(GA) needmotime2fish
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Posts posted by (GA) needmotime2fish
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You Guys actually catch with this stuff in the wild?? Havent gotten a sniff on rice..... a few small ones on one outing is all.
Was advised to use Puree' instead of Ketchup...that is where the 28 ounces came from. Puree comes on 28 ounce cans....so folks started using ketchup and in paylakes it worked.....
I've never tried puree. I did try using a 28 ounce can of spaghetti sauce one time, but the bait never set up. Obviously I don't know this for certain, but I think the "rubbery" texture that allows the bait to pack so well is the result from a chemical reaction between the vinegar that's in the ketchup (which is a mild acid) and the instant rice (maybe it reacts with the starch in the instant rice?).
There are other variations of rice pack, but I've only tried one of them. The owner of a pay lake suggested that I put some dry rice in my bucket and just barely cover it with lake water, then allow it to soak for about 1/2 hour. I tried it one afternoon with a small amount of rice -- maybe 1/4 box -- and it did get sticky enough to pack and cast. I've also heard of guys using various sugary sodas instead of lake water (Dr Pepper, Root Beer, and Mello Yellow seem to be popular choices). But rice bait made that way dries out very easily unless you keep it covered tightly -- at least mine did. Unlike rice bait made with ketchup, it will also spoil, so leftover bait can't be stored and used later.
I've caught carp in a number of locations on "rubber rice", including several paylakes and in the wild -- at several small lakes, and in one Corps of Engineers lake (Lanier), and also in a tributary to the Tennessee River (not very far from the backwater where skeet3t has been taking his grandsons carping).
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I bought mine at Tractor Supply about a month or so ago. The bag in my basement reads "20% all-natural cattle cubes", and they were produced (or distributed) by "Producers Pride". Of course the names and brand might vary in different parts of the US. Note that these are not really "cubes" -- they're cylinders, about 3/4" in diameter and approximately 1-1/2" to 2" long.
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Put those grandsons on some carp tomorrow.
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Good luck to all you guys.
I wish you were closer (it's 1200 miles). I'd love to come join you.
It must be cooler there than the 95-degree temperatures we've had recently here in Georgia.
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I assume that "freelining" simply describes fishing with no added weight, using only a hook bait, which might be fished anywhere in the water column (top, bottom, or suspended somewhere in between).
When I first began carp fishing many years ago
, I "freelined" almost exclusively -- probably because I didn't know a better way to fish. 
We caught lots of mid-sized carp fishing close in, by chumming with shelled corn (aka "deer corn" or maize), and baiting 1 or 2 hooks with one kernel each, and casting that rig as far as possible with a Zebco 33. We also caught some really big river carp by freelining large doughballs that were at least 1" in diameter (those big baits provided the casting weight we needed for our baitcasters).
After spending countless hours on these forums and having now been "better educated" as a carper, these days I've gotten away from freelining. But thinking back, I don't really know why I stopped.
It should be just as effective today as it used to be. -
Unbelievable!!! As Skeet3t said, "welcome to the world of politics and ignorance". Fortunately, when politics is involved, so are votes.
Is the MNR an elected post? If it is, you local guys should campaign against this person's re-election, and emphasize the local revenue that was lost simply because of his/her unwillingness to cooperate with the tournament folks.
If the MNR is appointed by a higher government official, maybe you could appeal to that person for help -- or else support his/her opponent in the next election, again citing the loss of business and revenue attributable to one of the incumbent's appointees.
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Congrats on your first carp from the new venue.
I'd be envious, except for the all work you put in to get the place ready.
You earned that fish! Here's hoping you catch a lot more of them.
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Gotta' love those "bonus" fish -- the ones that come when they're completely unexpected.
Very nice !!!
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Congrats- to those who were in the winner's circle and to those who organized and coordinated the event.
+1
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Although it's proved to be successful for me on occasion, I certainly don't claim to be an expert on pre-baiting. To me, deciding how much bait is appropriate is mostly a case of "what seems reasonable" -- based partly on experience and partly on common sense.
If you're baiting a large swim on a sizeable lake or river, 5 gallons in 3 days shouldn't be too much. If the swim holds a lot of carp (and other species that will be feasting on your bait), that might not even be enough. But on a smaller pond or stream where the fish aren't too big and not overly abundant, it might be too much.
