CAGI in New England, some news and updates Options

[Jerome]

Folks from New England,

As a follow-up to last year successful event, we'll organize a CAGI regional event again this year on June 26th.

Our CAGI venue in New England will be Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield. Fresh drinks will be available during the day. Here are a few words from Scott Osmond about the venue:
Lake Quannapowitt is located in Wakefield, MA, exit 40 off rt I-95 (rt 128). Lake is about 250 acres and shallow, teaming with 5-15lb carp, with chances of fish better than this. Great access, and good fishability. Fish "shouldn't" be in spawn mode like last years CAGI as last year was a freaky late spawn.

Saturday evening, my super-wife will organize a picnic after our 10-hours of fishing to restore some strength, give their prizes to regional winners and play some games.

Then, if you're interested, we'll have a more informal fish-in on Sunday June 27th at Flax Pond (Lynn), home of big carp (20+ and a few 30+). For those of you having to drive long distances, shot me an e-mail if you'd like to find some local accomodations for saturday night.

I will post more specifics about the New England / Wakefield regional event, but please block your calendar for June 26th (and optionally June 27th) right now! And please pass the word to other anglers who might be interested. Note that non-CAG members (guests) are allowed to participate if invited by a CAG member.

[Jerome]

Maybe something I should add is that Flax Pond (and Lynn) is a few miles from the seashore, and there is a quite pleasant and very spacious beach in nearby Nahant.

So if you happen to come with the family for a Boston week-end, drop the spouse and kids at the beach and they will probably enjoy the day as much as you will.

There are also many "go see the whales" charter boats from nearby towns, as another possible activity.

Send me an e-mail or PM if you need more details.

[CARPKNIGHT]

i wil be there. just marked it on the calender.

[Jerome]

Son #1 enjoying the waves at Nahant...

[Jerome]

And son#3 having a good time as well...

By the way, quite often, when this little guy sees me leaving for work in the morning, he states "mommy, daddy is going fishing"... True story!

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[Jerome]

I asked Iain Murray (redcoat) to give us some info about Flax Pond, because he's been fishing out there multiple times last year, and this pond isn't very well known.

Flax Pond is a 65 acre shallow lake situated in Lynn, Massachusetts that contains a good head of carp and has produced fish up to upper 30s in the past. There are several points where public access is available but most of the shoreline is bounded by private residences. The lake bed is hard gravel throughout with the exception of small pockets of mud/silt around the margins that have been colonised by lily pads. The lake also contains bass, perch and sunfish but I guess these are not present in large numbers as I never had any bother with nuisance fish. People familiar with the North Shore may be aware that parts of Lynn have something of a bad reputation (crime, gangs, etc.) but I've never had any hassle from anybody at Flax.

I fished Flax seven times in fall 2003 for short (2-4 hour) evening sessions and had runs on six out of seven trips. In total I caught 8 fish and lost 4 others, duh! Three of my fish were 20+ and none were smaller than 11 pounds. Although most of the fish are commons, one of my 20s was a mirror (hi Joe!) and I lost another upper-double mirror due to a hook pull. All the fish I caught were long, very muscular and scrapped like hell - more like river fish than typical pond carp.

Sounds good to me...

[Jerome]

And here is what Big Carphuna himself stated on his Web site about Flax...

Top End Size = 40+lb , a couple rumored 40lbers taken mid 80s , with several well over 30 documented , including the 38lb *Record* in 1994 , a 36lb 1oz 2001 , and a 34 in 1994.
Average Size = 12 - 18lbs , a wide range of sizes are taken.
Population Density = High average , probably close to 1000 fish for the entire 65 acres.

A good big fish water right in the middle of Lynn , this 65 acre lake has some good access points , thanks to several parks along 4 different shores. A good mixture of depth (over 30ft) , forage (crayfish, redworm, multitudes of insect hatches..) , and year classes results in better than average action for a realistic chance of big fish. Varying contour/bottom enhances the fishing opportunities , from shallow , fertile feeding areas near lily pads , to deep drop-offs with gravely bottom , a little water craft used and some nice fishing can ensue.

Early and late in the season , fishing the lily edges with instants (few nuisance fish) , like corn, bread produce well. Float fisherman do well tracking "bubblers" in these shallows , especially during sustained warm spells in may/june. Moving over the drops in the warmer months , especially mid-day , tends to provide more consistant action.

Here is a picture of a 36lb monster that Scott caught out there in 2001... Geez, if it's still alive, I want to catch this one!

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[Big Carphuna]

Flax pond is a nice pond, but not 100% easy. And like Iain said, there are some NICE mirrors there. Ive had mid teens, one a fully scaled. Dads had them to near 20. There are quite a few mid 20's to 30lb fish, and the above 36 should still be alive. That was my third capture (no matter what PHONE says) of that same fish....I also saw one in one of the other shallow bays that, while probably less than 3 feet long, was the roundest fish Ive ever seen! Maybe went 35! And they do seem to fight well for lake fish, the 36 took some LONG runs (10lb line)....
There are very few nuisance fish, some sunfish here or there. There is (or was) an enormous snapper turtle in the 75-100lb range that many of us have caught. Local kids must have also captured it cause someone spraypainted a bullseye on it last I saw!!:) Ive also seen the "famous" big koi (light pink/white..), maybe 18-20lbs....
The pond (in all 4 access points) will be pre baited...