2022 Q3 North American Carp Angler Magazine

EDITOR IN-CHIEF ADDRESS Dean Brookes

With colder weather now settling into the North East of the country, I find myself looking back at the years successes and challenges, both on a personal and fishing level. This year has seen a lot of change for myself personally as I moved from a central part of Massachusetts to Cape Cod, which is not really considered a Mecca of carp fishing. In fact, I have yet to find any evidence of carp on the Cape, but that won’t stop me exploring.

As I had a busy year with the move and house projects I have had less opportunities to fish, although I have had a couple of memorable trips this year, with several big carp now added to my photo album. I’ve taken more time to plan this year, whether that be making storage areas in my basement to house all my gear or purchasing a small 12 foot boat and turning it into a practical carp fishing boat that I can sleep and fish from; more of this in the next issue.

In this edition we focus on of Regional events and we also have Big 4 results, Essence of Carping Monthly winners and a couple of great feature articles, from home and abroad.

One thing I would like to stress is that carping doesn’t have to stop in the winter! I personally will fish in the toughest of conditions and have seen many carp caught through the ice as well. The key in the winter is to find a spot where the carp hold up, trickle some bait in (not to much) and then fish it for short sessions over a consistent period. If you need additional information, take a look at past issues of NACA as we have lots of articles on this very subject.

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.

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

Living in SW Florida offers some great angling opportunities but sadly carp fishing is not one of them!

A brief trip to Ithaca in May saw me sat fishing from a dock on Cayuga Lake a couple of afternoons. While no carp were caught I did manage a couple of good size Rudd for my efforts!

Since then plans for other carp trips, including a fly fishing trip to chase the mirrors in Idaho’s Blackfoot reservoir, had to be postponed as a result of delays in our house renovations. Hopefully all that is now behind us and I can look forward to some trips to Texas and N Florida in the New Year plus a visit to Sumbar in Croatia in the Spring.

Meanwhile CAG continues to attract newcomers to carp fishing and the CAG Facebook presence and community is stronger than ever with more than 5,000 members. We’ve added several new State Chairs in recent months. We are always looking for more volunteers who want to help attract newcomers, strengthen the carping community and highlight catch and release carp fishing and the protection of trophy carp with local state & fishery folk. If that’s something you would like to be a part of then get in touch by email to cagstaff@carpanglersgroup.com

Happy Holidays to you as well as your friends & families.

Photo: Not a Carp… But a fine European Rudd caught in Cayuga Lake, NY

Iain Sorrell

A 1/4 page advert starts from as little as $45 and includes a live link to your webpage or become a Business Supporter and get a Full Page advert in each NACA plus a web banner link on the CAG Website and Forums for only $300 / year.

For more information email us to naca@carpanglersgroup.com

All About Leads

Part Two: Specialty Leads

Long Range Leads

Aerodynamically shaped with a weight forward taper they are ideal for getting maximum distance when fishing at long range. The downside is there is less ‘weight’ toward the swivel attachment so initial hooking potential is reduced compared to more compact shaped leads.

Tri-Lobe Flat

This distance lead is designed to lift up quickly from the bottom when retrieved. It is ideal when there is an obstacle or ridge between you and the spot you are fishing. The downside is there is less weight near the swivel so it will not hook the fish as readily.

By Iain Sorrell

Grippa Leads

A series of bumps around the lead help ‘anchor’ the weight especially when fishing in strong river or tidal flow. The ‘grips’ allow lighter leads to hold in heavier flow than regular smooth bodied leads. In cases of extreme flow due to flooding or tidal you can even zip tie two or three leads to together to make a heavier weight to help hold bottom.

Square Leads

One of my favorites. The compact ‘cube’ shape ensures the maximum force ,driving the hook point home, is created as soon as the carp makes contact with the weight. The swivel or in-line versions are equally effective. They are ideal in still waters but a flat pear, tri-lobe pear or similar will also work in slow moving rivers.

Marker Leads

Designed to help you learn key features of the bottom your are fishing. Best used with braid to transmit the ‘feel’ from the lead as it passes over different features like gravel, mud, weed silt etc. Many include projections to enhance the feel as they bump along the bottom structure.

Oval ‘Roller’ Leads

A much overlooked lead and readily available from most US tackle stores. One of my favorite leads when fishing rivers in the UK. Simply cast out and let the lead ‘roll’ across the bottom in an arc back towards the bank. This is a great way to cover a lot of water in front of you when fishing a river!

COG Leads

Centre of Gravity (COG) Leads developed by Korda are so named because the hook rig is ‘plugged’ into the center of the weight. This helps ensure that the full weight of the lead is picked up when the carp moves off with the bait

Method and Paste Bombs

These come in many shapes but are designed to allow method mixes, pastes or pellets to be ‘molded’ around the shape of the lead without coming off during casting. I prefer to fish them with short 3-4” hook lengths.

You can allow the bait to hang freely on the hook length or bury it inside the method. If you bury the bait then be prepared to ignore the bobbin bouncing up and down and the rod tip being continually knocked as the fish attacks the method ball… just wait patiently for the rod tip to pull around and the fish to hook itself then scream off!

Running Rigs

In Part I we were extoling the virtues of the ‘bolt rig’. But let’s not forget the humble running rig. It’s been around for decades and I’m a huge advocate for running rigs as they can offer some significant advantages for which I’ll try to elaborate.

First:

Bite detection. When a carp picks up a fixed lead rig, especially on a slack line, then the line will only tighten and register a take if the fish moves away from you.

A well adjusted indicator or bobbin will help pick up the slack but with a running lead set up the line can be easily pulled through the lead swivel and tighten no matter which direction the fish moves, even on a slack line. This can be especially critical in cold water conditions when carp move more slowly or have learned how to deal with fixed lead rigs.

Second:

A running rig set up also allows you to maximize bite detection. A large rig ring at the lead, a lightweight bobbin and the rod pointed directly towards the baited hook will all help to reduce any friction that might be felt by the fish. Plus if you sit by the rod and watch the bobbin you can strike at even the smallest movement. This might sound a bit extreme but there have been times when this tactic has helped me land some very big fish here in the USA. Also when fished with a lightweight bobbin or indicator and a little bit of slack line it can also create a very effective shock or bolt rig. As the fish moves off confidently with the bait it will soon take up the few inches of slack and then suddenly hit a tight clutch of baitrunner effectively helping set the hook. This is a method I favor when fishing close to weed beds or other snags but again it absolutely requires you to be sat next to the rod ready to ‘hook & hold’ and prevent the fish getting snagged up.

Third:

When the fish is hooked the lead can slide up the line to minimize the risk of it being used to dislodge the hook.

Fourth:

A running rig, when set up properly, can use a much lighter lead (0.5-2 oz) than is usually required for bolt rigs making it ideal for stealthy margin fishing or for weedy conditions.

Three running rig set-ups.

Left: A Square Lead with a Korda Safe Zone Run Rig Rubber which grips the swivel and adds some tension but still allows the lead to slide back up the line.

Center: A Fox Running Clip and Buffer Bead that allows unimpeded free movement.

Right: Enterprise Tackle Safety Run Ring which allows free movement and also lets the lead ‘drop’ if it gets snagged.

I like to look for a ‘big eye’ swivel (like the those on Trilogy leads) on any leads I’m going to use for running rigs. This ensures the line can move through the large ring with the least friction.

