2023 Q3 North American Carp Angler Magazine by North American Carp Angler

north american

CARP ANGLER 2023 Q3

CAG EVENTS INCLUDING:

CHAMPION OF THE QUEEN ESSENCE OF CARPING COMPETITION ST LAWRENCE JUNIOR TOURNAMENT www.joincag.com CCC

FEATURE ARTICLES:

GOING WILD NJ FISH IN RETURN TO THE CARP CAST AND MORE!

EDITOR IN-CHIEF ADDRESS

Dean Brookes As we enter the winter months, I find myself reminiscing on cold water sessions of the past. I’ve always fished in the winter, both when I lived in England and also when I started my carp journey in the USA. I remember being the only angler on the banks and rarely seeing anyone else fishing for any species, outside of the die hard ice anglers! In fact, I had more than one successful American carper tell me carp did not feed below a certain temperate. As I’ve caught carp under the ice and in some harsh conditions I knew this not to be the case. While it’s certainly a challenge, carp will and do feed in the winter. The number one factor for success (which is the same no matter the season) is location. Finding ice free water (preferably moving or near a warm water source) where the carp like to hold up in the winter can give you some incredible results and keeping small amounts of bait going into the water will keep them active and looking for food. My advice….wear the correct gear for the winter and get out there exploring and looking for the fish. It may take several sessions or even years to find these areas but once you do so, you can guarantee that they will be back in the winter, year after year.

While this edition is focused on this past fall, we’ll be looking to get the next Edition out early next year, so look forward to some winter advice that hopefully inspires you to get out as well. In this edition we have CAG news and tournament updates including the Essence of Carping, CCC and the St Lawrence Junior event. We also have a great exploration article from Jerome Moisand which is well worth the read. 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

President Address

ta in Italy. nt trip to Parco del Bren ce re a on ht ug ca r rro ence International Iain with a 50lb plus mi for the annual CAG St Lawr NY , ton ing dd Wa to a rid Flo m In August I travelled up fro at time! ed in fishing and having a gre olv inv s kid ny ma so e se to was such treat Junior Carp Tournament. It fish began to feed and t a line. As darkness fell the we to urs ho few a nd fou After the tournament I even lb before having to leave.

I managed three fish to 20

my original plans a ugh heavy rains put paid to In CCC. It was fish. Then it was on to the ing nn stu me so h wit me 1994 rewarded swim I discovered back in ng several newcomand friends as well welcomi ers mb me G CA ing nd sta g lon great to meet up with many mmy Brown on with Nigel Griffin and To ds Hu the fish to rth no r a little furthe ers. After the CCC I headed it was time to start the high teens. After packing up to d mi the in fish e nic ral ve where we each managed se rida. l-o-n-g drive back to SW Flo trip to North Carolina to d I write this I’m planning a an ly Ita in nta Bre l de rco In October I returned to Pa vember. s sheet before the end of No ult res 4 Big ll Fa the on lf see if I can get myse carp before the end of naging to catch some nice ma d an ing fish ll Fa ir the I hope everyone is enjoying nnecticut and even tho September I drove up to Co

the season.

joy another great issue of

Tight lines everyone and en

Iain Sorrell CAG President

the NACA.

Contents

NORTH AMERICAN CARP ANGLER 2023 Q3 On the front cover

PAGE 6

Champion of the Queen

PAGE 7

Essence of Carping

PAGE 9

CAG Carp Clasic 2023

PAGE 14

Going Wild In The Wild West

PAGE 21

New Jer s e y Fis h in

PAGE 38

20th St Laurence Junior Tournament

PAGE 42

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

Front Cover Jeremiah Green A few shots of the amazing fish I landed during a weekend session with my great friend Jacob Ayotte. After asking New Jerseys own Ryan Munn to point us in the right direction for a chance at some beautiful Delaware river carp we set some dates and made the plans. The week before the trip Jacob and I sent Ryan some Carp Bait USA and Carp Maxx boilies to prebait with before our arrival. I can’t thank Ryan enough for taking the time to prepare the swim for us. The first night was constant action with several low teen carp landed between me and Jake. Jakes first fish even happened to be a fantail common.

