Mario Kok
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Posts posted by Mario Kok
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For a minute, I thought you were gonna post something naughty on here...
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Mario, was this your most memorable capture?
What is your PB?
It was in terms of the impact it had on me. But then again, I also remember some very nice fish out of Finland, a country where most people told me I would never catch a carp, let alone a big one.
I also caught bigger than the Maas fish, but why don´t I save that story for another rainy day?
Seeing how badly not being able to fish impacts some on this forum, I think we just might need another story or two later...
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Great story Mario,
Although I have never experienced a 40+ lber my PB was truly an exciting and long fought battle on a small rod and reel.....heck I called my wife at home and she showed up even before I got the fish to shore......awww loved that feelin.
Andy
That's what it's all about Andy! The absolute weight doesn't matter. It's about pushing yourself to the next limit. At least that's what gets me going...
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My first fourty…
My god, it’s so boring around here lately I feel compelled to write you guys a little story. Hope you enjoy it.
It was spring of ’94. I was studying at Erasmus University in Rotterdam at the time, but I was born in Venlo, located in the Southeast of the country. Almost every weekend I would travel back to Venlo to dump some dirty laundry at my parent’s place and see my girlfriend. The carp fishing virus had struck me already many years before and my regular venue was the “Maas River”. A fantastic river, originating in France and after first crossing Belgium it ultimately ends up in the North Sea at the level of Rotterdam. It happened to split my hometown right in two and close to the bridge that connected both city parts, you would find me every now and then at my regular spot.
The river swim
Behind my swim was a small pond of which the river every now and then during its typical winter floods took possession, leaving behind a good number of northern pike, some carp and the occasional wels catfish. Right in front of the pool was a very shallow gravel bed, extending some 20 yards into the river and on the right side of it there was a steep drop off to 20 foot, starting real close to shore. In this deep area, the normally heavy current was broken and the small quiet hole would congregate a lot of food. In addition, there was a large bed of tiny triangular mussels stretching from the giant boulders, which were used to “capture” and guide the river, to about 20 yards out. In between the boulders, crayfish would scavenge for dead roaches only to be prayed upon by huge eels, pikeperch and carp. After the mussel bed, you would find nothing but sand until you would hit the middle of the river where lay the old and deep riverbed with its mighty current.
Now, although the spot sounds like a real honey hole, fishing the Maas River was and still is far from easy. The carp are known to roam around freely, swimming for miles and miles. Some years, you would not catch a single fish in the usual spots and other years there was very little you could do wrong. The year of 1994, was a good one.
On the Maas River, experience had taught me, I needed to bait up in order to stand a chance for a decent fish. Not once did I manage to catch carp without a pre-baiting campaign. Usually, I baited up 3 days in a row, some 6-10 pounds of boilies per day. Baiting up with particles usually meant lots of big carp jumping, but very few runs. The boilies increased the number of hooked carp and possibly the average size as well. Also, only darkness would bring runs. Hardly any fish were ever hooked during daytime.
At the end of March I had exams. I went to Venlo to study, but that big river was so tempting. Already when the train passed the bridge, I could hear her calling me. I knew I shouldn’t fish and focus on my books but finally I gave in. I still had some fishmeal and peanut flavored boilies in my freezer from my last trip to the Check Republic and I decided to bait up a few days. On the second day, against my better judgment, I decided to fish a few hours in the morning whilst glancing in my study books every now and then. Of course I blanked.
The next evening I went back and this time I would stay until about midnight. I just couldn’t afford to fish all night long because of the exams, but a few hours should be enough. The most productive time anyhow was usually from sunset until about 1am. At 18.00h, my three rods went in.
Quite soon, I heard a loud monotone sound from my Fox. River fish always run hard and fight twice as hard as any still water carp I know off. After a nice few minutes of hard and fast runs downstream (they hardly ever go upstream) I landed a nice little mirror carp. My first fish of the season. With the camera on the tripod, I took a quick picture and put her back in.
The first run...
