(CO) JohnFinney
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Posts posted by (CO) JohnFinney
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Quodos to Paul & Wacker for his assistance in sorting out my ordering woes overnight and getting the CAG Member Discounts applied. Very professional, responsive and helpful ! Thanks again Paul !
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Excellent video - thanks !
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Pikeview Reservoir, Colorado Springs, CO
28th July, 2012
Weight: 24lb
Caught by John Finney
Write up: http://www.carpanglersgroup.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=48972
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Great Video ! Congrats!
John
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Holy Carp ! - some fine catches there and true beasts!
Congrats on some great fishing!
John
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Overview:
St. Vrain State Park (Barbour Ponds) is a multi-lake complex that offers camping, fishing, bird watching and nature trails. The park is located north of Denver, about 100 miles from Colorado Springs with easy access right off from I-25. The park offers 10 lakes (as of 2012) with additional lakes in planning stages and a boating reservoir being filled at this time. The DoW conducted a fish “kill” in 2010 on Pelican Pond and are in the process of restocking after installing an aeration system. Grass Carp were introduced to this pond afterwards in an effort to help reduce weed growth. An extensive stocking survey was also taken in 2010 by the DoW – an overview of that survey will be included here for reference – with the focus obviously on Carp ! Note: Bald Eagle Pond is restricted to use of artificial lures and bait only.
Colorado Parks & Wildlife:
Stocking of trout was on this year was on weeks of 23rd June (Sandpiper and Mallard), 30th June (Sandpiper, Mallard and Red Tail). No stocking reported since June 30th. The lakes here are "wakeless" water though often anglers are out on the water a variety of inflatable craft (double hulled), paddle or self-propelled. It is intended that once open the new reservoir will allow powered craft.
Map of Park & Ponds including areas under development.
Map of North Ponds with location I fished in June 2012.
Conditions as of mid-June 2012:
We spent 3 days at St. Vrain during the blistering heat of mid-June 2012. The smoke from the High Park fire north of here left a haze in the sky and obscured the mountains views that otherwise would have been seen. Even with the heat, haze and “smog” it was still a nice few days away and some good fishing.
Sandpiper Pond:
I did not fish this lake though it was accessible and many fish could be seen patrolling the shallows. I spotted a number of carp close in on the south side of the lake near the car park and restrooms. If I had not fished Mallard Pond, then this would have been the next accessible lake I would have chosen. From the stocking survey this pond is known to contain, Black Crappie, Bluegill (I saw quite a few of these spawning in the shallows), Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout (majority of anglers I observed were hauling trout out of here) and Green Sunfish. Roughly 25k trout are stocked in this lake annually.
Mallard Pond:
This is the lake I ended up spending my time fishing at due to access and lack of weed growth. I fished the South East side of the lake in the “bay” area (red dots on map). I fished using 1 oz weight on a safety clip, 12 lb mono line with a 12 lb fluro leader to size 4->6 hook loaded up with corn and surrounded with panko/creamed corn packbait. Though it was hot as hell the days I fished here, 102-106F some afternoons, the lake was surprisingly productive. Over the 3 days fishing I hauled out over a dozen common carp, between 7lb and 15 lb with the average being approx. 11 lb. A few small 1-2 lb channel cats were also reeled in along with a few rainbow trout, between 12-14”’s. Most fish were caught between 7-10am with a few at dusk. The lake has quite a drop off in depth once you get out past about 20 ft from shore – given these lakes were once gravel pits - not surprising.
The afternoons were hard-core and slim pickings for sure and on more than one occasion I abandoned fishing due to heat and feeling like I was cooking myself on the bankside! I did observe someone bow fishing though they did not spear anything whist I was watching – when they came over to chat with me they did note that typically the carp are close in shore at this lake during the early evening. I took their advice and reduced the range I was fishing and this increased my catch rate considerably. (thanks!).
Pelican Pond:
Oh I wish I could have fished in this pond – especially as it is known to be stocked with Grass Carp. Sadly the weed growth was so bad, out from the bank thick as a carpet bottom to surface literally 30-40ft out. Would have taken a boat to get out beyond those weeds and be able to land anything with safety without it getting bogged down. The lake certainly lives up to the name with Pelican’s nesting on small islands. Beautiful scenery at this Lake for sure and if I had had a longer handle landing net it may have been possible to fish from one of the stone piers – though quite a drop off to the water and would have needed a real long handle to get anything out !
