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(GA) needmotime2fish

Champion Queen Life Member
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Posts posted by (GA) needmotime2fish

  1. While fishing a local lake & waiting for some action, I saw two mink pups feeding along the shoreline in front of me. I had just landed a few carp & their slime was heavy on my landing net that was laying near the water. One of the pups got into the net & I guess the odor of the carp attracted him. I guess he thought he was going to get a meal or maybe just having fun. He bit & tugged on the netting & I thought he would tear it up but after much effort no damage was done. I asked him what he was doing but he looked at me like I was the intruder. He stayed for a while & I had a good laugh watching him.

    Maybe the little mink heard of "Max, the Ultimate Carp Hound", and his famous "Lick and Release", but got confused and was performing "Lick After Release" instead.

  2. I'm not sure what's considered a "funny" fishing story -- something "funny/embarassing", or maybe something a bit strange or unusual ("funny/peculiar") -- but here's one of each (both true), from many years ago.


    First, the "embarassing" story. My first, and all-time best fishing buddy (we began fishing together nearly 60 years ago when we were just 9 years old) missed several days of school early one spring. It seems he had been fishing with his dad on opening day of trout season, when suddenly "nature called". Despite the fairly large crowds of other fishermen, he found that he just couldn't put it off, so he made his way deep into some thick bushes to take care of the situation. Unfortunately for him -- as he discovered the next day -- the leaves he used for cleaning up were from the poison ivy vines that covered the bushes of the only secluded spot he could find. OOPS!!! Needless to say, he put up with quite a bit of good-natured ribbing for some time afterwards.


    And now for the "unusual" story -- one that seems to defy all the odds. It might not be "ha-ha funny", but it's certainly "peculiar funny". I was in my mid teens and was sucker fishing with my dad. We were fishing a large tributary of the Potomac River that is several undred feet across at the spot we selected. We used a rig with a 1-ounce bank sinker tied to the end, with a #8 snelled "dropper" hook tied about 8 or 10 inches above the sinker, and a second dropper about the same distance above the first one. I was using a medium-light spinning rod with just 6 or 8 pound test line. Since we were fishing a tight line, we would prop our rods on a forked stick, and wait for the rod tip to move slightly, indicating that a sucker was biting. At that point, we would sharply lift the rod to set the hook.

    Well, I hooked a good-sized sucker and fought it to the bank -- which was about 3 feet high. That meant that I had to raise the fish up the bank, since we had no long-handled net. When I attempted to lift the fish, it flopped, and broke my line just above the top dropper hook. Oh, well -- time to re-rig and try again, right? So I tied on a new rig identical to the first one, and cast to the same spot. After a few minutes, I had another "bite", set the hook, and again fought the fish to the bank. This time, I successfully got the fish up the steep bank, which is when I discovered that I hadn't actually caught the fish on my new rig. Instead, the fish that broke off a few minutes earlier was still hooked, and had dragged the trailing bank sinker across my line, and one of the little #8 hooks on my new rig had caught the sinker of the first rig -- right in the line-tie hole. Just what are the odds of a #8 hook catching in a 1/8 inch hole in a piece of lead being dragged across the bottom of a 200-foot-wide stream?

  3. It was cloudy here in Georgia, too, this morning. I attached several shots. The first was taken about an hour after daylight and shows the sun "trying" to peek through the clouds. The other three were taken much earlier, at "daybreak" (which wasn't really "sunrise" because of the clouds).

    Of the five CAG members who registered, only two of us, Deni Hodzic and myself, actually showed up to fish. But Tim Lewis drove over to visit with us for several hours, and Jim Fouts, the non-member who I was expecting, brought his wife and son to chat for a bit. Jim says that he and his son plan to join CAG this year.

