  Hopefully I can eventually find a few baits that they really consistently like.  Once the cold really sets in, I have been told that my best bet will be sweet corn with a little liquidized bread for a method mix.  Never really fished this lake for carp in the winter; curious to see if I can find and catch them then.

Oh what a difference a day makes!

Got home from church around 2 PM this afternoon.  After watching the early NFL game halftime highlights and eating some lunch, my thoughts turned, as they often do on Sunday afternoons, to fishing.  I was still smarting from my spanking yesterday at the hands of the reluctant carp in the neighborhood lake.  I decided that the best way to deal with falling off that bike was to get back on and start riding again.  All my rods were still rigged from yesterday, and I had the dry ingredients already mixed for a method mix chum.  I quickly mixed up my method mix of dried molasses, old-fashioned oats, and sweet corn into a thick dry-ish mix that, once the liquids were absorbed by the oats, would mold nicely around a purpose-built lead providing a nice little pile of carp goodies with my hook bait conveniently suspended nearby.  Fearing that today’s Facebook post caption would read “Glutton for Punishment”, I quickly gathered my tackle rucksack, rubber knee boots, four rods, net, and a 5-gallon bucket loaded with 1-gallon re-purposed plastic ice cream containers, one filled with a mix of prepared (soaked overnight and then boiled until tender) birdseed, cracked corn, and deer corn, and the other containing my just-mixed method mix.

Arriving at the same spot I fished so unsuccessfully just yesterday, I found it devoid of the three-dozen or so Canadian Geese that had blanketed the ground yesterday.  I quickly got one of my carp rods ready by molding the method mix around the lead—a messy job that requires a tub of water to rinse off and a rag to dry off--so it would not come off during the cast, then cast it out into the right-side spot I’ve been chumming for several days.  I have committed, when I am fishing multiple rods, to always fish at least one rod with artificial baits, and, since this one was still baited with a white plastic Evolution Carp Tackle corn stack from my fiasco yesterday, that was my bait of choice to start.  After casting out into my baited area, I catapulted three pouches of seed mix to get draw fish in.  Then I set my rod on a bank stick with a bite alarm atop and waited for it to scream “Bite!”

While I was preparing my second carp rod, not five minutes later, my first rod’s bite alarm let out a series of short beeps, then a continuous one, letting me know that a carp had taken my hook bait, gotten hooked by the weight of the lead, and started to run.  I quickly picked it up, and immediately noticed that it felt like a nice fish, both by how powerfully it ran and by the considerable weight I felt when applying steady pressure to avoid a hook pull.  After a spirited battle, I eventually netted a very welcome bar of gold—long time coming!  My suspicions about its size were confirmed once I had it on shore.  It was a nice specimen, which turned out to weigh just under 6 pounds—above average size for this lake (3-4 pounds is about the average size).  I quickly unhooked it, weighed it, snapped a couple of pix, and then gently lowered it back into the water in the net, where I watched it glide off into the depths again.

After squeezing another handful of method mix around the lead again, I re-cast that rod back to the same spot, replaced it in its bank stick/bite alarm rest, and then catapulted out another pouch to keep the carp feeding.  Before I was able to get my left rod rigged and cast, off went the bite alarm again!  This one felt even bigger, and, indeed, it was!  After another nice fight, I landed another golden beauty, this one around 8 ½ pounds—one of the biggest I’ve ever caught out of this lake!  Repeated the usual process of unhooking, weighing, photographing, and releasing.

Again I re-applied the method mix and recast.  This time there was a sufficient lull in the action to allow me to repeat the same process with my left-side rod, only it was baited with four kernels of prepped deer corn on the hair (Note: the “hair” is a short loop of line that is snelled to the hook itself, onto which the bait is threaded with a baiting needle.  When the carp sucks in the bait, the hook follows it into the carp’s mouth, where, with its hook point completely bare, it is more likely to catch hold before being ejected.).  This rod was also rested on a bank stick/bite alarm combo.