From the stocking survey this lake now contains Black Crappie, Channel Catfish, Redear Sunfish, Grass Carp +20” in size, Largemouth Bass and Sauger. I am hoping that perhaps next year, or much later this year, the weed growth will be down and this lake may be more accessible and fishable.
Killdear Pond: A small body of water that I considered fishing but due to crowding with other anglers decided against. From the stocking report the pond contains Black Crappie, Bluegill, Common Carp +27” and Largemouth Bass. If I get to return to St. Vrain, and this pond is unoccupied with other anglers, then I might give it a try – especially given that you can camp right next to the pond and fish from your campsite almost!
Coot & Pintail Ponds on the south side of the lake complex are also reported from the stocking reports to contain common carp. Except for a quick drive-by nothing to report on any of these ponds.
Bald Eagle Pond: The dedicated “trophy” bass pond which is artificial flies/lures only – catch & release for Bass. From the stocking reports this pond also contains Black Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Gizzard Shad, Green Sunfish and Yellow Perch. I read a note somewhere on Google that a “Carp” had been seen in this lake 2012 but no confirmation.
A few photo’s we took whilst at the lake.
Fish-on !
A few of the landed Carp, in the old “net”.
My wife stopped by and kindly took a picture of me holding a catch !
Some shots of the Mallard Pond.
Overall St. Vrain State Park certainly worth a visit, if not to camp, but for a days fishing and well worth the $7 parks entry fee if you don’t have a season pass. I am sure we will return here again in the future.
John
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It does seem that my antics at this particular lake are becoming more visible - the latest interest being in the new 42" carp net I have setup - certainly causes some conversation about what I am fishing for! If nothing else this gives me an opportunity to talk about carp to the local trout crew - though sadly still the most common comment I hear back is, "don't they eat all the trout eggs?", or "carp ! that's a trash fish" etc. The fly fishermen I have spoken with are far more interested and possitive in general. I do see the looks of surprise or ... perhaps envy, at the huge slabs I am pulling outta there. It is a start at least in the right direction, getting people to talk about carp, see how good a fight they put up and how impressive the beastie's can look in the net or being held up for a weighing or photo. As I have shown and explained to some, they are not really that hard to catch vs. the trout, albeit a bit heavier gear does help. The bait im using is really just out-the-can corn with some packbait made with panko. No rocket science here!
I shall continue my efforts at Pikeview and other local lakes to hopefully persuade others there to at least give the carp a fair chance and promote their status as a true "sport fish" here in the Springs - an uphill battle in the heart of "trout country" for sure!
John
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Just need a pair of water ski's, and that carp to give it a good run, and you're away - whoosh !
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9/3/2012 - Labor Day
With a few hours to spare went down to Pikeview this morning around 8am to get some Holiday fishing in at my favorite spot. So far the carp have seemed to love the orange infused pack there. With some banana flavored pack to spare I decided to give it a go before the "masses" arrived at the Lake.
Fished usual spot ( A ) on the map beside the jetty - conditions were cool and overcast though the day was forecast to be in the mid 80's bright and sunny by lunchtime. It had actually rained for a while overnight - much needed here in Colorado !
Around 8:30am, perhaps 20 min after I cast out, the bait running was screaming and the RTA4 alarm chirping away happily. A rather brief battle later and a nice fat 22lb common, 31" long, was literally swimming into the landing net ! Perhaps the Carp wanted to give me a Holiday break for a change as I was fishing alone?
Sadly my usual "camera operator" was missing today so all I have are a "in-net" pic. I need to consider getting a bank/stick adapter for my camera so I can achieve some of those great shots you all get of holding the prize ! Knowing me I would likely get an empty frame shot, or one of my falling face first into the water trying to wrestle the carp upwards before the camera timer goes off !
