Hypothesis tested...

Yesterday's hypothesis was that, if I fished closer to the margin and sat further back from the bank so as not so spook my wary quarry, I stood a good chance of attracting a dozen or so carp to my baited area, where, hopefully, a feeding frenzy would ensue, enabling me to maybe catch a fish or two.

Tonight around 7 PM I was able to revisit yesterday's fishing spot and test that hypothesis. This time I fished close to shore (6-10 feet out) in pretty shallow water (about 2' deep). I created a chummed area, then placed my float rig in the midst. I sat some 6-8 feet back from the water's edge to avoid spooking carp that might be interested in mopping up the corn in my chummed spot. I also tried feeding off the turtles by catapulting floating trout chow down and to the right. Over the course of doing this repeatedly for an hour or so, I saw plenty of turtles feasting on the floating pellets, and I also saw some large swirls that looked like either carp or channel cats (or both) feeding off the top.

I caught two or three sliders before I got a take that proved to be a carp. A nice fight on my 6 ft. 6 inch Ugly Stik and 12 lb. test mono. I netted my prize, unhooked it, snapped a couple quick pix, then released it to fight another day.

4 lb. 8 oz. with boot for size reference

4 lb. 8 oz. of golden beauty!

After another turtle or two, I got another carp take--sometimes it's hard to tell the difference, but, generally, carp are usually much more decisive in their takes. The turtles make the float bob up and down, they take it slightly under, and, if it moves, it does so slowly. When a carp takes, the float may jiggle or bob a bit, but then it usually starts moving off pretty quickly! I fought this second fish for a few seconds before the hook pulled. I must say, when fishing with #6 hooks and hair rigs, I rarely suffer a hook pull. Since I have been float fishing using the #10 Kamasan "Animal" hooks, I seem to get a lot more hook pulls. Unfortunately, when I have used the larger hooks and hair rigs in this lake, the number of pickups seems to decrease tremendously. Today I ordered some more hooks: Korda Kranks in sizes 8 and 10, and some more Kamasan "Animal" hooks in sizes 12 and 14. I have been wanting to experiment with the smaller sizes using a single kernel of sweet corn. Also, recalling my earlier spring float fishing, I used a lot of #10 Kranks and I don't believe I had many, if any, hook pulls while using those.

I fished until after dark, this being facilitated by a neat piece of tackle. The Drennan puddle chucker floats I am using have removable inserts, which, for daytime use, are normally painted bright orange or yellow. They also make inserts that glow in the dark called "Starlights". Tonight I broke open a pack, bent the insert to activate the chemicals that mix together to make the glow, and inserted it in my float. It fit perfectly, and was surprisingly bright. I had absolutely no trouble seeing it well, even in complete darkness. Nifty bit of kit, these!

Fished until a turtle chewed my hooklink, taking my hook with him/her at about 9:15 PM. I would say that the hypothesis tested well, except that there is no real fix for the turtle problem. They, like Shelob in Tolkien's "Return of the King", are always hungry--they must feed!

I am also curious to try the same location (margins), but maybe fish with a bolt rig/hair rig and see how that affects my catches and if doing so will reduce the number of hook pulls. Stay tuned; more to come!

Anticipation turns to turtle despair turns to carp hopefulness.

This afternoon I had a few hours before dark, and I was excited to return to carp cove to fish a different section that is a bit deeper than the end I'd fished previously.

The view across today's Carp Cove deeper section

The view to the left of my fishing spot on Carp Cove

As usual, I was fishing with my crappie pole (12', light action), ultralight spinning reel and 6-lb. test mono. Fishing a loaded puddle chucker (clear plastic float with an integral weight to make it easier to cast and speed rigging. Today I tried, for the first time, some Drennan float stops. They're little rubbery bits that thread snugly onto the line, one on each side of the float. You can slide them along the line to adjust the float's depth as desired, but they stay put and they don't crimp the line like split shot can. I really like them--glad I got 'em. Fished about 4' deep with just one split shot about six inches above a #10 Kamasan "Animal" hook baited with two kernels of sweet corn. Catapulted prepped field corn around the float to attract carp. Unfortunately, all I seemed to attract today was the ubiquitous hard-shelled folk. They were constantly pulling the float under to no avail and one even bit off one of my hooks. After a couple frustrating carpless (but turtleful) hours, I was in despair about fishing this lake for the rest of the summer. In my frustration, I decided to re-rig with a hair rig and use artificials for awhile. That seemed to keep the turtles at bay, but neither did I get any runs.