The next day the started to get bigger with both of us landing some mid 20s fish including a ghost common for me. Into the night we were met with more smaller carp as well as the two biggest fish of the trip a 28lb common for me and about a 25lb common for Jake. After the action had settled I decided to turn in for the night only to be woken by a screaming run. As I fought the fish I knew that this had to be a larger fish but what Jake said next would be a total shock. As the fish fought closer to us Jake yelled back to me that it was “definitely a fan tail” I was extremely excited as I had never had a fantail common. Not a minute later and Jake yelled that its also a ghost and a mirror! After that I knew we need to get this fish in the net and the pressure was on. After a few small runs Jake got the fish in the net and we both yelled with joy and excitement. We knew that what we had in the net was incredibly rare.

CHAMPION OF THE QUEEN Barry Shildneck October 11, 2023 Dear Barry, It gives me great pleasure to announce that you are the recipient of the 2023 Carp Anglers Group Champion of the Queen Award. The Carp Anglers Group “Champion of the Queen” award, sometimes referred as “Protector of the Queen” award, has been used to acknowledge exceptional achievements in promoting the mission of the Carp Anglers Group together with carp angling in North America. It is so called after Izaak Walton author of the Complete Angler (published in 1653) described the Carp as the “Queen of Rivers” and a ”Stately, Good and very Subtle Fish”. The award was first given in 1995 and the list of recipients over the years is a tribute to their efforts on behalf of our organization. Over the years you have been a stalwart supporter of CAG as State Chair for Georgia and helped introduce many to the enjoyment of carp angling. I am therefore delighted, on behalf of the Directors and fellow members, to present you with the enclosed award and to honor you with Life Membership of the Carp Anglers Group. Congratulations and Tight Lines!

Iain Sorrell CAG President

North American Carp Angler

Baits for Anglers By Anglers

CAG members are invited to submit photographs that capture what is unique and exciting about carp fishing in North America. Each month the winner will receive a special prize plus recognition for two runners up.

The Rules: 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 photos do not have to be of someone hold-

The photograph must have been taken in the

ing a fish (this is NOT a Trophy fish competition)

submission month (final date for submissions is 24

but they should be recognizable as being related to

hours after the end of each month)

carp or buffalo fishing in North America and should reflect the capture of a special moment. 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. The judges will be fellow members who should

All fish photos must demonstrate appropriate carp care and catch & release Each submission must include the following details: 1. The type of device (e.g. camera or phone) used. 2. The date the photo was taken. 3. Location (nearest Town and State).

pay particular attention to the subject matter and

4. Your Name

composition and not just the photographic or edit-

5. Photo Title (e.g. Mirror Magic, Waiting for

ing skills. In the event of a tie or any disputes the

the Bite etc)

CAG BOD will be the final arbitrator. Entries should be submitted to the “CAG EsEach month we’ll announce a winner and Award a prize or voucher (worth $100) with the winning

sence of Carping Competition” under the appropriate “Month” below.

photo appearing in a forthcoming NACA maga-

Entrants agree that CAG may use or display a

zine as well as the CAG Forum Site and Facebook

submitted photo on the CAG website and Social

page. The top 3 will also receive CAG Medals.

Media resources.

North American Carp Angler

July Winners 1st Place Brent Behnken

2nd Place Marty McDaniel

3rd Place Joshua Jones

North American Carp Angler

september Winners 1st Place Jay Smithers

2nd Place Brian Santos

3rd Place Joshua Jones

North American Carp Angler

CAG Carp Classic (CCC) 2023 The CCC returned once again to the Hudson River for 2023.

Of the thirty anglers registered for the CCC some waited to drive up early on the Saturday morning for the Peg Draw at 7am while others braved the torrential rain on Friday that left much of the southern parts of CT and NY states suffering severe flooding. The traditional social gathering, scale certification & BBQ at the Pegasus Restaurant on the Friday night made the soggy journey well worthwhile.

On Saturday the peg draw took place behind

Low tide on the Hudson was scheduled for

Chrissy’s Diner (which is sadly still closed following

10:37am so anglers had to deal with the strong cur-

a fire back in 2019) at 7am.

rent until the tide turned. It also rained steadily until

After the draw everyone set off to their allotted pegs which were set up in three riverside locations, Dutchmans Landing, Coxsackie Riverside Park and Henry Hudson Park.

around 1pm which may have added to the outgoing tide flow. At 8am it was lines-in and shortly after at 8:13am the first carp weighing 18lb was landed by Mike Dragone in Peg 3 at Henry Hudson Park. North American Carp Angler

As the tournament continued initial reports

Yaroslav Livak in Peg 4 (HHP) and Dawid Bak in

suggested that the battle for the big 4 was likely

Peg 19 (CP) had already had 4 or 5 fish each but

to be between Codi Green in Peg 1 (HHP) with a

with a smaller average weight.

