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barbelfloat

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Posts posted by barbelfloat

    CarpQuest Colorado - Bear Lake, Utah - part 4

    in Pictures, Stories & Video

    Posted

    Wow what an awesome looking water. Wish we had places like that to fish in VA. And I too wish you had landed that upper double figure mirror...would have loved to seen it myself. And I'm not a star trek fan but I do know the "Khan" character from the last Star Trek movie lol. And although I don't know what you meant by "!!!! Khan !!!!" I know it doesn't represent a good feeling because losing a good fish is always terrible.

    And cool video. I liked the footage of the fish swimming away in that gin clear water. And congrats on the lovely mirrors you landed!

    36lbs, 35lbs, 30lb and a lost monster :(

    in Pictures, Stories & Video

    Posted

    Thanks all and I'm very glad to know that everyone enjoyed the story and pics. And yes Austin, Skammer and mcwrestler, you guys have to try the trashbag idea! It only works on smaller sized unhooking mats and I couldn't unfold my unhooking mat completely in order to get a 30 gallon trashbag to fit but it's worth it to do. Now if only someone can invent a way to cover the net. Because I know how much we all love taking a wet net home lol.

    And Mick, are you sure it wasn't you that suggested stuffing a bag of some sort in the unhooking mat thread???...I could have sworn it was you. I know I'm an old man now :Old: but I didn't realize my memory was failing me that badly lol?? I might have to dig up that thread to refresh my memory.

    And I enjoyed everyone's sense of humor lol. Speaking of retirement I recently rewatched a western called Tombstone with Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer. That was such an entertaining movie the first time I watched it many years ago but rewatching it recently, I couldn't stop cracking up during the "retirement seem" and also thinking about how Wyatt Earb was "retired" as a lawman but had to come out of retirement in the movie lol.

    Here's the scene I mentioned where Ringo asks Doc Holiday if he's also retired like Wyatt Earb. BTW, Val Kilmer's performance as Doc Holiday alone makes this movie worth watching.

    http://youtu.be/CwEIkXMfL1E

    36lbs, 35lbs, 30lb and a lost monster :(

    in Pictures, Stories & Video

    Posted

    Session 4 and conclusion

    This was the slowest session of them all. 6 hours had passed and there was not even a single bleep. I really thought I was going to blank but as it has happened to me on more than one occasion, the moment I’m able to call it a day, the rod takes off.

    It was a drop back take. Just a couple bleeps and the line went slack. I went over and picked up the rod and reeled in the slack and then “thump!” “Oh, the fish must have dropped the rig and the rig must have gotten snagged,” I thought. So I gave it a hard pull to try to break the line and then all of a sudden the line started to move!!! It wasn't even swimming hard but just the sheer weight of the fish stripped drag as it lazily moved off to the right. Then I foolishly tried to stop him (don’t know why??? Because there wasn’t any snags in the area that I was aware of) and the hook came off.

    Needless to say, I was completely gutted :( . That terrible feeling is definitely one I have not felt in a long time since my retirement and one I did not miss one bit lol. I was totally devastated but I eventually regained my composure lol and counted my blessings. I'm not sure if I even deserve these fish lol but I am thankful that these carp foolishly gave themselves up to me. Now it’s time once again to put the rods back on the shelves to collect dust and go into retirement before carp fishing ruins life. I don’t want to have to wear this shirt again lol.

    post-2904-0-89237400-1384736307.jpg

    This completes this story and I hope you found it entertaining. :)

    36lbs, 35lbs, 30lb and a lost monster :(

    in Pictures, Stories & Video

    Posted

    Session 3

    Nothing much to report except this 28 lber scrapper. Gave me a lively fight and was very fun reeling this guy in.

    By the way one of the best things I ever discovered with the help of Mick (Baitbucket) is this trash bag unhooking mat you see above with a red draw string. There was once a discussion on the forum about making a cheap unhooking mat. If I remember correctly I believe Mick suggested something about putting old rags or pillows or something soft in a trash bag as a cheap alternative to purchasing an unhooking mat.

    It’s strange how the brain works sometimes. I didn't get the idea of making my own unhooking mat because I already have 3 but and from that discussion, I thought wouldn't it be cool to cover my unhooking mat with a new trash bag for each session, which would save me the trouble of washing it. So that’s exactly what I did and it works! No more washing slimy unhooking mats. After every session, I just throw away the trash bag covering and the unhooking mat is as clean as it was before the session started.

    Here’s a better pic of my trashbag covered unhooking mat from awhile back.

    36lbs, 35lbs, 30lb and a lost monster :(

    in Pictures, Stories & Video

    Posted

    Session 2

    The tide schedule didn’t work out that day for the Day 1 swim so I decided to try another venue on the Potomac river in Virginia. One of the biggest things that annoys me is how people lazily think that the Potomac River consists of only Hains Point and the Tidal Basin in DC. But obviously it’s a lot more than that because the Potomac is 400 miles long. A small river by USA standards (it doesn’t even make the top 20 by size) but still big enough for the entire CAG. I mean even if every member fished the Potomac, we still wouldn’t be able to uncover exactly what carp resides there.

    I’ve logged an obscene amount of hours from 2005-2008 and I can honestly say, I have not even scratched the surface of this river. In fact, no one has. There is nobody that can tell me what is really out there. That’s how big (or small by USA standards) this river is. I don’t mean to be preachy but the size of North American waters is one of my favorite topics :D and I am always amazed by the waters here.

