CARP ANGLER www.joincag.com north american CCC Registration Information Tournaments and Fish-in reviews and reports | Feature articles from Atilla Agh, Iain Sorrell & Adi Ben-Senior CCC Registration Information Tournaments and Fish-in reviews and reports | Feature articles from Atilla Agh, Iain Sorrell & Adi Ben-Senior IN THIS EDITION: CAG NEWS AND EVENTS INCLUDING: SPRING BIG 4 ESSENCE OF CARPING REGIONAL SOCIAL EVENTS IN THIS EDITION: CAG NEWS AND EVENTS INCLUDING: SPRING BIG 4 ESSENCE OF CARPING REGIONAL SOCIAL EVENTS
As always we rely on our members contributions and I want to thank everyone; both past and present who has contributed to this magazine over the years. Without your input the magazine would cease to exist.
Hopefully, you all enjoy this edition and have a great end to the summer season. We’ll have another online edition in the next month or two, so get out, catch some fish and send in your results and write-ups.
Hope you all enjoy this edition and as always, if anyone would like to contribute; please send any communications or materials to naca@carpanglersgroup.com
Dean Brookes Dean Brookes
EDITOR IN-CHIEF ADDRESS
As we reach the end of the summer, I’m starting to look forward to the cooler weather in the fall and with it a return to my own carp fishing. I’m always’ excited to see other people catching and we’ve seen some great fish come out in US waters this year, which really is the tip of the iceberg in regards to the potential of our waters.Inthis edition we focus on a couple of CAG Regional events and we also have Big 4 results, Essence of Carping Monthly winners and a couple of great feature articles
While social media has clearly impacted many traditional fishing forums we still maintain the CAG Forum for those who prefer a paid CAG member only environment. It is also where we post exclusive CAG information, announcements, event results etc. as well as an extensive library and history of posts.
President Address
https://www.facebook.com/groups/carpanglersgroup
CAG is now approaching its 30th anniversary and continues to welcome newcomers, grow the base for carp anglers across the USA, Canada and Mexico and more importantly a successful advocate for the protection of trophy carp. Enjoy this issue of the NACA and have a great summer of carp fishing!
Photo: CCC Chicago River 1996 Iain Sorrell
The growth in social media has opened up many opportunities to spread the word about catch & release carp fishing across North America. I’m therefore delighted to announce that the CAG Facebook page recently passed 5,000 members! When you bear in mind that this is a ‘private’ page and our moderators screen anyone who submits a request (applicants must also answer some key questions) to join it is even more impressive. The CAG Facebook page is an important portal, especially for welcoming newcomers, that helps educate and inform about tackle, techniques and most importantly catch and release and carp care.
Contents PAGE 48 PAGE 56 PAGE 38 PAGEPAGEPAGEPAGE46312414Fall BIG 4 Results PAGE 13 PAGE 6All About Leads CAG Carp Classic 2022 ESSCENCE OF CARPING West Virginia CAG Social West Virginia Fishing Session CT Carp Regs St Lawrence Invitational Showdown CT Shoot Out 2022
By Iain Sorrell
In its simplest form a ‘bolt-rig’ uses the weight of the lead to help set the hook in a fish’s mouth. When a carp picks up the bait and feels the hook point it will immediately try and blow out the bait along with the hook. If, however, there is tension on the hook link due to the weight of the lead then the carp will find it much more difficult to eject the hook. In many cases the carp will become panicked and ‘bolt’ resulting in a steady run. We will explore how it has been refined over the years and how it should be fished but for now let’s wind the clock back.In the early days of carp fishing anglers would go to extreme lengths to minimize any resistance to a fish picking up and moving off with the hook bait. Light lines with only minimal weights were used in the belief that if a fish encountered any resistance, it would promptly drop the bait. This was very much applied to carp fishing before the 1970’s with free lined bread, paste or par-boiled potatoes fished on 6-8lb lines with very light weight indicators and with an open bail arm so the line could ‘fall off’ the spool as the carp moved off. Even for longer range anglers would often limit the size of a running lead to no more than 1 or 2 oz. The origins of the bolt rig appear to go back to early paternoster rigs when hooks were mounted on short lengths of line or ‘snoods’ tied off the mainline above a weight tied at the end. This resulted in fish being able to move only a very short distance before feeling the weight of the lead which almost certainly resulted in hook-ups even before the angler had an opportunity to detect the bite and strike.
British angler Ron Clay, who emigrated to South Africa in 1967, was very much, in his words, a ‘Walkerian’. In other word’s he’d read the articles written by the legendary Richard Walker who at the time was very much seen as a pioneer in British carp fishing. Walker also held the British carp record of 44lb for almost 30 years, caught from the legendary Redmire Pool in 1952. Ron, like many at the time, followed Walker’s advice on the importance of free lining baits with minimal resistance.
So, what is a ‘Bolt Rig’?
Suspending the bait on a piece of line instead of mounted on the hook revolutionized carp fishing since the introduction of the hair-rig in the late 1970’s. There has been much written about the impact of the ‘hair’ and its effectiveness. But the screaming runs where the carp mostly hooked themselves, was greatly enhanced by a combination of the hair with the ‘bolt rig’. Perhaps what is not known is that the origins of the ‘bolt rig’ likely preceded the hair by several decades.
All About Leads
Part One: The Bolt Rig
The Helicopter rig got its name from the way the rig can ‘spin’ around the main line or leader like a helicopter rotor. This made the rig almost tangle free and made it popular for long distance casting.