Things to Consider…

One of the most important things to consider is how the lead will lie on the bottom and how it will react when the carp picks up the bait.

The shape of the lead will help determine how it lies on the bottom and especially if there is a swivel attachment on the lead.

If you are retrieving your rig and find the hook length wrapped around the lead then you need to make some adjustments to your set-up. First and foremost make sure you ‘stop’ or ‘feather’ your cast before the lead hits the water.

Unusual Leads: The Fledger

Lead is a very dense metal so has the advantage of creating a compact weight with minimal air resistance so makes it ideal for casting. The downside is it will sink deep into soft weed or silt potentially dragging the bait out of reach of a feeding fish or creating the risk of a snag up. So imagine a weight that still casts well but sinks very slowly. Meet the ‘Fledger’ a clever combination of lead for weight married with cork for buoyancy. I’ve never seen a commercially available ‘fledger’ but you can easily make your own using wine or champagne corks. The first step is to cut down your lead to the required size using a hacksaw. Then drill a hole in the center of the lead.

Cut off the head from a wood screw and insert into the hole so the ‘pointed end sticks out. You can then screw it into a suitable cork. You can also add an eyelet screw into the cork to run up and down the mainline.

Alternatives to Lead!

Over many years we’ve all become dependent on lead as the ideal weight. There are however an increasing number of alternatives including tungsten, natural stone and even concrete.

In Europe Czech company UFO Sinker have created a series of high density concrete fishing weights that incorporate iron magnetite. In addition to be lead free they can also soak up bait liquids to release added attraction. http://ufosinker.com/

British company Pallatrax have been offering their Stonze natural weights for several years. In addition to being environmentally friendly they fit in with the carp’s natural surroundings, absorb flavors and hold method thanks to their pitted surface. www.pallatrax.co.uk

If we are going to continue to ‘drop leads’ in key carp fishing situations then we really need to explore these options!

Casting weight!

Modern carp rods are remarkable tools allowing baits to be cast further and more accurately than ever imagined even a decade or two ago.

There are, however, some important considerations when deciding what size lead to use with a particular rod.

So for example with a 12’ 3.25 test curve rod the optimum range might be a 2.75 - 3.75 oz lead. It is a commonly accepted “Rule of Thumb” for most carp rods that the casting weight equals the Test Curve number +/- 0.5 oz.

Lead Putty and Other line weights

A key but sometimes overlooked component is the use of lead split shot, tungsten putty or other tungsten components. Adding weight near the hook rig can be used to ‘balance’ a popped-up bait so it flies up easily into the carp’s mouth.

Alternatively adding extra weight to help align the hook point so it hangs point down into the carp’s bottom lip to assist in securing a hook hold. The variety of tungsten loaded beads, anti-tangle sleeves, line aligners etc can be used to help improve hook and rig mechanics as well as help ‘pin’ the hook link or mainline to the bottom helping to keep it less visible and less likely to be moved around by feeding fish.

Kryston ‘Heavy Metal’ stands out among tungsten putty products. Unlike many ‘sticky’ resin based products it is easy to use in both warm or cold temperatures, has a very high density, stays in place and can even be reused many times over.

We often need to cast much heavier weights especially with method / pack wrapped around the lead. If that is the case then we need to modify our cast, especially with fast taper rods, to avoid the risk of breaking it.

When overloading the rod with a heavy casting weight it is important to start the cast slowly and then smoothly accelerate throughout the casting arc instead of ‘punching’ it too hard.

Bait Tactics

By Willem Pelser

A lovely South African common carp

Greetings From Sunny South Africa.

My name is Willem Pelser and I’m a South African Specimen Carp angler.

I used to own two small bait companies and was involved with two other and like most of you I’m obsessed with everything angling and especially big carp angling.

I’m a big believer in using natural baits and ingredients and over the years I’ve developed a naturals range of big carp liquid foods, boilie ingredients, stick mixes, pellets and molasses feeding blocks.

Molasses feeding blocks

My methods and Tactics sometimes are a bit controversial as I especially love using “Creepy Crawley’s” and hog rigs (monster stringer rigs), which sometimes looks daunting to some and instead of trying new things and exploring new avenues they tend to just keep on following the big bait companies and angling celebs on TV’s methods and tactics.

This definitely works, but there are a lot of products, ingredients, methods and tactics out there that no one is really using or talking about, which is why I created my You tube channel, ‘Bait Tactics’ to show people how to make their own super potent baits and ingredients and my favorite hook baits, the beetles and giant fruits.

I also love using plastics to create creature looking hook baits which definitely increases your bite rate and hooksets ,as they normally pick them up very aggressively .

Adding natural baits is a big edge

I’m also a very big fan of using molasses, and especially high protein molasses feeding blocks to prefeed areas and constantly keep fish in your target areas.

The molasses blocks can be manufactured with different breakdown times and you can basically add anything you want to them, just make sure you do not add unprepared particles , especially grains and nuts.

What I love about the molasses blocks is its slow breakdown which means you’ve got a solid block of feed constantly giving off food signals and releasing small particles up and down the water column.

The blocks work for most fish species and you can also custom them into a tilapia or catfish block by just adding certain extra ingredients.

My main advice to any angler is to always explore, always evolve, always try new things.

Try and think out of the box a bit when it comes to homemade baits and ingredients and especially have a look at the commercial Koi feed industry and the ingredients they use.

We must always remember that especially big older carp are very intelligent and don’t get fooled to often into picking up a hook bait, that’s why in my opinion it is important to mix it up constantly and not give them the same baits and feeds and methods constantly as they definitely start to distinguish certain ingredients and signals as dangerous.

My main goal with the You Tube channel is just to show everyone how easy it is to make your own baits and ingredients and that there are no real special ingredients that bait companies use that you cannot access as well.

If you want more Outa the Box Carp angling Baits and tactics , please come have a look at the channel and join us down the rabbit hole of big carp (and other species) Home Made bait making and Angling.

The channel is still relatively new, but a lot of awesome Bait making info and Tactics on the way.

Tight Lines and Screaming reels:

Bait Tactics - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuR8VZdd6uwvL8AZMfltLaQ

DIY Molasses Feeding Blocks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p5WbC-LeWQ

Giant Fruits alternative Hook baits - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ652LOEwxc&t=28s

Spicy Garlic Beetles alternative hook baits - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ652LOEwxc&t=28s

Creepy Crawly Beetle Hook Bait - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L5Yv5pT0hk

Fake Bloodworm/Earthworm Cluster Bait - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d56xX2MUeXY&t=10s

5th Place Chris Matthews

6th Place Rob Michalik

Big Mirror Keith Jackson

Big Common Keith Jackson

Barry and I were asked if we would host the CCC once again on the Hudson River for 2022. We gladly accepted the challenge!

As in previous years the CCC would be pegged at three locations: Coxsackie Boat Launch. Dutchman’s Landing, and Henry Hudson Park.

We had a few different challenges to deal with this year which included rearranging pegs due to the renovations at Coxsackie Boat Launch. Sadly, a fire at Chrissy’s diner also meant the usual breakfast ritual before the peg draw could not take place this year.

Saturday morning, I get my first Messenger Message, where is the peg draw being held. at 5:30am. So, I responded with the location pin to Chrissy Diner. I get ready and head towards the Diner I get there about 20mins later and it was a cold chilly with a bit of wind still blowing.