23 & an 18 and Mike Dragone in 3 (HHP) with two 18lb fish. Meanwhile Iain Sorrell in Peg 28 (DL),

Meanwhile other pegs were struggling to catch but as we all know anything can happen.

At 4pm everyone wound in and reported their catches to Jerome Moisand to determine the final results. The CCC 2023 Dinner, Raffle and awards ceremony took place at the Pegasus Restaurant that evening and everyone anxiously awaited the results!

North American Champion: Yaroslav Livak became the 2023 Trophy holder with a Big 4 weight of 59lb 4oz

Carp King: Codi Green won the Belt Buckle with the biggest fish a common of 23lb 0oz

Section Winners: Iain Sorrell at Dutchmans Landing: 86lb 0oz Dawid Bak at Coxsackie Park: 52lb 14oz Yaroslav Livak at Henry Hudson Park : 81lb 11oz

North American Carp Angler

Overall Weight Winner:

Smallest Carp:

Iain Sorrell with 7 carp for a total of 86lb 0oz

Jerome Moisand at 5lb 4oz

First Carp Winner:

Catfish King:

Mike Dragone

Ian O’Connell

As always our sincere thanks to Barry Howard and Sam Williams for all their hard work in organizing this years CCC and to Jerome Moisand for collating the results. Our thanks to CarpAngler.com for generously supporting the prizes for the North American Champion and Carp King and also Carp Bait USA and Deeper Sonar for the donations to the CAG CCC Raffle which raised over $340 Thank you to everyone who came and fished the CCC 2023. We look forward to seeing you next year!

North American Carp Angler

Going Wild In The Wild West Part One By Jerome Moisand

Lake Mead (NV) I have been working on emulating Frank and Narda Walters for a while now, the goal being to catch carp all over the US as they did more than a decade ago. Not including the two trips I will recount, at the time of writing, I had caught carp (and a few grassies) in 37 states. Most of those states are on the east, northern and Midwest parts of the US. It was time to go to the Wild West! This article will document my 2022 trip to Nevada and Arizona (with a short detour in California). The next article will document my 2023 trip to Colorado and New Mexico. Which brought me to 41 states with carp caught in each of them! And yes, I do have a rough plan for the next steps...

North American Carp Angler

My usual pattern when traveling and fishing is to alternate between fishing with local CAG members in one state (hence socializing and getting a lot of help) and going completely blind, in full discovery mode, in the next state. My friend Jim Hatter was very eager to fish with me at Lake Havasu (where he retired), covering Arizona. So I deliberately didn’t seek any local knowledge for Nevada. Sure, I was aware that Lake Mead holds a large number of carp, but this is a big reservoir, which changed a lot over the years. And a very desertic kind of environment I was definitely not used to! Flying to and from Las Vegas made the point, with impressive aerial views of Lake Mead. I landed at the airport and found gambling machines at the gate, I was in Vegas all right... Checking Google Maps and Google Earth ahead of time, the most obvious destination seemed to be the Hemenway marina. After extracting my fishing poles and net from my traveling ski tube and reassembling the whole thing, after buying a pot and some maize and cooking late in the evening, I was ready to go there in the morning. Access to the marina seemed a little strange, with a long dirt path to go to a rocky area where to park, then a long walk to find the marina itself. And... I stumbled on a bunch of carp right away! This is one of those marina spots where people keep hand feeding carp and they congregate. Oh, and a local guy sells pop-corn to feed them. And there are signs saying “No Fishing”. I was happy to see carp (including a fully scaled!), but then I started to wonder if having so many fish around here would not be a problem for my fishing elsewhere!