Helicopter Rigs
The adjustment of the bead position determines the range of movement of the rig up and down the lead core leader or main line (naked). When you fish over silt or weed you can move the top bead further up the line so the lead will rest on the bottom or buried in the silt while the bait sits nicely on top of the weed.
Ron Cay with a nice mirror In the early 1970’s, before the advent of the hair rig when baits were still mounted on the hook, it still took a while for carp anglers to recognize the advantages of fishing a ‘fixed’ lead weight.
North American Carp Angler 7
When Ron saw the ‘crude’ paternoster tackle used by the local South African anglers he thought it wouldn’t be long before they were copying his more sophisticated methods. The locals used two short 3” hook links tied to 3-way swivels mounted 6” and 12” above a lead weight with a single grain of maize or sweetcorn on a size 10 – 4 hook for baits. Crushed maize (miele bomb) was squeezed around the lead and lower hook to help attract the carp. Once cast out the line was wound tight and a heavy bobbin added to the line. As crude as the set up might seem the results were incredible! Once Ron copied this tactic he often caught 3040 carp over a weekend from a wide range of waters across South Africa.
Ron became a member of the British Carp Study Group (BCSG) in 1970 and shared his ideas but was quite heavily criticized on a few occasions when members saw his South African based rigs. However, in 1974 he had an article published in the UK’s Angling Telegraph highlighting the effectiveness of the set up. Whatever other people initially thought of Ron’s ideas they clearly captured the attention of a few of Britain’s top anglers. The legendary Rod Hutchinson was an early adopter of bolt rigs fishing them with 3” hook lengths and particle baits on the hook. He wrote about their effective use well before the arrival of the hair-rig.
The modern-day Helicopter rig actually creates an effective ‘paternoster’ style rig but instead of a fixed hook snood a wide ring swivel allows the hook link to move up and down the leader or mainline. The hook link movement can also be controlled or even fixed with the positioning of rubber beads (that can be pulled free in the event of the line breaking) on the leader or mainline. When a fish picks up the bait it will very quickly feel the weight of the lead creating a ‘bolt rig’ effect.
The lead can also be replaced with a swim feeder or other device to carry method or pack which can make it a very effective set-up for fishing in rivers. The baited hook link will trail downstream in the wake of the method or pack particles.
Lead Clips are designed to hold the lead in a fixed position to create a ‘bolt’ effect but more importantly will, if set up correctly, ensure the lead can be dumped easily when needed or if the line breaks. There are now many variations of lead clip commercially available. The most common has an insert for the hook link swivel or speed clip swivel, a plastic elbow to retain the lead and a tail rubber to hold it in place.
North American Carp Angler 9
There are also some novel ideas from a variety of companies using metal arms etc. These clips can be used for a wide variety of leads that come with an attached swivel which can be placed over the clip arm/elbow. It is important to check how far the tail rubber needs to be pushed over the clip elbow. Too much will likely prevent the lead being dropped at all, while too little will result in the lead coming off when the rig hits the water.
Lead Clips
One of the downsides to a bolt rig is the lead being ‘fixed’ in position near the hook. A carp, when hooked, will often shake its head violently in an effort to rid itself of the hook.
The momentum created by the lead during these sudden movements can easily dislodge a lightly hooked fish by shaking the hook out of its mouth.
accidentally, quite tricky. It is imperative to ‘stop’ the cast (‘clip up’ or use your finger to feather or stop the line coming off the spool) just before the lead hits the water. This will keep the lead tight against the lead clip ‘elbow’ and minimize the chances of it coming off the clip, on impact with the water. Another way to overcome this problem is to tie some PVA tape around the lead clip which will make sure everything stays place. When the PVA dissolves the lead can still be dropped easily.
Ingenuity from Phil Nathan: Nylon Stocking filled with stones. Note the swivel / knot set up!
If, like me, you don’t like the environmental impact of routinely dropping leads then the use of lighter leads, longer hook lengths (so the lead is further from the carps mouth) or fishing with a running lead will help. Another alternative is to make up a mesh bag (nylon stockings work well) filled with stones to create a suitable weight.
Dropping the Lead?
‘Dropping the lead’ has become a popular way to prevent this from happening. It also allows a carp to be played nearer the surface instead of down in the depths and away from weed, rocks or other snags.
Dropping the lead usually requires the tail rubber to be only lightly pushed onto the lead clip. This can make casting, without losing the lead
However, the ability to lose the lead quickly and easily is imperative when fishing close to snags or in heavy weed. It can make all the difference in successfully landing a fish and more importantly help prevent the fish getting tangled up in a snag.
Here in the USA fishing pack or method around the lead is a popular and very effective way of catching carp. If you are fishing method packed around an in-line lead then it is vital to use a short hook length of just 3 to 4”.
When feeding on boilies or larger particles the carp are mostly moving from one bait to another but with method or pack this is generally not the case.
A short hook link ensures the hook engages with the bottom lip with the minimum of movement from the fish. This not only reduces the chance of the hook link tangling around the leader or mainline but will also maximize any bolt effect.
The majority of In-Line Leads now include an ‘insert’. This is a rubber tube into which a swivel, that connects the mainline and hook-link, can be ‘pulled’ into. This effectively holds the lead in position sufficiently to create a bolt effect but still allows the swivel to pull free in the event of a break off.