I see David Moore van and Stelian Bodgan in his car. He had a 2-to-3-hour drive down. I said to him you’re a bit early, he did know what time to be there. I explained to him about having no breakfast at the diner due to it being closed because of the fire they had. Stewarts would be open at 6am or there is McDonalds down the road. So, I head off to Stewarts to get some supplies.

Once again Barry Howard (CAG Membership Director and Store Manager) made the dinner arrangements at the Pegasus Restaurant, ordered trophies and t-shirts as well as supplied fuel for the boat and truck to pre-bait all three locations for 3 days ahead of the tournament.

At 6:15am the sun starts to rise, and people begin showing up. Once Barry arrives, we get things going starting off with a few more scales being checked and certified. The peg draw completed everyone heads off to the three peg locations.

I drew peg 9 at Henry Hudson Park while Barry was pegged at Dutchman’s Landing. Before I could get to my peg, I helped two anglers find their pegs at Henry Hudson Park. Dawid Bak 33 and Jeffry Pirog 32 they were on on the other side of the park. I made sure everyone was in place then set up cast out.

After only 5 mins I get a run am hoping that if nothing else I can get a trophy for ‘First’ carp. But sadly, all I get is my First Catfish. So, after 3 of those.

I take walk around all the other pegs making sure everyone is ok.

Coxsackie Pegs

When I returned to my peg the tide had started to come back in. This usually proves a good omen for the rest of the competition. At Henry Hudson Park there is concrete curved slaps with a row of wooden post with metal bars connecting the wooden posts all along the front.

So, netting at low tide can be a challenge. Slavik Lavik on peg 10 has his 1st run and brings in what turns out to be his biggest carp of the day. I help him bring in the carp over the wall and into his cradle. We tare his scale and sling then weigh the carp. It goes 16lb 4oz.

Around 10am I check in with Barry. Nigel Griffin, who is in the same section, is already catching a few carp. I tell him about Ian O’ Connell who may have caught the ‘First’ carp. At this point it sounds like everyone is catching.

As an organizer that’s great news but, as individual angler I’m not doing so great having only had 3 catfish! So I make a cup of tea and have a few snacks. After the cold start I’m also enjoying being outside as it’s getting warmer. Then Slavik brings in his second carp 10lbs 7oz.

North American Carp Angler

Nigel Griffin playing a carp

It is now 12 noon with just 4 more hours to go. Still nothing happening on my line. I’m getting photo messages from Jerome Moisand showing him holding a carp with a group of children. It’s a brilliant picture! It looks like Coxsackie Boat Launch area with its new renovation is attracting more people to the park as well the waterfront.

At about 2pm with no carp caught I brought everything in and decided to walk the pegs.

I speak to Steve Clow but he’s only had the one carp. I then move onto see David Moore when his rod goes screaming off.

Phil Saunders and Steve Clow jump into action as David brings in his carp. I get to verify the weight and also take a few pictures. David tells me he’s also caught a nice mirror and shows me the picture on his phone. Well it seems David has caught the same Mirror carp that has been caught by 4 a least different CAG members over the last 18 months.

I compared it to all the other photos from previous captures and discover its weight has been within about 6 oz each time she’s been caught. So now we have named her Henrietta, after being caught at Henry Hudson.

David Moore with a nice mirror carp

Rita Brown with the biggest carp of the tournament

I speak to Rita and Phil and they have been catching consistently. Rita has been catching some good sized carp including the biggest so far at 23lb 10oz. I asked to see her score sheet and with some decent she’s a possible section winner.I leave to check on the other pegs with most folk catching a few fish.

At the end peg I see Jeffery Pirog but he hasn’t caught anything yet. He keeps his fingers crossed with only one more hour to go. I see Dawid Bak, and his alarms screams and he’s into a fish!

There is quite an audience watching as Dawid brings in a 19lb 3oz carp.

I take photos and verified his catch on his sheet, Now in my head I’m comparing his sheet to Rita’s. I think we will have a close race between Dawid and Rita for the Section win!

On my way back I make sure everyone knows how to get to the restaurant for the dinner and the awards ceremony.

I also ask Rita if she’d caught anymore but she had said no. So finally I get back to my peg and I start breaking down and loading the car up.

After collecting the flags and score sheets I head to the restaurant to begin collating the results from all the score sheets!

Once everyone had enjoyed dinner we began the awards ceremony.

Rita Brown became the first lady to be crowned North American Carp Champion, taking home the coveted trophy with a Big 4 total of 85lbs 8oz . She also took home the North American Carp King Belt Buckle for the Biggest Carp 23lb 1oz.

Section winners Awards went to

Henry Hudson Park:

Dawid Bak with a total of 11 carp for 148lbs 9oz (just pipping Rita’s 8 fish for134lbs 12oz)

Dutchman’s

Coxsackie Boat Launch:

Jerome Moisand with a whopping 237lbs 2oz of plus his first USA Rudd!

Ian O’ Connell for 1st Carp and Smallest carp at 4lbs even

Biggest Mirror went to David Moore for catching Henrietta at 22.10

Brian Vedder with a nice mirror carp

Luis Miguel Angelo with a Hudson River common carp

North American Carp Angler

Phil and Rita with a double up

Steve Clow

Yankee Challenge

Fejzo Akaratovic, CT State Chair

North American Carp Angler

After fishing the New York leg of the Yankee challenge, on the Hudson River with my fellow Connecticut Comrades, we were ready for Sam Williams and his NY team to come down and fish our home waters at Harbor Park on the mighty CT River. Connecticut needed redemption, so in the following weeks after the NY leg of the challenge I rounded up some of Connecticut’s finest carp anglers for a day of fun, low water, and hot weather! I was able to get 11 Connecticut anglers including Hunter Atchinson a fine Massachusetts angler who was committed to fishing for CT in both legs of the challenge. Thanks Hunter!

Yankee Challenge NY Leg June 26 2022

Angler

Team Carp Catfish Time Points

Dan Swartout NY 26 8/16 9:05 AM 3

Dan Swartout NY 21 6/16 9:09 AM 3

Dan Swartout NY 21 12:00 AM 3

Dan Swartout NY 27 11:16 AM 3

Dan Swartout NY 19 6/16 2:18 PM 3

Total 115 4/16 15

Kosta Djordjevic NY 15 13/16 1:15 PM 3

Kosta Djordjevic NY 15 14/16 2:20 PM 3

Kosta Djordjevic NY 22 2/16 4:00 PM 3

Total 53 13/16 9

Rafal Wlazlo NY 15 14/16 10:00 AM 3

Ed Jr 12.11lbs at 11:15 2pts NY 12 11/16 11:15 AM 2

Ed Jr 11.5lns at 2:15 2pts NY 11 5/16 2:15 PM 2 Total 24 4

Overall Points NY 271 15/16 31

Karl Pulaski CT 10 4/16 12:00 AM 2

Fejzo Akaratovic CT 3.00 8:45 AM -1

Fejzo Akaratovic CT 17 5/16 2

Total 17 2/16 3

Jenna Djordjevic CT 22 9:15 AM 3

Jenna Djordjevic CT 3.00 -1

Jenna Djordjevic CT 19 2:31 PM 3

Total 41 5

Hunter Aitchison CT 26 12/16 9:35 AM 3

Hunter Aitchison CT 8 9/16 12:00 AM 2

Hunter Aitchison CT 17 11/16 11:45 AM 3

Hunter Aitchison CT 17 12/16 11:50 AM 3

Hunter Aitchison CT 12 6/16 12:40 PM 2

Hunter Aitchison CT 17 1:45 PM 3

Hunter Aitchison CT 14 8/16 3:55 PM 2

Total 113 10/16 18

Ed Wagner CT 11 2

Ed Wagner CT 19 2/16 3

Total 30 2/16 5

Overall Points CT 212 2/16 33

The Friday evening before the challenge me and Lee Hurn went and marked 10 pegs which would later be 11 to accommodate all our anglers. Peg drawing was a breeze with the landscape of Harbor Park and Lee Hurn’s antics. Peg Draw would be at 7:45 the next morning and fishing would begin at 8:30. Me and Lee would plan to meet up at 5:30 the next morning, but due to some technical difficulties I had at Dunkin Donuts I would arrive a hair late.

