October Carpin On Carol's Point

hammercarp · October 10, 2011

I decided to visit Carol Point in Hamilton Harbour. I have fished the harbour many many times but never this swim. It is a bit of a mystery as the path that leads to the point starts out in a cemetery and you have to know where it is to find it. I had scouted the point out a couple of weeks ago and really liked the spot. It is probably over a km walk down a dirt path .

I packed light and this is where fishing paylake style is a big plus . There is a lot less equipment to lug and puffs weigh nothing. I used my old trout fishing vest to carry my tackle which really made it easy. I chose a simple oat pack for bait and with two rods and two bank sticks and my net I was ready . I also brought some sandwhiches and a gallon of water. Heavy I know but it was supposed to be very warm and sunny and I did not want to get dehydrated.

Half way down the trail you get a view of the point.

Once down there the scenery is pretty good. It is a complete change from the other end of the harbour where the old steel mills dominate the skyline. This is a shot of the old high level brigde which spans the Desjardin canal with it's infamous carp trap. The brown thing under and behind the big bridge is the train bridge. I remember having to screw up all my courage to cross that bridge as a kid heading down to Valley Inn to fish. Not only was the thought of being caught half way across by a train terrifying but you could see right down to the water through the ties. You had to force yourself to take each step because your brain told you that stepping out into thin air was a bad thing to do.

Here I am all set and ready to go. Come on Carol baby , give it up.

I saw a bald eagle that morning but it was too far for a picture. Here is what some other birds did. This shows what kind of damage cormorants can do to trees when nesting. The grey colour is the result of them white washing the trees with there excrement. Those trees will be dead soon.

Do you remember when you were young and were out on a date and thought that this was the night . You were hot to trot , all fired up and ready to go but your chosen sweetheart just will not go along with your plan. Sometimes you even developed a certain condition which could be pretty painful and sore. Well that's how I felt after waiting for hours without so much as a twitch on the line. I plumbed around to see if I could find some feature that would give me an edge but found nothing and Carol would not come across. It was one of the most beautiful October days that I can remember and as the Rolling Stone's song says. " I can't get no satisfaction" I tried a few different spots and switched to different puffs but Carol was proving to be no lady of easy virtue.

So I settled in for a waiting game. Every once in a while I would recast just to build up some bait in the water. And I waited.

I had a couple of line bumps that I thought might be Chinooks that are in the harbour now. But nothing that I could say was a carp.

The sun was starting to get low on the horizon and the wind had shifted for the last hour or so. Then my Abu spoke to me. Hooray! Fish on! I grabbed the rod and set the hook. The fish took off and what a run it made. I thought " Oh ya, this feels like a good one" The fish kept going and I started to worry that with this much line out that if the fish kites in I am in big trouble as the shore on that side had some trees in the water. Eventually the fish stopped and I started taking in line. I breathed a sigh of relief when the fish just bucked and bulldogged but stayed away from the shore. I could feel it was a decent fish and it was very strong.

Eventually I worked the fish in close and was a little disappointed in it's size. Not as big as I thought but still in the twenty's and it had fought like a champ.

On the bank and thank you Carol it was worth the wait.

I rebaited and watched with a little sadness that the sun had set and it was time to leave.

I packed up and hit the trail back to the car.

One last look and it was bye-bye Carol. I will look you up again.

Brian_b · October 10, 2011

this was a pretty nice post; thanks for sharing

T.Barry · October 10, 2011

Nice Lorne! I took a carp of similar size in the exact area you were on a jigging spoon in Feb. through the ice a few years back. Since I live directly across from their now I'm going to have to give that spot a try next spring.

hammercarp · October 10, 2011

Nice Lorne! I took a carp of similar size in the exact area you were on a jigging spoon in Feb. through the ice a few years back. Since I live directly across from their now I'm going to have to give that spot a try next spring.

The east side shallows up and gets a good amount of sun so it could be good early in the year. I watched the little tour bot get stuck there. The operator let a kid steer the boat and he ran it right into the shallows. They were stuck there for a few minutes. He got everyone to go to the front of the boat and it lifted the rudder free.

knightfisher · October 11, 2011

Can't believe I'm responding to a carp thread :lol: :tease:

Actually I grew up in the Hammer and caught my first fish and first eel at Valley Inn, and use to go up the road for the 12" hot dogs. Fished alot of those areas HC. Including below Highlevel. Actually as kids we walked across the Highlevel only under the bridge on the rusty cat walk with some of the checkered steel missing. Fished Coots Paridise, Princess point and others spots names which elude me.

As kids not knowing any better, we fished with our rods for carp and used drop lines for playing with pan fish. Some real great times, including rafting and such. Biked all over the place. We would even bike up to the Grand river from the Hammer, but not to often of course :nea:

Good to see the place still looks beautiful.

Always nice when you get into some fish, good job.

:Gonefishing:

hammercarp · October 11, 2011

Thanks Dan. I am glad I brought back some good memories for you.

smerchly · October 11, 2011

That was a great read Lorne . There are still some nice nature spots so close to the Steel city . I noticed the area looked garbage free , a typical thing where we have to walk a distance to find those out of easy access spots . When we fish alone , we notice the surroundings more and we are more likely to see that eagle or mink etc . Being a carp angler means you need a lot of patience and you certainly have that and changing the menu certainly helps also . Our little carp spot at Gibson is all weeds now for the first 50 feet , but there are deeper spots nearby ,but I fear the gobies would take the baits before the carp got to it . Thanks for the story & photos , glad to see you got a nice fish at the end of the day . :Gonefishing:

blairwelsh · October 11, 2011

Great report Lorne!

Was nice to meet you and the guys on Friday at the Harbour.

You mentioned you might fo to this location as well.

Keep up the CARP PROMOTION...

Someday we will all be die hards like you.

hammercarp · October 11, 2011

Thanks Blair, but I don't think that everyone will be a dedicated carp angler. There are many other great species here in Ontario and everyone has their favourite. Whether it's those little jewels of our streams like the brook trout or the toothy monsters of big waters like musky, it is all good. I do hope for carp to be accepted as a challenging and exciting sport-fish.

hammercarp · October 11, 2011

That was a great read Lorne . There are still some nice nature spots so close to the Steel city . I noticed the area looked garbage free , a typical thing where we have to walk a distance to find those out of easy access spots . When we fish alone , we notice the surroundings more and we are more likely to see that eagle or mink etc . Being a carp angler means you need a lot of patience and you certainly have that and changing the menu certainly helps also . Our little carp spot at Gibson is all weeds now for the first 50 feet , but there are deeper spots nearby ,but I fear the gobies would take the baits before the carp got to it . Thanks for the story & photos , glad to see you got a nice fish at the end of the day .

Thanks Bill. I agree with you that fishing alone and sitting quietly will allow you to see things that you would not see otherwise. It is kind of like being in a tree stand waiting for a deer.

hawk-eye · October 13, 2011

Great report Hammer.

Kev G · October 13, 2011

I enjoyed your report.... The majority of the fishing I do is for carp. Sometimes I make it a whole day adventure and other times I carp fish for an hour or two in the welland river before I pick up my kid from school. The rush I get when my line takes off is like no other!

October Carpin On Carol's Point

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