A ‘triangular’ shaped ‘weight forward’ lead of the type shown will also generate more downward leverage to help sink the hook point.
In-Line Leads
They are also popular for use with short hook links in solid PVA bags surrounded by pellet or hemp seed etc.
In-Line Leads with Method
North American Carp Angler 11
Let’s Get Heavy!
No matter which lead set up you use it is absolutely vital that a carp can rid itself of the lead weight in the event of the mainline breaking. If the lead remains attached, it can create a so called ‘death rig’. A death rig is one that prevents the carp getting rid of the attached lead when the mainline breaks. This can result in a carp dragging the lead and several feet of line around for days or even weeks.
Of course, the lead weight has to be balanced to match the capabilities of the tackle you are using (especially rod test curve and line strength), location you are fishing and the distance you need to cast.There are other ways to ensure proper hook penetration. If you are fishing a light lead, in the margins or weed for instance, then a tighter clutch or bait runner setting or fishing ‘locked up’ to snags will effectively do the same thing as a heavier lead. But… please make sure the rod is properly secured so it can’t be pulled in!
And worse still it can become snagged in weeds or tree roots etc resulting in the carp dying or developing severe injuries. No matter what rig you choose you should ALWAYS ensure that if the mainline breaks the lead etc can slide over any knots or leader connections. In the next edition of the NACA we’ll explore some of the different lead designs and their uses as well as one of my favorite set ups, the running rig.
When fishing a ‘fixed’ lead on a clip or in-line bolt-rig set up there is no doubt that the heavier the lead the more effective it will be at setting the hook. A lead of 3.5 oz or more will help prevent the carp from shaking the hook free. If you use a 4.5 or 5oz lead, and provided the hook point is nice and sharp, then it will penetrate deep into the lip and will be almost impossible for a carp to eject the hook point.
Safety!
North American Carp Angler 13 CAG Carp Classic 2022 Saturday September 24th | Location: Hudson River, NY Peg CoxsackieLocations:Riverside Park, Dutchman’s Landing & Henry Hudson Park Friday Sept 23 2022: Meet & Greet & Scale Check At the Pegasus Restaurant from 5:00 pm Saturday Sept 24 2022: CAG Carp Classic Tournament 7:00am - Peg draw & Scale Check @ Chrissy’s Diner 8:00am - 4:00pm - CCC Fishing 6:00pm – Dinner Pegasus Restaurant 7:30pm - Awards, Prize Giving & Raffle For the latest details, rules and registration please follow the ccc-2022/php?/forum/431-com/forum/index.carpanglersgroup.https://www.link:
North American Carp Angler 15 The Winners! To find out more about our BIG 4 sponsors please visit their websites: www.bigcarptackle.com & https://www.carpbaitusa.com/
1st Place – Stelian Bogdan
North American Carp Angler 17 2nd Place – Tim Marshall
3rd Place – Richard De Oliviera
North American Carp Angler 19 4th Place – Dave Pickering 5th Place – Michael McDevitt
6th Place – Rob Michalik 7th Place – Dominic Firestone
8th Place – Chris Mathews 9th Place – Norman Finke North American Carp Angler 21
10th Place – Ian Tallack Big
StelianBigTimMirrorMarshallCommonBogdan
The Rules:
CAG members are invited to capturephotographssubmitthatwhatisuniqueandexcitingabout carp fishing in North America.
Each submission must include the following details: The type of device (e.g. camera or phone) used. The date the photo was taken. Location (nearest Town and State). Your Name Photo Title (e.g. Mirror Magic, Waiting for the Bite etc)
4.
Entries should be submitted to the “CAG Essence of Carping Competition” under the appropriate “Month” below.
- The entrant must be a Full CAG Member & the owner of any copyright to the photograph. An entrant may submit a maximum of TWO photos only in each month. The photograph must have been taken in the submission month (final date for submissions is 24 hours after the end of each month)
5.
2.
Each month the winner will receive a special prize plus recognition for two runners up.
For
- All fish photos must demonstrate appropriate carp care and catch & release
Each month we’ll announce a winner and Award a prize or voucher (worth $100) with the winning photo appearing in a forthcoming NACA magazine as well as the CAG Forum Site and Facebook page. The top 3 will also receive CAG Medals.
The ‘essence’ of carp fishing in North America might memorialize a remarkable scale pattern, someone’s first carp, a group of friends fishing together, a spectacular sunset, time of year or perhaps a dramatic background or landscape.
1.
The judges will be fellow members who should pay particular attention to the subject matter and composition and not just the photographic or editing skills. In the event of a tie or any disputes the CAG BOD will be the final arbitrator.
Entrants agree that CAG may use or display a submitted photo on the CAG website and Social Media resources. more info, please visit: https://www.carpanglersgroup.com/forum/index.php?/forum/415-essence-of-carping-photo-competition/
3.
-
The photos do not have to be of someone holding a fish (this is NOT a Trophy fish competition) but they should be recognizable as being related to carp or buffalo fishing in North America and should reflect the capture of a special moment.
