IndianaCarper
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Posts posted by IndianaCarper
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Much appreciated...thanks very much.
No monsters but they are in there!
CT CAG chapter held their first fish in there last month and several fish were caught - even in 38F water... since then its been a bit hit and miss.
Easiest access is the park off School Street & 83 South.
Contact CT CAG Chair elcapitanmas for more details.
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I lived in Manchester, Conn for many years and now live in Indiana. I am going to be back in Manchester for a few days and thought I would do some carping at Union Pond. Does anyone know anything about the carp fishing at Union Pond? Thanks for any information you would care to share.
- IndianaCarper (Stan)
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I will be there and may bring a few items with me to sell or demonstrate. If there is anything anyone wants to see (that West Side does not stock), let me know and I will toss it in the van.
Hi Paul,
As a matter of fact, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to see the Wacker Blaster in action.
Thank you,
Stan
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Way to go, Ak!!
Stan
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Way to go!
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Very impressive, Scott - congratulations!
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I just got back from a carp fishing vacation with my brothers, which included six full days of carping. The fish were few and far between, but those we did catch were nice ones. Highlights for me included breaking my PB...twice!. I caught a 21-0, which was captured on typical carp tackle and was a new PB for me. However, that new PB would not last long, and it would be shattered by a much larger fish captured in a rather unusual manner.
All week, we had been setting out one ultralight rod (a 6 foot 6 inch medium action spinning rod with 6 pound test line) in addition to our regular carp gear. My brother enjoys doing this from time to time, with the hope of catching an 8 - 10 pound carp and experiencing the thrill of a great battle on light gear. All week, the ultralight rod sat silent, with not even a single take.
On our final day, we set everything up in our usual manner, including the ultralight rod. It was agreed among the three of us that since it was my brother's hope to catch an 8 - 10 pounder on light tackle, he would take any runs that occurred on this rod. However, as fate would have it, shortly after setting up all our gear, my two brothers decided to take a walk to another part of the lake.
Shortly after they departed from the swim we were fishing, there was a run on the ultralight rod. Since my brother was not present, I picked up the rod and the battle was on! I was unaccustomed to such light gear, and therefore had no point of reference to guess at the size of the fish. It seemed like a very large fish, but on that light gear, a 10 pound fish might feel like a fish two or even three times that size. My brothers noticed from across the lake that I was fighting a fish, so they immediately returned. Since my brother had been hoping all week to fight a fish on the light gear, I offered him the rod, but he graciously declined, and said I should go ahead and land the fish.
Well, landing the fish proved to be far easier said than done! After half an hour had passed, I had made no progress whatsoever in tiring the fish. The many long runs were nerve-wracking, because the small reel did not have a large line capacity. Every time the carp made a run, I had to pray that it did not simply spool me. With six pound test and a light rod, I had no power whatsoever to slow down the fish. As the fight went on, I realized I did not have the fish...the fish had me!
Another thirty minutes passed, and I had now been fighting the fish for an hour. Long before, the three of us had realized that the fish was not the 8 or 10 pounder that my brother had hoped to catch on the light gear...we realized we were dealing with a special fish. I thought to myself, "Why couldn't this fish have taken the bait on one of our standard rods, rather than this ultralight rig?!"
With an hour having passed, and having made no progress whatsoever in tiring the fish, I became resigned to the fact that at some point the fish would simply make a very long run and spool me, or else get into some snags and easily break the six pound test line.
The fight went on and on. The fish would run; when it did, all I could do was pray it would pause so I could raise the rod, pull the fish toward me a couple of feet, then lower the rod and rapidly crank the reel, gaining back precious line. However, whenever I did regain 10 yards or so, it would simply run again, and I would lose all that I had gained.
Time went on, and still the fish was not tiring. It had now chosen a course close enough along the bank and near enough to the surface of the water so that my brothers could follow it on foot and observe it. They got a good look at it, and drawing upon their experience of catching many large carp, they stated it was a fish in the 30 pound class. When they told me that, I immediately became convinced I would never land it; I felt I was completely outmatched with the meager six-and-a-half foot rod and six pound test line. Any long run would simply end in an empty spool; a wrap around any snag would simply end the battle with a quick snap of the line.
The battle wore on and yet another half hour elapsed -- the fight had now reached 90 minutes. My brothers were tracking the fish along the shore, and called out to me that it was now heading towards a big, visible snag, a large tree branch that had fallen into the water years before. Despite their warning, there was nothing I could do to stop the carp's run. If I were to tighten down on the drag, the six pound test would simply snap, and the fish would glide off into the depths, free of the minor annoyance of my hook and line that hardly seemed to slow it.
Because there were some large trees and bushes right at the shore of the lake, I could not chase the fish along the shore. All I could do was simply hold the rod and listen to the reel sing as the fish approached the deadly snag. My brothers could see the fish clearly as they followed it along the shore, and they called out the remaining distance as it approached the fallen tree..."50 feet left before it reaches the snag...40...30...20 feet!" Yet there was nothing to be done but pray that the fish would tire or turn.
Just when it seemed all would be lost, the fish stopped!! It was a mere 15 feet from the snag. Immediately I began pumping and reeling, regaining precious yards of line.
On its next run, the fish turned and ran out into the lake. Its strength was full, as if I had just hooked it moments ago, rather than an hour and 45 minutes ago. This latest run seemed to be the longest run of all. I helplessly stared at the reel, watching the line disappear, thinking that soon I would begin to see the spool itself, and be left with no other option than to over-tighten the drag and risk snapping the line.
