[New PB Rat!!]

Not only were the carp on the "Pineapple Snap" flavor today, but so were the rats like this nice 3lb range (new PB!) beauty! Nice teeth, too...

Looks like a muskrat. I caught one back in Jan. 2005 from Lake Wilhelm here. I think I was using pineapple pips for bait at the time, as well. Mine put up a pretty good fight in the water and on land. Got it right in the bottom lip, as ya can see in the pic below:

[want to try carp on the fly. need help on equipment]

ok thanks guys. i got backing,fly line ,and leader.

im ready too try fly carpin. now i have to wait on the weather.

Carl,

I just recently dug out my flyrod and been buying some leaders and stuff and want to try and get back to catching a few carp on the flyrod again. I bought a cheapo 6/7 weight flyrod combo outfit a number of years back just for the purpose of fartin' around with to catch a few carp. I managed to catch a few mulberry feedin' carp at the time with it, tho I'm far from a fly fisherman. I've been trying a little practice castin' lately and that's been interesting.

There's a local PA outdoor writer up here near me that is working on a fly fishing for carp book, and I hope to do a litttle fluff chuckin' with him, and see if I can learn to do it at least half-way properly.

You should try and get in contact with Len L. from the PFBC out your way, since he does a little carp fly flingin' as we've seen at Shawnee.

[Big 4 rule Discussion]

\

What if you super glued the scales back on would it count then?

No need for glue. If a paylake common looses enough scales, it becomes a mirror carp, if a mirror knocks off enough scales, it becomes a leather carp-----those would still count for this event.

[Food Network]

carp or not carp - here are some sick bastids..............(video not for the squemish)

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-us&...rch=still+alive

Nice. Talk about fresh fish. Wonder if it gets released after the meal?----------catch, eat, and release.

[New user]

Hello my name is Bill i have been a carp fisherman for many-many years

i am retired and i do more fishing than any man should be allowed to but i enjoy every minute of it.

I live in south western Pa.

Hey Bill, welcome.

Now that you're a CAG member, you are required to share any secret carp bait recipes with you local CAG chair, so for W. PA that would be, um................. me.

So just photocopy that bait list of yours and ya can hand it over to me the next time we do some carpin'.

So ya do any carpin' down your way this week?

[Tournament of Champions]

Well I'm awake after about 18 hours of sleep that was very well needed.

It was a great tournament despite the conditions the last night it was only like 35 degree's with some wind.

The floating weed and leaves was catching on everyone's line making u recast often.

The people of Hartford were great. They where very interested in what we were doing and some even offered

ta go get food or what ever.I think Hartford will have more carp fisherman after what they saw.

Just want ta say thanks to everyone involved.

Team Jackson made it tuff for the leaders at the end and managed a well earned second place behind

first by about 30 pounds or so.

Hey Chris,

Congrats to yinz on the good showing(s). You've been tearin' it up on the tourney trail this year.

It's good to see a carper with a paylaking background make the transition and be successful at the wild water tourneys, especially a PA paylaker.

[How big do you think this carp is?]

49lbs 8oz

Wow, in that case, nice capture.

[fish out of water]

well as we was doing this we saw the park ranger go by. but they didnt stop.

i also thought a c.o. went by it looked like his truck.

ill try to let them know about the problem . maybe we can put a screen over the colvert .

Maybe ya could get the local bfers to help ya out. They'd probably be more willing to assist than the DNR or PFBC.

[Carp Montage 36lber at the end]

Good stuff Brian, looks like the carp have been rippin' over your way----those are some pigs! Nice article and video. I'm still planning on heading over your way for the Johnstown Folk Fest later this year and hope to get a little carpin' in if I do.

Keep up the good work and keep on rippin' 'em.

