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ultralight carper

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Posts posted by ultralight carper

    East TN FFF- Boone And Loudon Lake

    in FFF 2013

    Posted · Edited by ultralight carper

    Hi all,

    Just wanted to post up our official FFF report.

    Our jolly group this year was made up of relatives and significant others: myself, Sarah, Chris (all from Johnson City, TN) and Kim (my sister), Julie, Josh, Jessica and Kurt (all from Tulsa, OK).

    First, of course, there were the pre-fishing rituals - like baiting up, preparing the rigs, and Kim toasting the new year Tennessee style!

    post-2562-0-87239200-1357655113.jpg

    We fished from midnight to 4AM on Boone Lake in Piney Flats, Tennessee. The water temp was 45F and the fish action was non-existent...but we did have Mimosas on our dock at midnight after putting out the baits. The air temp was 28F with intermittent snow flurries.

    Chris and Kurt freezing their nuchos off and waiting for a run.

    post-2562-0-84019900-1357655179.jpg

    Chris and I were the last to call it a night - just after 4AM. Total score to this point: no fish, no runs, some frozen posteriors and 2 feeders lost to snags. I woke up about 10AM to driving rain and temps just above freezing. After the various relatives got up and around, I instituted "plan B"...which was to pack up the car with gear and drive to Knoxville to see if the fishing was better there.

    After a nearly 2 hour drive in the rain, we arrived at Loudon Lake in Knoxville just before 3PM. We fished from 3PM to 6PM and 9-midnight. The water temp was 48F and the air temp ranged from 42F to 36F in mist to driving rain - the kids were real troopers for hanging in there!

    post-2562-0-54145500-1357655782.jpg

    It did not take long to get action, I set up two rods and was preparing a third when an alarm went off in a screaming run. A short time later, at 3:13 PM, Sarah landed a 9.0 lb common carp with an attached lamprey - we are on the board and a "multi-species" entry at that
    :D
    . Not to worry, we removed the lamprey before we weighed the fish!

    post-2562-0-80586100-1357655211.jpg

    At 3:40PM, Jessica hauled in a 13.8 lb'er!

    post-2562-0-49256400-1357655245.jpg

    A while later, Kurt wandered off to the bathroom. As you would expect, a fish hit at that point. The alarm started screaming and Kurt bailed out of the john like he was on fire. He vaulted a 4 foot railing on the way to the rod - at considerable risk to his man parts...
    :)
    . Chris then joined the fun as another fish hooked up and started running. Our first double of 2013!

    Kurt with his 9.1 lb'er...

    post-2562-0-75662400-1357655262.jpg

    Chris with a 6.9 lb common.

    post-2562-0-82476900-1357655305.jpg

    At 4:58PM, Julie got on the board with a pretty 9.9 lb common.

    post-2562-0-89791200-1357655511.jpg

    Kim got the final, and largest, fish of the day at 5:40PM - a 16.9 lb common! She hooked it on my medium-light steelhead rod so it gave her a great fight!

    post-2562-0-18312800-1357655602.jpg

    post-2562-0-80777700-1357655659.jpg

    :yourock:

    After Kim's fish, we went for BBQ at a nearby eatery.

    post-2562-0-19547900-1357655730.jpg

    Josh was not feeling well and so did not accompany us to Loudon - so he did not get a fish on New Years
    :blink:
    . I was busy being "bait boy" so I didn't either. So, a few days later, we went to another spot on Loudon so we could get Josh a fish. Here he is with a nice 12 lb common.
    ;)

    post-2562-0-64595400-1357655935.jpg

    I managed to get a 14 lb'er on Jan. 5 for my first fish of 2013 - not bad at all!

    Hope everyone had a great FFF!

