15 replies to this topic

[Jerome]

Now that I got your attention... Nope, I'm not going to discuss the latest decision from the BoD or even the "formula thread"...

Yesterday, my wife was busy preparing a fancy dinner for my coming birthday (a slightly disturbing round number), and sent me fishing to keep everything a surprise. I like birthdays!

I had prebaited a local spot for the past 3 days, and was convinced I would have a lot of action. Well, 3 hours of trying, and nothing to show. Admittedly, this wasn't terribly smart of me to fish relatively deep water at this time of the year... Or at least this is my excuse.

So I had to improvise. I moved to a new spot on a local river that I discovered a few weeks ago. Well, rediscovered because I think I fished there once with Bob quite a while ago. I was on a point of rocks, all alone, nice scenery, nice weather, this was pretty cool. If only those fish could bite...



After a while, I got a nice run and... landed a catfish. Early afternoon. Which never happens around here. Sigh. Is my new method ball displaying an undesirable side-effect?



I saw a couple of fish jumping, this gave me more hope. One hour later, I got another run on the same rod, this time, it was a carp... One of the smallest I caught in a while...



And then I started to think. Hm, funny, I was still using this line aligner rig (remember the underwater video that made our vice-prez Mario gloat so much). Hm, funny, the pickup bait was some of this heavily flavored maize that our prez generously distributes to help CAG's finances. And what do I catch for such a distinguished "double prez" rig & bait combo? An annoying catfish and a ridiculously small carp... What is wrong with those guys? No way they'll get my vote for the next election, I tell you...

30 minutes, I got one more run. This fish took a lot of line and fought like a demon. River fish in the spring at its best. I finally landed it, and it was a rather thick and muscular upper teen. No, I didn't weigh it (nor measured it), so the weight assessment is entirely my guess!



And now I feel compelled to say that... the hook was as straight as an arrow (shank and eye at least)... No line aligner... Powerpro supple hooklink... The pickup bait was two of those "pips" sold by our CAG ambassador. And this delivered a much nicer fish that the "double prez" rig combo. The proof is there... I vote for Paul Pezalla as next CAG president!

PS. yes, the birthday dinner was great. And I'm going fishing again today once I can get my lazy butt out of the couch...

[Mario Kok]

Congrats on your upcoming 80st birthday!

[baitbucket]

Happy birthday Jerome be it 30 or 80

[kentlakecarper]

Ha ha...HAPPY BIRTHDAY OL FART!!

[Neil Stern]

Happy Birthday my friend

[hammercarp]

Happy Birthday Jerome!

[classiccat]

Happy Birthday Jerome! Nice write-up! The swim looks very carpy

In defense of the current CAG administration; that's not nearly enough evidence for impeachment!

[pickerd]

Happy Birthday my friend. I knew you would celebrate with a fish or two!

[Jerome]

Happy Birthday Jerome! Nice write-up! The swim looks very carpy

In defense of the current CAG administration; that's not nearly enough evidence for impeachment!

Well.... In regard of the evidence collected today... The swim is indeed very carpy... And the impeachment file is getting significantly thicker... All details in a full write-up to come...

[Jerome]

Second part of the "prez combo" story...

Saturday evening, i threw a good deal of maize and birdfood in the water. And I was back Sunday morning. That is... around 10am... Yes, slow start.

I cast two rods and... got two runs within minutes. Now check what the rod with the "double prez combo" delivered... Another tiny baby of a carp.



I actually had very fast action for a couple of hours, and yes, the prez rig & bait kept delivering small carp, while the other rig (with Paul's pips) delivered a 15 pounder and then a 17 pounder... Hmmm.... Here is the 17lb, clearly starting to fill up with eggs.



Then things calmed down, and the rod with the prez rig stayed inactive for more than an hour. And I got an idea... I reeled in my 2 rods, used the one with the straight hook rig, using Paul's pips as pickup bait, and adding Andy's maize & juice in the method ball. Another combo, WITHOUT any influence from Mario. I cast at the same place where the prez rig sat idle for so long, waited for 37 seconds and a half (approximately) and had a slow run. The fish didn't fight much, I though it was small, my evil plan wasn't working. Oh wait, big swirl close to shore, I saw the fish and was suddenly convinced I had a 20! Well, I landed it and I was slightly disappointed to weigh this fish at 19lb... Still, not too bad.



After that, the afternoon was a bit slower, and I had a run every now and then, only small fish, whatever the rig. After breaking my line on a rock, I tied my own favorite rig with a curved hook, used Andy's maize as pickup bait, and... look at this little cutie that came to my net!



I wrapped up around 5:30pm, after landing no less than 12 carp, plus a few more missed. That was a good day. Oh, and the conclusion is clear, right... Paul and Andy's bait are perfectly fine... And Mario is the source of all evil...

Many thanks to those three prez & vice-prez (Andy, Mario, Paul), I had a terrific fishing week-end and great fun too, thanks to the 3 of you.