2010 FFF in Tennessee Options

[Zoomie]

Charlie gave me the honors of bringing everyone up to speed on the quest to catch a fish for the 2010 FFF. The following will be a tad choppy. I want to try to submit an article to NACA about the FFF from a beginner's perspective. I am holding some tidbits for it with the hopes that some of our newer members will find it interesting reading.

I arrived at the mighty Clinch at approximately 4 PM after dropping Mrs Zoomie off at the Comfort Inn. While she fully supported what she fondly referred to as my "assinine adventure", she elected to support her man from the warmth of hotel room. She was armed with her cell phone to cackle and cluck with her girlfriends as well as a bottle of an unamed adult beverage. I am unsure what time Raul the Cabana Boy arrived.

With the temp at a mild 43 degrees, I was quite comfortable in nothing more than my hunting fleeces. Perhaps we would escape the bitter cold (by Tennesse standards) that was forecast with a certain perverse glee by the various weather persons.

As I walked down to the waters edge, I spied a small fish on dry land. I didnt recognize the species, but upon closer inspection noted that he was still breathing. He had either been chased on to shore by a preditor fish, or made a severe error judgement while demonstrating is aquatic prowess to a perspective mate with really big.............eyes.

I carefully lifted the little fellow and returned him to the water. Perhaps this was an omen of sorts and we would be rewarded for our ichthyic chivalry ! (Ooh big word there!)

Here's the little guy with a big problem



Here he is, all puffed after entering the water as if I had somehow caused his previous peril.



Our fearless Tennessee Chair, Charlie, had worked diligently to prebait for us. He went fishless his last FFF event and was dead serious about not repeating a blank. I wanted to get a little bait in the water in the hopes of holding whatever fish might meander by. We had fished the same spot three weeks prior. While we managed to bank a 22 and few small ones, fishing was slow. That was prior to the onslaught of cold weather which has hounded us since. As only a carper can, I easily justified doing a little fishing to soften em up prior to Charlie's arrival.

20 minutes after settling in, I was greeted by that sweet sound of an alarm. It actually startled me. Lifting the rod tip, I reeled in slack waiting for the rod to load. Woohoo ! Carp on ! A few minutes later, I had banked a very nice 13. I was giddy !

During the course of the next 4 hours, mayhem ensued. I continued banking fish including a gorgeous 16-8. It was so crazy, I pulled all but a single rod. I felt bad that I was capitalizing on my mentor and partner's diligent pre-baiting efforts. Yes, I felt naughty !

Pre-FFF Fish













At some point after the 6th fish I had a mild panic attack. As a beginner, I wasn't sure if pre-fishing would somehow ruin our chances to catching anything during the event. I decided I better wrap it up and try and catch a couple of hours sleep. Hopefully Charlie wouldn't choke me unconscious upon his arrival.

At 11:30, Charlie rolled in and began setting up gear. I quickly brought him up to speed on my bait selections and gave him a quick rundown of the specific areas where fish were caught. I then headed back to my gear to set up again. While schlepping gear back and forth, I noted that the air temp had dropped significantly. Light clothing was no longer an option.
Not good !

At 11:55, Charlie took a water temp reading. 42 degrees F. In spite of the weather, the river temp had only dropped a single degree. At midnight, Charlie got his rods in to the water. I actually got re-set up and casted out at about 12:10 AM.

At 12:13, Charlie had a dead serious run. After a quick battle, Charlie had banked a beaut weighing 15-4. The official bank time was 12:16 AM. I immediately put my prior paranoia to rest. My partner had banked one and banked one quickly. I was off the hook for spoiling the swim.

Charlie's 1st FFF Carp of the evening !



At 1:08, my alarm sounded off. It was not blistering. More of a peck peck peck, nose the bait around, followed by a slow steady pull. After a nice yank, I had banked my first official 2010 FFF Carp. She weighed in at 19.12 ! I was awestruck. Pitch black and freezing my tail off, I landed a very nice carp.

My first 2010 FFF Carp banked at 1:08 AM



Throughout the night, fish came steady. Every time I hoped to close my eyes for a quick catnap my receiver would sing. And if my receiver wasn't singing, Charlie's was squealing away. No, we weren't hauling by fair weather standards. But based on time of year, we were tearing it up.