As it was getting closer to dark, a margin-patrolling carp spooked when I made a subtle movement, perched as I was at bank's edge about two feet above the water level. That led me to do something that made the rest of the evening much more interesting. I decided to throw a few handfuls of deer corn in the margin in front of me in about a foot or so of water, and see if any margin cruisers would be bold enough to come in and feed if I kept very still. Within about ten minutes I began to see swirls in the area, and, eventually, carp. They would swim up the my pile of bait (about two feet in diameter), but they would veer off when they saw me sitting there, even though I was completely motionless. More and more came, and eventually there were a good half dozen or so making passes at the bait pile, but very shy and skiddish. I decided to plop my Evolution Tackle corn stack and two maggot clusters in the middle, just in case one of the carp got greedy and picked it up. I continued to pile in more bait, gradually putting in a can's worth of sweet corn and the rest of a gallon bag of prepped deer corn. As it got darker, it was harder an harder to see the carp, but they got bolder and bolder as the light waned. I really amused myself watching these carp, and, in the space of a half hour there were a dozen or more converging on my baited area. If I had been more concealed, I think there would have been a feeding frenzy and that bait pile would have been mopped up in a few minutes.

This gave me the idea that maybe my approach has been flawed for this particular venue and season. Since it was so easy and effective to attract numerous carp into the margins, I think next time I wlll try more of a margin ambush approach, doing just what I did tonight, only a little farther off shore so they won't be so skiddish, and I'll have to find a spot where I can hide behind a tree or some other foliage. I should be able to either freeline or float fish (better bite indication) in the margin over a bed of sweet and deer corn with good success if tonight's parade of hungry carp can be repeated reliably. Didn't see any huge specimens, but I don't expect to in this lake. Besides, even a 3-pounder gives a good account of him or herself on that crappie pole!

As I wrap this up, I am reminded of my last trip to the lake where the 20-pounders swim. I fished for a half-day with both the method and Polaris floats at some distance out--say, 30 yards or so. I got no action at all on these rods, even though I was regularly catapulting goodies, renewing my method ball, and trying different baits and approaches. I did catch three nice carp--one about six pounds and the other two around 10 apiece. All three were caught about 10-15 feet off shore fishing sweet corn under a float over catapulted deer corn.

Maybe there is something to this margin fishing thing after all.

Another Plumbing (or plummeting, if you prefer...) Expedition!

Friday afternoon, after giving a guitar lesson, I called Carolyn (my wife, for those of you who may not know) and found out she wouldn't be home for an hour or so. Since I was in the vicinity of one of my old carp fishing spots, I decided to take a little stroll around an area I hadn't fished in about three years (but where I know there are 20-pounders swimming!). Didn't see any carp in the margins (I rarely do in this area.), but I did see numerous bubble trails (a sign of feeding carp disturbing the bottom sediment and releasing pent-up gases), which was very encouraging. It was also interesting that they were not very far off the bank--say, 10-15 yards or so.

Today, after working from noon until 5 PM catching up on entering and clearing transactions in the checkbook and seeing what we'd spent vis-a-vis the budget for the last several weeks, my brain was seriously bent and in need of a break. We had run out of shock (chlorine) for our pool, and our normal supplier had already closed at 4 PM, when I remembered there was another pool supplier--guess where--within a half-mile of the spot I walked yesterday. After checking their hours and finding that they were open until 7 PM, I grabbed my marker float rod and headed out. After picking up the obligatory pool god offering, I headed across the street (literally) to do some more plumbing. What I found is that this area of the lake is pretty uniform, about 14' deep from the middle halfway to the far side, and pretty consistently at that same depth until about 2-3 rod lengths from the near shore. As expected, at the very end of this arm of the lake, it got as shallow as 10' in the middle, but that is still a very respectable amount of water for carp to take refuge in. I also observed that, during the afternoon, the far side was shaded, making it the preferred afternoon target during the summer. Conversely, the near shoreline should be better in the early part of the day for the same reason. I am anxious to try this spot again after my investigations today. I will probably try fishing just where the bottom levels out to 14' (a likely carp patrolling area), on whichever side the time of day dictates. I found today that I can reach the opposite side just fine with a three-ounce lead. The only caveat is that this section has always been difficult to catch from in summer. I have blanked more at this spot than anywhere else I have fished for carp. Hope that trend is bucked the next time I give this spot a try!