Three hours later another screaming run. This time on the left rod, which I was fishing on the edge of the mussel bed and the sand bottom with three popup boilies. As soon as I set the hook, the 3 pound rod steadily bent all the way to the cork grip and my 4500 started giving off line with its typical metallic sound. Ping, ping, ping. First slowly but increasingly rapidly what felt to be a very massive fish started swimming upstream, almost parallel to the shore. It must have swum straight to the surface as it kept going passed the shallow gravel bed. This was the longest single run I ever experienced. I think maybe 100 yards were gone from my reel, upstream that is!
Then finally, it stopped. Slowly, little by little I could gain some line again until the fish finally was at my level again. However, she was not done yet with me and this time went deep and took off again downstream. Another rod cracking run and there was nothing I could do but merely hold on. What a beast. Again, I had to bring her back slowly. In the light of my headlamp I finally saw some large waves in front of my net. Gracefully, she slipped over the edge of the net and then sank deep inside. I tried to lift the net over the rocks but I was surprised by the weight of the precious price inside. I decided to cut the line and put the rod away. I folded the net and with two hands I carefully lifted her over the rocks onto the unhooking mat.
What an awesome fish. At that moment by far the largest carp I had ever seen in my life. A beautifully proportioned high backed queen of the river. In no words, can I describe the feeling of happiness. On the Kenwood, already adjusted for the weighting sack, it read 42 pounds. There was no one to share my moment with, but those who are after big fish know what that’s like. I carefully made some pictures with my compact camera and entrusted this magnificent creature back to the ink black waters of the River Maas. I packed my rods and went home. It had been enough for one day.
Indescribable feeling
Later, I found out the pictures were somewhat blurry, but I was already happy to have some memory of that amazing evening.
Exactly ten years later, my very good friend Luc caught the same fish 15 miles downstream at the same weight and length. Still the one fish I am most impressed with…
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Welcome JL,
Marcus,
Let me clarify a few things: our typical lakes have relatively little "structure" to work with. There are no plants, no weeds. From shore, without a fish finder, it all looks pretty much the same: rocky shores with a lot of dead trees in the water. The trees often prevent you from shore fishing without a boat.
Let's take the following lake as an example. Any initial thoughts for JL?
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Nice 'eye
Here it is:
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http://www.roughfish.com
I particurly enjoyed reading about Flatheads
The Flathead is our largest catfish. In the Midwest, it tops out at weights around 70 pounds, but they get to well over a hundred pounds in the south. It's quite possible that record-breaking flatheads are swimming in our midwestern rivers. Small flatheads could possibly be confused with bullheads, but their lower jaw projects outward far past the upper jaw, so there should be no confusion. Flathead catfish are also called Yellow Cats or Mudcats. They live only in rivers, and are nocturnal.
Flatheads do not eat anything that isn't alive, and large. Two-pound white suckers are primo flathead bait. The flathead catfish has a huge mouth. They can slurp up a four-pound carp and swallow it whole. During the day, flatheads lurk in thick cover or deep water. Then, at night, they hunt, roaming the shallows looking for suckers, carp, bass, walleyes, or small children to devour. To catch flatheads, first spend the daylight hours catching large live bait. Good baits are white suckers, creek chubs, bullheads, and extra-large shiners. Where legal, sunfish, bass, and walleyes make great flathead bait too. Once you have a good supply of lively bait, find a deep hole with some downed trees in it. As night falls, throw out your bait. Most flatheaders fish the bait directly on the bottom with a sinker heavy enough to keep the bait fairly stationary; some use a float rig to keep the bait suspended near cover. You should use the heaviest tackle you have. Saltwater spinning gear, or heavy bait-casting gear, is not overkill for flatheads. In fact, there is no overkill for flatheads - you can expect to do battle with 30 pound fish that know every nook and cranny of the river, and each head-shake from a flathead is like a body blow from Mike Tyson. Whenever your bait stops struggling, change it. Smaller flats may take dead baits on occasion, but the big ones want their snacks alive. To be a good flathead catfisher, it helps to be big and hairy and to wear bib overalls. Failing that, you must own and operate a coleman lantern - there isn't a single serious catfisherman in the world who is not equipped with one. It also helps if you are a little bit crazy. If you are reading this site, you are obviously more than crazy enough to be a serious catfisher. If you live in Minnesota and want to catch catfish, email me and I'll tell you where to do it. It's a hell of a lot of fun
At least I'm a bit crazy and own a Coleman...