    Anyways, Session 2 was a much nicer day but the first fish was another long wait but it was well worth it. Some carp have a lot of personality to their look and is just begging to be named lol. This carp was a very long fish with a big head with dark colors and it looked like it could have been bigger in it’s younger days. So I decided to name him, “Old Beast” lol.

    I don’t know what is wrong with my face here lol – it’s uglier than usual but here I am holding Old Beast at 35lbs-1oz.

    After Old Beast had left. A pack of ravaging small carp decided to over run the swim lol. Not even big rigs could stop these viscous carp. I caught 4 of them and it didn’t look like they were planning on leaving anytime soon so I decided to call it a day.

    36lbs, 35lbs, 30lb and a lost monster :(

    in Pictures, Stories & Video

    Posted

    Those that read the “retired but ambassador…” story know how I came about to my new car.

    post-2904-0-77871500-1384734897_thumb.jp

    The 370z is very good for accelerating and maneuvering corners but not so good for fishing. Carrying buckets of wet bait and 5 rods (3 for fishing and a spod and marker float rod) and all the miscellaneous tools for carp fishing was not an option simply because it wouldn’t fit. I could only carry the minimum gear and bait and everything I decided to carry had to count.

    Session 1

    It was a pretty cold day with high winds so I wasn’t sure how active the carp would be. I first started off the session with a small bait rig (a good idea when the waters really cold) but the action came fast and heavy. Within 30 minutes I had landed 2 carp so I knew it would be a hectic day if I stuck with the small bait rig so I immediately switched out all my rods to a bigger rig.

    Every carper is different. Some people like a lot of action and love catching 30-50 fish a day while others prefer a quieter and slower paced style of fishing where you try to pick out a little bigger fish here and there. I’m not sure why but I’ve always been the latter. I actually don’t mind sitting there for hours with all the traps set, waiting for big carp. I mean when I was not retired in 2005-2008, I used to boast about how I went to a new water and sat there for 3 days blanking lol. A little weird I know but I was really crazy back then. :D

    Anyways, I had bigger baits on all my rods and I knew although not completely immune to small carp, it’d be a quieter session than if I didn’t use the big bait rig. If I can get away with the bigger rig, I always opt to use it because I don’t like the idea of a small carp messing up the trap I set for big carp. So all the traps were set and it became a waiting game. These days it’s a lot easier to sit and wait then it was back in 2005 because of technology. Now we can listen to music, write, watch a movie, and surf the net all on our phones. It was a little cold but still very fun being out there taking a break from this crazy world.

    3 hours had passed and nothing was happening. Then I started to doubt my tactics. It’s funny because in 2005-2008, 3 hours would have been nothing and the inkling of doubt would have started to creep in at least 8 hours into the session if not more…not this measly 3 hours lol. But that’s what happens when you’re out of practice. You lack confidence and are not in tuned with the water.

    The doubt was too much to bear so I decided to switch rigs and tactics. As I was walking towards my rods to bring them in, it went OFF! :o A screaming run! I picked up the rod and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I brought him to the net. It was a very fat and well fed carp lol at 36lbs-8oz. As the Brits like to say, “I was well chuffed” :D

    36lbs-8oz

    post-2904-0-12748900-1384735142_thumb.jp

    It’s amazing what one fish can do to your confidence level. I decided to stick to my original plan and rebaited and recast. Shortly afterwards, I had another screaming run and fluked into a 30lbs-2oz carp.

    30+ lbs

    post-2904-0-99351500-1384735193_thumb.jp

    I decided to stick it out a little longer…at least until the tide turned. It was a good thing I did because I was blessed with another lucky fish. It was strong and took a lot of line but it did feel a little funny during the fight. I thought it was just a strange upper 20 lb carp but to my surprise, it turned out to be a 34 lb blue catfish. After this fish, it was time to call it a day.

    This was the best pic I could get of this bugger because he was so slimy and different to hold than a carp

    36lbs, 35lbs, 30lb and a lost monster :(

    in Pictures, Stories & Video

    Posted

    It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to go on a personal fishing trip and enjoy spending a full day of carp fishing. This year my fishing has only consisted of taking family and friends fishing, part of which I shared in the “Retired but still an ambassador for the sport” story.

    The last time I went fishing for myself was last fall/winter after my surgery. I had taken a leave from work for the operation and recovery and when I felt strong enough, I took advantage of the time off and went to the water for some fresh air. I could only stay for 3 hours at a time because I was still recovering but I really enjoyed being out there. I recaptured an old carp friend and a koi in a 400 mile river of all places. I never shared those pictures or story because I lost quite a bit of weight from the recovery and looked like I came out of a concentration camp. Also I didn’t want to scare the children in this forum with my skeleton face lol...jk.

    But having come back to the forum and looking at big fish pictures and listening to music like “The Fisherman” lol (which I shared on my “Good fishing videos” thread) predictably brought out the old man :Old: …the real Mike – carp angler. :D

    Originally I was planning that I’d sneak out for fishing during the Thanksgiving break but a few days in the past 2 weeks opened up for me so I took advantage of that. I went out 4 times and I’d like to share those sessions with you now (carping 4 times a year won’t ruin my life right?).

    BIG FISH ALERT ! A answer to my question !

    in Pictures, Stories & Video

    Posted

    I just saw a pic of it on facebook. And my god, that fish is absolutely incredible. It looks every bit 54 lbs. Huge congrats to the capture! I am in awe! Speechless.

    Ivelin, I don't want to know the specific venue this fish was caught nor do I care but I am curious to know the state and type of water it was (lake, reservoir, or tidal river). You can PM me the answer if you don't want to post the state and type of water it was from. Thanks.

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