With the 22 lb'er released back to the waters the next hour passed by uneventfully. I did get to watch many hot air balloons heading up into the sky from nearby Memorial Park. This holiday weekend was a 3-day balloon fest and about 80 or so balloons were launched skywards. Watching the news on Sunday it seemed as though some of the balloons were trying to hover or just touch-down upon the waters of Prospect Lake in Memorial Park, before lifting off again. I believe a few of those balloons touched down a wee bit too well and ended up with their baskets in the water ! Oops !
About 9:45am another good run and hooked into the 2nd fish of the day. This fiesty fella turned out to be a 14 lb common who just did not want to come quietly and made many strong runs as he saw the net. A surprisingly good battle to finally get him netted. I have noticed that is seems the smaller the carp, the stronger or perhaps more enthusiastic and often they run.
By 11am, the sun was out, the masses had descended upon the lake for their holiday fishing and I had forgotten (as usual) the sun screen. Time to head home before incinerating myself again for the Nth time this year. All told, a good couple of hours on the waters and confirmation that banana pack can also get the job done.
Hope you all had a good day out on Labor Day and got some fishing in !
John
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Stunning looking mirror's, Congrats on some nice catches!
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Since using Trilene 17 lb big-game XL, not been cut off - though have had to replace the line once it gets worn down and checking for frays/nicks in the line. Only issue with the XL is the line memory is pretty pronounced. My issue since moving to the XL and "better" reels has been hook-pulls, a different topic entirely and loosening the drag has helped somewhat with that.
John
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Nice work ! Congrats !
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Welcome Tom !
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A pair of real nice beauties there - congrats!
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Friday 31st August, 2012
Spent a morning down at Quail Lake again today with Patrick from work who was hunting for rainbow and cutthroat trout.
Weather was nice, about 82F and little wind. Fished using two rods, both rigged with a 2oz pear sinker on a safety clip to a 8" 12lb fluro leader, size 2 octopus curve hook, loaded with my favorite panko/creamed corn packbait, today flavored with banana! Hook bait was white corn with a hint of orange - yummy!
This is my 3rd time fishing at this lake. The water level was up slightly from a week ago though the lake was quiet, very few people fishing - probably due to it being a school day and a Friday morning. Fished about 20' out from some reed beds to my left and about 30 yards straight out. Location ( B ) on revised map.
The morning was quite productive, in quantity, if not size. After starting with a hook pull managed to bring in a 6.5 lb common, a 5.5 lb common and then 4 more ranging from 3-4 lbs each. Ended with another 2 hook pulls ! Arg ! Seems this Lake is pretty well populated with commons 7 lbs and under - I am sure the fish can only be a few years old so my new quest here is to locate their "parents".
Sadly my colleague blanked out on his trout quest, even after trying some "Hail Mary" corn and pack off the bottom with an egg sinker for his last hour of fishing . Guess the trout gods did not favor him today! Yes, I know, deep down inside he wants to catch carp!
Certainly planning to return to Quail, I am sure there must be some monsters in there somewhere !
All told, was a great morning out and a steady haul from Quail.
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Insane ! Excellent vid, thanks for posting!
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A true monster carp that would make Jabba proud ! Congrats !
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Aye, there is a no chumming rule "State Wide". If the DoW catch you tossing out handfulls of bait, chum, groundbait, spodding, etc, then may get a ticket. Of course, I do cast out with a very loose "packbait" before getting into a serious session - now if that comes off, and requires a recast, or three, four, then not my fault
I think with all things common sense applies, if you have a bucket of bait and are tossing it out there with gusto with the DoW offical in sight, you should expect to get ticketted ! The DoW also enforce the "no live bait or scented lures" rule that applies to many lakes & rivers in the State - though I have only observed them enforing the "no live bait" portion personally - not sure if they are going to request you reel in and start "sniffing" your lures! -
Once/when I get a true 12ft carp rod, I may very well rig one of my existing rods and old reels for float - lighter line, etc. I have tried float fishing a few times at this lake and so far all all I have snagged are trout which devour just about all baits suspended in the water.
You would be surprised at how large a hook bait those rainbows will attack and swallow - i've had small ones take a size-2 covered with corn as big as the poor trout's head - no clue how it got the hook inside the mouth ! I may also try my hand at some fly fishing, though as a youth, I darn well sucked tremendously at casting a fly - also the effort, rather just put my feet up, pull down the lip of my cap and snooze, waiting for a carp to take the bait ! Yes, im getting lazy in my old age!
