Carp fishing(pictures)

[big-o]

For the past 3 years I've been off the big lake and doing more bass,pike trout trips, a friend from England talked me into Carp fishing trip with him... well 8 hours on the bank... sold me i bought all the proper equipment and straerted to fish for these gold monsters. I fish mainly on the St. Lawrance River... if you ever get a chance to fish for these guys ...take it, it's like fighting Salmon... but not having the boat to chase,or use to your advantage just you and the drag

This next one is a Mirror Carp, very rare here in our neck of the woods to catch

My brother battling a Carp.. we use 12 foot rods

one of the best things about Carp fishing is that it is a social event ,here i had a number of friends join me on the bank... it was a great time to sit back, relax, catch up on our fishing storys have a BBQ and battle some monster fish

I could put up a few hundred pictures... better stop here Any one has any questions about catching these fish... its a great place for the kids also.. ask away.

Thanks for looking

Phil

[BlueEye]

Great pics Phil. That mirror carp is really something Have not seen many (if any?) like that before around here.

[SteelieBum]

It's amazing how many of us think of these as junk fish. I really think I'm going to make an effort to give it a shot this year.

[GAMBLER]

Carp fishing is a blast. I started back when I was very young in the Erie canal. Still fish there for them to this day. It is even more fun on the fly rod. Very nice pictures. Do you guys use corn and chum the area?

[momay4000]

Gambler,

I fished for carp almost every day Spring-Summer on the Susquehanna River when I lived in Johnson City/Endwell for eight years (Binghamton area). I would always use corn (4 or 5 kernels on a medium size hook) and we would chum with a handful or two or corn. I used the carp bait (cheddar cheese mixture) and it didn't work very well. I would jig for walleye and smallies, but always had my carp rod in the water at the same time. Green Giant Niblets worked best and the hotter the weather the better the fishing. Some evenings we would catch 10 or 15 of those puppies. I would see guys hook into one every now and then jigging Dobson (hellgramites) as well.

- Chris

[GAMBLER]

Chris,

Corn is our favorite on the canal. My father used to use doughballs but they do not stay on long enough for me. The fly rod with a bread fly and chumming bread on the surface is my favorite.

[Gill-T]

I grew up fishing carp lakes in my neighborhood, at the cottage on Lime Lake, and anywhere else walleyes were not available to fish for at night. Corn, doughballs, and like Gambler chum'em with floating bread. Love the "poor-man's salmon". Great fight, and you can fish in a relaxed way, on a dock with a twelve pack in warm weather at night. I was trying to garner interest at the pro/am events to have a carp contest at night. Every event has carp in the marinas,however, nobody took me seriously (there is a suprise!). I would think it would be a blast drinking beer, shooting the ****e, harassing fellow contestants, and running fish up to the weigh station.

Anyone interested?????? Anyway, one of my fondest fishing memories was carp fishing. On the dock at Lime Lake with my brother, a can of Delmonte corn and a twelve pack of Old Milwaulkee. I decided on this particular evening to abandon my usual light gear for my heavier downrigger equipment to see what the battle would be like with a tight drag and heavy line. After about the sixth beer or so, I must have forgotten to leave free-spool on my Diawa Sealine reel and while my head was turned talking to my brother, I heard a splash and saw my rod moving out to the middle of the lake! Without hesitation I dove off the end of the dock in the direction of the wake my rod made. At full extension, I had a Matrix (movie) moment where as I was above the water, I could see the moonlight glistening off the chrome reel parts as the rod was traveling about one foot below the surface. I had guestimated the distance to jump perfectly as my outstretched hands land on the rod handle which I grab as I hit the water with beautiful bellyflop. The raucus of the splash, the screaming drag, and my brother's hysterical laughter woke up everyone around us. As the neighbors come pouring out of their cottages to see what the hell all the noise is about I could hear them say "aw its just the Kahler boys fishing again" ......good times

[big-o]

Like most have said I use Corn 3 kernels on a #4 carp hook on a hair rig with a small piece of dense yellow foam(about the same size as the corn ) to pop it off the bottom.. I fish in 30 to 40 feet of water and in current so I have to use a 3 ounce weight and i chum the with hydrated corn( I let field corn soak in a bucket of hot water for least 24 hours) I Bait 10 to 20 cups of corn after every fish or every 1/2 hour. in current that's not much... you need to make a good bait pile in a small area to hold the carp in the strike zone.. accurate casting to your bait pile is a must

I said we use 12 foot rods ,and Bait runner reels ,you can use none bait runners by backing the drag off so when the fish picks up your bait you just have to crank the drag down to the proper level... always make sure the drag is back off or you have your bait runner engaged... if not you can kiss your rod and reel goodbye

It is to bad that these fish are considered garbage fish... take a close look at these fish the colors are remarkable and the fight.. is fantastic,The tails on Carp are enormous.. I have fought a 33 pound fish for almost 20 minutes on light mono... it was a blast

Phil

[GAMBLER]

You are right, carp are great fighters. A lot of people look at me funny when I tell them I'm going carp fishing. The mirror carp are very cool looking. I had not caught one until 3 years ago. I ended up getting 2 in one day. How do you rig your hair rigs? What hooks and line do you use? ever try the rubber corn they sell in Cabelas?

[on the lam]

Ya don't have to go far for those big boys, during Jon's Little Salmon brown trout derby this bad boy was hooked in Oswego Harbor. My bro/in law landed him on 8# test. Notice the spoon in the tail. He didn't hit of course, just a foul hook. We thought we had the derby big fish for sure. He was released so he could pound up against someones boat at the marina in the middle of the night again.

[stusmobile]

Cracking fish especially that mirror,

The St Lawrence is on my list of waters to get to this year in search of carp, been fishing for them for 30+ years and don't think I'll ever get tired of them. The rods are ready, the baitrunners respooled and the delkims have new batteries .... now if only we could get rid of the bloody ice

[big-o]

You are right, carp are great fighters. A lot of people look at me funny when I tell them I'm going carp fishing. The mirror carp are very cool looking. I had not caught one until 3 years ago. I ended up getting 2 in one day. How do you rig your hair rigs? What hooks and line do you use? ever try the rubber corn they sell in Cabelas?

I never used plastic corn.. I have some ...but never used yet, I pick up most of my tackle from the Canadian Carp Club in Long Sault, But Wackers Bait and tackle in the U.S. has some great stuff.. http://www.wackerbaits.com/sf/home.html .

Here is a a video on how to tie a simple hair rig

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0oAwDbf ... re=related

[big-o]

Cracking fish especially that mirror,

The St Lawrence is on my list of waters to get to this year in search of carp, been fishing for them for 30+ years and don't think I'll ever get tired of them. The rods are ready, the baitrunners respooled and the delkims have new batteries .... now if only we could get rid of the bloody ice

Thanks stusmobile... The Mirror was 25 lbs.. and it was my third Mirror ever... I'll tell you when that hit the unhooking mat... I was one happy camper New York has some great carp tournys every year, some of the top Carp Anglers from around the word attend...

[troutmaster45]

nice fish, i love carp fishing, my dad and i fish the seneca river a lot and also the erie canal. Always loads of fun!!!