It would also depend on whether you're just trying to draw the fish to your swim for a later session, or if you're going to be fishing over your bait throughout the baiting session. For example, if you plan on fishing only on the third day of your baiting session, you might begin by feeding them fairly heavy the first couple days, then cutting the amount in half - or less - the third day, while you fish. To keep the fish in the swim while you fish, you might need to add a small amount of bait each hour or so, especially if the bite slows down.
The above are just my own thoughts. Like Franky, I'd appreciate hearing what the other, more experienced guys think about prebaiting and how they approach it.
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BTW -- Although I saw the 72 ounce box at a Walmart superstore, another WM superstore I went to today didn't have them displayed. The biggest box they had was 48 ounces. It's possible that only some of the stores will be offering the super-extra-large box.
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This might benefit those of you who use rice packbait. I noticed the other day that Walmart now carries a 72 ounce box of Minute Rice, at a price of $ 6.00. Most stores are charging more than $ 4.00 for the 28 ounce box (which is about 15 cents per ounce). The lowest price I've seen anywhere for a 28 ounce box of instant rice is the (Walmart) "Great Value" brand, which is just $2.44 (8.7 cents per ounce). But the 72 ounce Minute Rice, at the $6 price, is even cheaper per ounce (8.3 cents).
Of course if you buy the big box, you'll have to convert all your recipes to volume instead of weight (NOTE: I've found that a 28 ounce box holds slightly less than 8 cups).
Considering that two 72 ounce boxes would make more rice bait than five 28 ounce boxes, you'll save at least $8 (probably more) if you buy two 72 oz boxes instead of five 28 oz boxes of Minute Rice.
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A LONG time ago (1967)
, my folks picked me up for spring break and we went to FL to bass fish. Dad and I met a guy who operated an orange grove, and he invited us to fish his pond -- probably about 10 acres. I had one remaining decent sized shiner, so while I cast lures with one rod, I put the shiner out with a bobber, off a long point.The bobber went under, and I landed a bass of about 3 pounds. The minnow was still alive, so I recast to the same spot, but fishing a little deeper. The bobber went down again, and I hooked a Jack (chain pickerel) of several pounds. Naturally, with all those teeth, the minnow was dead, but still in one piece. I removed the bobber and cast to the same spot again, and caught a channel cat of about 5 pounds. Three fish of different species, all from the same spot, and all off a single minnow.
The morning of our last day there, we returned to the pond for a few hours. I had a few crappie minnows, so I thought I'd try them. Immediately I started catching some big slabs. Since we would be checking out of our cottage, we had no way to cook them, so I held them in a bag and offered them to the guy who so generously allowed us -- a couple of strangers -- to fish his pond. I ended up giving him 8 or 10 crappie up to 2 pounds apiece. The guy told us to wait a few minutes before we left, and he returned with a 1/2 bushel box of fresh oranges for me to take back to college. Essentially, he "paid" us in oranges for giving him his own fish -- THAT was truly "Southern Hospitality".
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Never tried blueberries but I can tell you that mulberries are fantastic to use. The mulberry drop is coming,,,,usually around mid June. Look for trees in the venues you fish.
Speaking of mulberries, the June issue of Field and Stream has an article on using the "Mulberry Fly" to flyfish for carp. There's even a link to a short video showing one way to tie a version of that fly.
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I still haven't heard back from the DNR regarding the April electroshocking survey. I've e-mailed them twice, but I suppose they're still too busy to respond, or maybe they're taking time off for the Memorial Day holiday.
As I previously noted, in the last 3 years I've caught well over 100 carp at this lake, none of which weighed as much as 3 pounds. Let me point out that this situation is not isolated to one section of the lake. Yes, I caught many of the small carp from one swim (maybe as many as 80%), but I've also caught quite a few from 4 or 5 other swims around the lake.
But "maybe" there's a bit of encouraging news to report. Yesterday, I went back to Ft Yargo and caught four more carp -- and two nice sized channel cats. Three of the carp were the typical 14" to 16" one-and-two pounders I've been catching all along. But the last one was over 22" and weighed nearly 6 pounds (5-13). It was easily more than double the size of any carp I've caught there previously.