That morning I woke up and was excited to meet up with all the fine carp anglers coming from all over the Northeast to fish our challenge.

I was on time until it was time to get two dozen donuts on the way there. After a hiccup at Dunkin I arrived fashionably late to a restless group of carp anglers excited to catch some CT River Brutes.

Despite being late we were able to finish the peg draw before 7:45 and anglers got an early start to setting up. 8:30 came and lines were casted across harbor park. Michael Mcdevitt from Massachusetts (fishing for NY) landed the first carp of the day! Throughout the day CT caught several fish but failed to gain a lead on NY’s Dan Swartout who was racking up carp for NY. He landed the biggest fish of the day and most fish.

Anglers for the second leg of the Yankee Challenge

The challenge winded to an end at 4 o’clock that day. Everyone was hot and exhausted from a long and slow fishing day at Harbor Park which normally has better fishing. This could be attributed to the heat that day and high air pressure. Everyone packed and met at my tailgate at the end for the awards ceremony.

As everyone gathered, I thanked them all for coming, it was such a fun day catching some carp and talking carp with anglers from different states and backgrounds. This is what the Yankee Challenge is all about.

NY won once again with Dan Swartout taking the infamous Yankee Challenge Belt back to Ny. He caught most fish in both states and biggest. He received a medal for biggest fish that day and most carp caught. Dan also walked away with a bait package donated by Northeast Carp Connections, thanks Fred powers!

Michael Mcdevit was also awarded a medal for first fish caught and Jerome Moisand was given a lead package (Donated by RJ from CT Carp Leads, Thank You!) for biggest Fantail Carp caught that day. Congratulations Guys, and a big Congrats to Sam Williams and his NY team for taking home the belt and medals! Until next year!

North American Carp Angler

Dan Swartout with his medals and prizes

Kyle Carlson – Tournament Organizer

The tournament details were announced early in the year with some proposed changes that I felt were going to be very popular. We extended the event from 76 hours to 101 hours in hopes of bigger fish being caught and giving Phil Nathan’s Big Four tournament record of 127 pounds a run for its money! We also changed the buy in amount from $400 a person to a flat $800 for the team whether or not you were solo or a team.

The last thing we did was increase the amount of teams from 40 to 50 and increased the pegs from 60 to 65. Of course, these changes were met with some negativity but we all felt they were needed changes in order to grow the tournament.

As registration neared, we were all gearing up for an instant sell out. We still had not discovered the needed 60-65 pegs but we were actively looking and optimistic that it wouldn’t be an issue. I took the day off from work to sit at my computer to log in the registrants as they came in so I could cut it off at 50 once we reached capacity.

The beauty of a smaller field was that now we got to cherry pick the best pegs. With 47 proposed pegs we eliminated peg 46 and 21 and added 9b as we were thinking the water would rise up due to a lot of rain forecasted for Monday making the cove a bit more desirable as it usually fishes better when the river levels are higher.

Anglers started arriving as early as the Saturday before to start doing their homework. I was hearing some very positive things regarding the river and the pegs prior to Mondays incoming rain. Monday arrived and so did the rain. Can’t even begin to tell you how many people asked me how this would affect the fishing but it was a lot.

My answer was simply faster currents and a bit more dead weeds floating down river. Was certainly going to be tougher fishing but we have had a lot worse conditions in the past.

Registration opened at midnight on 6/13/22 and PayPal notifications were starting to go off instantly. By late morning we seemed to hit a snag at 30 teams or so. Days went by and as registration came to a close we were left with 37 teams. Lots of teams from far away had mentioned the insane gas prices while local teams mentioned the added day was too much to get work off. All understandable reasons that none of us even began to think about in the planning phases.

Peg draw was at Middletown Elks Club as usual and I decided to make it a very quick and to the point opening ceremony because since it was outside the marshals and I didn’t want to be drawing pegs in the dark. Most anglers seemed very pleased with their chosen pegs and everyone just wanted to start fishing!

Day One had arrived!!! Some very light rain was forecasted for the day just to make camp setup that much more of a hassle but the rest of the week was calling for warm days and 30 degree nights. Water levels had rose up and weeds were plentiful.

Donny St. Lawrence and Chris Lessard at peg 15 called in a 27.15 lb common to get their momentum going in the right direction, while 80 yards down river at peg 16, defending champion, Mark Fullbrook weighed in a 23.8 lb common to get his defense run going.

Anglers showed up at 5AM so they could be ready to start fishing at 7AM. The first fish was called in at 8:30AM from peg 32 Justin Keaton & Tommy Pearson with a 27.4 lb common. At 11:30AM Pawel Wesolowski and Kamil Augustowski called in their first fish at peg 6 (last year’s winning peg) weighing in at 24.15 lb common.

The Georgia girls, Christie, Kelly & Tammy called in a 23.14 lb common at peg 27 at 1:30PM.

Later on in the day, Norbert Samok and Laszlo Kovacs at peg 25 called in a 24.11 lb common. Donny and Chris at peg 15 called in their second fish and what a beauty it was! A 27.0 lb fantail carp that not only was a good fish for their big four but had a very good shot at winning a nice Fishin’ Factory 3 gift card as well!

The very last fish to be called in on day 1 was from Pawel & Kamil at peg 6 with a 26.4 lb common. Overall and as usual, day 1 was a very slow day as many teams prebaited a lot of bait and were getting used to the current, the tides, the weeds that make this river one of the hardest rivers to fish in the world.

Day 2, also known as moving day, had arrived. This is my busiest day as moving day starts at 7AM and ends at 10AM. In this time, anglers can move to any unoccupied peg as long as if they arrive before a higher draw order team doesn’t get their before them.

Five teams ended up moving pegs which is about the normal amount. Leaderboard action was dead all morning. Peter Sadlon and his son Patrik Sadlon called in a 15.7 lb mirror carp at 10AM to set the big mirror benchmark.

Lots of calls were coming in for 22lb to 23lb fish (fish have to be 22lb or bigger to be on the big 4 board) and lots of teams were catching 10lb to 15lb carp to keep them busy.

At 10:30AM, Chris Jackson and Scott Russell at peg 47 called in a 28.8 lb and 26.2 lb common to get them in the hunt. Paul Turcotte and Eric Finkbein at peg 35 in Hurd State Park called in their second fish at 27.8 lbs. Patrik Sadlon

with a nice common

Day 3 welcomed us to 30 degree temps. I don’t think I got out of my truck until noon that day as it was just too cold.

Donny & Chris at peg 15 called in their third fish at 22.1 lbs. Norbert & Laszlo at peg 25 called in another hefty common of 27.6 lbs.