A few hundred yards on the left side, I could

there was no shortage of carp food in this reservoir.

see cars and some people fishing. I found my way

I set up my rods on the very dry ground (couldn’t

down there, spoke with a couple of folks who didn’t

fit my bank sticks!) and started to watch the water.

have a clue about carp, found a half decent spot

After a while, seeing a couple of jumps farther

with a small point of land protruding in the water.

away, I repositioned a rod at 50 yards or so, while

This would make it convenient to fish either side,

keeping one much closer to shore.

very close to my car. Between the sun and the to-

A carp jumped close to shore on the other side

tal lack of shade, I liked this option, but would fish

of the point. There were around, or at least a few of

be around, I wasn’t quite sure. There were a lot of

them were.

small dead shells on the exposed shore, clearly North American Carp Angler

Now if you watch those pictures carefully, you will notice marks on the rocky hills, pretty high above the water. Discussing with locals and checking the Internet, it turned out that those were water marks from the 2000s when the water was some 150 (!!) feet above the current

water

level.

The reservoir lost two thirds of its capacity since then. Now this is a little mind-boggling, we’re speaking

I blanked for several hours, threw some bait

of a reservoir which is more than 100 miles long,

(yes, chumming is legal in Lake Mead, you have to

this is a LOT of missing water. And this explains

be careful with those Western states when it comes

why access to the shoreline became difficult, be-

to chumming) and went exploring.

cause the water retreated hundreds of yards since

Fact is there are not that many access roads

access roads were built! Such changes must be a

bringing you near the water and some are miles

constant nightmare for whoever is managing mari-

long dirt paths. So I tried all of those within reason-

nas and boat ramps (and also explaining why get-

able reach, one after the other.

ting near the shoreline was often a long walk after a parking area of sorts).

The scenery was quite spectacular and so completely remote from anywhere I fished in the past (with the exception of some areas of Washington state). All rocks and dirt. No trees. No creek (inflow or outflow), no structure besides rocky hills. This really threw off my sense of watercraft! I ended up deciding to try a cove with some good water depth (other coves were shallow and uninspiring), chummed it a good deal and came back the day after. Hours later, no sign of life, I was none the wiser and starting to lack ideas!

I explored more to no avail, while fearing that my cheap rental car would leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere. I finally decided to go back to the spot near the Hemenway marina. At least, I had seen a few jumps the day before, plus the marina itself was a fish magnet and I reasoned that those fish had to roam around to find more balanced food than pop corn! I set up mid afternoon, casting close to shore, nobody around. Within half an hour, I had a run!! A very decent teen emerged to my delight. Another one, a tad bigger, came a little later. Relief, Nevada was now squarely added to my list of carp states! A beautiful sunset rewarded me. I didn’t dare staying long as I wasn’t too sure I’d find my way out of the sandy dirt paths in the dark!

The day after, I started to drive along the Colorado river towards Arizona and Lake Havasu. I made a stop at Willow Beach, fished for a few hours close to a marina with no luck. This location in a beautiful canyon with a nice river bend seemed interesting enough to come back later though. North American Carp Angler

Lake Havasu (AZ and CA) My friend Jim Hatter and his wife were kind enough to host me for a few days. I fished with Jim in Georgia with Ol’ Captain Horace, and also in Tennessee where we caught a couple of spectacular 30+ mirrors from Dale Hollow. Jim retired in Lake Havasu (beautiful house!) and promised me a lot of fish from a few spots he chummed heavily while I was struggling with Lake Mead. After a good night of rest and a leisurely breakfast, we moved to the first spot. Jim went back to fetch something he forgot in his car and I was landing my second fish by the time he came back! Six more carp followed for me within a few hours, including a nice 22 pounder. Arizona, check! Things are much easier with a local friend helping you! A fancy dinner in the evening, celebration cocktails and a comfy bed were enjoyable bonuses.

The day after, we went fishing to the second spot Jim had chummed (we topped it up the evening before with a full bucket of maize and bird seed). Jim started the show, and then I proceeded to land 16 fish before acknowledging that I was getting a little tired! Two cool mirrors and a couple of low 20s made my day along the way. In the evening, Jim suggested we take his boat the next day. I asked if we could go explore the other shore of the reservoir, which is California. You see, I caught carp before in California, but only on other people’s rods (thanks Keith and Mick!). We started to look at satellite images, plenty of nice coves, but not a single incoming creek. Similar to Lake Mead, Lake Havasu is essentially a big lake formed by a giant dam across the Colorado river and this is the ONLY source of water (besides infrequent rain).