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APRIL Winners North American Carp Angler 25 1st – Michael Huffman 2nd – Dave Pickering
3rd – Brent Behnken MAY Winners 1st – Michael Huffman
North American Carp Angler 27 2nd – Chirstopher Ondecko 3rd – CJ Grace
3rd - Dave Pickering 1st – Michael Huffman JUNE Winners
North American Carp Angler 29 2nd – Dan Ketterman 3rd – Erik Taylor
North American Carp Angler 31
West Virginia CAG Social – The Summersville Lake Social
By Derek Williams
The Summersville lake Social or SLS for short on May 7th and 8th was in its third year in 2022. Summersville located in WV is the largest lake in the state and is very challenging to fish. Steep banks and deep water are the lakes main Characteristics. The SLS is hosted on this water because of the big fish this lake holds. I wanted it to catch the locals attention and help grow the sport in ourThisstate.year was shaping up to be an amazing year for the event. CAG members and non-members traveled from Pennsylvania, Virginia and all across West Virginia to fish for big fish & camaraderie with like minded anglers as well as some friendly competition. West Virginia’s Carp anglers get very excited about the event. WV anglers made donations to help make the event even more exciting. Vendors also helped support the event with donations of flavors and baits. The SLS starts a week before with prebaiting everyday prior to the event. MAY 7th began early in the morning with lots of rain but everyone was still in high spirits! Ayden Minick catches the first fish with and continues to catch fish after fish. He had the magic spot! Around noon he gets another run but this time it’s different.
Then a couple minutes later my buddy Domenic Firestone was able to net this fish of a life time. When we weighed the fish it went 47 pounds which is the same weight as the West Virginia state record. After getting some photos I was just getting ready to release it when my friend Derek Williams told me to wait a minute! He told me it was possibly the new state record! So we put the fish in my retaining sling and we called the biologist for the area to come out and certify it. Unfortunately,by the time he arrived it had lost 2 pounds but when he measured it came out at 41.2 inches which is the new West Virginia state record for length!
Ayden Minick tells his story.
It was around 12 in the afternoon the weather was rainy and water level and temp was rising pretty fast. When suddenly I have a very slow take barely moving out when I picked the rod up and set the drag the fish stayed straight slowly taking line. I let it take line for a good while and it never come to the surface always staying down After I’d say 10 minutes it came up to the surface and that’s when I knew it was the biggest carp I’ve ever seen!
A good amount of fish were landed considering the bad weather we were receiving. We ran a draw for prizes with everyone receiving something.
Baits, rigs, CAG Items, flavors, mats and stickers were all given out.
CAG event was a big leap in the right direction for carp fishing in the state. Aaron Yeager a fisheries biologist for West Virginia was very impressed with the high level of fish care that was involved with certifying the fish. His words were the bass guys don’t even take care of the fish like we do! Moving on past the excitement of seeing a fish of that caliber.
North American Carp Angler 33
North American Carp Angler 35
Unfortunately fishing in the evening was cut short because of rising waters. But everyone stayed together for conversation and stories! The next morning started early with a surprise from our favorite fish. The very place we were all standing the day before became the spawning grounds of a few healthy size females. They gave us all a show! After pictures with everyone Ayden and Dolton Stansick received their trophies for largest and smallest fish. We all reluctantly packed up and all went home with some stories to tell and good memories to reflect on! I look forward to Seeing everyone in the future at future events!
Joshua Jones from Pennsylvania adds his thoughts on the social. After attending the Carp Anglers Group social, I have to say how important I think it is for us carp anglers and also the carp, that we have orchestrators that take the time and set up these events. Location was perfectly suited for the number of anglers. We all had plenty of room to adjust if needed between the pegs without interfering with another angler.
With every fish landed came a gathering of the group to congratulate the anglers. With some beautiful fish making it to the net , including a very special one, everyone was involved as a family and that’s how it should be. Looking forward to the next!
Alot of prep time has gone into preparation over time for the best intentions that the carp will participate also. After speaking with Derek Williams about the swim, the Location was set up very well for natural carp movement to give the best odds for each pod as they moved from channel to cove and back. Many great donations, from vendors. Carp care products for the ones new to the sport that didn’t own things such as a unhooking mat was gifted.
Everyone went home with something too. We received a 10 lb batch of boilies, end tackle, baiting hardware and some memorabilia items. Most of all , after all the intriguing things about how the social was organized I want to add most of all was the conversations, getting the chance to meet new anglers, and over all sportsmanship!
West Virginia Fishing
SessionByAdiBen-Seniort
But here, carping is very different. Where to go with such bad fishing conditions? Since I have never fished the area before, I’m new to the area, not knowing anybody around to help, what were my options? Go home? No way! Google maps, wake up Derek again, jumped into the car looking for a new spot. Half an hour later – boom. Found it.
While in Europe we hardly ever had river carping, but here it seems to be very common and, in some States, – the default method of carping. The typical long 13ft. 3.5Lb fast action rods for long distance are too long for the low overhanging brush and the rigid tip does not perform well in the fast current. 8-11ft 2.75Lb medium action would probably make the better option. For casting long distances in Europe, we used big pit reels (14000 series) with a tough leader following a super thin line (less than 10 Lb.) on a slow oscillating reel. But here, it’s a different story.
