Jmo1685 Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 Spring. It feels like its been years since I last wet a line. The truth is, it's only been about 5 months. I'm not an ice fisherman (yet), nor do I frequent the mighty Niagara River each winter in the hopes of catching a trout. Winter for me is a time of recharging, of planning my next fishing year, and a time of research and waiting. This is the first spring in 3 years where I haven't been at college until the last week of April, and I have been quite impatient while waiting for all the ice to disappear. With the gorgeous weather yesterday, I took it as a sign that I had to go out somewhere and truly begin my fishing season of 2015.Armed with nothing but a can of corn and a little bit of hope, I headed out in search of my first carp of the year. I get to the spot, fill up my hook full of corn, and begin the waiting game. By now the wind has picked up, and the sky looked like it was about to rain any minute, and the hope that I had earlier was slowly beginning to fade. As I watched my rod, I noticed the slack that was once in my line was gone. Soon my rod begins to shake, i pick it up, slowly pull up, and I knew the feeling instantly, like seeing an old friend for the first time in a long time.... FISH ON. I have to remind myself to take it easy, not to horse the fish in, not to break the line, and not to lose it. After a short 5 minute battle, I bring the scrappy fish to shore. A carp. Nothing too big, a small, scrappy 3 pounder. But the look on my face would make it seem like I`ve caught an absolute monster. I release the fish back and re-bait my line. Another 2 hours go past, and there are no more bites, and as the rain finally began to come down, I packed it I and headed home. This is the earliest I have caught a fish in years, and gives me hope that this might be my best season yet. Now if anyone needs me, ill be out Crappie fishing this morning. And so it begins.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCLT Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 great work! nice write up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 Congrats on your 1st carp of 2015 ! As I was reading the Giant Tiger add yesterday , my mind went directly to carp when I saw the Green Giant corn on sale there . lol My goal this year is to beat my pb from last yr. at 30 lbs. I have 55 lb. bag of maize to cook up , plus a few scents to try ( pine apple syrup , hemp powder, hot sauce ) . ....also hoping the maize I use for bait will keep the gobies from robbing me blind ! ....wonder if carp eat gobies ......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunner-2 Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 Great job on your carp it's nice to see that they are starting to hit after a week of rain in the forecast i will be hitting the water soon as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Pike Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 That was a great read. And congratulations on your early carp! I think that's the first capture of the year that's been posted and it sure is great to see. A darn nice specimen too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmo1685 Posted April 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 Thanks everyone For the last few years I have really struggled with catching carp, but last year I seemed to be catching more, and of bigger size (Personal best is around 30 ponds, I have a thread about it somewhere). I found that corn works alot better earlier in the year, and then I use 2 different homemade doughbaits when the dog days of summer hit. Going to try and do alot more carp fishing this year and keep track of what baits I use at what times, water clarity, weather conditions etc., to see if I can try and better determine what baits to use and when to use them. If anyone is interested, I will probably be making my first batches of the doughbaits in early May, and would like to get out with someone to help me test em out some more ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 JMO.....you are not too far from Jordan ......will have to meet up when the carp are feeding . I have been using my old 8' salmon rod with a Shimano Symetre 4000 size.....handled my 30 # tank very well . I have a few new treats to try ...even lightly cooked macaroni stuffed with cat food ... ....that should get any carp's attention !!! ....When we were teens , back in the 50's we fished the 20 Mile at St.Anns . My step dad's Uncle Lasky had land there & we would trek back to the creek to catch cats, perch , bass , sunfish & carp .....plus a few big bull frogs .....always remember those fun filled days .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perkins Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 Caught one today toO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmo1685 Posted April 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 JMO.....you are not too far from Jordan ......will have to meet up when the carp are feeding . I have been using my old 8' salmon rod with a Shimano Symetre 4000 size.....handled my 30 # tank very well . I have a few new treats to try ...even lightly cooked macaroni stuffed with cat food ... ....that should get any carp's attention !!! ....When we were teens , back in the 50's we fished the 20 Mile at St.Anns . My step dad's Uncle Lasky had land there & we would trek back to the creek to catch cats, perch , bass , sunfish & carp .....plus a few big bull frogs .....always remember those fun filled days .... I would love to meet up and learn a few things from ya Smerch ! I've read many of your posts about carping, and I can see you're quite knowledgeable ! Ill definitely make sure to have both my homemade baits made up for then, I might even try a new recipe or 2 this summer. When I was 14/15 and didn't have a car, I used to bike down the road to the creek with worms I dug up in my compost pile and fished every Saturday and Sunday morning. Spent those mornings catching bullhead, after bullhead, after bullhead, and then the occasional carp. In fact, i still talk to the landowner every year and manage to have a whole stretch of shoreline to fish whenever we want to. Once the water level drops, I'll be making my way down there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveC Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 Great read, and always fun to get that first spring fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba14 Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 I'd love to learn a thing or three from people here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmo1685 Posted April 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 I'd love to learn a thing or three from people here! You've come to the right place ! Just ask and someone will probably have an answer ! If you don't wanna share your