Chad Harper who moved from peg 9 to peg 18 called in his first fish at 22.12 lbs to get his spirits up. Peter and son Patrik, at peg 7 called in their second fish at 23.15 lbs as well as Mark Fullbrook at peg 16 who got into a 23.8 lb common

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Defending Champion with a fantail common

At this stage everyone just wants to get their four fish over 22 lbs so marshals have been weighing a bunch of fish that are just too small. Arnold Farkus and partner Kevin Moylin got into their first fish at peg 42 with a 23.10 lb common.

Dawid Kedzior and Janusz Wesolowski at peg 5 called in their second fish with a 25.15 lb common. Their buddies, Pawel and Kamil at peg 6, followed that up with their third fish at 26.4 lbs. Blake Carlson and John Lilly at peg 33 got on the board with a 23.7 lb common and Chris and Scott at peg 47 called in their third fish with a 22.14 lb common.

Jimmy Sneed and Pat Schunk at peg 31 got on the board with their first fish weighing in at 26.6 lbs and just like that Donny and Chris at peg 15 filled up their big 4 with a 28.4 lber. Pawel and Kamil at peg 6 got another 26.4 lb common to fill up their big 4 board as well and to close out the day. Day three was definitely an eventful day with lots of teams cracking the CT river code and putting up some nice fish! But where were the 30 pounders hiding?

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Day 4 arrived with some immediate calls to weigh in fish. Attila Agh and William Cabe at peg 41 called in a 24.6 lb, 26.6 lb, and a 22.14 lb to give them a much needed boost into contention. Norbert and Laszlo at peg 25 called in a 23.6 lb and 24.2 lb to fill up their board.

Jimmy and Pat at peg 31 got their second fish at 25.7 lbs and the Georgia girls at peg 27 got a 23.12 lb common to get them their second fish as did Blake and John at peg 33 with a 27.4 lb common. And then finally, after days of fishing the call came in from Arnold and Kevin at peg 42 with a 30.4 lb common.

Dawid and Janusz called in their third fish at 26.2 lbs. Chad at peg 18 added a 22.6 lb and 25.12 lb to give him three fish on the board. Franklin Santos and Kristina Lovell at peg 19 called in their first fish at 24.1 lbs and Justin and Tommy at peg 32 got a 26.0 lb common to get them their second fish on the board. Action slowed down in the early evening while Lee Hurn spotted a questionable mountain lion on the Horton Farm pegs.

Lee Hurn getting a boost

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As 10PM approached so was our last leaderboard announcement because after that we would be in blackout until awards ceremony. It was still anyone’s tournament to win!

Day 5: The Last Day!

By the time the marshals got on the clock at 5AM there was only 7 hours left of fishing. This was going to be a very interesting day! Ricky Hards and Hunter Aitchison at peg 4 got into them overnight weight in a 23.8 lb, 24.4 lb, and a 27.0 lb to instantly get them three fish and into serious contention.

Shawn Rafter and Tanner Smith at Peg 1 called in a 16.0 lb mirror carp at 7:30AM to raise the big mirror bar a bit more. Donny and Chris at peg 15 who went to bed the night prior leading the event added some needed cushion at 7:30AM with a 25.9 lb common bringing their big four to 108.12 lbs and the number to beat.

Justin and Tommy at peg 32 got a 23.10 lb common, Blake and John at peg 33 added a 28.2 lb common, and Jimmy and Pat at peg 31 got a 24.2 lb common to give all three teams a third fish. Just to put this leaderboard into perspective…by 10AM 13 teams just needed one fish to win the tourney and some teams needed just a 22 lber to just jump into the top 4. I know myself and the marshals were all hoping for some crazy stuff to happen but it just didn’t.

We heard stories from anglers who lost decent fish in the final moments but such is fishing. It was time for the awards ceremony!!!

Awards Ceremony! The awards ceremony was at 2PM at the Middletown Elks Club. Anglers arrived and quickly bought raffle tickets to support the marshals and to grab a drink and to await the results! The results were announced….

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Final Takeaways! What was shaping up in prior weeks to be perfect fishing conditions for the CT River soon turned out to be wishful thinking.

With nearly an inch of rain on Monday from a storm that followed the CT River exactly from south to north all the way on up to VT/NH wreaked havoc along the shoreline by bringing more dead weeds into the river and by raising water levels by 2 feet.

The current got bad by itself and when you add in the weeds floating down river it became a game of who could keep their lines in the water the longest.

Easier said than done believe me! Kudos to everyone who gave it their all and special thanks to all tournament staff, our awesome marshals Jason, Lee, Chris and DJ, all of our generous sponsors who donated to help fund the marshals, the CT DEEP and Peter Aarristad, Alicia Kennedy, Andrew Nichols and the FF3 staff! This tournament wouldn’t be possible without all of you!

Thought has already begun for the 2023 tournament and details will be released as soon as possible. Hope to see everyone there!

Chad Harper with a nice fantail

American

Raphael Biaginni with a ‘weedy’ common

Middletown Press, featured the tournament

2022 Fishin’ Factory 3 The Winners! CT Open Carp Tournament

Donny St Lawrence & Chris Lessard

Donny St Lawrence and Chris Lessard teamed up to take on the Fishin’ Factory 3 CT Carp Open tournament in October 2022. When we talked to Donny, he said the 5 day / 100 hour tournament was something else for sure. He & Chris felt a little bit like the ‘underdogs’ and were even a little star struck by some of the names they were competing against but in the end, they were the ones who came out on top!

As Donny says it takes quite a commitment to fish the tournament with a the $$$ entry fee and taking a week off work.

Donny says he only started carp fishing about 8 years when a friend who was catching a few persuaded him to give it a try. In only his second season he landed a NH state record of 35lb primarily fishing the Merrimack River and some local ponds. Since those first couple of seasons, he’s devoted a lot of his time to carp fishing result in two fish over 40lb including a 46.11 mirror.

Until the CT Open Donny had only fished a couple of small tournaments in 2021 and the 2022 CT Shoot in May 2022 where he placed 7th.

The CT Open was to be only the third time Donny had fished in Connecticut, but his partner Chris fishes there all the time and knows the CT River and tidal areas well.

In the draw order Donny & Chris were only 33 out of the 37 teams and were worried the best pegs might be gone… then when it was their turn, they pulled out Peg 28, a favored Harbor Park location, but Donny persuaded a less than impressed Chris that they should put it back and go round again! Donny’s reasoning was the Harbor Park pegs would be competing against one another and they should look at more remote location. In the second round Chris pulled out Peg 15 which was on the private land at Horton Farm. Even though neither had even seen the peg before they decided to go for it!

After driving around in the fog and the rain they finally found the peg at around 5:30am. Except for the tidal flow and large weed mats the size of a Volkswagen everything about the peg was much as they expected. A 2-3’ shelf and a nice drop off to around 10’ not far out from the bank allowed them to fish quite close in. The water temperature was still 57F and daytime 60F but with nighttime temps down to 30F it created very foggy conditions at night which made playing and landing fish difficult!

Donny also managed to lose his alarm receiver, so he didn’t get to sleep much especially with the weed continually setting off everyone’s alarms.