    F F F 2013 - 10Th Edition! Ideas?

    in FFF 2013

    Posted

    Jerome,

    Thanks for doing this yet again! We are already getting geared up for FFF here in east TN. After almost 20 years of saving, my wife and I just bought some lake property - so we should not have to go anywhere for FFF this year! :) Looks like it will be my family + my sister and her three kids = total of 8 anglers on the team this year! Not sure how I will keep track of that many folks in the dark!

    If you want to add something different, how about a multispecies division? Winner = person that catches at least 1 carp + greatest number of other different fish species?

    Rob

    Special note from Bigbird

    in Pictures, Stories & Video

    Posted

    ok folks!! THANKS FOR ALL THE PRAYERS AND THOUGHTS!!!

    she is home now and feeling like her old controlling self again. I LOVE IT!!

    she is not 100% but she will be there soon!! not sure of the exact diagnosis but she will find out and she will blame me! i can take it.

    she has put up with me for more yaers than i can count and i have put up with her as well. she is me and i am her!! i dont like her being sick.

    thanks again for the prayers and a story is on the way!!!!

    Bird,

    Glad everything is OK!

    Rob

    Catfish rigs, which ones?

    in Other Species Stories

    Posted

    Two things work well for me - particularly for blues and channels...

    1) Make very simple boilies using flour, breadcrumbs and eggs. Tie up some standard hair rigs. Chop up/crush a few shrimp with shells, add a small amount of water and let it sit in a warm place for about a day or two (outside but somewhere racoons won't get into it :) ). You can freeze the shrimp juice in a well-sealed container if you want to keep it for future use. Soak the boilies in this (I add the juice to a sealed bottle, add boilies and freeze the whole mess - just make sure to leave expansion space - you DO NOT want the container to break :D) and fish them as you would when fishing for carp. You can use a simple oat-based method mix to help pull the cats in - just add a bit of shrimp juice to it before you use it. Nice thing about this approach rather than just using shrimp on a hook is that you won't hook as many turtles using a hair rig (turtles LOVE shrimp). Also nice because you don't have to fiddle with catching (or buying) live bait and (if you use a good stop) the boilies will last thru many fish so you don't waste much time rebaiting. You get a lot of smaller "eating size" cats using this method but I have caught channels over 20 and blues over 30 this way. My step-son caught a 56 pound blue on a bread boilie at FFF a couple of years ago - so you can catch a big fish on a small bait - you just have to get thru a lot of smaller fish to do it.

    2) Catch a small sunfish, hook it behind the dorsal fin and chuck it out. Sometimes the sunfish will start yanking like crazy when a cat is nosing around so you get some warning before a take.

    Just fish these using a simple running rig with enough weight to hold bottom.

    Have fun!

    Rob

    Family/Kid Focused Events

    in Take a Kid Carpin'

    Posted

    Current plan is wrap up the may big 4.

    Kids event would be family based, adults with a child not just kids. Format open to discretion of local organizers. Encourged date up for discussion but looks to be june 26, would like to have a writeup in the NACA since CAGi won't be there.

    Its all in the works I assure you.

    I will provide my plan for my local event in the near future and encourag others to do the same.

    Sorry Brad,

    Can't do one on the 26th - will out of town at a meeting. Wish it were in July...

    Rob

    Family/Kid Focused Events

    in Take a Kid Carpin'

    Posted

    Don't kid yourself on Winged Deer. We have already had this discussion. Boone has stinkin monsters. I saw an electro fishing synopsis from there and they brought out a truckload of 30's. THere are carp bigger than the kids.

    I have a couple of rods which can by used without fear of being trashed. I also have 3 or 4 reels easy, which are all but throwaways to me. Once we have something firm, we can watch WalMart for specials, and even let the kids take rods home.

    I could volunteer to bait since I am likely the closest guy. One issue to be concerned about. A number of fishing tourneys are run out of there. I have a website to check dates.