We did slow during the morning. I was on auto-pilot. The winds had kicked up and the windchill was brutal. How cold ? At some point in the afternoon, I went to wash my hands in my water bucket and had to punch a hole in the ice to get my hands wet.

We were about to call it quits. It was after 1PM. No fish had been caught since 10:25 AM. I had two get off including what was sure to be a beast. I was well past exhausted. Charlie was looking a bit ragged himself. I couldn't tell if his love of carping was keeping him fishing or if he was just sucking it up out of kindness to me. Turns out he was there for the fish after all. That man is as tough as nails !

As I contemplated calling it, my receiver sounded. I ran down and lifted the rod. The rod loaded. The carp on the other end started to have his way with me by deciding to take a scrape by a pylon. I did not want to lose another fish to the dreaded bridge pylons. I mustered as much focus as I could and immediately placed as much duress on the fish as I could without causing a hook pull. It was a battle of wills. The fish had no intention of coming to river's edge. I had no intention of losing yet another mini-lump to the evil pylons.

Charlie's adept netting skills netted me my fish of the day wieghing in at 22-8 ! Unbelievable. My third largest PB on New Years Day !



There was no way to top this trip. While wiped, I was running on nothing but carp love. I looked at Charlie with a huge grin on my face and shook my head. Charlie had managed to take me on yet another unforgettible fishing trip.

Excluding the pre-FFF fish, Charlie and I managed to knock down 190 lbs of fish in some tough conditions. While I understand that much of our success may be attributed to luck, we are shamelessly ecstatic about our success.

Thank you Charlie for doing what you do every day, with no fanfare, to promote the fish you so love ! I am humbled by our friendship. You tolerate my idiosyncracies and seem to enjoy our bank time together, if only because you need someone to make fun of !

I also need to thank John Bramley at K-1. Setting aside the fact that K-1 boilies, baits, and flavors were responsible for all my catches and many of Charlies, John has spent a lot time working to teach me some of the things he has learned based on his many experiences. Seem's like every time we talk and I shut up and listen, I garner a tidbit which helps makes me a tad more competent on the water !

Finally, I want to thank Tom (Mr. Big) for some suggestions on packbait choices. His pack suggestions helped get our party started and kept it rolling.

I hope that everyone had as much fun as Charlie and I did. Jerome, I can't wait for the next one !

[Mario Kok]

[Justin]

Nice job all!!

[Mr Big]

I'm very pleased that your choice of baits ""kept it rolling"". Thats what CAG is all about. Sharing and catching. Or catching and then sharing. Whatever winds your watch. It's tuff enough to be there. Even tuffer to rip some lips while your at it.
Tom.

[Jerome]

Jerome, I can't wait for the next one !

You only have 364 days to practice. Do you think you can do it and be ready?

Oh, and nice write-up. Beef it up a bit and it will be great NACA material. Told you you have what it takes!

[hammercarp]

I am looking forward to your NACA write up. WTG!

[Dale Holmes]

[John Bramley]

Many congrats guys you certainly worked hard to get a great result in some gawd awful temperatures

[Zoomie]

THanks everyone. I have a correction. 8 fish were caught pre FFF. I failed to take a pic of the two youngsters.

Also, I failed to mention that I will be posting more catch pics. I have a brand new camera with horrific software making transfer and conversion painful. I'll add them in the next 24 hours.

[Spoon]

Great write-up Zoomie. We were lucky that we got to fish before the temps dropped down to where they are today. Had a great time and I am looking forward to more sessions with you this year. I am very pleased that we caught some carp before 6am

[mcwrestler]

I wanted to at least stop by, but I am trying to avoid a cold and had to go searching for houses.

I cannot wait to join on some spring sessions though. Going to use some vacation time and hit the road I think.

[Corey]

Well done!

[Ol Captain]

Great job guys. Zoomie..your writing skill is an asset to the forum!

[Brid]

John -- you forgot the fact that I was sending some good Mojo your way You guys make us all very proud to be Carpers - and, the 'less than ideal' conditions make it all the more special I'm glad we shared some bankside banter - from many miles apart, and trust we'll meet face to face one of these fine (NOT COLD!!) days Charlie -- it was also a pleasure to chat!!
Tight Lines,
Brid.

[bigbird]

just plain awesome.!!!!!!!!!!!!