After getting both my carp rods in the water, and, since they were positioned wide left and right, there was a nice expanse of open water in front of me in which to fish a third rod.  I decided that, since the carp seemed to be biting today, I would use my ultralight spinning combo (rod and reel) to float fish for carp as well (I also had a catfish rod with me, but elected today to leave it idling on the bank behind me.).  I catapulted the usual three pouches of seed mix directly in front of me and about 15’ off shore—a distance sufficient to make the carp less aware of my presence by virtue of being in about 3 feet of murky water.  Then I cast my float rig well beyond my intended target, then stuck my rod tip under the surface and reeled my float into the baited spot.  When fishing, as I was today, with a “waggler” (a float attached only on the bottom of the float), it is necessary to sink the line so that any wind does not make a “bow” in the line that results in too much slack to set the hook effectively.  Since the white plastic corn stacks had already banked two fish today, I thought trying a piece of night-glow plastic corn was a close-enough approximation to white to be a good bet.

Within a few minutes, my float dipped, then started moving to the left.  I quickly picked up the rod, reeled in the slack, and tightened up.  I don’t believe the carp even knew it was hooked, because it took it a minute to really run hard.  It sort of lumbered slowly away from me for a minute before it took off on its first run.  Carp generally run first in one direction, then in the other.  If you’re not careful, they will run right up against bankside shrubs or blowdowns and deftly dislodge the annoying hook.  This one stayed true to the usual pattern, first running left, then right, and continuing this see-saw battle back and forth while gradually losing ground toward my waiting net.  After fighting this one for about five minutes, it was tiring, and I was working closer and closer in, when, after a sudden direction change momentarily caught my line on its dorsal spine, this gave it just enough leverage at the right angle for the hook to pull.  Bloody blast!  Well, I was a little disappointed, but, with the action I’d already had, there was likely to be more.  I quickly got that rod re-positioned, catapulting a little more seed all around the float to keep the carp interested and feeding.

Within ten minutes my float started off again, and this time I succeeded in landing the beastie!  This one didn’t fight very much at first, so much so that I wondered if I’d re-hooked the one I previously lost—who knows?  Once I got it closer in, it decided to get spunky on me, making short runs every time I tried to steer it into the net.  Eventually it tired sufficiently for me to succeed.  This one weighed around 5 1/2 pounds—a third above-average weight fish!

I fished about another 45 minutes or so, but there were to be no further screaming alarms or moving floats this day.  At 5:30 I started packing up.  As any fisherman knows, the rods are the last thing to pack up, as that last-minute bite can come at any second!  As I reeled in the last of the three rods (the float rod), I realized that my catching was over for this day, but what a fine day it had been!  Four carp hooked and three landed in about two hours of bank time.  I will take that any day.  As darkness was falling on my little backyard carp fishing laboratory, I walked the short walk home thoroughly carpisfied.

What made the difference? I was fishing the exact same location.  Exact same methodology and rigs.  Exactly the same seed mix chum.  The obvious difference was the method mix.  Yesterday’s used old-fashioned oats, instant grits, and Wizard brand Kokanee-treated sweet corn (died hot pink!), which came highly recommended by my friend Luke Nichols, who has used it with great success.  Today’s was primarily flavored by dried molasses (Oh—and I added a little liquid plum flavoring as well…).  Was it the method mix, or were the carp just “in the mood” today?  I guess only further “experimentation” to test that hypothesis will tell!  Looking forward to my next lab session…

Night time is the right time…

On Friday I was entertaining the idea of going for an early-morning carp session this morning, but, due to unforeseeable circumstances at home Friday night, I couldn’t get to bed until almost midnight.  I set my alarm for 6:30 AM, but when it went off, I felt like a freight train had run over me.  I went back to bed until around 11 AM, which I never do unless I’m sick.  I’m really getting tired of whatever this “crud” is that I’ve had for the last several weeks.  Chest congestion, coughing, and feeling less-than-100%.  Hopefully, this, too, will pass.  Sooner than later, I’m hoping.