Derek Williams and I had an outstanding fishing session recently. It started at 7am Saturday on the New River not far from Bluestone lake WV. Derek didn’t wake up for his alarm as 3 hours earlier the New River was dark brown with floating stumps. Not much of a morning for me. In Europe, in such cases, I would go the lake’s office register and set up while waiting for my buddy.
lines.periencedifrod,memory,monofisuperioraboutperioroZTuFvsARA3054AaABAgyoutube.com/watch?v=GlPLVGlfT_g&lc=Ugw4t_https://www.)IuseP-lineXXL25lbMossGreenandSufixSu-20Lbyellowmono,withnoleader.Andwhatbraid?Well,whilebraidedlineingeneralareinstrengthtodiameterratio,comparingtolamentandfluorocarbon,itslowstretchlowwillpassallthetensioninthelinetotheratherthanabsorbingsomeofit.Inotherwords,youarefishingforbigstrongcarpornotaveryex-angler,sticktothemonoandfluorocarbon
The elongation ability of the line, absorbs some of tension, reducing chances of losing a carp during the Backdrill.tothe story, after cleaning the spot from needles, broken glasses, and garbage (Unfortunately, there are no Facebook groups for keeping clean fishing spots to post with but is so important. Please do not leave traces after you leave your spot and while at it, please make yourself a good habit and fill that bag on the way out) I began setting up still waiting for Derek….
North American Carp Angler 39
Casting is short distance (I do not recall casting here beyond 80 yards) a 5000 series reel is more than enough, no need for a leader and the ultra-low stretch thin line is replaced with a good solid mono that can easily be pulled through the brush and snags without losing the carp (see in this video how a 25Lb drags my line into the brush
By 3 Pm Derek landed 11 carp and I landed 2, but who counts, it’s all friendly, we are here for the fun ☹. We were casting and baiting up stream using the current to land the bait in the swim, of the deeper channel closer to the bank. Then, Derek made a critical observation that changed the entire session. My casts were mending only up and down the stream but not for the distance from the bank.
My set up and choice of bait: While boilies is more for the fine dine, not mainstream (Yet!), Pack bait seems to be the best choice on the carp’s menu. I began with an inline 60gr spring feeder and number #6 Gamakatsu hook. That didn’t work. The fast current rolled the feeder down the stream out of my swim. So, I changed to a 3oz flat inline pear lead, applying the pack bait directly on it, like a big dough ball. Especially in fast water, pack bait alone is not enough. The current will wash it away leaving no feed in the swim. This is when boilies step in. I bait with 50-50% hard and soluble 20mm strawberry boilies Since they are relatively heavy, they will sink to the bottom where the current is slower, stop behind a rock or on the grass and slowly break down. The particles at the bottom, offering carp free bait, is crucial in my opinion. More so, I added to the pack bait extra particles to land at the bottom of the swim. By Now I’m up and running. I have two rods in the swim and my alarms are set to high volume. Meantime, Derek showed up with his goodies. Five minutes after he casted his first of three rods, the alarm goes off and my jaw dropped wide open. He grew up here and knows the water. There is nothing like knowing the water. I can’t state that enough. Being an experienced angler and spending years on the New River is a winning combination. Knowing the patterns, understanding the swim and the river is a key factor for success. Back in the day, when carping was my day job, I spent at least one fishing session learning and adjusting at the venue prior to every competition. Knowing the water is Invaluable knowledge. A few minutes later we had a beautiful 24 Lb. common on the matt.
Casting further out allowed the final resting position of my bait stay in the channel rather being pulled out of it, closer the bank. All I had to do is cast upstream as before, but five yards further out. Next cast – we had a double run.
North American Carp Angler 41 On the hooks we had corn, boilies and Tiger nuts Mending my cast turned the tables around and I began landing carp too with a growing average size. By midnight the score was 14:4 for Derek yet were not counting ☺. The last carp for that evening had a unique scales pattern.
Warm night and clear skies, who needs a bivvy? We took out the cots and slept under the night skies. Kissed on my forehead by the goddess of carping, next morning, I was landing carp. Bigger and faster. My Average size was well over 17Lb. Dropping water level (2inch per hour) helped as well. slower current and clear water. An increasing average in weight means, the bating method works.
Carp are in the swim bringing in the big ones. If the average is not increasing and bites are random – then either baiting method requires adjustment (type, quantity or both) or, random schools of carp passing through the swim, biting randomly. While in the US carping sessions are mostly one day to two days, making it harder to observe a clear trend in carp size, in Europe, carping sessions usually are longer (up to 5 days at a time), allowing to identify changes of carp size over time in the swim.
Increasing average size of carp is a key indicator for good baiting. The particles, seeds, combined with the pack bait and with the help of boilies and canned sweet corn, made a difference.
During our session we baited in total about 1520Lb. Derek was launching spods of goodies, delivering them directly to the swim. While sweet corn on the hair rig did not generate exceptional results, 20mm strawberry soluble boilie and Tiger nuts landed the three biggest carp. Hook links were average length. Mine on the shorter side 5-7 inches while Derek’s on the longer side 6-9 inches with a quickchange sleeve system. Braided and fluorocarbon hook links, both works. Wild river carp are not particular and do not have previous memories of being caught. The typical hesitation reaction seen often in underwater video footage from Europe is not as my experience carping in the US.
43
North American Carp Angler
Here, bites are hard and strong following by a screaming alarm. On the other hand, being meticulous and a perfectionist on tying rigs is an understatement.A“bad” rig made well will always outperform a “good” rig tied badly. This is one of the statements of which all angles will agree upon. While rigs are a subject for multiple articles and conversations, the one principle I stick to – is keep it simple. As simple as possible as long as it works. As morning became noon, Clear skies with spotted clouds and warm water opened a great opportunity for taking pictures and videos.