At least I now know that there are some "larger" carp in the lake. No, 5-13 is definitely not large by carp standards, but it is certainly an encouraging sign. I've heard from other local CAG members that the lake gave up some mid-teens and low twenties about a decade ago. But with zero indication of bigger fish in my last 3 years of fishing there, I haven't been specifically targeting them. Instead, I've simply been fishing a simple paylake rig, with packbait, plus either canned corn or a puff on the hook, and being happy with "whatever will bite". I even adjusted my hook size (downward) to accommodate the smaller carp.
Now that I know that there are carp in the lake besides those 2 pounders, I'll start targeting larger fish. I will continue to pre-bait with my boiled maize and cracked corn, but now I will add some larger bits to my spod mix (such as boilies and/or range cubes), and I will bait a rod or two with boilies and cast to the edge of the area I've spodded, to see if I can get some interest from even larger fish.
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Hard to beat it -- Fun, Friends and Fish.
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Hi Barry just saw your note. I fish right through the year for carp here in GA with varying levels of success. ..........
As I type this, I am about to head out to the 'Hooch before all the kids get in their tubes...anticipated outcome: few carp around 8lb, but you never know!
Cheers
Tony
Tony, I hope you did well on the Hooch
PM sent.
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I've never met either man, but in one way or another, I owe both of them my thanks.
I would never have joined CAG, had it not been for Scott's dad, Vaughn. Back in 2008 he was doing some consulting work for a co-worker in the company where I was working, and learned that I enjoyed carp fishing. We talked several times while he was at our location -- he even bragged on Scott's accomplishments -- then he put me in touch with Horace ("Ol Captain"), who convinced me to join CAG.
As for feeling indebted to Tom, I'm sure that I'm just one of the many, many US carp anglers who have benefitted from Tom's great bait recipes. Thanks "a million" for sharing, Tom!
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Right but you notice all he catches are giant bass? Never any medium or smalls.
Since it's a TV show, my guess is that they just don't bother showing the any ones he catches -- they simply edit the film.
Of course since he IS catching enough big ones to fill an entire show, he is probably fishing in his own private lake.
BTW -- Years ago, a guy here in Georgia, Ben Patrick, was trying to grow a new world record largemouth bass. He had property with about 20 lakes. Some he opened to the public (for a fee), and others he used to hatch and raise fish to stock in the lakes. He ran it as "Patrick's Lakes -- Home of the Next World Record Bass". He was feeding the young bass a diet of some kind of high growth formula -- a yearling bass would weigh 2 pounds -- and then he'd stock them. His idea was that if he could start the fish off with significant size early in its life, it would have a better chance of growing to world record size. He did manage to raise a state record channel catfish. However, despite the fact that some very large bass were caught there, he never did raise one that came close to the record. BTW, the State of Georgia now owns the property and operates it as a PFA (Public Fishing Area).
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Good story and pictures. Get a smaller net and the fish will look bigger!
What baits were you using? I have food luck with at least a 9 lb. packbait. Hit them on the head and net them while they are unconscious. 
Last week I was getting bites on everything I threw at them -- at least 4 types of packbait (bread, grits, rice, oats) in various flavors, and at least 3 different pickups (puffs, corn, maize). But on this trip, I only caught one on rice pack, and all the others on grape grits, and every bite was on anise flavored corn as the pickup.
BTW, I like your "smaller net" idea, but I do think it's unsporting to use a packbait that's larger than the fish I expect to catch.
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A point I forgot to mention, for the benefit of our new carpers --
This illustrates that ANY tackle can be used to fish for - and catch - carp, even the old stuff I was using yesterday.
Please don't hesitate to try carp fishing just because you don't have all the latest and greatest carping tackle.
Give carp fishing a try first, with whatever tackle you already own -- and if you enjoy it, you can buy the specialized gear later.
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Fort Yargo State Park is the nearest venue to my home with commons, and in the 3 years I've fished it, I've lost count of the number I've caught there -- certainly well over 100. Unfortunately, they're all small -- I have yet to catch one there that would weigh 3 pounds.
With that in mind, I decided to try something a bit different. If I can't catch any big fish there, I'll downsize my tackle instead. Because the swim I usually fish has a number of snags close by, "downsizing" couldn't mean going to "ultra-light", but I did set aside my usual 9 and 12 foot rods, and I broke out some medium and medium-light bass tackle from 45 and 50+ years ago. I even swtiched things up and used some old (yes, OLD -- 1950s and 1960s era) Zebco 33 reels, which I cleaned, oiled, and filled with fresh 10-pound line.