My day was not a productive one.  I fixed a big breakfast of scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, toast with butter and grape jelly, and coffee.  I helped Carolyn go through the songs she sang at church tonight.  I did three or four sink-fulls of dishes.  I continued my reading in Luke 12 about being continually ready for Jesus’ return, regardless of how long He delays.  I prayed through the Lord’s (aka the disciples’) Prayer, as I usually do when I have time—not as a rote playback, but as an outline of prayer topics: submission, provision, forgiveness, and deliverance from the day’s coming temptations.  Afterward, as I always do on Saturdays, I prayed for each family member and some friends who are undergoing medical challenges.

By the time these few things were done, it was time for Carolyn to leave for worship sound check at church.  After downing a bowl of delicious Indian chicken she made before she left, I still had a little daylight left, and my thoughts turned toward a little peaceful bank time.

By the time I was able to collect my two rods, knee boots, bucket of punch bait, thawed prepped deer corn, a zip-lock of sweet corn, net, rain suit, and rucksack, it was about 5:30 and dark.  I quickly texted Carolyn to tell her what I was up to, and that I was planning on being home about 7:30 so we could spend the evening together.

I walked the fifty yards or so to the right of my house down the common area strip that borders the neighborhood lake to one of my favorite night-fishing spots.  It is an open area of shore with no shrubs that is about 30 yards wide.  As usual of late, I had one rod (ultralight, panfish spinning outfit) for carp, and the other (6.5-foot Ugly Stik rigged with a slip bobber and #6 treble for fishing punch bait) for channel cats.  Plopped down in an area where I have pulled up the bankside grass to make an open spot to fish from.  I always carry a large trash can liner to sit on—keeps my backside dry from the evening dew (or, in tonight’s case, the day’s rain).  Job one was to activate a couple of 2” glow sticks and attach them to both my carp and catfish floats so I could detect takes in the dark.  I cast out my carp float to the right, about 10 feet off shore and 15 feet down from where I was sitting.  Catapulted three pouchfuls of prepped deer corn around the float to hopefully get the carp grubbing around in the vicinity of my hookbait, which, tonight, was a single kernel of yellow fake (soft plastic) corn.  Then, as per my custom, loaded up the treble hook on the catfish rod with punchbait and cast it pretty near the left shoreline with the depth set to about 12”.   After the initial cast, I continue fan casting my way around from left to right, each cast deepening the float by 6” until I reach just a depth where I get a bite.

By the second or third cast with the catfish rod, I had a nice take, and, once I had set the hook, it felt like a decent fish by the weight and fight it put up.  A few minutes later, I netted a nice 2-pound channel cat.  This was to be the first of about a dozen.  Unfortunately, the rest were much smaller, ranging from about six inches to around a foot.  All except one were caught on the catfish rod.  One was caught using sweet corn on a #10 hook on the carp rod.  Once again, no carp action tonight.  I know they’re around, because this lake is full of them, and I also heard one breach not too far down toward the left, but they haven’t been biting my last three or so times out, at least not on either fake corn or, tonight, on sweet corn, which I changed to after a half-hour’s runless carping.

My last take on the carp rod turned out to be a tail-hooked snapping turtle of around 15-20 pounds.  Fortunately, the line broke as I was trying to get it in the net.  Considering its ferocity, nasty temperament, and powerful, sharp jaws, I was just as happy not to have to contend with unhooking it, even in the restriction of the net.

After the snapper rendered my carp rod hookless, I checked my phone and it was 7:28, time for “one last cast”.  Fortunately, within a couple of minutes I had a take and landed another hand-sized channel cat.  Up to that point, I had gotten into a rhythm where I was getting a take (and landing a channel cat) almost every cast out, which kept things interesting.