The only neighboring angler was 2021 CT Open winner Mark Fullbrook who was in Peg 16. Donny said it was a pleasure to meet him and like so many other carp anglers good to share stories and friendship. As for tactics they each fished 3 rods with straight forward hair rigs using 30lb Power Pro hook links tied to Korda #4 hooks and 5oz leads.

As for baits they used corn or tigers on a couple of rods but most of their bigger fish were landed on 24mm boilies with a pop-up imitation corn topper. Donny fished with Carp Maxx and Chris with Carp Bait USA boilies.

Donny with a nice 27lb common They baited up with split boilies, to stop them rolling away, during the tidal slacks, and used 60-80lb of bait during the tournament. On Day one they had a few smaller fish on corn then Donny had a 27.04 on boilie and Chris also caught his first ever fantail common which turned out to be a beast at 27lb even! So, by 10pm the first day they were heading the leader board.

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Horton Farm Private Land: Peg 15

They were catching consistently and at 10pm on Day Two were still leading but still only had the two fish over the 22lb threshold.

Day Three produced a 22 and a 28.4 to give them 4 fish and keep them ahead of second spot. By now Chris was getting excited but Donny told him ‘Chill out buddy we don’t need a jinx!’

At the end of Day 4 and the last leaderboard update as the final scores would not be announced until the awards ceremony. They were still at the top but less than 2lb ahead of second place.

Now both Donny and Chris were getting nervous… at 4am Donny lost a good fish to a snag and thought was that THE fish?

At 6am Donny had another run, and this time landed a 25lb common to bump up their Big 4 total… but was it enough?

As the results were announced at the awards ceremony Donny and Chris finally realized they had won the 2022 CT Open Carp Tournament. Donny & Chris were happy and thankful to the many people who had been rooting for them and are both ready to do it again next year!

Chris Lessard with his first ever fantail at 27lb even!

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The Winners! Donny St Lawrence (L) & Chris Lessard (R)

19th Annual St. Lawrence International Jr. Carp Tournament

Draws Kids and Adults from across the state and beyond.

Thirteen year-old

Cameron Fuller from Potsdam was crowned ‘Grand Champion’ at the 19th Annual Jr. Carp Tournament, held July 21 – 23, 2022.

With a total of 91 pounds, 6 ounces for his heaviest four carp, Fuller also caught the largest carp of the tournament at 28 pounds, 4 ounces, and caught the most carp over the two days of fishing with seven weighing a total of 137 pounds, 6 ounces.

Complete results:

Girls 15-18

1st Place: Anisia Bogdan, 75 lbs. 12 oz. (Endicott)

2nd Place: Kaylee Green, 68 lbs. 12 oz., (Potsdam)

3rd Place: Olivia Caldwell, 65 lbs. 7 oz. (Massena)

Boys 15-18

1st Place: Matthew Nolan, 76 lbs. (Norfolk)

2nd Place: Lowen Sero, 69 lbs. 15oz. (Canton)

3rd Place: Tanner Smith, 69 bs. 5oz. (Waddington)

Girls 11-14

1st Place: Danika Sheffield, 59 lbs. (Lisbon)

2nd Place: Josephine Hill, 37 lb. 13oz. (Chase Mills)

3rd: Hayley Cota, 30 lbs. 13oz. (Rensselaer Falls)

Boys 11-14

1st Place: Cameron Fuller, 91 lbs. 6 oz. (Potsdam)

2nd: Gavin Thompson, 68 lbs. 13oz. (Potsdam)

3rd: Ryan Mitchell, 62 lbs. 15 oz. (Rensselaer Falls)

Team Competition

1st Place: One on Baits with 245 lb. 13 oz

2nd Place: The Dream Team with 235 lbs. 12 oz

The 51 competitors caught and released a combined 132 carp, weighing a total of 2,116 pounds. Fishing locations were in the St. Lawrence County communities of Ogdensburg, Lisbon and Waddington.

3rd Place: Cornerstone Services with 217 lb. 7 oz.

Adult Division

1st Place: Terry Debiew with 60 lb. 2 oz

The Riley Basford Memorial Sportsmanship Award was presented to Olivia Caldwell (Massena), who showed kindness, teamwork and sportsmanship to those around her on the riverbank.

tournament

and is now organized by the Carp Angler’s Group, a northeast regional association dedicated to Carp Fishing. This year’s tournament was led by Grand Marshals Cole Murray and Jordan Gilbert, both of Hannawa Falls, and attracted youth from across New York State and Connecticut.

first time ever fishing the St. Lawrence River, for others, this is an annual, multi-generation tradition”

- noted Jo Ann Roberts, tournament organizer.

- added Abby McNamara, also tournament organizer.

The 2022 event is hosted by the Carp Angler Group and St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce. It is part of a series of tournaments supported by a Market New York grant from I LOVE NY/New York State’s Division of Tourism through the Regional Economic Development Council initiative.

The

began in 2003

“For some, this was their

“We have many surprises in store for the 20th Annual in 2023, with dates expected to be announced by the end of August”

Tournament Winner, from left to right: Abby McNamara, tournament organizer; Cameron Fuller, Grand Champion, Cole Murray and Jordan Gilbert, tournament Grand Marshals

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1st Place Team, One on Baits

Front Row: Tanner Smith Back Row Standing; Shawn Rafter, Coach, Cameron Fuller, Gavin Thompson, Joey Green

2022 Mountain State Carp Challenge

By Mike Williams

Venue: Lake William, Barbourville, WV

October 15 & 16:

West Virginia was recently graced with its first ever CAG sponsored carp tournament, and it was a huge success.

With teams from 5 different states (NY,PA,NC,WA,WV) and included team members from as far away as the United Kingdom and South Africa, it was a microcosm of some of the larger events and had a true international feel to it.

The competitors were experienced and well prepared and the very model of true sportsmen in every sense of the word. Which is not to say that competition wasn’t fierce. But at the end of the tournament the anglers left it on the field, knowing they had given their best with no regrets.

And there was great comradery at the end of the awards ceremony with everyone picking each other’s brain and sharing information about their own tactics and the new venue.

The tournament began at 7:00 am October 15th and ended at 2:00pm on the 16th and was held at Lake William Park in Barbourville West Virginia which is just outside of Huntington. The Park was well maintained by the city and had nice clean facilities. Not to mention the location was also easy to get to from out of state and offered a choice of lodging and restaurants all within a reasonable distance.

The venue choice is all a testament to the event organizer Derek Williams doing his due diligence in selecting the ideal location.

And the weather couldn’t have been much better with mild temps and bluebird skies right up to the lines out announcement, when clouds rolled in and it immediately began to sprinkle as if on cue.

As stated before, the competition was fierce. With Dustin Loftin and his teammate Emil Lenzi of team “Carp Company” landing two qualifying catches before noon the first day as well as setting the bar for the other anglers in the big fish pot with an 18.74 pound common.

The lake was only 18 acres, so every fisherman could see the others and make out when a fish was landed during the daylight hours even though they couldn’t see how big the catch was. This was overcome by the pictures and weights being posted on the tournament group site during the first day.

And Jeremy Goddard from his own one man” Team Knot Again” was quick to answer Carp Company’s catches with two qualifying mirror carp of his own just to keep it interesting. And interesting it stayed with “Carp Company” extending their lead right after dark with a 13.88 pound mirror.

And so it stood, right up to the time for the weigh Marshalls to retire for the night, of which I was one, after that if any qualifying fish were caught they needed to be put in a weigh sling until weigh-in resumed at 7:00 a.m. the next morning.