I fished the same spot last Friday, and about an hour after baiting the swim, I started getting action, and that continued pretty much throughout the entire day. Not so, this time. I arrived about 9 AM, baited, and waited. After an hour I baited some more, and again after another hour. At 3 PM, I finally got my first run. But then it was constant action until about 5:30. I managed to land 6 carp -- the smallest measured just shy of 15" and the biggest, a shade over 16", and weighed a bit under 2-1/2 lbs. Pretty typical size for Ft Yargo. I also lost 2 or 3 fish, and had at least another 6 or 8 runs that I never hooked (remember - these are small fish with a very small mouth). I will say that -- as expected -- those little fish gave a pretty good account of themselves on my downsized tackle. It was a fun outing.
SIDE NOTE -- I'm still waiting for the results of a DNR electro-shocking fish survey done last month, to find out if they netted any carp larger than the ones I've been catching. I've heard from other CAG members that the lake used to hold teens, and even a few twenties, but to date, I've seen no evidence of larger fish -- not even larger single-digit carp.
Anyway, I'm posting some photos so you can see (1) the size of the fish, and (2) the old tackle I was using. Note my steel casting rod -- I've had it since I was 12, and caught my first ever carp on it in the summer of 1960. It measures just 55" from tip to butt. Most of the Zebco 33 reels belonged to my Dad. The other rods in the photos came from an old W.T. Grant store. They are 6 foot spincast rods, with a unique reel seat that I've never seen anywhere else. It is spring loaded, similar to the one on the steel casting rod -- except that to release the spring, you simply push forward on the finger rest (trigger) under the real seat. We bought about 1/2 dozen of those rods in the mid-1960s when the Grant store was phasing out their fishing tackle and they lowered the price from $16 to just $4. After Dad retired, he tried his hand at rod building and repairing, and he "fancied up" the rods a bit, which is why they no longer have their original guides, windings, or color.
Anyway, I thought I'd use this as an excuse to share a bit of my past through these photos. Enjoy!
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Sounds like a plan, John.
Do you have any contact info for him other than through the TU website?
I wonder if he was targeting carp or if he caught it "by accident". I once talked with a guy who said he was part of a group of flyfishermen who hold events where they do target carp. I don't think the events are "tournaments" -- at least I don't think there's money involved. From what I've heard, they run the events on the honor system, catch and release, with a photo, and the objective is to catch the longest fish (length, not weight), or maybe the most total inches (rather than total pounds). I seem to recall him telling me that he had recently fished an event "somewhere in TN" -- your neck of the woods. Maybe the guy who posted on TU is affiliated with that group.
Regardless, YES, I agree. We should invite him to join us next time we go to Salacoa.
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Nice!
Congrats on the PB.
Summer Patterns ?
in Beginning Carping
Posted
Many years ago (more than I care to admit
) we fished mostly at night during July and August. That was by choice -- it was much more pleasant than sitting out during the heat of the day. However, it also translated into a lot of success, and we caught lots of big carp.
Unfortunately, this was in the days long before digital cameras and quality scales. The best way I can judge the size of the carp we caught was that a number of them easily pegged our 27-pound "Zebco De-Liar" scale, and some couldn't be measured with its 36" ruler. I'm sure we caught a number of 30's, and one monster that likely topped 40. Since CAG wasn't around back then to teach us "the right way" to fish, we were using knucklebuster baitcasters with a freelined doughball. We never heard of pre-baiting or "method" or "pack bait". I can only imagine the size and number of carp we might have caught if we had only known then what we know today. LOL Just kidding about that, of course. But IN CASE it helps anyone who might live nearby, we were fishing mainly in two spots on the Potomac River -- one near "Snyder's Landing" near Sharpsburg, MD (Battle of Antietam), and the other in the area near the C&O Canal lock across the river from Harpers Ferry, WV (upriver from Sandy Hook).
OK -- so much for the good memories.
I mentioned this simply because it shows that carp -- especially big ones -- will readily bite at night in hot weather. It's been a lot of years, but I seem to remember that we caught most of our big carp at least an hour after dark, and before midnight. However, we usually didn't quit until at least 2 AM, and sometimes did catch fish after midnight. But overall, the best time seemed to be the period between dusk and midnight.