Although it was not raining when I first started fishing, within a half-hour it started and continued steadily throughout the remainder of my time out.  Fortunately I had brought my rain suit.  I quickly donned my rain jacket, but was too lazy to put on the pants.  I just took out my carp mat and laid it across my lap as a makeshift rain shield.  Would have liked some carp action and some larger kitties, but it was a beautiful two hours on the water, despite the rain.  There’s something soul-satisfying about being out on the water where it’s quiet and beautiful, regardless of the season, weather, or time of day (or night!).

PS I snapped pix of the first three fish, after which it started raining, so I stopped taking pictures!

Moonlightin’…

This past Friday night was an unlikely candidate for a fishing session.  First, I had to work a production that lasted until 5:30 PM (instead of the usual 4 PM).  Second, I had been under the weather since Wednesday with a scratchy throat, congestion, and noticeable fatigue.  Third, when I arrived home to an empty house (everyone else was at one of a couple different events), I walked into a kitchen piled high with dirty dishes!  I decided that I had to clean up that kitchen first as a matter of course.  That took a good hour—by the time I was done, it was around 7:30 PM.  I decided to reward my labors with a little later-than-usual Friday night session!

I decided to fish for both carp and cats simultaneously.  I fished my 12’ crappie ultralight spinning outfit for carp, rigged with a #10 hook baited with a single kernel of yellow Evolution Carp Tackle plastic corn under a 2” glow-stick-rigged puddle chucker.  I cast it about 20 feet off shore, then catapulted three pouchfuls of prepped deer corn around my float to get the carp feeding. 

For the channel cats I fished my usual 6½‘ Ugly Stik spinning combo with a glow-sticked slip float and a #6 treble hook baited with punch bait.  As usual, I started a series of fan casts from the left shoreline and gradually working my way around to the right shoreline.  I started with a depth of 1 foot, and increased my depth by 6” every cast to hopefully quickly find the depth where the cats were feeding.

This night was particularly gorgeous.  A ¾ moon glowing brightly cast its soft glow over the entire lake and shoreline stretching before me.  The lake itself was mirror-still—not a breath of wind, and none of the minnow-chasing predators that were tearing up the surface a few nights before.  The only sounds I could hear were those of the human residents along either bank.  Here and there a snatch of conversation, a door closing, the occasional car passing through the apartment parking lot across the lake.  From time to time, the relative stillness and silence was punctuated by the loud crashing of a breaching carp—and I noticed something specific this night that I had not before—all the breaches were near the far shore.  I called to mind how, nearly every morning since spring, as I arose from my slumber and looked out my second-story bedroom window, I would often see multiple sets of ripples emanating from the near shoreline, revealing the presence of carp feeding in the margins.  The idea occurred to me that, during the spring, summer, and fall, perhaps the carp followed the sun, feeding first on the western shore where the east-rising sun first shone, then following its warming rays to the eastern shore as the sun slowly sinks into the west.  At this point, just a theory, but the morning observations were certainly very consistent.  I will have to continue to observe whether the evening breaches seem to be concentrated on the far side, or if that was just a one-off on this particular night.  Of course, with the changing of the season, that pattern—if it is indeed a pattern--may shift as well.

By 10:30 PM, I had caught two small catfish near or on the bottom, both around 15-20 feet off the near shore.  My carp float had budged slightly here and there, but never the confident moving off that characterizes a typical carp take.  About an hour into the session I changed up my yellow plastic corn kernel for a glow-in-the-dark one, but that change did not change my fortunes on this night.  While a bit disappointed and surprised, especially at the lack of carp action (Were they all on the far shore as the breaches seemed to indicate?), I could not but help be elevated and satisfied at having experienced such a beautiful, peaceful evening on the water.  Maybe the next evening session I will break out the carp rods, which can cast further to where the carp were breaching, and see if that approach will net more bites (and fish!).  Back home and in bed by 11 PM.  Goodnight, Friday!