    Several catfish were landed (most of them by Deni after I left), but no carp were caught today. I did have one nice run, but I only managed to lose a small fish -- which I think was probably a contender for the "baby carp' award -- LOL. :swimminfish:

    Happy New Year, and "tight lines" to everybody!

    post-3328-0-49305400-1388636498_thumb.jp

    post-3328-0-62999600-1388636526_thumb.jp

    post-3328-0-96219000-1388636564_thumb.jp

    post-3328-0-72990800-1388637013_thumb.jp

  4. Hope you decide to fish, John. Good luck if you go.

    Here in Georgia, we'll be fishing at a state park that doesn't even open until 7 AM (so there will be none of those "early carp medals" for us this year). In fact, we'll be lucky to be there in time to take any "sunrise" photos (officially, sunrise is at 7:41).

  5. Dont forget to get next years licinence too,just remembered myself.

    Great reminder for the folks in states where licenses are sold by the calendar year.

    Here in Georgia, our single-year licenses are good for 365 days, starting the day you buy it. Being a "senior" resident (over 65), I get a free lifetime license. :Old:

    Mine actually "expires" Dec 31, 2399 -- yes, you read it correctly, I'm covered for the next 385 years! :yes:

  6. The Georgia contingent is coming on strong with five registrants. Georgia is now tied with Tennessee for the top South Zone representation. Thanks, so much.

    I also have a "semi-commitment" from a non-member, Jim Fouts, who happens to live near our FFF venue. He walked by when I was fishing one day this fall, and stopped to talk, I let him fight a few of my carp, and he quickly became interested in carp fishing.

    Our only "problem" is that the venue is at a state park that doesn't open until 7 AM. That means none of us will be catching one before 6 AM -- but we "might" be there in time for some sunrise photos. Oh well, it is what it is.

    Good luck and "tight lines" to everybody!

  7. Hey all,

    After looking through the US bait shops online, I am not seeing what I need in the form of Superior flavors.

    Anyone willing to do some looking and possible shipping at the paylakes for me? Or if you know of another online source to purchase that would be fantastic as well.

    I'll be sending you a PM shortly.

  8. Being quiet does nothing to hurt the bite. Why make noise when its not needed? Nothing upsets me more than a big mouth on the bank. Hell, why not bring your boom box and dance a jig? And to think some on here have mentioned how loud my alarms are???

    jmho

    Tom.

    Tom,

    In general, I wholeheartedly agree with you. Particularly in areas that are generally quiet, it makes very little (or no) sense to disrupt the normal situation. However, where a bit of boat traffic is "normal", I doubt that anything other than very heavy traffic is likely to turn off the carp bite -- but only because they've grown used to it. Other loud noises (boom boxes, banging tackle boxes, etc.) that the fish don't usually encounter would be an entirely different story, even on waters that have a number of boaters. By the way, I included my "throwing rocks" story mainly because it does appear to be unusual and counter-intuitive -- and because it really did work (at least it did 50 years ago).

    -- Barry

  9. This may or may not help your confidence, but I'll throw it out there anyway. About 50 years ago, :Old: I fished with my Dad for suckers and carp in the Conococheague Creek in southern PA, just a few miles upstream from Williamsport, MD, where it flows into the Potomac River.

    There were several spots where we could always catch a few. The suckers and carp would "school up" in those spots, but sometimes they were a little slow to bite. At such times, we would toss a few good sized rocks (about softball sized, or even a bit larger) right into the spot we were fishing. We would see the fish scatter when the rocks hit the water, but after about 10 minutes, they'd start biting.

    We figured that by scattering the fish, they'd quickly return to their "comfort area", but because they were forced to move around, a few of them would find our baits and they'd bite. But when we allowed the fish to quietly lie dormant, we would have to wait and wait for something else to get them moving before they would start biting. In these situations, the noise we created by throwing rocks into the water seemed to artificially stimulate the fish to bite.

    Note that I see that experience much differently from the earlier post where the angler used his boat to put bait into the swim, and later observed the carp becoming active whenever he ran his boat over the area. That case appears to describe a "learned response" in which the carp associated the sound of the boat with being fed. I suppose the crash of a "bait ball" hitting the water could trigger a similar response under the proper conditions.