The carp were in the swim, and we were landing them one after the other. In total we landed over 30 carp I landed the biggest, Derek landed 3 more, but who counts we are here for the fun ☺. Over lunch, we discussed our next session in mid-July, thinking of good potential spot and began planning the next social event – the Autumn gathering of C.A.G. This country holds huge potential for carping with many uncharted waters to explore. While we haven’t decided yet on the location of the event(s), we recognize the need for further education about carp care, the value of catch and release (especially prized carp) and changing some of the misconceptions regarding this great sport fishing.
This session reminded me once more, why we are so passionate about carping and how committed I am to grow the sport. So in-between now and then, if you are a member of C.A.G. or not (highly recommended), feel free to drop me an email, a question, or a call on captain-carp’s Facebook page. live hard and fish hard!
CT Carp Regs Enforced for ‘Over Bagging’ of Common Carp
carp. It should be noted that
Over weekend of May 14th one of the CT Environmental Conservation Police Officers responded to the CT River in Cromwell for a report of three males ‘over bagging’ on the CT River is a carp body of
the
trophy
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These recently created regulations are the first of their kind anywhere in the United States. Thanks to the efforts of members of the Carp Anglers Group, CT DEEP and support from key State Representatives these regulations not only highlight the growth in catch and release carp angling but also the importance of protecting the exceptional trophy common carp fishery in the State of Connecticut.
North American Carp Angler 47
St Lawrence Invitational Showdown
Barrydraw.unhitches his trailer. We head to see Bob Giordano at his home. As we pull up we see 3 guys fishing and Bob comes out says Hi and welcomes us into his home. We chatted regarding the competition peg locations and issues. We had a few hours to kill and Brian and I jumped into Barry’s truck and looked at a few pegs. We drove to Peg 31 and I got out, looked around; it was a nice peg. Downside was going to be moving the gear from the road to the peg as it had rained hard a day before, and it was going to rain late morning on Thursday. Also, being on a private property peg, the last thing we wanted to do is dig up the grass with our vehicles. The peg itself was nice grass area with a step down to the water’s edge. We were at the widest part of brook. Left of the peg was main flow in from the St. Lawrence River. We looked at other pegs like peg 1, which had everything you needed and didn’t even need a bivvy. You could of slept under the bar area that it had, and there was also a shower and bathroom there as well.
By Sam Williams
Its Wednesday May 18th 5am woke up getting ready putting the last few things into the car. My lovely wife had made me breakfast before I leave for a 5 hour journey. Meeting up with Barry Howard at Chrisy diner in Coxsackie at 6am, a place we hold the CCC peg draw. He was picking up our runner Brian Vedder. He meets me in the parking lot about 6.15am. So we begin our journey to the North. After 2 stops and 5 hours later. We arrived at the Ole Smoke House, where we would be eating and doing the Peg
Early evening when the rain had finally stopped, I made my dinner; chicken skewers with mushy peas and instant mashed potatoes using my new Ridge monkey cooker and pans. After eating dinner and cleaning up I started to prepare for night time.
The peg draw took place at the Ole Smoke House in Madrid NY, and everyone got to meet and greet. The peg draw started at 6pm. I got hold of Bob and presented him with a Bottle of Italian Red wine. As a thank you gift on behalf CAG, to say thank you for doing the tournament, in the wake of the passing of Colin Peters, who will be missed greatly.Tuesday evening Bob went live on Facebook to do the order of the teams for the peg draw. We were 9th in line. Before Bob started the peg draw he explained the circumstance that the tournament had gone through to get to this point. There were two raffles one was for the St. Lawrence Junior Tournament and the prize was for the Colin Peters fishing gear. It was not just Carp gear, it had European Match fishing gear, poles and a seat box with mud frame extenders. This raffle raised over $3000 for the St. Lawrence Junior Tournament, and a Raffle for prizes for the Marshalls. I was nominated to pick the peg for the team and I picked out peg 31.≠ I don’t think any of us really slept for one reason or another. 5Am arrived and we got ready, stopped by the gas station opposite the motel for Tea and Coffee and ICE. Once we got that squared away we headed out to our peg.
After seeing a few more pegs and getting some lunch we headed back to Bobs house. We picked up my car and headed to the peg draw.
For me this is getting my New Direction Head torch and ND bivvy light setup, so that when my alarms go off the head torch will light up and the Bivvy light will light up with the color of the alarm that it signals. I also have ND bucket that lights up I filled it up with water using it like a runway light so that when hell does break loose I’d have something to guide me in the right direction.
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It was bit of trek, not only did I have my own bivvy, bedchair, fishing gear and food and drink but I had Eds and Barry’s gear as well. After a couple of hours we had managed to setup all the bivvys, organized our gear, food and bedchairs and got the rods out. I crawled into my bivvy and sat on my chair, as the predicted rain began to fall. The only thing I could do was to make some tea. It rained on and off rest of the morning and into theAboutafternoon.3pm Barry bought out his Deeper. Barry and I have gotten used to working together and he will call out the depths as I slowly reel in the deeper. In front of me was weed bed and I was using a chod rig because I knew I didn’t know what was in front of me. I lined up just left of the weed line and one over the top weed line.