Heres some more fish from my PA adventures. CHeck out the sting for the full story. http://publishing.yudu.com/Afndm/issue5v2/...nodeId%3D730138

Heres another video on youtube. http://youtube.com/watch?v=3DgGeEVOuhw

[paylake trip]

All -

Suffice it to say that handling and fish condition vary from lake to lake.  True, the handling is probably less of a priority at most lakes than many of us would like to see, but that is just the way it is.  With a truckload of carp readily available as replacements, the fish's condition isn't always the highest priority.

I understand that this fact of life really gets under the skin of some of the membership.  All I can say is that if things change, it will be slowly.  Instead of kicking sand in the face of a group of carpers (who still outnumber CAGers) why not work on developing and enjoying our common ground.

Heck, I'm not a pay laker and never have been, but I can sure understand some of them getting tired of hearing from other non-paylakers about how everything they do is wrong.  What the finger pointers miss is that this is a different branch of carping which evolved separately from the UK approach.  Things will be different.  Carp Cans on some lakes instead of weigh slings.  Salt dips on some lakes instead of Klinik antiseptic.  And yes, at some lakes there will be folks that abuse the fish.

Just like none of us wish to be judged by the poorest actions amongst us, I doubt many pay lakers appreciate be judged by the poorest actions amonst them.  It makes ya want to say, hey, lighten up.  They are fish after all.

I'm not directing this at the author of the thread.  I think he was pretty clear in pointing out that treatment varies and that some waters are better than others when it comes to how the fish get handled.  What I am responding to is the sentiment that crops up from time to time where some folks get hostile to other folks.

If any of us ever owned a pay lake, then we'd have a say in how things run.  Of course it makes sense to treat the fish as well as possible.  But to stand on the sidelines and tisk, tisk, tisk will do nothing but put people off.

It is a situation that reminds me of an old prayer...

Lord, grant me strength to change the things I can,

peace to accept the things I cannot,

and wisdom to know the difference between the two.

Well synopsized as usual Brian.

I meant to do this awhile back, but never got around to it----posting my article on PA paylakes that was in the NACA last year. I'll post it in the paylake section since things have been pretty dead over there lately. That way people can get the whole story on the PA carp paylakes. Jump on over to the paylake section if yinz want to read more...................................

[paylake trip]

LOL

I take it the "un-named" lake here was Seghi's as I know they were doing a hourly contest this past Sun. It's the nature of the beast. Like a I said in my paylake article, carpin' at the paylakes is a contact sport. As already mentioned, the dumb smaller fish will get caught over and over and do get beat up, and there is really not much that can be done to prevent this on this certain percentage of fish that get hooked often. But hey carp are tough and these incarcerated paylake fish take a lickin' and keep coming back for more torture and abuse.

And most importantly, they're only fish.

[Anybody else having a bad year fishing...]

  I told him he'll need a gun       Herkel

No problem.

[Trophy Carp swims in the U.S.A.]

A few days ago, the new PA state record carp was "caught" ** in the Horseshoe Pond section of Erie's Presque Isle State Park. Although still, unofficial - the beast measures 49 inches in length and weighs 54 lbs 4 oz - shattering the previouis record of 52 lbs.

An article is present in the Erie Times News - but you have to register to be able to read it (I think??)

** the fish was taken by bow and arrow (a legal means in PA, so the fish is considered the record) - If you are sensitive about bowfishing and the menatlity of people that have a disdain for carp - you will not like this article)

I do not intend to start any issues here - I'm just informing folks of the BIG FISH potential of Erie's Presque Isle Bay.

By looking at the pic in that article it is clear that this fish is a grass carp (amur) and not a common carp. Doubt this makes a difference to the PFBC and it will probably be recognized as the new PA record carp as long as the proper paper work is submitted.

It's a helluva capture, regardless of the method used.

[PB Mirror]

Thought everyone might enjoy this picture of the swim.

Hey, that place looks familiar.

[Post a picture of your swim]

Lake Erie, near Presque Isle

[Post a picture of your swim]

Lake Wilhelm, PA