But the anglers had not been sleeping!!! No sir, they had been up all-night strategizing. Putting out baits, deciding on what flavors or baits might just be the winning combo.

Should I try a fruit flavor like strawberry butternut? Or maybe something more traditional, like anise or vanilla? Or with these fish being relatively unpressured because nobody in West Virginia targets carp maybe a natural occurring bait like crayfish or something fish based?

Should I cast out into the center or maybe fish the margins or some combo thereof?

Did I double check that drag the last time I cast that pole out? No sir they hadn’t been sleeping that much at all. They had been giving it their best.

They hadn’t joined this tournament for any other reason than to take a shot that they were the best on this given day. And the next morning, it showed!

When we resumed the weigh-in the next morning the edge of your seat surprises continued, with team “Carp Company” adding a fourth fish to their big four in the form of 14.32 pound common to their bag. And again Team “Knot again” (I promise there were other teams) answered the challenge in a big way. With a 28.84 monster of a common to bring himself within ounces of the leader. Then it went quiet for the next 4 hours.

When at around 12:30pm team “Knot Again” called to say he had landed a fish but wasn’t sure it would make the minimum weight of 10 pounds since his scale had malfunctioned and was only weighing him as 9 pounds .

After we made it around to the lake the mirror ended up racking up a weight of 14.32 sealing the big four for Jeremy Goddard to capture both first place in this winner-take-all tournament as well as the landing him the big fish pot with his own new PB in his first ever tournament.

So, all-in-all, it was a great time. As it is anytime a group of likeminded individuals get together for a common goal. Especially when that common pursuit is the not so common carp.

The Teams!

Big Foot: Craig Cook

Knot Again: Jeremy Goddard

One-On: Chris Jackson and Scott Russell

Hawkins: Jerry Hawkins

Yankee Carpers: Barry Howard and Brian Vedder

Carp Company: Dustin Loftin and Emil Lenzi

1st Place winner – Jeremy Lee Goddard

2nd place winners

Prizes and Plaques

Baits for Anglers By Anglers

EIGHT DAYS IN EDEN

Skaczel

I set off to Thailand alone and with limited English knowledge on the 16th of November, 2021 – I must admit I was very excited. My plane departed from Budapest, and then in Doha I changed plane to Phuket. I had two folders full of certifications with me hoping that everything goes smoothly and I can get to my final destination, Gillhams Fishing Resort.

After landing on the 17th of November, I had to stay in a quarantine hotel for a night until I received the result of my Covid test. On the morning of 18th of November, the taxi driver of Gillhams came to pick me up and take me to the province of Krabi.

My fishing started next day, so I decided to look around. As I was walking around and breathing the warm and vaporous tropical air, I felt I became one with nature. I understood why it is so important to take care of this wondrous planet.

We passed through amazing places, the landscape was dotted with palm trees, rainforests and beautiful mountains. As we were heading towards the end of our two-hour journey, I got more and more excited. When we arrived the huge iron gate opened, and I entered the Garden of Eden.

I was received by Sean Gillham himself. After going through the necessary administration, he informed me about the schedule of fishing: the time window is between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

While I was wandering around the complex, I bumped into a few fishing stands and talked to the anglers. Everybody was from England; I was the only Hungarian. Everyone was very helpful.

When I arrived back to my room the daily limit of my trip waited for me in front of the door: I was about to fish for six days, this meant 6 kg (13,23 lbs) from the boilie with the secret recipe and six packets of halibut pellet.

Written and photos by: Tamás Skaczel

Translated by: Andrea Bánátiné

Then my guide, Kyle McKellar arrived. He asked what my target fish was. I said I was mainly interested in Siamese Carp, but I am eager to catch any species. He informed me that I got one of the best spots on the lake, and we talked through everything.

Biggest Siamese Carp of my first day: 77,16 lbs (35 kg)

On the 19th of November I got up at 6 a.m. and I was very excited. I took a few packets of boilies and pellets and went to place number 1. Kyle had already been waiting for me with the equipment (it is provided here for the anglers), showed me how to use it and finally put a black whistle in my hand.

“When you get a bite you strike, whistle, shout place number one – and I will be here immediately to help you” He did the balling in previously and showed me where to throw the baited gear.

I put boilie and yellow, tik-tak shaped wafters bait next to the hook and threw in about 10-14 meters from the shore. Water was 6-7 meters deep there.

On the other rod I baited frozen fish and threw it to the bankside floating plant.

Fishing finally have started! I was waiting excitedly… While I was thinking, a Hungarian vizsla (a traditional Hungarian dog breed) sat next to me! Then in a few minutes I already had a bite. The silence was disturbed by full line pull on the helicopter rig – I must add that 80 lbs multifilament is well-tried here because of the enormous size of the fish! I hooked up, whistled, and shouted the number of my place.

We have to act like this on every single occasion, otherwise we cannot get help and we might lose our dream fish... I didn’t know yet what was on the hook, I only felt the strong pulling.

For the voice of the whistle Kyle rushed back to me and jumped into the water with a huge landing net. It was so huge that two men could easily fit into it. After a big fight my first fish, an Amazonas Redtail Catfish came into the surface. I was very happy; I have only seen such a beautiful fish in Jeremy Wade’s film so far. When the fish was in the net I jumped into the water and Kyle made pictures of me with my phone. After the photoshoot we let the beautiful Redtail back into the water, I rebated the rig and threw it back into the feed area.

A biteless period came after. Kyle returned after 1-2 hours, took out my fish-baited rig and put on a robust float rig. It resembled a bit of a carping rig. He also brought stick pellet, which was a special granulated pellet.

This is a well-tried feed here. Kyle prepared it properly, made some balls (five or six pieces), and stuffed it into the feeder. He warned me that it should always be stuffed hard into the feeder.

North American Carp Angler

When we were ready with everything Kyle started to throw the balls into the water in hand-throwing distance. After the fourth ball he told me to throw the rig to the same area.

The float was set to midwater, to 1,5-meter depth, and as I threw to the designated area, he kept on throwing the balls. As the float reached the rig depth the food started to dissolve from the swimfeeder and fell on the bait. I waited and watched the float. Suddenly it disappeared under the water, I felt a strong pull and I immediately hooked it. I knew and felt that this fish is much bigger than the previous one. It aimed open water with enormous strength and a demanding, yet intoxicating play began.

Finally, after half an hour I managed to direct it back in front of me. I felt that it slowly let go and swam toward the surface. Suddenly I got a glimpse of the first Giant Barb of my life! I was very happy and excited.

Kyle jumped into the water again and helped the exhausted fish into the net easily. I made it, it was in the net! Kyle took out the hook from the fish’s mouth and I put the rig aside. Fortunately, the neighboring angler’s wife was walking in my direction and helped taking pictures of my first Giant Barb, which exceeded 72,75 lbs (33 kg). When we were done with the photos we sterilized the mouth, pectoral and caudal fin of the fish. It is a necessary protocol when you catch a carp.

Afterwards, I rebaited the float rig with a single boilie, stuffed a ball into the swimfeeder, and threw it back to the baited area. My first day was successful, I caught four more Giant Barbs above 77,16 lbs (35 kg) with this technique! The last one even exceeded 88,18 lbs (40 kg). I was pleased and exhausted.