Thursday night into Friday morning one of Barry alarms went off. Unfortunately it was not heavy enough, weighing in at 16lbs 4oz. Friday morning I was up at 4am watching the water and watching the sun rise. The water was like glass. No activities, circles, and no signs of fish of anyAfterkind.6am everyone had woken up, we had our breakfasts, making tea and coffee. We decided we put out more bait and spomb bait out on all three spots.Out of the blue 10:45am Ed got a run, a 16Lbs 14 oz carp, which again was released as it was not big enough to be on the board. The rest of Friday nothing happened. again with no signs of carp. We were wondering if this was a dead peg. Are they coming through at night?Wewere a little confused as we were expecting possible night bites, and sure enough, my 1st ever night time run. I had fished over night before, but all I every had was the occasional blip which in turns turned on bivvy light, the head torch and after a while it gets annoying because you not going to sleep that much when the bivvy lights up like a Christmas tree. I hear beep, beep, thinking oh it just something hitting the line, not a run.. then a screaming alarm. I’m already in shorts and a t-shirt, I just have to get off the bed chair and slip on my shoes and grab the head torch. Picking up the rod the fish is now running towards Barry rods. Thank God he put on back leads. After an intense 10 minutes we landed the carp next to Ed’s spot. I caught it on chod rig with a WCB So berry Pop up. We weighed the carp and it was over 21lbs. This was a great 1st fish on board. Now the worry is how much weight would the carp lose in the retaining sling overnight. Weigh in starts at 9am. It would be a long wait till morning.
Nothing else happened over night and it seemed maybe this was the window for us to be catching, around 1.30am in the morning. I woke up early again around 5am, looking to see any signs of fish, but again nothing; no circles, no bubbles. At 8.30am I had another run on the other rod but unfortunately I lost it to a snag. It seemed like I was between two section of weed beds. Around 11am I was get getting ice and drinks for everyone at the nearest Dollar store. Barry and Ed brought in my rod to have a 13lb 2oz carp, again not enough for the board. The weather starting to change and it was getting windy, so I checked the weather for our area and we were going to get isolated thunderstorms and high winds. We all doubled check our bivvies for pegs and nothing loose around.At1pm
Barry’s alarms screamed off to the right, towards Ed and Barry. It weighed 21lb 5oz and we called for the Marshal, who was thankfully nearby, within 5mins he arrives and weighs the carp. Yes, we got carp number 2 on the board. We heard the storm coming from behind us. We were the lucky ones. There was a group chat on messenger and we were keeping contact as to what was happening to teams. Unfortunately, one team had one of their bivvys blow over crashing into the rails and breaking rods. Thankfully, they were ok. 6pm arrived and it was like if someone just flipped the switch, the wind had died down to nothing, the skies opened up, so we decided to make dinner. After dinner and cleaning up about 730pm we put more bait out, thinking we would be in for another night bite. Again, I prepared myself for the evening making some tea for and changed into shorts and t-shirt, checking the head torch and bivvy light were still Saturdayworking. night was not a quite night, we had fire works going off. At 10.30pm Ed rod sounded. I made joke to Ed that he needed to lower the volume of your alarms (being the fireworks going off at the same time as his alarm went off) and we managed to land the carp 21lbs 6 oz. That is 3 on the board, and we’ve yet to get anything over night so we were hopeful.
At 9.10am my rod screamed off again to the right. Thinking here we go again I picked it up hoping I would not pop it off. I let it run. Everyone wass watching and guiding me and I managed to get the carp to do U-turn from where I was to the other side of Ed to the right of Ed’s swim where there was an overhanging tree which the carp managed to get around a tree branch.
Sunday at 1:30am my rod went off and picking it up and I felt the carp pulling, then nothing… damn, a hook pull. Was this the last opportunity? I reset my gear, new bait on, and casted back out. I crawled back into my bivvy, thinking we were done for the night but at 3.30am Barry’s alarm went off and I got out of my bivvy, looking but didn’t see anyone. No Barry no Ed, so I picked it up. This time it was going to left instead of going to the right, then again I felt nothing. Ed came out of his bivvy and I explained what had happened.
Brian (our runner) had the landing net in hand and Ed grabbed the tree branch, gave it to Brian to hold onto Ed hand lined in the carp. Slowly the carp reached the surface and Brian managed to secure the carp in the net. We weighed the carp it was looking good, maybe another 21lber. But no, we had 23lbs 9oz. I was just very happy to get 4 carp on the board. If nothing else happened that was goal to achieve. From the group chat not everybody managed to get 4 fish on their board.
Now, I’m getting concerned that have I just lost two possible fish which could have been on the board???Icrawled back to my bivvy and slept till 5am when got up and looked around to see no one had been up. I recast my rods because one had been there since 7.30pm the night before and the other one from early run. I put some more bait out. We had a few more smaller fish in the morning, but none were big enough to make the board.