    Zoomie,

    I agree about Boone Lake in general - I've caught a number of high 20s (but all from venues I no longer have access to). I put a lot of effort into baiting/fishing (baited twice a week continuously for 2-3 months) over the last 2 summers at Winged Deer - have caught many fish (best night was >40 fish) but nary a fish over 9 lbs. Maybe I just don't have the "knack" for pulling in the lunkers :) I am sure there are larger ones in there but there are ALOT of small ones to get by in that arm of the lake. However, I think it is a nearly perfect location for a kids event where a 5-6 lb fish will likely be the largest thing they have ever caught - in years past the Parks and Rec held a carp tourney there in mid-June (although that event seems to be no more). We do have to watch out for the bass tournaments but many on Boone that time of year are at night and most launch from the far west ramp and don't seem to interfere with bank fishing from the flat area closest (west) to the Bristol Hwy bridge. If you are up for a kids event in this location, I can get the ball rolling by chatting with Parks and Rec.

    One last thought, the kids at Science Hill High School in JC have a 40 hour public service requirement for graduation. I suspect that some of the other area high schools are similar in that requirement. Maybe we could get some volunteers that way - my steps-on is a carp fisherman and is currently a Junior at Science Hill - I will twist his arm for some help!

    Rob

    Rob

    Family/Kid Focused Events

    in Take a Kid Carpin'

    Posted

    I am in - some questions/comments:

    1) I have a pretty good venue in NE TN for an event like this - Winged Deer Park on Boone Lake. Lots of bank space, parking, close to town, play area, bathrooms etc. It is tough to get a fish over 10 lb but if you bait up for a week before the event you can catch 4-8 lbers pretty much as fast as you can get bait in the water. I canoe there twice a week so baiting up would be easy for me to do. Another good location might be Warriors Path State Park in Kingsport, TN (if we baited it up) - again few large fish but a good population of smaller ones.

    2) Could events in July be included? I will be out of the country for work most of June but would be willing to try for an early/mid July date.

    3) Liability issues are a big concern. These might be overcome by partnering with an existing youth organization that could cover the event under their existing insurance.

    4) I think a 2:1 child:adult ratio is a good one. The adults would have to be somewhat educated about carp fishing. One way to handle this if a significant number of the chaperones are non-fishers is to have the adults "pre-fish" the venue the week before so they can learn some of the necessary "tricks". What a hardship - another excuse to go fishing :).

    5) Equipment is an issue - young kids who have never fished sometimes have trouble with all the complex gear. I would suggest simple paylake or running rigs with either medium spinning/spin cast rod/reels. I have 2-3 simple rod/reel set ups that would be adequate and I suspect that several other local bass fisherman I know would be willing to loan some of their gear for the day (and maybe even to volunteer at the event).

    6) True story - I was helping with a fishing derby in Columbia, MO. When I was unhooking a fish, a nearby spectator got too close, stepped on the line and drove the hook into my hand. Moral: Don't forget to crimp the barbs on all the hooks - this makes the inevitable hook extraction easier. Since you may be the one unhooking most of the fish, the hand you save may be your own.

    Rob

    FFF 2010 - Sunrise pics - Vote for the Award

    in FFF 2010

    Posted

    Didn't that same scene win last year? (The first pic)

    I personally love Mr Schoborgs pics-- it really says it all :rolleyes: Carper & Coot in harmony, and the hope of a brand new days Carping. Excellent shots!!

    Cheers,

    Brid.

    Thanks Brid!

    Got some awesome pics of the same bird later in the day that I may put on the wildlife shots topic. People driving by probably think I looked pretty weird standing in the water with waders on with a camera chasing a coot around in 20 degree weather!

    Rob

    My FFF

    in FFF 2010

    Posted

    Thanks Rob. Hey - I don't mind admitting I'm a bit superstitious -- but, when you're been accused of 'flogging a dead horse', you might as well keep a part of it as a lucky charm :rolleyes:

    Early tests are encouraging - and it will be with me wherever I fish!! :yourock:

    Cheers,

    Brid.

    Maybe it would be good as part of a bolt rig.

    Rob

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