In the evening I threw back the fish rig next to the plants and soon I had a take: it was a freshwater ray. It weighed 22,06 lbs (10 kg), we let it back into the water after we took some quick and safe pictures.

I rebaited the hook with fish, threw it back to the plants again, and at 18:20 a bigger Amazonas Redtail picked it up... This was my first catfish above 44,09 lbs (20 kg). I finished my day with this fish.

My biggest fish on the second day: Siamese Carp, 88,18 lbs (40 kg)

I started the second day in the same way: one rod in the bottom, one in midwater. After a few hours, I still haven’t had any bites. I decided to change the yellow, tik-tak wafters-shaped bait as I noticed that I hadn’t had any bites with this colour bait for two days. So, I put on a white pop-up next to the boilie, poured pellet and boilie into a PVA bag, and threw this bait back into the pre-baited area.

While I was waiting, I continued fishing with the float rig. This turned out to be much more successful: only after ten minutes, the third throwing aroused the interest of a large Giant Barb! Just as the float reached the rig depth the fish took it and literally wanted to pull out the rod from my hand. I

hooked, whistled, and shouted. Kyle arrived and watched me playing the fish. I felt it was a much bigger piece. After 30-40 minutes Kyle got it in the net from the water and told me this carp was over 99,21 lbs (kg). I was blissfully happy; I broke my own record on the second day. We took some pictures in a rush.

Then I had a catch again from the bottom, I managed to drive a similar-sized carp into the keepnet. We took some pictures with trouble but with joy, sterilized the fish, and let it back into the deep water.

After all these I rested a bit, ate, and called some of my friends to share my experience. I only had a few hours left from the day, but I could still fish out a large Pacu and an Amazonas Redtail.

Day 3, biggest catch: 59,52 lbs (27 kg) Redtail

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The most special catch of day 4: Alligator Gar

When I took my place on the third day, I realized that Kyle had a day off and Chris Pache was doing his duties but he was just as helpful as Kyle. He left me alone to help others, but I was constantly whistling and shouting my place number.

I caught at least 15 fish from different species: Carp, Catfish, Pacu. I got lots of smaller and bigger fish with a Giant Barb exceeding 110,23 lb (50 kg) and an Amazonas Redtail of 59,52 lb (27 kg)

I could only hold this 103,62 lb (47 kg) Siamese

with the help of my guide Kyle Mckellar

Carp

My fourth day started on the 22nd of November. I rushed to my place to start the pre-baiting. Kyle returned, but Chris spent a lot of time with me too as this day was not boring either. At 7:05 all the rig was in its baited area. The lake was in deathly silence.

Then, in the blink of an eye, there was a bite in the midwater rig. After a short play, my first fish was an Alligator Gar. Chris helped me pull it to the shore. He was surprised that I caught it with boilie. This day was a real blessing for me as I could catch a lot of Giant Barbs including a real Methuselah which was over 116,84 lbs (55 kg). I could also catch a Chinese Black Carp.

All the other anglers and guides were celebrating with me, they were more delighted with this catch than with a Giant Barb.

It is a real sensation around here, but I believe it is a curiosity at home as well. Besides these, I also caught numerous Redtails too.

On the fifth morning I hurried to my place on the shore again. Initially, I caught three or four carps below 44,09 lbs (20 kg) and a Redtail. But I had a feeling that a sensational catch is waiting for me this day. I continued the tiresome fishing with the float rig, but it did not work. There were more fish from the bottom, but these were smaller in size.

I ran out of the stick pellet, so I asked Chris for some more. In five minutes, he prepared the substance for me, I made some balls and started to feed a new area. When I finished, I put some into the groundbait feeder and bait on the hook and set the rig for one meter.

Record catch of day 5: cca 154,32 lbs (70 kg). Dream record in hand, with the help of guide Chris

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Pache

One meter long, beautiful Pacu I held 277,16 lbs (35 kg) Siamese Carps at the same time!

After throwing in it set into work and started to sway as the feed was dissolving. After securing the baitrunner I put the rod down and a fish immediately started to pull it... A robust Methuselah hooked up. At the end of a fifty-minutes-long play Chris was waiting in the water to net it. When it appeared on the surface Chris told: “It is an enormous fish”.

I could only comprehend how much this sentence meant on this lake when I was standing above the Carp. When I jumped into the water to take a picture of us, we measured the Giant Barb several times and it turned out that it was almost 154,32 lbs (kg)!

When we let the fish back into the water, I took out my rigs and decided to finish fishing for the day. But as there was only a short day left from my angling, I threw back both rigs. I only had a few remaining hours, but I managed to catch two Giant Barbs with 77,16-99,21 lbs (35-45 kg). After the last fish, I was just sitting and chatting with Chris and Kyle.

Most and biggest Siamese Carps were caught with float rig

were 44,09-66,14-88,18 lbs (20-30-40 kg). I managed to catch two more Pacuses with 26,46-33,07 lbs (12-15 kg), and obviously, the beautiful Redtail did not stay away. I used one boilie combined with white plastic corn; this was effective so far. I hang on the bite indicator, set the baitrunner, and threw the second rig into the water.

I threw a few, but there was no reaction from the fish. As I was standing on the concrete stand with the rod in my hand, I realized that the biggest Black Carp of the lake was swimming at the surface by the plants next to me, with its 3-meter length and 220,46 lbs (100 kg). My body started to tingle so I quickly threw the float rig 50 cm in front of it. I stuffed the swimfeeder; boilie and pellet were in my pocket. I threw in the rig again and threw a handful of boilie and pellet on the float so that the Carp hear that something is streaming above him.

The water was boiling around the float. I wasn’t lazy; I threw in again and threw boilie and pellet on the float too. The baitrunner was off, and then, just in a second, the float was underwater, and the fish was pulling the line. I let him take it. I sized up the situation and struck – the fish was so enormous that it had the power to break my rig. The water rumbled and then there was silence. We felt each other’s presence for ten seconds. Several people hurried to me, they told me they had never seen something like that on this lake before. I was happy and sad at the same time, but I could at least feel the fish for a short time.

Frankly speaking, on the last day I was constantly feeding (almost every hour), I fed everything I had left, and it was successful. I caught lots of Carps, all

I set back in my chair and called my friend János, who fished here a few times. He told me several times that he felt he had left something in the lake; he also got in touch with the biggest Mekong, the “Big Boy”.

I understood everything: this lake always gives you things for a short time just to make sure you return.

I thanked the conversation and finished fishing. I left my spot calmly and in silence because I got the carp I was only dreaming of.

As I walked back slowly to my bungalow, I admired the huge fireflies in the dark. It was a perfect closure. At dinner, we discussed the happenings of the last day with my new friends.

The next morning, I packed my bag and gave my leftover packet of pellet to my new neighbour.

My flight took off in the evening from Phuket Airport, so my new fishing buddy’s Dean Peters, Paul Stanbridge and I decided to go to Krabi to take pictures and buy presents.

I am glad that I explored both seaside bays during my trip and that I spent eight days in the Garden of Eden. After shopping, we drank a beer on the terrace, watched the water and we just knew that we would return here.

There was unbroken silence, nobody whistled, as if the lake was saying goodbye to us.

We set still and sad in the taxi, the only thing that gave us some comfort was that we can soon meet our families and share our wonderful experience with them.

Special thanks to Gillhams Fishing Resort for doing everything to make my dream come true. Thanks to my family, my wife, my child, and all my friends who rejoiced with me for my success.