Carp on the Larry(Pictures)

[big-o]

Last weekend My buddy Brad and i decided that we would have one more shot at Carp before the opening of Bass season, So a plan was hatched to meet at the bridge swim for 4:45 AM, I left home around 2:30 am, I had no corn at home so a quick phone call to Jeff at the Canadian Carp Club for 20 liters of Corn and a new bite alarm ,he had the corn and alarm put off to the side for me, i slipped into the parking lot picked up the Corn and alarm and headed off to set up. I just baited the area and set out the rod when Brad showed up... 4:45 am on the dot.

I snapped this picture as Brad was driving up

we set up the second rod, and fifteen minutes Later Brad was into the first fish of the day

We had to re bait so i had a third rod ready to go, so we gently set it out onto the baited area just along side the current brake. we were going to be taking turns at the rods, so the next fish was mine, turns out to be a small male

Brad made a short cast into the middle of the current this time and catapulted (sling shot)some fresh field corn out. A short time later the alarm started to beep, it was a slow beep like if there was a weed on the line, but the tip was starting to bounce, Brad picked up the rod and felt weight, after a short battle Brad turned the fish into the net

Again the bait was stripped,Brad had brought alone a 9 foot Shimano TDR down rigging rod, he wanted to see how a short pole would react to big fish... well we didn't have to long to find out With sun still coming up I was on the little rod,Some how it didn't feel right, but I'll tell you it was fun, the fish got into the current, so from there on in it was a battle of wills, i came out on top..

well i thought it was a good size fish, turns out to be tied with the smallest fish of the day, 10 pounds,I'm not to sure I could have landed any thing bigger, i had no control of the fish whats do ever, but it was all fun

As all you know, sunrises are when on the bank are spectacular, and today's was no different

The fish were on the feed, Brad had just switch on the bait runner when this fish took the bait i like the Scale pattern on th

is little guy, and this fish had been caught before, In 4 years of fishing i had never caught a fish that had been hooked before... here is the first

At this time we decided to retire the TDR So i rigged up a another Grays and had it standing by.

This little fella fell to our offerings,

There was a short pause in the action... well then the Alarm Beeped, the rod tip twitch then stopped, Brad was standing over the rod... nothing, he just sat down when the reel start to scream out line, and the alarm was going crazy, the rod was almost bounced out of the alarm, brad was on it, the fish slowed down once Brad engaged the drag, it was still taking drag, heading straight out and staying deep, all the right indications that this was a better fish, Brad had to adjust the clutch several times before he got the fish turned around, it stripped off about 100 yards of line. Brad had to keep on top of this fish working the rod trying to keep it out of the current slow and steady fight which went on for about 10 minutes until i was able to slide the net under her

Brad new PB and the biggest fish he has ever caught

29 pounds even

We were still taking about that fish, when the alarm was going again,

Wow here it was only 7:30 am and we had banked 8 fish, we knew this was going to be a banner day...... well as it turned out, that would be the last fish until about 1:30 pm when Brad hooked into this one

At 2:30 PM we decided to pack it up, there was a major storm front moving in from the west, we could see it was dumping lots of rain, and with the fishing as slow as it was ,, we called it a day.

So we had 13 runs ,3 pull outs and nine landed, as slow day but when you get to share a day with a good friend, see the smile on his face when he picked up a new PB... it was all worth it.

This was the last day on the Bank for me for a while, Bass Season is opening the 26th of June and I'm in a tournament, i hope to have time to snap a few photos during the course of the day and will but up a report in the Predator section until then tight lines

Thanks for Looking

Cheers

Phil

[ADKGuide]

Hey, nice catches there. Sorry to thread-jack but I registered and am posting this to bring up the carp infestation problem, and whether you, and other carp anglers reading this, would be willing to forgo releasing your catches- dispose of them somewhere safely. Not many people fish for carp, so there is a lack of pressure on them and they have really flourished around the finger lakes. They run up the tributaries and ruin the trout fishing every spring. I always seem to accidentally hook them while flyfishing, and never land them. They've taken a bunch of my flies and leaders now. It's frustrating. And of course there is the spring thrashing around in the shallows, disruption of bass and panfish spawning nests, etc. Overall I find them disgusting nuisances, but I'm glad to see that people do fish for them. I just wish they wouldn't release them. The state has allowed bowfishing for them but only in select areas.

Sorry for the rant. Cheers.

[indian]

I just spit beer all over my computer

ADKGuide not being mean here at all butttttt......before typing next time confirm the type of fish your complaining about. Carp DO NOT....I REPEAT DO NOT run up any finger lake trib in the spring....those are suckers not carp, and they are far from a "disgusting nuisances" fish, invasive species or over populated, they perform a VERY important function in the ecosystem.

Carp are very few and far between in the finger lakes, and they spawn in shallow mud flats in early to mid June.

[ADKGuide]

I just spit beer all over my computer

ADKGuide not being mean here at all butttttt......before typing next time confirm the type of fish your complaining about. Carp DO NOT....I REPEAT DO NOT run up any finger lake trib in the spring....those are suckers not carp, and they are far from a "disgusting nuisances" fish, invasive species or over populated, they perform a VERY important function in the ecosystem.

Carp are very few and far between in the finger lakes, and they spawn in shallow mud flats in early to mid June.

I beg to differ. I fish Cold Brook (aka 'Keuka Inlet') at the southern end of Keuka lake in the spring and there are a number of large carp there, at least in the public sections south of the 54A bridge. They may not be there year-round, but I know for sure they are there in full force during the spring, churning up the water, creating huge swirls and waves whenever they're spooked, and breaking even 9+ lb line/leaders. They look to be in the 20-30 lb range. This part of the stream is public land and the carp could be legal for bow-fishing if there weren't houses within the 500 feet minimum. They'd be easy targets in slow moving water.

I have seen and caught the suckers you're referring too- entirely different fish, obviously smaller and slimmer than carp, and they face upstream in the fast moving shallows, usually in tight groups of 2-3. They are the ones I always see in Catherine Creek that are practically catch-able with bare hands. In the past couple years I've been to the Cohocton river, Owasco inlet, Butternut Creek, Mill Creek, Neil Creek, Cayuga Inlet, Catherine Creek and Naples Creek and can tell the difference between a sucker and a carp. Check out Cold Brook for yourself, the carp there are impossible to miss.

[indian]

Anyways.....Cold brook is a trout stream, get caught with a bow on any trout stream and see what happens.

[bloodshot]

Just pack a .45, Shots fired! I didnt hear any shots fired

[big-o]

Carp can be a problem for sure, if you wanted to do something about them I suggest you get hold of the fishery people in your State. I release all my Carp, as they are a great sport to catch, where else can you bring a young lad at any time of the year and catch 30 pound fish, and lots of them. Carp have a bad name and it’s too bad. People from Europe spend thousands of dollars in Canada and the US every year to fish them. I have friends from England that spend 2 weeks here on the Canadian side every year just to fish these great fighting fish. In New York there is a major world tourney bringing in the top carp fishermen from the US Canada, and from around the world to fish, bringing in tens of thousands of dollars in to the local economy, so don't be to hard on these fish.