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Overview:
An 8 acre lake just off from Garden of the Gods road beside the water treatment plant. The lake is primarily used as a trout fishery and as such receives stockings a few times a year for this purpose. Reported species of fish include bluegill, channel catfish, largemouth bass, saugeye, rudd, wiper, goldfish, tiger muskie, red ear sunfish and last, but not least, common carp. A very popular fishery with the locals that is heavily fished, especially at weekends and on public holidays.
Colorado Parks & Wildlife:
Stocking of trout was on this year was on weeks of 9th April and 5th June - no stocking reported since June. This is a "wakeless" water though often anglers are out on the water a variety of inflatable craft, paddle or self-propelled. There is no Fish Management Survey data available (that I could find that is!).
Map:
Current Conditions:
August 2012: Water levels are fluctuating almost daily though typically the lake is down a foot or so, expanding the "bank" access around the Lake. Locals are pulling mostly trout from the waters with some anglers I have spoken with catching small large mouth bass, catfish (channel) and saugeye.
This is my “local” lake and where I have had the most success far in Colorado Springs catching mid-doubles on a regular basis. The size range for the commons at this lake for 2012 varies so far between 9 – 24 lbs, with 12-15 lbs being the average. All my carp were caught on my panko/creamed corn pack with corn on the hook – flavored or un-flavored, the carp do not really seem to care! I have also landed a fair number of rainbow trout (10-15”) and a few channel cats (10-16”) from here this year.
The carp I have observed generally are patrolling between the two piers (A on map) and often are no more than 5-20 yards from the bank. Earlier in the year I did manage to land a few fishing perhaps 50 yards or so out towards the aerator but none from that vicinity recently. I have observed carp breaching over the NE side of the lake in shallow water (B on map) early morning just after dawn. Once I feel agile enough to climb down the rocks, or there is sufficient bank access, I may try that NE corner out. There are large schools of either rudd, or hybrid carp, patrolling the NW and W sides of the lake - oblivious to all my attempts to entice them with corn so far!
I have seen many anglers fly fishing on this lake, generally they are up on the north side with the rocks or the east side amongst the weeds and bushes by the lake edge.
The only thing about this location that bothers me is trash, more trash and heaps of trash. For my regular spot I usually spend some time picking up what I can, from bottles, beer cans, bags, empty bait containers, line, more line, line with hooks, line wrapped around trees, dead fish (trout) etc. I do wish people would be more respectful of the area and at least take a few minutes to pick up after themselves. Enough said.
The local DoW officers are just down the road and I have seen anglers being "card'ed" on numerous occaisons - my favorite being a few that were in my "favorite" spot and obviously did not have a valid license, were ticketted, left abruptly. Of course, I just had to move into the recently vacated area !
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Note: 17 Acres in size, not 33 as previously stated.
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Current Conditions:
Sunday Aug 26th 2012: Water levels were down a foot or so, expanding the "bank" access around the Lake. I saw many locals pulling trout from the waters and one angler nearby reported catching some wipers from the lake - though I was unaware the lake even had wiper! Fished from around 11am - 3pm, caught two small (4lb and 5lb respectively) common carp from location (A) on map using panko/creamed corn pack with orange flavored corn on the hook.
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Overview:
A 33 acre lake on the south side of Springs that is mainly used as a trout fishery. The lake receives stockings a few times a year for this purpose. Reported species of fish include black bass, crappie, sunfish, catfish (channel), northern pike, small mouth bass and of course, common carp. A very popular fishery that is heavily fished, especially at weekends and public holidays.
Colorado Parks & Wildlife:
Stocking of trout was on this year was on weeks of 2nd & 9th & 23rd April, 8th May, 5th June - no stocking reported since June. This is a "wakeless" water though often anglers are out on the water a variety of inflatable craft, paddle or self-propelled. There is no Fish Management Survey data available (that I could find that is!).
Map:
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Great video Shawn, thanks for posting - almost makes me want to acquire a fly rod now ! *almost* !
Some Afternoon Gold
in Pictures, Stories & Video
Posted
Congrats on a fine day's fishing ! Going to have to get some tips on mounting a camera & timer to get some self pics with the carp !
John