Mike Pike Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 Grabbed the gear, loaded up the car and headed to the north shore of Hammy Harbour this past Sunday to one of my favourite early season carp spots. I set up at my usual swim and enjoyed the S/W winds blowing on my face, kicking up water in front of me and hopefully stirring up the carp. However, things were pretty quite and I thought I should do a little hiking to see if I could see any fish moving about. Fish or no fish, I love strolling around the harbour early in the morning. It's pretty peaceful before all the boaters awake, start fussing about their vessels and start plying the waters. Besides the fishermen, the only other active creatures in the early morning are the birders and their subjects. Along my walk, I peered into the water and although the wind had built up the waves along the rock jetty, I could still see a carp swimming along in the margins. That'll do! I quickly went to get my gear, and relocated in this new spot with the hope of some action. I threw a handful of corn not more than a few feet in front of me where I had seen the carp 'give away the game.' Then, I cast my bolt-rigged maize on a hair in the middle of the offerings and went to set the rod down on the pod. Before the rod even touched the holder, it jerked violently in my hands, responding to the carp on the other end and I was holding on to one angry fish! It began kiting to the right and made it's way back in towards the jetty 30 or so yards down from me, then headed right back out into open water. After a spirited tussle, I netted this spunky little fella of 14lbs. Well, I was well please the pressure was off and I set about adding another handful of corn into the area and, once again, pitched my baited rig into the marginal water. This time, I actually had time to set my rod down onto the pod, but before I could click on the free spool, the next fish had taken my bait, bolted out into the open lake, and I was away again! This fish also gave a good account of itself and by the time I had played it closer to the net, the wind had died and the lake had calmed enough for me to be able to see the action under the surface. My fish was being followed by several other smaller fish and I suddenly realized what I was seeing. I had hooked a female and it was still being pursued by several smaller males looking to make a love connection. Yup, the spawn was on! The fish was a fatty of about 17lbs and I was happy to have caught her. Once I had taken the photo and release her, the spawning activity had increased around me and it was pretty amazing to watch. The rolling and thrashing was occurring above the water almost as much as below it! Furious spawning fish would suddenly erupt out of nowhere, splashing and dashing all over the harbour. One thing that was evident was that during the spawn, there were still catchable fish. My little feeding zone was being cleaned out so I chummed some more and cast my presentation back out and waited. And waited. And waited. Well, at least I had time to sit back with a cool bottled water, relax, and just enjoy my surroundings. The beauty of the harbour here is that you can set your seat in one direction and take in the activities at the steel mill. Or turn your seat to the other direction, and look at miles of undeveloped shoreline. Just while I was stretching my legs, the bite alarm screamed a one-toner and I was in again! This time, the fish kited to the right and my line dangerously rubbed along a rocky point of shoreline jutting out from the jetty. Fortunately, the fish decide to run back out into open water then kited to the left. As it got closer to shore, I once again observed the smaller carp close alongside my fish and matching it, move for move. By the time I was able to get it safely into the net, a fisherman just down from me who had observed the action had come over and kindly took a picture of the 21lb fighter. As the noon day sun rose and the heat of the day started to take it's toll, I decided it was time to pack up and reward myself with a cold one. A fun day and I can't wait to get back and see if I can catch a few more of the harbour's battlers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalleyeChaser Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 Awesome morning. Gotta love them screamers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 Hey Mike ....way to go ! Looks like you had a fine day on the water . The 21 pounder looks very el preggo , and looks mean and nasty too ! I haven't had much luck with carp when they are 'playing with the hot mommas' . I can't seem to be able to catch their attention until the ritual has climaxed ! Cooler weather on the way .....time to fix me some maize .... Cool pictures Thanks Mike ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_b Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 Great report. Mike you wouldn't happen to know anywhere in the Hamilton region to get some cattle corn would you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Pike Posted June 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 I just get mine from any Ren's Pet Food location, Kerry. They have bags of it in the wild bird food aisle. It's pretty convenient. Now, there are guys on this board who may chime in on where you can buy it in larger bulk for cheaper, but that's what I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 I got my feed corn from Minors in North Pelham......25 kilo bag for $9.75 ....It more than doubles in volume after a day's soaking in water & about 30 min. simmering on the stove ....or until tender , but not split . When I added a tablespoon of pineapple concentrate , the whole neighbourhood smelled pretty ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunner-2 Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 What a hog that one must of been a good fight good job mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmo1685 Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 Awesome post. Its motivated me to try out a new spot this weekend for Carp around Niagara ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwc67 Posted June 2, 2016 Report Share Posted June 2, 2016 nice i went for a paddle sunday, carp splashing in the shallows from there all the way to valley inn rd. 69 deg surface temps, a lot warmer then this time last year On 2016-06-01 at 10:24 PM, kerrybrian1 said: Great report. Mike you wouldn't happen to know anywhere in the Hamilton region to get some cattle corn would you? if your in the west end, there is a farm feed store just past the traffic circle at 8 hwy and dundas(5hwy) on the north west side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Pike Posted June 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2016 Dang, were you the fella I met with the yak there in the parking lot in the morning, dwc67? With those temps, no wonder the spawn was on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwc67 Posted June 3, 2016 Report Share Posted June 3, 2016 might have been me, i did talk to a few people. black chev pickup with red/blk yak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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