Folly...and redemption.

Yesterday evening I was really excited to plumb (test the depth and bottom composition, for non-carpers) a part of the neighborhood lake I've been curious about for some time. I arrived at my spot, flipped the bail open, and positioned myself for a cast out 60 yards or so to the middle of a large open area where three arms of the lake come together. The lead and marker float were on their way when suddenly a quick jerk, then off they sailed into the drink some 50 yards away. I instantly realized my folly--I had cast out without checking the line clip, which was set for some 30 yards. My 30-lb. test braid had parted, leaving my lead deep in the middle of the lake, and my marker float bobbing tantalizingly out of reach. Unfortunately, I couldn't wait for the wind to blow it closer, as I had a rehearsal to get to.

Fast forward to this evening. I had the last hour or so of light available to try again. I found another plumbing lead in my carp tackle box and a large Polaris float that, together with a sinker slider, I could re-purpose to make a plumbing and marker float setup There I was, back at the same spot as last night. This time I checked the line clip, which I had already released after the previous night's snafu. As I suspected, this big open area was around 6' deep in the middle. I worked my way down each of the three arms of the lake that converged there, and found that they maintained a depth of around 5' in their midsection. I did some more detailed plumbing of the cove I regularly fish toward its end, and found that it, too, maintains a 5' depth in the middle about halfway down its length. 50' down from where it's only a foot deep, it has a nice 4' channel. All this depth information is useful, especially finding a deeper area of the lake. The section behind my house only gets 4' deep at its deepest. By dragging the lead along the bottom, it is also possible to get a feel for the type of bottom. This lake is mostly silt and clay. You don't feel much but a gentle resistance as you drag the lead along. When the depth changes, you feel steps and bumps, which are probably clay, considering that is what makes up a lot of our underground about two feet down and deeper.

The next time I have an hour or two earlier in the afternoon, I will try at this point that is surrounded by deeper (5-6') water. Good chance there are carp patrolling or just chilling during the hotter parts of the day. While I was plumbing, I saw numerous carp in the margins, so there seem to be plenty around this area. Looking forward to trying out this point. Three avenues of approach, deeper water nearby, and plenty of carp observed in the vicinity! Anticipation!

Where's all the water gone?

I had an hour between 5 and 6 PM today, so I decided to pay a quick visit to carp cove. Upon my arrival, I noticed just how shallow this cove had become--about a foot deep in my usual spot. Not only so, but the water was clear enough to see the muddy bottom, and there wasn't a carp in sight! I catapulted out some bait anyway, hoping to lure some curious fish in from further down the cove with the sound of corn hitting the water. After a half hour with no visible carp, no swirls, etc, I realized that they probably wouldn't venture in this shallow so early in the afternoon. Just this past Sunday they were in the same place in force between 6:30 PM and dark, but not today--at least not between 5 and 6 PM. I had also planned to catapult out some floating trout chow and see if I could entice the carp to feed on the surface, but, since they weren't around, I only fed a few turtles. I guess if I want to fish earlier in the afternoon than an hour or so before dark, I will have to move down the cove toward where it joins the main lake. Hopefully the deeper water will harbor carp even during the heat of a sunny summer day. I am also curious to plumb that area with a marker float and lead to see just how deep the main lake is there. If memory serves, once when rowing around this lake in a john boat I found water around six feet deep there (by sticking an oar down in the water and touching the bottom)--as far as I know, the deepest part of this lake. Most of the areas closer to my house are only 3-4 feet deep in the middle.

Carp Anglers Group 2015 Summer Fish-In, Tidal Basin, Washington, DC, July 11, 2015

My alarm went off at 5 AM.  By 6 AM, I had dressed, finished packing, double-checked my checklist, and was driving off.  After a quick stop at Wawa for coffee, breakfast, a little emergency cash, and a bag of ice, I was on the road by about 6:15 AM.  On the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, I got to enjoy a beautiful multi-colored early morning sun to the east over the bay.  At the rest stop before Richmond on I64, a light drizzle started, which quickly turned to a driving deluge.  I was more than a little concerned, but told myself that I would make the trip regardless of the weather, hoping for it to break or not be too bad in DC.  Eventually I was able to tune into WTOP, a Washington FM news station, and get the encouraging news that the terrible weather I was experiencing was only happening south of DC, and the outlook for the rest of the day was excellent.  Sure enough, the closer I got to DC, the better the weather became.  I arrived at the Jefferson Memorial a little after 9 AM, loaded all my gear on my fold-up wagon, and trekked the ½ mile or so to the Tidal Basin.