North American Carp Angler 53 We ended up in 6th place, here are the overall results: 2nd Place Rick May/Dennis Galliher - 94.7 3rd Place Joe Lutz/Chad Rink/Paul Brooks - 94.1 4th Place Shawn Rafter/Blake Grant/Otis Cordell/Jen Terriah - 92.14 5th Place Tanner Smith/Alex Smith - 90.6 6th Place Ed Wagner/Barry Howard/Samuel Williams/Brian Vedder - 88.2 7th Place Brandon Dishman/Steve Valentine/Wormy Dellinger - 87.14 8th Place Mark Reece/Tim Phillips – 83.9 9th Place James Bee/JoJo Humphries/Shawn Raymo – 71 10th Place Dave Layng/Don Dobbs/Dave Bush/Drew Layng – 67.12 11th Place Chris Jackson/Scott Russell- 54.6 12th Place Kelly Moulder/Chris Maready/Patrick Neese- 51.8 13th Place Adam Wilson/ Kenny Christie – 48.12 14th Place Quentin Roseboro/Chainer Snyder/Dustin Loftin- 44.5 15th Place Bob Giordano/SW/Phil Saunders/Rita Brown – 43.7 16th Place Marcin Targonski/Zibi Piastowski - 23 17th Place Gregory Simpson/Christine Simpson – 22.6 18th Place Mike Larose/Darci Larose – 22.1 19th Place Bogdan Bucur/Henry Burza – 22 20th Place Mitch Peeler/Wayne Pittman/Philip Lindsay – 20.11 21st Place Lee Hurn/Rick Carper/Radek Kula – 20.10 22nd Place Jack Ragland/Justin Sears/Codey Lanning/Adam Saylers – 20.7 1st Place - Norbert Samok/Zoltan Marton - 99.12
A big thankyou to Bob Giordano and his team. This event was in the wake of losing fellow angler Colin Peters, who will be missed by many. Thank you Bob for stepping up and going forward with event. And I hope you enjoyed your Red Italian wine.
CT Shoot Out 2022CT Shoot Out 2022ByAttila Agh
A 10-year-old boy with fresh dreams and barefoot in the dust, stood over the gasping, flopping fish along with his proud dad. I caught another carp shortly after that, and another, following the thousands of fish I landed in the past 35 years. And finally, when my parents arrived from my Hungarian hometown after a long wait due to lockdowns, it was time for carp fishing again with my dad. CT River shootout, here we come!
To win the CT river shootout - a 36 hour eventwe needed some upgrades. The handful of sweetcorn got replaced with scientific bait. No more unlucky carp would be covered by dirt; a luxury carp mattress with an embarrassing price tag will ensure their safety. Decades of tournament angling accumulated into a mountain of carp gear packed neatly at the back of a spacious trailer, as the stuff no longer fits into a car. The format of this event is a Big 6, so we needed big plans. I decided to deploy 2 different tactics: one being an evolved version of the ‘southern’ puff/ pack fishing, the other the use of my homemade dough, rolled with love and some sweat into irresistible boilies. I prepared plenty of everything but given the short time length of this carp tournament, I decided not to go very heavy on baiting at the beginning.
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It was a fine day. I’ve just finished emptying an entire can of sweetcorn. A few handfuls by the weed edge seemed like a good idea. Having spent the morning reading carp articles, I was fired up with a game plan and believed that I would get my first carp that day. The float lifted like a surfacing submarine, and I set the hook. A minute later, there was my first mirror carp!
We had shallow water, deep water, current and even some lazy back eddy waters to choose from. We decided to start with pack/puff fishing to feel our peg out, and although I had a preconceived idea of where the fish might be, I wanted to know the carp’s input as soon as possible. However, I was wrong.
Trickling in some bait and adding more periodically to keep the party going was my main feeding approach.Mydad and I were full of energy and enthusiasm once we drew the peg in Middletown, given the features of our swim: easy bank access has made setting up our “base camp” convenient, and after measuring the depth, our swim has revealed several exciting structures and options.
The carp just wanted to be at a certain area regardless of where I targeted my chum, and a friend whom I called for advice, has confirmed the same findings as well.
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We begin at 5:00AM on Saturday. The alarms were loud all morning and throughout the day while we were constantly unhooking and releasing small dinks and filling our board. Puffs, which is a hook bait made of corn, were producing nonstop action, but we had to weed through a dozen small carps to be able to hook into a “board fish”. By noon we had all teens and a few twenties, but nowhere near our target weight.
Mark’s first fantail common was an added bonus!
Once all 3 rods were switched to boilies, I was finally able to sit in my chair for the first time after about 8 hours of running up and down the bank.
Even though it only lasted for a few minutes, the action did slow down. However, the strategy seemed to work as the fish we started to catch were a far better quality and size in general. I love simplicity. Single hook bait sitting at the end of a simple hair rig, a cast with my Orient rods that sends my bait to a far distance, screaming runs, feeling the fish on, this is when all plans come together.
Once I saw a low twenty passing boilies onto my mat, I knew it was time to switch gears. My body also needed to slow down and relax, as joints started to sore from packing bait balls, re-casts, chumming, working restlessly.
By dawn we were up to 150lbs -enough to win- which of course we did not know at the time. Sleeping was not an option, and my mindset as usual was to keep going, make things happen. Just as in life, I like to challenge myself because that’s the only way to grow.
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The event ended the next day at noon, which was bittersweet. Given that this was the first time I was out carp fishing this year, it was nice to get into my “zen” mode and I wanted more. The sunrises, the mist on the river, the sensation when the big fish is taking the line under my fingers while slowing them on the spool… no matter for how long I may abandon fishing, it always belongs to me, it’s a major part of who I am.
Attila ><((((º>`·.Agh .· `· .· `·... ><((((º>
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Packing up is always painful, but I made sure to keep the river bank clean and neat. Trash bags were filled with our as well as several other people’s previous leftover junk, and I thanked the river with one more look and a photograph. Then, and only then, we left for the ceremony. Everyone loses fish, we did too, and endless fisherman stories disappear with the wind. What matters is what you got at the end, along with the experience. We caught 164.8 lb and won 1st place with a comfortable margin. My hard work has paid off, as it did so many times in my life. Looking back on all of it, the preparation, execution, prize and glory, I am by far most gratified by the moment when my dad stood beside me and looked over the lines of carps we caught, eyes as soft as mist.
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