I was more than a little baffled. The water level at Lake Havasu was perfectly normal by the way, it appears that Lake Mead is slowly being emptied while the wealthy residents of Lake Havasu don’t really perceive an issue... Oh, and local politicians don’t seem to have any problem allowing more and more houses to be built while not having a shred of an answer to the issue besides finger pointing between highly polarized states. More on this topic later! North American Carp Angler

Back to California exploring. We took the boat,

I was ready to jump on the boat, go swim for this

crossed the lake, we explored multiple coves in a

fish, whatever, but no need, I easily landed my Cali-

barren environment, then we settled on one cove

fornia fish, an immaculate upper teen! A lot of work

with more reeds and structure than the others.

for one fish, but definitely worth it.

No sign of fish, I wasn’t too hopeful, but this was the best we could find. Not being able to rely on any of my usual tricks (look for inflows, bridges, dams, human structures, eddies, overhanging trees; also do some heavy chumming the evening before), I was a little bit out of my element to be honest, only seeing rocks, dust and the main body of water. I decided to set up my rods near some reeds (I didn’t see many of those while exploring) and lightly chum. After a couple of hours, I was very pleased to get a run and... this ended up in a fatal snag, aaaarg. Still, there was solid hope by now. Three more hours, we were close to our deadline (dinner waiting at Jim’s home!) and amazingly I finally got another run.

On the way back to Vegas My fishing trips usually circle back to the place from where I started, if only due to practicalities of airports and rental cars. The first half of my trip tends to be more leisurely, giving time to explore, and is organized well in advance (schedule, lodging reservations, who to meet, etc). The second half (circling back) is usually a tad faster and deliberately left open to last minute improvisation, driven by what I learned on the way in. In this case, I decided to give it a good try at Lake

Mohave (the lake in-between Lake Mead and Lake Havasu, which seemed spectacular), go spend half a day at Willow Beach (where I stopped on the way in), then go back to Lake Mead and explore the section where the Colorado river comes in. I found an intriguing deep cove on the way to the Davis dam (which separates Lake Mohave from Lake Havasu), decided on a whim to fish there for a couple of hours, this didn’t work, oh well, back to Lake Mohave! The section above the dam seemed quite interesting with a great cove on the side and a convenient fishing area. I threw some chum and kept exploring.

North American Carp Angler

There was a big marina nearby, and a nice group

I drove around a little more, settled on a specific

of carp right where it’s not allowed to fish. Water

cove and chummed heavily. In the morning, I went

was crystal clear and I stayed there for a while, just

back to the dam, chummed the cove on the side of

watching the fish swim around and feeding them

the dam, then drove to Princess Cove and started

with some of my method mix. I finally shook off the

fishing.

spell and drove to the area interestingly named

This is a tactic I used a lot while fishing in Que-

Princess Cove. I can’t say that it seemed terribly

bec, chum one spot in the morning, go fish another

‘carpy’, but the scenery was breathtaking and at

spot you chummed the evening before, then go

this stage, I was willing to take risks.

back to the first spot.

Unsurprisingly, no fish showed up, but that was

Hours slowly unraveled and it was dusk and noth-

ok, I just enjoyed my time watching the water and

ing moved, hmpf. I chummed heavily again, tried a

the spectacular rocky shore. I went to explore a

few more hours in the morning, Jim even paid me a

couple of other access points, all stunningly beau-

visit for good luck, I procrastinated and stayed past

tiful. Then I finally drove back to the dam’s cove,

lunch time, but alas it wasn’t meant to be. This was

where I was more hopeful to actually get something.

a little disappointing, I have to say.

North American Carp Angler

It was time to drive to Meadview, a small town on a mountainous plateau towering over Lake Mead. I crossed a large forest of cacti, I had no idea there was such a thing. The town itself is made of dirt roads (besides the main road crossing it) and looked pretty ragged and so did my small motel... The only interesting thing was indeed the view over the lake, which made me realize I was quite far from the shoreline!