question, you can always PM me and I'll try my hardest to answer you directly ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakfish Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 Let me know if you ever want to meet up to do some Carpin'! I fish for everything that swims and I don't use any of the elaborate specialized carp gear, but I seem to do well enough on canned corn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted April 12, 2015 Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 Well I christened the carp rod today ! Armed with a can of corn & some old oats/corn mix from the freezer , I headed to Martindale to try the new spot I had been eye balling . There's only enough room there for 2-3 anglers , and the spot I wanted to use was "taken" by a goose , sitting on her nest of 6 extra large eggs ! That nest won't last long as it's fished often or a mink, etc. will eat those eggs . I chummed a spot about 10' away from her & tossed a line out ....only to have Daddy goose harassing me and observing lots of bottom gunk catching my line as it floated passed . Time to get out of here !! So , I headed to Jordan ... parking lot at the beacon was crammed full of vehicles & trailers ....lots of boats in the lake . I stopped at Tim's to coffee up & headed to the harbour ....My two best spots were taken , so I picked a very shallow spot with about 20 inches of brackish water & chummed a spot close to shore , and waited .......Finally , after 90 minutes I got a nice hit & the battle was on ! It didn't do the long run in that very shallow water ,but fought hard , thrashing about near the surface for 5-6 minutes . ...my first 2015 carp . It weighed "about" 10 lbs....give or take a # or 2 . I forgot my carp net ....but had my pike net in the van and it did the job fine while I removed the hook in the bull rushes . Great day on the water , watching the vultures , hawks, cormorants& killdeer . Ma goose wanted me to leave ...... ...picked up some garbage .... corn can , cups , & some line that was 10' from the goose .... and oh yes.....the "gold" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba14 Posted April 12, 2015 Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 Good job Smerch!!!! I got the big white stripe today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungYakker Posted April 12, 2015 Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 I hit peters today. Big sale this weekend. Got new line on my reels. Bought some XXL Corn and boilies. Going out soon. Last day of college on the 17th. Then I will have the freedom to fish casually. Cant wait to hair rig and chum for some carp. Even one that size is enough for a session for me. That's a great size for a first fish Cant wait to hit Jordan in May when they open the rowing side for parking. Is the lake choppy about now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Pike Posted April 12, 2015 Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 WTG Smerch! Your perseverance paid off and you travelled around and got one!! See, that's the problem with the internet. You post your spots and there's someone there the next day, although I bet you didn't think it'd be a goose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted April 12, 2015 Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 I hit peters today. Big sale this weekend. Got new line on my reels. Bought some XXL Corn and boilies. Going out soon. Last day of college on the 17th. Then I will have the freedom to fish casually. Cant wait to hair rig and chum for some carp. Even one that size is enough for a session for me. That's a great size for a first fish Cant wait to hit Jordan in May when they open the rowing side for parking. Is the lake choppy about now? The yak's and canoes were out there today ! The trib. was flowing high and fast at the Bailey bridge (double double) and a little stream (ditch) was flowing high and clear near the bridge . This warm weather will get them feeding . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd09gs Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 well hello there all you carp anglers! this was a great write up and an awesome read! Im glad to see you already got yourself an icey cold girl this year jmo, ive been itching to get back out myself! I tried my luck yesterday and unfortunately i didnt even get a sniff! oh well, i know that the carp can be a bit picky this time of year so hopefully next time i'll have better luck! Im new to this forum, but not new to carp fishing, been doing it for a few years now and have really found my rhythm in the last few years with my best carp weighing 24lbs out of the grand river in brantford. Anyways i just wanted to give my positive feedback and to be honest, its always nice to read about what other anglers had luck using. If anybody is interested in getting out to fish sometime let me know! I also fish for basically anything else that swims haha ps i tried to add pics but im not sure how haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 Hello fellow carper & welcome to the club . I assume you are living in Brantford ? Not even a sniff yesterday ? I was using top of the line Green Giant corn .....No Frills doesn't cut it in cold water .... ahah.....It only gets better as the water warms up ! There are instructions here to help post pictures . I have been using Picasa to unload my camera pictures or transfer pictures from Google , emails etc., then "sharing" them by copying the url to Google to upload here & pasting on the little green box (picture) above . Others use PhotoBucket , etc. Good luck ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler0420 Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 Nd09gs. Pm sent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungYakker Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 Pulled out all the gear today. Was too nice to just sit around and think about it. Will be going out this weekend hopefully for some carp action. There are so many places I want to check out. Don't know how the winter may have affected my spots. Going to be trial and error all day lol 100th post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 "Cant wait to hit Jordan in May when they open the rowing side for parking." It was open at the conservation park yesterday YY .....lots of vehicles in the parking lot but no John yet ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungYakker Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Oh that's really good to know. I love launching there and carping there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Oh that's really good to know. I love launching there and carping there. I fished many times under that bridge when I was a kid (small kid) .....It was loaded with carp then ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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