[Any Info On Carp Fishing At Lake Norman?]

Never tried Norman, but there are definitely grassers and commons in there.

November should be a good time to fish...we fish through december!

I'd stick with k-1 frutti peach or pineapple ice cream maize with grit pack

Thanks for your suggestions! I'll give them some serious consideration when I'm preparing for my trip.

One more question... I know some states don't allow "chumming" under any circumstances.

I'd hate to ruin my trip by getting fined or jailed just for offering the fish a little free food. :-(

What's the NC law say about chumming/pre-baiting?

[Carp Fishing In South-Central Pa]

I cut my teeth fishing in south-central PA, way back in the late '50's and '60s, but moved to GA in '65. I used to trout fish in Franklin county, and carp fished the Conococheague Creek near Chambersburg and Greencastle, before I moved South.

I'm planning a trip to that same general area in mid-November, and was hoping to get in a few days of fishing while I'm there. But I feel certain that most of my old fishing spots are now in the middle of housing developments, so I'm looking for some advice as to where a guy might find a little success that time of year.

I also used to fish the Potomac River, in MD, near Hagerstown and Williamsport, so one of those areas might be a worthwhile option.

Not having fished in that area for 40 years, I have no idea where to go or what baits to use. In my prime, it was just canned corn or home made dough balls. Back in those days, nobody had ever heard of a hair rig, boilies, or pack bait, and we just propped our knuckle-buster casting rigs on a forked stick -- no pods or bait alarms.

Anyway, there's still a lot of time before my trip, so if any of you have any thoughts or suggestions, I'd appreciate hearing your ideas.

Thanks!

[Any Info On Carp Fishing At Lake Norman?]

I'm doing a bit of long range pre-planning for a trip from GA to PA in mid November, and will be passing through Lake Norman on I-77.

Does anyone have any info on carp fishing there? I see there are a couple warm water areas near some Duke Power plants, and thought maybe one of

those might be worth trying for a day or two.

Do any of you NC guys fish that late in the Fall, or do you all put up the rods & reels and go hunting that time of year?

The Internet suggests that there are commons in the lake -- as well as grassers. Any suggestions as to what they might bite best on at that time of the year? If not, I'll just try corn & boilies, and maybe some type of pack bait. I guess if the water's warm, almost any type of pack might work.

Anyway, I'll probably only get one day -- two at the most -- as I'm driving through, so any advice on techniques, baits, flavors, etc., would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[Yet another new person from PA.]

Welcome, Shane

Although I've lived in GA now for more than 40 years, I grew up in south-central PA, and did a lot of carp fishing there in my younger days. Since I lived in Waynesboro (in Franklin County), I did most of my carp fishing in the east and west branches of the Conococheague Creek, which eventually dumps into the Potomac at Williamsport, MD. I also fished the Potomac a lot, either just south of Hagerstown, MD, or from the MD side, across from Harpers Ferry, WV.

I now live in an area where I have to drive an hour to get to any decent carp venues - there are a few spots with grass carp that are a little closer, but those don't produce consistently.

I still miss living in PA, except when I hear of snow :-) . I had so many places to fish so close by.

Good luck, and keep a tight line.

- Barry

[Need some facts]

They NEVER change their minds - - - NEVER

----

Phone,

I agree with your reply 99%. The 1% I disagree with is the quote above.

You'll occasionally find an individual who is willing to listen to the facts, and who might change his thinking. I, myself, was raised hearing the 'hype' that carp were detrimental to other (supposedly more desirable) species. Regrettably, I admit that in my earliest carp-fihing days, while I was still 'uninformed', I even killed two "trophy sized" (in my mind) carp, believing at the time that it was OK to do so. One I brought home "just to show it off", then buried it in the garden, and the other I traded to a guy for a six-pack.

Over the past 40 years, and armed with more accurate information, I've obviously changed my opinion, so others can, too. I do agree with you that far too many people still regard carp as an undesirable species, and that most of those folks will be reluctant to change that opinion regardless of the facts we might present. But it's NOT a lost cause, and it's still worth trying! At least I believe there's a better chance to change a person's mind on this issue by presenting the facts, that to change that same person's opinion on political issues!

- Barry

[Winter time fishing]

Nice job!

I can't seem to get these southern carp (in GA) to do much of anything until the water gets warmer.