I had spotted a marina on the map, which was my primary target near Meadview. I drove down there and found no marina whatsoever. Some picnic areas were located where the water used to be, I was walking on a bunch of dead shells on the ground, but the shoreline retreated far away and the whole area became a sad memory of what used to be when the water level was 150 feet higher! North American Carp Angler

I found some access to the water, but it looked sad and uninspiring. The only other option I had located on the map was a boat ramp near the entrance of the Colorado river to the reservoir.

and leave me stranded (needless to say, without cell coverage!). I finally reached the Colorado river. Er, this is what feeds Las Vegas, Lake Havasu and all the

I drove for miles and miles on a meandering dirt

communities around? That’s it? I mean, the water

road along areas which were clearly under water in

was flowing, but how the heck does this work? All

the past, wondering what the heck I was doing and

right, Lake Mead is actually fed by two rivers, but

what would happen if the car would break down

call me a little skeptical that that the Virgin river brings much more water than the Colorado river...

No boat ramp in sight, I turned around and I was relieved to make it back to the Meadview motel without a car incident. I decided to cut my stay short, as there was just no suitable place to fish, nor anything else to do! In the morning, I packed up, opened the room’s door and... what the heck? It snowed overnight in the desert? I never associated snow with cacti! I visited a local breakfast joint which came straight from last century and drove to my next step.

North American Carp Angler

I’ll make the rest of the story short. An army of coots tortured me at Willow Beach, feeding on my method balls and pulling my lines left and right. I tried recasting again and again, hoping to FINALLY attract a carp, but no luck.

Coots: 1 - Jerome:0.

I explored and fished Lake Mead a little more without any luck. I was quite dismayed to see that the water level had dropped by a solid foot by the time it took me to go to Lake Havasu and back. I ended up doing some sightseeing in Vegas (which I had visited with my family before), found some kois in a big casino and a large sturgeon in the local Bass Pro Shop.

I’ll be honest, I was a little dispirited by the end of the trip. Eighteen months later, writing this story and checking my pictures, I realized that it was actually a rather striking journey which made for fascinating memories. I caught fish in two new states, including a couple of 20s and mirrors, I cleaned up the CA side of things with a nice bit of discovery, I had a great time with a good friend and his wife, I fished along extraordinary scenery, I freaked out a bit at the way human beings mismanage scarce water, and I even saw a cactus forest in the snow! All in all, striking memories indeed.

North American Carp Angler

New Jersey Fish – In Report On Sunday October 1 NJ State Chair Ryan Munn hosted a fish-in on the Delaware River. He had a great turnout with 16 anglers coming from as far away as Maryland! Anglers of all ages were present, including a young angler James who caught his first ever carp! Even with less than ideal river conditions, the fish-in was a great success! 10 carp were landed in the span of only a few hours with an impressive average size of over 20lb. There were 3 new PBs landed, and the biggest fish was a very respectable 29lb! While no thirties made an appearance during the event, several anglers returned to the spot in the following days landed multiple big carp up to 38lb and broke even more PBs.

Andrii with a new PB carp of 25lb+

Kenny with the biggest fish of the event at 29lb

North American

CARP ANGLER

Magazine North American Carp Angler

James with his first ever carp

North American Carp Angler

20th St Lawrence

International Junior Carp Fishing Tournament

This year the Junior Carp tournament, which

which ran over two days. The young anglers caught

started in 2003, celebrated its 20th anniversary and

and released a combined 118 carp, weighing a total

featured over $10,000 in prizes and awards! It took

of over 1,700 pounds.

place August 3-5 2023 along the banks of the St.

The participants included anglers from St. Law-

Lawrence River County around Ogdensburg, Lis-

rence County, as well as other parts of New York

bon and Waddington, NY.

State together with anglers from Pennsylvania and

81 competitors, including 30 first time participants, aged 11-18 took part in the tournament

Massachusetts.

In the end it was fifteen year-old and first-time participant

Connor Wright, from Colton, who was crowned ‘Grand Champion’.

Connor weighed in a total of 71 lbs. for his heaviest four carp to edge out 2nd Place winner in his age division, Tanner Smith, by just one ounce. Connor’s team, Chum Chasers 2, also took home the 3rd Place Team award, with a total weight of 114 lbs.

North American Carp Angler

The biggest carp of the tournament was caught by

Boys 15-18

Landon Wilcox of Potsdam weighing 28 lbs. 13 oz.