The best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray…

Two weeks ago today I took a vacation day, originally with the idea of finally having a good, long carp session (which, to me, means sunup until late afternoon) in the lake where the 20-pounders swim.   I think I’ve only had two or three sessions total there this year, which is really disappointing when you’re on a quest to break the 20-pound mark (a trophy carp in Virginia).  In between the time I asked for that Monday off and its arrival, I was besieged by a mountain of paperwork pursuant to some lengthy applications.  I decided, in the face of that ponderous weight of wood pulp pressing down on me, to defer my long-awaited session until another day and work, instead, on the applications before me.  Of course, that day was a perfect fall day weather-wise!

Fast-forward to last week, when I asked for (and received) today off—same intended carpy purpose.  Unfortunately, my daughter came down last week with some sort of sore throat and congestion bug.  When I woke up last Wednesday, I had a slight scratchiness in my throat.  Since then I haven’t felt bad enough to stop working, but I’ve felt noticeably sluggish and congested.  On top of this condition, the weather has taken a turn for the worse, turning much colder—nights dipping into the low 40s.  Last night I didn’t feel good at all.  I set my alarm for 4:30 AM, but I wasn’t sure I’d be up to being out in the cold all day.  Sure enough, it didn’t take any time to realize I just wasn’t up to all the preparations, packing, toting, etc. involved in a full-blown day’s session—especially in 40-degree weather.  If I had been feeling well, that level of cold would have been no big deal, but, when you’re weak, tired, and having a constant runny nose, that’s another matter entirely.

I immediately went back to bed, planning on going on in to work as usual when the alarm hit 7 AM.  Trouble was, when the alarm went off at 7 AM, I wasn’t feeling in any condition to work.  I re-set the alarm for 9 AM, planning on spending another vacation day continuing working on the same applications I had started on a couple weeks ago (but was still only 56% of the way finished on one!).  The day turned out to be a productive one; I made a lot of headway on that application (now I’m at around 80% completed), and I also got several other letters written, forms filled out, calls made, etc.

By 4:30 I was ready to leave the day’s paperwork behind.  It was sunny and in the mid-to-high 50s, so at least I could fit in a short session in the neighborhood lake!  This time I decided to fish for both carp and cats simultaneously.  I fished my 12’ ultralight crappie spinning outfit rigged with a clear plastic float (aka “puddle chucker”) rig and one kernel of plastic corn directly on the #10 Korda Krank hook.  I cast that rig out a good 15-20 off shore, then catapulted three pouchfuls of prepped deer corn around my float for chum.  With that (carp) rod in place, I engaged the baitrunner lever (which engages a secondary drag that lets line out so your rod and reel aren’t pulled into the drink by a running carp—don’t laugh—it happened to me this spring!), then set this rod down so I could fish my other catfish pole.  As usual, it was rigged with a slip float set about a foot deep with a #6 treble hook baited with punchbait.  I fan cast that rig, starting to my left, then gradually casting my way around to the right as far as I could.  After casting this out, I’d let it sit for a couple minutes, then, if no bite, reel it in about 2-3 feet and repeat.  This cycle continues until it’s close to shore.  With every re-cast, I’d re-bait with a fresh dip of punchbait.  After completing a cycle of fan casting, if there are no bites, I typically change up the depth, adding 6” or so, then repeat another cycle of casting.  The idea is to eventually find the depth where the cats are hanging out.

After about one cycle of fan casting, I began to notice a lot of feeding activity and swirls near the surface, so I decided to change strategies a bit.  I fed dry dog food on the surface, and, sure enough, started seeing fish (and turtles) start coming to the top to take the free offerings.  Based on a previous experience this past summer, I molded bread around my hook, then cast to where I was seeing surface-feeding fish.  This past summer this produced instant and confident takes, enabling me to quickly catch several carp and catfish.  This time there were little nibbly bites.  Several attempts at hook-setting yielded only flying rigs and tangles.  Most likely panfish or turtles sucking the bread off the hook.