[Smallest carp]

Caught these babies (literally) last Saturday at Twin Lakes, Winder, GA. "Rouster" suggested I might have the world record for the two smallest carp ever caught at the same time (I was using a 2-hook Carolina Paylaker rig at the time).

dblhdr.bmp

[Hello from Maryland]

Welcome. I'm pretty new to CAG, myself, but not to carp fishing.

Although I've lived in Georgia for the last 40 years, I grew up in southern PA, across the line from Hagerstown, MD. I fished for carp around Sharpsburg quite a bit (especially at night during the summer) - back then we called it Snider's Landing - never caught numbers there, but always BIG fish! Also fished a lot just off the big turn at the bottom of the hill across from Harper's Ferry (coming down the road from "Mountain Locks" aka "Frog Hollow" - the correct name might be 'Darghan'). Anyway, there were several real good spots for carp in the stretch below the dam (#4 ?) near Harper's Ferry. One was a slow water spot - looked like a swimming hole - just off the road, after you crossed the old C&O canal. But the best spot was just upriver from there, across from a huge rock, and downriver from another big rock - I'm talking house-sized rocks, so I figure they're still there. Please forgive my directions - it's been at least 40 YEARS since I've been there. But I never failed to catch lots of carp there, including some 20-pounders.

I hope to get back up there again some day!

Meanwhile, "Good fishin'!".

[Trip report]

In my "bio / intro" posting last Thursday, I mentioned that I'd be trying the watershed lake near Commerce, GA on Friday. I couldn't convince my crappie-fishing buddy to try carping with me, so I went alone (again). My first trip there, 2 weeks ago Sunday, I caught 4 carp, all on canned corn. Interestingly, all four just nibbled, so I had to pick up the rod from the holder and "feel" the bite and set the hook. That trip followed a prolonged rainy spell, and the lake was a bit above it's full pool, so perhaps the rain had them "off their bite" that day.

Moving ahead to Friday... I arrived about 10:30 AM, and caught three by 1:30. But like the previous trip, they were all small (none over 5 lbs), and again all were caught on corn (I have yet to get a bite on any of my favorite doughball recipes). However, this time all three took off in drag-screeching runs. Because I had caught only small fish on the first trip, I downsized all my tackle for this trip, and had spooled several medium spinning outfits with #8 test. So even though the carp were small, they gave a good account on the light tackle. After 1:30, I only managed one small catfish (on corn), and no more carp.

I talked with a number of folks at the lake. Again, I was the only one fishing for carp, but several people told me tales of seeing lots of bigger fish in past years. Also, there's one cove - hard to reach on foot - where one guy in a boat reported having seen "thousands of carp" spawning on Friday. Even allowing for some exaggeration, it sounds like I've found a lake where there are plenty of fish. I also heard that several years ago, the lake got popular with the bowfishing crowd who killed a number of fish. But I believe that's no longer as popular as it once was (fortunately). Talking to one young man who grew up in the area and also with a couple of wardens who stopped by, I heard that there were/are/used-to-be some pretty big fish in the lake (well upward of 20 lbs). Bottom line, I honestly believe that my lack of success on Friday was in large part attributable to the combination of the full moon and the spawn (particularly if the above report was even close to being accurate). Anyway, I think I'll rest the lake another week or two to let the spawn complete and give the carp time to scatter, and then try it again later.

Meanwhile, good fishin' to all!

[Hello! (first post)]

Hello, my name is Barry Shildneck, and I live in Lawrenceville, GA, about 30 miles NE of Atlanta. I'm looking for other carp fishermen in my area. Thanks to guys like "the ol' Captain" (Horace LeFavor), I've talked to or e-mailed several other guys in the area, but none of them seem to live close enough to me to get together.

I'm nearly 63, and have carp fished since my late teens. In my earlier years I had the opportunity to fish the carp-laden waters of the Potomac, above Fredrick, MD, especially near Sharpsburg and across from Harper's Ferry WV. But since moving to GA about 40 years ago, my carp fishing has been limited - most of my buddies preferred bass or crappie. Don't get me wrong, they're fun, too, but nothing beats a 20-pounder stripping your reel almost empty!

I've recently discovered one spot about 40 miles from my home that seems to have quite a few carp (actually it was suggested by Horace and several other contacts) - the Commerce Watershed lake. In fact, I'm heading there tomorrow, so if any of you in my area get out there as well, we can say Hello. And if you happen to live in my area, drop me an e-mail -- bshildn@yahoo.com. Good luck to all.