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Karl,
Yes, of course I'll be in Austin, see ya' there!.
Carp, as a matter of biological fact CANNOT "feed" (eat enough to sustain life) in water below 50 F. I know you are hard headed but first I am a teacher and a patient person, you will learn even if I have to personally hammer it into your lightweight grey matter.
Agree to disagree, NONSENSE !! I say haggle it out in an arm wrestling match.
CARPDOG,
You know, as suggested, it may be a good idea to lay off corn for a couple sessions and try something with a lot more protein.
Phone
Phone,
Did you post this twice so Karl gets it?
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This is my favourite one taken at the CAGI in Ontario.
You were fishing in a zoo, right?
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C'MON UP MARIO...SOME OF THE GUYS HERE IN THE STATES ARE TRAVELING FURTHER THAN YOU WOULD HAVE TO !
MARIUS,
GETTING THIS PLACE AT THE RATE WE DID WAS NO EASY FEAT !!!!
22 TEAMS NOW REGISTERED ,,,,,28 SLOTS AVAILABLE
IF IT'S ANY INCENTIVE TO ANY ONE,,,WHEN I TALKED TO THE GREAT PHONE DURING THE FFF, HE MENTIONED THAT HE WOULD BE SENDING IN HIS FEES, AND HE FULLY INTENDS TO WHIP EVERYONE !!!( WELL HE DIDN'T SAY THAT, BUT YOU DO KNOW HE THROWS A MEAN ZEBCO!)
Nah, this year I'm chasing rumors down south. I must find a Mexican biggy first. 2008 I'll come up to give you guys a good run for the money...
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Mmm, should I go...?
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The only thing that's really bothered me in these several threads, is the barely hidden attempt to alter my meaning...by that I mean, the inuendo that I said the domestic fish are "easy" or that I think less of them(or the fisherman of them), or that all the fish caught are domestic.
Here, for example, from Karl:
I never said any of that, and the implication is just a poor straw man argument.
Nightwing,
That's just Karl talking...
Merry Christmas everybody....
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Or check out Echo´s website:
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Trust me, it happens on a large scale with French (and sometimes Dutch) fish. They don´t just disappear in French pay lakes. Truckloads are being shipped illegally to the UK. Here´s one of many articles on the topic:
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/...m.php?news=1147
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Isn't a great we´re free to make our own choices? No need for more
Wanna fish French pay lakes: what´s stopping you? Wanna catch uncaught fish: same answer...
Just one more remark: more than the baiting up issue on pay lakes, one major problem I have with the majority of them is the fact that many French pay lakes have stolen fish in it. Lakes, such as Du Der, have been heavily targeted for their big fish which subsequently have been sold illegally to pay lakes.
But I guess there´s people on here that wouldn´t have a problem with this either...
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Here's when I caught it before baiting up....
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Here's a wild one I caught on a giant river. I did feed it an american diet though as you can see
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Karl, Scott???
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Tony,
Do you have a picture of the mirror from Limburg/Maas River (was it close to Venlo or Roermond?)
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Still feels more real to me than a French pay lake fish...
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Geiler Fisch, nur schade dass es noch keine Bilder gibt...
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1. Skipp the Mexican upper teens, 20's and 30's. Move straight on to 40's and 50's.
2. Fish Amistad and Falcon
3. Fish selected lakes in San Luis Potosí and Querétaro.
4. Improve PB on La Boca by a 25 pounds (in order to comply with goal 1).
5. Take one of you wankers to one of my top lakes once I find them
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How can you be sure it's female? I never figured this one out with 100% certainty...Great fish of course...
First self experience!!!
in Beginning Carping
Posted
Ahhh, what do I know? Soon JL be kicking all our asses with some Mexican 40's...