Immediately upon arriving there, I saw three fellow carp anglers already set up and fishing.  One of them had a fish on as I was walking up.  After quickly getting my gear to the next swim down the basin, I came back to get a look at my fellow angler’s catch.  He had landed a really nice fish--I’d estimate between 15 and 20 pounds.  Seeing his capture was very encouraging, to say the least! After introducing myself, I learned that Matthew was from Carey, NC (near Raleigh), had left at 2 AM, and had arrived around 6 AM!  After a little conversation, I was eager to get set up and fishing!

The first order of business was to plumb my swim to find out a little more about the bottom contours and composition.  I tied on a marker float and plummeting setup, which consists of a 3-ounce lead on a 6” wire stem, threaded onto the line, to which is tied a marker float.  I cast out about 60 yards, reeled down tight to the lead, and then began pulling two-foot lengths off my reel, whose drag was set light enough to facilitate this task.  Counting each 2-foot length, I was able to determine that the depth was around 8-9 feet deep once my float broke the surface.  Then I reeled the float back down tight to the lead and dragged the lead across the bottom to get an idea of what type of bottom I was dealing with.  From the feel of the lead, the bottom felt like silt.  I then continued this process several more times, in the process discovering that, about 15 yards out, the bottom began to become shallower, eventually becoming about five feet deep close to shore.  I decided to fish just at the bottom of the drop off, which is a common patrolling area for carp and catfish.  I decided to fish three rods in three different areas of the swim before me.

The middle rod was cast out to the drop off straight in front of me, using a red building across the basin as a marker.  After casting out, I put a thick rubber band around my reel arbor to enable me to cast the same distance out every cast.  On this rod I chose to fish the “method”, which is using a purpose-built lead with a plastic cage around it, designed to hold method mix, aka pack bait, in place as a type of chum.  My method mix today was a mixture of whole oats, Panko bread crumbs, creamed corn, Karo syrup, cinnamon, and chili powder.  This mixture is molded around the method lead, pressed in place, then the hair-rigged* hook is lightly buried in the method ball to keep it from tangling on the cast.   After casting out, the method ball breaks down over about five minutes, leaving a nice little pile of carp goodies near the hook bait.  I decided to start all three rods with three kernels of prepared corn on the hair, tipped with one fake popup plastic corn, adding a little buoyancy and making the bait easier to suck up into the carp’s mouth.  After casting this rig out, I put this rod in my rod pod, a rod holder with attached bite alarms.  I reeled all the slack out of the line and placed rod #1 in my rod pod in the middle position (This rod pod holds three rods.).

Because of previous success with float fishing, I decided to rig the left and right rods with Polaris floats, which automatically adjust to the correct depth.  The rig was a semi-bolt rig, with an inline egg sinker sliding above a swivel, to which was tied a hook link of around 6-8” with another hair-rigged hook.  About a foot above the sliding sinker is crimped a single split shot.  The idea is that the carp can run about a foot before the split shot stops the line, the weight of the lead hopefully sets the hook, and the carp instinctively bolts!  After rigging and casting these other two rods out and placing them in the rod pod (each with its own alarm), I catapulted three pouches each of prepared (soaked 24 hours then boiled to soften it up) deer corn (also known as field corn) in order to attract carp into the vicinity of my rigs.

With all three rods out, all that was left was to wait for the carp to find each rig, and, hopefully, inhale my bait and hook!  Every fifteen minutes, I would reel in my method rig, re-apply method mix, and re-cast to the same spot to hopefully build up attraction in a small area.  Similarly, at the same interval, I would catapult another half-pouch of prepped corn around my two float rigs.