But once again, prayers were answered and the fish paused. I managed to recover a great deal of line, and although the fish ran a few more times, the runs were now shorter, and I could sense that perhaps finally, I had the fish, instead of the fish having me. I called to my brother to get the net ready. My brother is a sure-handed expert with the net, and I knew he would not miss an opportunity to net the fish if I could simply get the fish close to him. He readied the net in the water well in advance, so as not to scare the fish if I could get it close to the bank.
As I pumped and reeled, I finally sensed the time was right. The fight was close to the end...I would have a chance to land it. Knowing that the light line would simply snap if I brought the fish directly under the rod tip, I had my strategy ready: instead of reeling in the last few yards of line, I slowly walked backward, away from the bank, dragging the fish towards the shore, to keep the line angle constant. The fish was on the surface, finning, turning its head from side to side, gliding in slowly...closer, closer...and then suddenly, with one sure motion by my brother, it was in the net!!! "It's a 30 for sure," my brother declared.
The battle had lasted one hour and 55 minutes. In the weigh sling, the scale settled on 31 pounds 3 ounces. Our sling weighed exactly one pound when wet, so the great fish weighed 30 pounds, 3 ounces. It measured 40.5 inches in length, with a 25 inch girth.
After photographing the fish, I returned it to the water and started the ritual of reviving its strength, pulling it slowly back and forth in the water by grasping it just above its wide tail. Water passed through its gills, restoring oxygen to its system. Soon it told me, through a series of sure thrusts, that the time was right for the release. I paused for one final brief moment, and then opened my hand. It sat still ever so briefly, then with a single sweep of its tail, it slid off into the depths. I watched it as long as possible as it slowly glided out of view, the fish now vanishing in the silence of the water, my brothers and I silent too as we caught a final fleeting glimpse of a great fish.
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Dave,
Outstanding thread. Thanks for posting all this.
Stan
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Ak, what a terrific session! Hope to see you sometime this season.
-Stan
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Certified scales or not the fish was hooked in the butt so will never count as an IGFA record.
Hi Keith,
Actually, I believe the law states that the fish must not INTENTIONALLY be snagged. And the fellow that caught it has witnesses stating he accidentally foul-hooked it. So it could well be named as the record on this basis.
-Stan
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Jerome, the area in which you are recording seems very bright. Are you using some kind of light? Or is the water very shallow?
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Wonderful achievement! Congratulations!!
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35 and 51
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Nice fish, Richard!
-Stan
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Works perfectly for me.
-Stan
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Jerome, your videos are absolutely fantastic. Thanks for all the time and effort you have put in, to the great benefit of all of us.
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Based on what I see I'd try using a bottom bait instead of a popped up one and possibly only one grain of corn on the hair...
Paylakers do this all this time...a small single bead directly on the hook.
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In Indiana, it is illegal to kill commons and mirrors:
"The intentional waste and destruction of fish is prohibited unless the fish is required by law to be killed. Fish must not be mutilated and returned to the water unless the fish is lawfully used as bait."
However, Indiana requires the immediate killing of all Asian carp:
"Immediately kill all bighead carp and other Asian carp that are caught."
So, our commons and mirrors (in fact, all carp but Asians) are protected here in Indiana.
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in regards to littering, that could be a two edged sword. Same logic could say that corn didn't belong in the river. You threw it there and left it. You littered.
Just playing devils advocate.
Well, actually, it's not quite the same here in Indiana. Throwing corn in the river (i.e., chumming) is legal. Whereas littering is not.
More correctly, chumming is legal in Indiana...to a degree. Actually, the conservation officer must make a judgment call. If the officer determines you are throwing so much food in the river that you are fouling the water, you can be arrested. If you are throwing what is determined to be an acceptable amount of food in the river, you are chumming, which is perfectly legal. The precise differences are not defined in the law, the issue is decided by the officer's judgment. A judgment call is made by officers on a case-by-case basis as they encounter them.
I've had conservation officers ask me to demonstrate my chumming techniques, and have done so, while they watched, and the only result was the officers got really interested in talking about carp fishing. I think a lot of it is based on what the officer perceives to be your intention. If the officer determines you are fishing, you're fine. If the officer determines you are dumping your trash in the river, you are littering.
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Is it not illegal to litter in CO? Since the left the fish dead on the bank, they littered!!!
Hi Keith,
Here's an interesting follow-up to your observation about littering. While fishing my local swim (a river), a bunch of kids were bothering me, throwing rocks into my swim. A conservation officer happened to come by after the kids finally left. I asked him if he had been here while the kids were throwing rocks, could he have done anything to help me? Incredibly, he said he would have arrested the kids for bothering me while I was fishing. I asked what he would have charged them with, and he said LITTERING. He explained that they were throwing rocks into the river, and since those rocks did not belong in the river, and they were leaving them there, that constituted littering, and they could be arrested for it.
-Stan
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Great, Dave...a terrific fish!!
-Stan
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For many years I have thought the phases of the moon had no effect on fishing, and have said so here on the forum. But you know, I am beginning to change my mind. If I track my best fishing days, the full moon and new moon really do seem to be the best times to go.
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Dave, thanks for all your great work. I hope all is well and look forward to fishing with you again in the near future.
Stan
Union Pond In Manchester Ct
in Carp Locally & Fishing Reports
Posted
I'm not going out to Connecticut until mid-summer so if you want to plan a trip together, let's do it in May or June.
Sounds good to me!
-stan