1st Place: Connor Wright, 71 lbs. (Colton); 2nd

Over results:

Place: Tanner Smith, 70 lbs. 15 oz. (Waddington); 3rd Place: Devin Green, 64 lbs. 8 oz. (Potsdam)

Girls 11-14

Team Competition

1st Place: Samantha Milburn, 36 lbs. 14 oz. (Ma-

1st Place: The Dream Team, 191 lbs. 15 oz.; 2nd

drid); 2nd Place: Briley Cota, 31 lbs. 10 oz. (Rens-

Place: Chum Chasers, 131 lbs. 1 oz.; 3rd Place:

selaer Falls); 3rd Place: Taylor Bailey, 30 lbs. 11 oz.

Chum Chasers 2, 114 lbs.

(Red Creek)

Adult Division:

Boys 11-14

1st Place: Terry Debiew, 37 lbs. 13 oz.; 2nd Place:

1st Place: Ayden Shepard, 68 lbs. 8 oz. (Heuvel-

Brad Jerome, 34 lbs. 1 oz.; 3rd Place: Paul Gurrola,

ton); 2nd Place: Zachary Payne, 58 lbs. 5 oz. (Lis-

18 lbs.

bon); 3rd Place: Ryan Bailey, 58 lbs. (Red Creek) Girls 15-18 1st Place: Ahna Martinez, 45 lbs. 6 oz. (Heuvelton); 2nd Place: Anisia Bogdan, 37 lbs. 11 oz. (Endicott); 3rd Place: MacKenzie Cota, 36 lbs. 10 oz. (Rensselaer Falls)

This year the Riley Basford Memorial Sportsmanship Award was presented to teammates, Devin Green and Lucas Cruikshank. They were recognized for sharing their passion for the sport with others, mentoring and teaching others on the riverbank, offering advice to help them be successful during the tournament.

The tournament, which began in 2003, is supported and organized by the Carp Anglers Group of North America. The Carp Anglers Group is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to catch and release carp fishing and introducing newcomers to the sport. For this year’s 20th tournament we were honored to welcome past Grand Marshals, Abby McNamara (Potsdam) and Austin Delosh (Clarksville), and to honor the present we were joined by Grand Marshals, Kaylee Green (Potsdam) and Jaron Belmore (Norwood). North American Carp Angler

“Of the 81 participants, we had 30 first time participants which is exciting and will keep this tournament going. We’re also seeing the next generation of former families now eligible to participate. It’s truly a multi-generational event and we’re already looking forward to next year,” noted Jo Ann Roberts, tournament organizer. “The camaraderie and friendships made on the riverbank is wonderful to see, and some of my best friends are those I, myself met at this event,” added Abby McNamara, also tournament organizer.

This

year

were

joined by Carp Anglers Group

President

Iain

Sorrell. Along with fellow members Jerome Moisand, Phil Saunders and Rita Brown and fellow marshals they helped run the Carp School the day before the tournament. First time participants learned how to play and land big fish as well as taking care of them so they can be returned to the river to grow even bigger.

North American Carp Angler

In addition to the Carp Anglers Group the tournament is supported by the 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. Our special thanks go to Jo Ann Roberts Tournament Director, Abby McNamara Tournament Organizer, Bob Giodano, our Grand Marshals and Marshals, Radio Operators, Lindsey Baker Photographer, and many volunteers plus our sponsors who make hosting this great event possible! Next years tournament will be held July 18 – 20th 2024. For more details visit: https://www.fishcap.net/events/2024-junior-international-carp-tournament

North America’s Longest Running Carp Organisation with a Dedicated Mission: • To gain acceptance of the carp as an exciting and challenging sport-fish. • To become better carp anglers, assist others and encourage them to join us. • To treat the carp with respect, promote the release of trophy-size carp & encourage others to do the same. • Most of all: Go fishing, Share with others, and have Fun. As a member you will also be adding your voice & support to help CAG continue its efforts to work with State & other organizations to increase the recognition for carp as a sport fish to benefit the angling community

Member Benefits Include: • Full CAG Forum Community Access

• CAG Apparel & Merchandise

• Member Benefits

• New Member Tackle Pack

• Quartely NACA Magazine*

• Fish-Ins, Events & Competitions

*inc Printed Full Color Special Edition Membership is only $20 / Year (+ a one time $5 joining fee) which includes you, your spouse & any children under 18 living in the same household

www.joincag.com The Carp Anglers Group is a non-proﬁt organisation