While I was still trying to entice a bite with the molded bread dough balls, I noticed my puddle chucker starting to slowly move off!  I quickly grabbed my rod, tightened up, then set the hook into a nice fish.  After a nice battle on my ultralight rod, I netted a fat carp that proved to be 5 lb. 12 oz. of golden beauty.  He (she) must have spent considerable time mopping up my chum, as it had quite the bulging belly!  Quickly unhooked, photographed, then released my prize to grow and be caught another day.  I quickly cast back out into my baited spot, re-setting the trap for another unsuspecting Hooverer.

I tried repeated casts with the molded dough balls to showing catfish—the lake was alive with baitfish and catfish (and probably bass and other predators) chasing them.  Unfortunately, they weren’t at all interested in the dough balls today.  I eventually switched back to the more-fish-like punch bait, and, just as darkness was falling, I got a take from (and caught) a dinky channel cat.  As many times as I cast both the dough balls and the punch bait to showing fish, I got very little action.  I wonder how I would have done with live shiners fished a foot or so deep!  Bet I would have mopped up!  Another experiment for another day…

With darkness falling, I had promised my wife I would be home around 7 PM, so it was time to go.  Once the sun went down, it quickly got much colder.  I started with a fleece jacket unzipped earlier in the session.  Eventually I zipped it up.  Not too long after, I grabbed my heavy coat and stocking cap and put them on.  My feet never got cold, clad as they were in woolen socks inside knee boots.

I am now genuinely concerned that I will not get that longed-for long session with a chance for a 20-pounder before winter sets in and makes that a much less pleasant (and productive) specter.  At least I was able, after a fishing-less weekend, to scratch the angling itch a little bit!

A little preparation...

After an evening spent doing various chores and errands, about 9 PM I decided to prepare for my next sortie in the neighborhood lake. First, my catfish rod (6 1/2 foot Ugly Stik spinning combo with 12-lb. mono) needed a hook and leader change-out. The hook had lost its sticky sharpness after repeated catches, and the leader was too short to merely tie on a new hook. Secondly, my favored float rod (12' crappie pole paired with an ultralight spinning reel and 6 lb. test mono) was only rigged with a #10 Korda Krank hook from my last floater fishing session. This rig was not what I have in mind for my next session.

What do I have in mind, you ask? I want to chum pretty close to shore using dry dog food on the surface. Once the channel cats and carp show up and start feeding, I want to try float fishing for them below the surface with two different baits. Once before I fished doughballs made of bread squeezed onto the hook about a foot deep underneath floating chum. I quickly caught a channel cat and three carp. I want to try this again using my catfish rod.

On the float rod I want to try, under the same conditions (fishing under floating chummed dry dog food), some little chunks of Slim Jim (thin spicy cylindrical sausage sticks). I have heard of using Pepperami in the UK as a carp bait, and Luke Nichols says Slim Jims are a wonder bait for bluegills. I'm betting that, with both carp and cats swimming around and in a feeding mode, I should get some quick action from both on this (new to me ) bait.

With this plan in mind, I rigged my float rod with a sliding float adapter (a small swivel attached to a small, cylindrical piece of stretchy rubber tubing designed to grab and hold the base of a waggler float) sandwiched between two float stops. A couple of split shot 6" above the #10 Korda Krank hook completes the rig. I should be able to fish small pieces of Slim Jim directly on this hook, still leaving the hook point exposed to make setting the hook easier and more consistent.

I fantasized a bit about trying this out tonight between 9 PM and midnight, but decided against it after completing the re-rigging cited above. At any rate, I am ready now to be able to quickly get out on the water, rigged and ready for action, on short notice.

By the way, I am thoroughly enjoying my Fox large rucksack. Last week I transferred all my tackle and bait items from another carryall. This rucksack, while pretty heavy when fully loaded, allows me to carry ALL my carp AND catfish tackle and gear in one hands-free place. This makes it easy and quick to go for either a carp or channel cat session, whether I'm stalking, floater fishing, float fishing, or even fishing bolt rigs with bank sticks and bite alarms. Mobility and portability is a beautiful thing!