    Unlike bass, which may learn to associate boat sounds with being caught and released, I doubt that many carp actually fear the sound of an overhead boat -- except possibly for fish in very shallow water. They may react to current and waves created by boat traffic, but -- like the carp and suckers I described above -- I would expect them to quickly return to their comfort zones after the boat has passed. Of course I expect that very heavy boat traffic might keep them on edge, but "normal" boat traffic probably upsets anglers more than it does the fish (just MY opinion, for what it's worth). ~8

  10. The book called "Carp!" by Tim Paisley is a great reference book to have. It's not a book you can read from start to finish but it definitely covers a lot of topics.

    I haven't read Paisley's "Carp" book, but I do have several other books that I received as gifts. They were very informative, BUT...

    be aware that some (most?) authors of carping books are also members of the "staff" of various tackle manufacturers, and thus, their writings occasionally may steer you toward using their sponsors' equipment. That's not really a bad thing, but you should know that before you read the books so you can keep an open mind. The books are -- as I already noted -- very informative, and worth reading.

  11. Last evening I replied to a recent thread under the Beginning Carping section, titled "All Guests Non CAG Member Please Read". However, when I tried to post my reply, after a while it appeared to time out, so I clicked the "post" button again -- with the same result. I copied my response and saved it, intending to try again later. But when I logged on again today, I found that BOTH of my posts had appeared twice, so both of my attempts to post had actually succeeded.

    Normally I would just chalk this up to a local problem with my own computer or wireless connection. But I noticed that "So Cal Carper" also had a post that appeared multiple times on that same thread -- and his posts appeared immediately ahead of mine (they all appeared within about 10-15 minutes of each other). Putting both his and my "incidents" together, I thought that perhaps the CAG website might have experienced a glitch around the time that we were posting.

    This hasn't been a problem before, and might have been a one-time thing. Or it could have just been a coincidence that we both experienced similar (but local) problems. Anyway, I was curious to see if these were just isolated cases, or if the web site -- or maybe even the web host -- had a problem.

  12. Although I only joined CAG about 5 years ago, in 2008, I've been fishing for carp nearly 55 years (I was about 14 when I caught my first one). I seldom participate in any CAG fishing events (except the FFF and an occasional local "fish-in"), and I've accumulated enough tackle in my 68 years that I don't need to order much from our vendors (so the discounts -- while nice -- aren't a big personal selling point).

    But besides all the helpful and valuable information I've learned through the Forum, I've made a number of friends and met new fishing buddies. Without CAG, I would never have met most of those fine folks. Plus, there is one other huge incentive that encouraged for me to join.

    CAG has given me a new perspective regarding carp fishing. Before joining, I was "one of those guys" who had been indoctrinated by certain outdoor writers and (supposed) fisheries experts who propagated and popularized the concepts that "carp are bad" and "carp should be eliminated". Although I always tried to never waste any resources, I admit to having killed a few carp (fortunately, just one or two) "just to take them home to show them off" (that was before digital cameras, and after all, I had been taught that "it's only a carp"). Since joining CAG and recognizing the value of carp as a fisheries resource and their potential as "game fish", I regret having done that (even if it was many years ago).

    Anyway, the point here is that CAG provides an educational service to the public about carp and carp angling. Without the support of its members, it will be a lot harder for CAG to continue that service in the future. Disregarding any personal benefits you may like as a CAG member (or benefits you feel you don't need if you haven't joined), keep in mind that CAG's public education on "carpy topics" are ultimately intended to help YOU by keeping carp around, and accessible for your enjoyment.

  13. I know a very good carper who ties his with about 12" of hooklength, but doesn't form a loop or tie to a swivel until he's actually on the bank and knows what conditions he's facing. Smart!

    Although I'm NOT a "very good carper" (enthusiastic maybe -- but just "average" - LOL), I've done mine that way for several years. It takes only a few seconds on the bank to tie a loop and/or attach a swivel, and then cut off whatever excess length remains. I felt that it just made sense to be as flexible as possible, and cover a wide range of hooklengths when I'm making up multiple rigs. I also vary the length of my hair so that I'll always have some rigs for both smaller and larger baits, or for varying the distance between the hook shank and the bait on the hair.

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