Unfortunately, on this day, I only got one run the entire day.  Around early afternoon, my middle (method) rod’s alarm beeped loudly, my rod tip dipped violently, but, before I could pick up the rod and start playing the fish, it was gone—hook ejected.  I tried quite a number of different baits: deer corn, boilies (small—10-22 mm balls of hardened dough baits made by firmer by including eggs in the mixture and boiling to cook), flavored jumbo corn, and even artificial (plastic) corn stacks and maggot clusters—yes, carp can be caught on artificial baits and even dry or wet flies!  This year’s event was attended by myself, Matthew, Moon, Tom, Luke Nichols, the Virginia state chair for the Carp Angler’s Group (a national carp-fishing organization), and a couple other guys I didn’t have the chance to meet, as they were fishing several hundred yards away, closer to the Jefferson Memorial.  Talking to both Luke and the others near me, the only fish caught that day by anyone in our fish-in were Matthew’s from earlier in the morning, a few catfish by a guy fishing near Luke, and a 2-pounder caught by Moon late in the afternoon.  I was disappointed to not have more action, but, some days, the carp just won’t cooperate.  On a good day, I might have caught a half-dozen to a dozen fish.  I fished continuously from 10 AM until around 5 PM, when I started packing up for the long drive home.

Why do I fish for carp?  They are in almost every body of fresh water around, they are quite large compared to other species—usually averaging between five and ten pounds, with “doubles” (ten pounds plus) not uncommon, they are powerful fighters, and they are challenging to catch.  Like any other fisherman, I enjoy the quiet beauty of being on the water.  Some days, I really enjoy just being alone with the solitude.  Other days, like this fish-in, I really enjoy conversing with my fellow carpers, sharing our techniques, tackle, and experiences.  Carp fishing can be very simple—just a couple of kernels of sweet corn on a bare hook—or one can invest in the very latest European baits, tackle, techniques, and even technology (like motorized bait boats and drones).  You can catch carp using a float, bottom rigs, or off the top using floating chum and baits (bread, trout chow, and dry dog food are popular choices).  There is an abundance of information available online for anyone interested in trying carp fishing; there are numerous carp-fishing organizations with websites, many individuals with the same, as well as YouTube how-to videos and Facebook groups.  If you haven’t tried carp fishing, check it out.  After you feel the powerful surge of an angry carp for the first time, you may find that you yourself have been “hooked” on the exciting sport that is carp fishing!

Gorgeous day, gorgeous view!

Jefferson Memorial View

View to the left

The elusive "ghost" carp captured on film!

New carp-fishing friends (left to right): Tom, Matt, and Moon

Epiphany!

I often walk along the lake between buildings when I have to traverse from one to the other at work. I'm always on the lookout for interesting happenings beneath the surface. Somehow, it wasn't until today that I realized I've always got a video camera with me in my cell phone! I'm going to try to document what I see from now on. Here's my first attempt: carp grazing in the margins (shallows), creating the telltale bubble trail.

A little end-of-weekend session...

Yesterday afternoon I decided to give Stumpy Lake a try. Since it was so blazingly hot, I decided to fish on the shaded side--good thing I did. Just sitting in my chair, waiting for a bite, I was soaking wet with sweat and had to wipe my bald pate every two minutes or so. I fished two rods on the float, but the water was only a foot or so deep, so I didn't have very high hopes. My low expectations were met fully, with nary a nibble in two hours! I decided to make for carp cove in my neighborhood. It didn't take long before I had a take and it was game on! I played this fish for about two minutes before my six-pound-test mono parted ways! Disappointed, but undaunted. Another hour-and-a-half's fishing netted only a half-dozen turtles, ending with about a ten-pound snapper! At least I got to wet a line for a few hours...

The Carper--An Unexpected Journey! 

Yesterday after getting home and doing a couple chores, I had about an hour of light left. Back to carp cove. Planned to fish on the float with the ultralight rig. Upon my arrival, there were a half dozen kids at the cove's end, screaming, jumping, and, in general, being normal kids. I set up maybe thirty feet down from them, with pretty low expectations; this swim is shallow--about 18 inches--and the carp are very spooky. Within seconds, they were surrounding me, plying me with questions. They asked about my golf ball-sized Panko-Oats chum balls--they liked the smell of the cinnamon therein. They enjoyed squeezing and smashing the prepped field corn between their thumb and forefinger--everyone wanted a go at it. They loved my catapult, and promptly took it and began shooting various harmless things in it. They were all crowded in so close (mere inches!) that I had to ask them to move back so I could cast out. I was really hoping to get a fish on so one (or more) of them could feel the thrill of playing a big (at least, compared to bluegills!) fish. Unfortunately, no takes were forthcoming while they were there--about 10-15 more minutes. After they left, I eventually got a take and landed a feisty 3 or 4-pounder. Even though I didn't get the quiet tranquility I was expecting, I enjoyed my interaction with these inquisitive, energetic children. We never know what unexpected adventures await us...