zippyFX

Hi All, With all the discussion of Grass Carp on the great lakes and some large ones being caught in toronto I am surprised that carpers on the great lakes have not caught any. Has anyone heard of a carper catching any in Canadian waters?

Love that mirror and the smile on the boys face!

This is great guys! Thanks for all the suggestions and precautions Good food for thought. Good news is that I will likely be making a number of batches so I may be able to try many of the ideas! Question though.... Is there a general rule about adding flavoring during the boil or after the boil. I have not used a pressure cooker much but when when cooking for people I tend to add the aromatic spices towards the end so the flavor towards the end to avoid them boiling off.... What should I do with Maize?

Hi all, In the dog days of winter I find my thoughts turning to spring carp at ice out... Sigh.... Last season I started preparing my own maize, plain mostly but I was thinking of being more creative this time around. I picked up a pressure cooker as boiling it on my bbq was proving to take way too long. I will be starting it on the stove and then continuing on the bbq this spring. Are there any suggestions for flavourings while it boils? I was thinking of something salty like fermented soy bean paste. How about after it is done? I know there are commercial mixes available but I was thinking of something more home made. Is there a flavour better suited to spring? I once read that stong spices like tumeric and curry would be good. I am also collecting stale bread for some pack/ground bait... I was thinking of doing something supper sweet like aspertame, jello and some protien like canned luncheon meat? Any thoughts?

Nice fishing! That small one has a cartoonish shape to it.

Thanks guys! I intend to get a better net and hit this swim a couple more time this month!

I went to Long Sault last week and I all I caught was these: I went back, by hook or by crook, lucky or not I managed to land my personal best. More than double my previous PB of 7lbs.... My new manual scale indicated the weight at about 17 lbs. Not a monster but a nice fish. It was a slow take I watched my rod tip go down and the baitrunner start to give line. I picked up the rod and felt the weight of the fish. I knew it was big and I was getting nervous.... It took line and went straight for the bottom. I was wondering what cover a fish would break for as I saw no visible structure by the rip rap I was fishing. It went straight into the weeds and buried itself in them... For a while I wasn't even sure I still had the fish on but I did get the occasional pull on the drag... I had my 9ft MH rod and 40 lb braid. I new I was not going to be out muscled today... I did not want to the pull the hook so I reeled slowly and deliberately. It fought against every inch of line I took. In hindsight I should have the drag set a skosh lighter. I watched the fish come up out of the depths turning and and trying to head back down every time I reeled in some line.... When I got it to the top it was exhausted. Now, I looked at my net and the fish and there was no way this guy was going to fit into it. I really wanted a picture of this one so I stepped into the water, picked it up, carried up the rip-rap and did a CPR. No other carp but I was more than satisfied. I made some time to fish a culvert which had some moderately fast current to it where I had caught some gobbies and perch last time out... I decided to poke around and see if anything else was there. After some careful observation I noticed there was a definitive stratification of fish.. Near the top and in the full current were the perch.... Hanging on just below current were the Gobbies. But there was a group of fish that was hanging on mid depth at the horizontal edges of the current, seeking shelter in the weeds a coming out periodically to nibble on my worm. I switched from #8 to a #22 and reduced the size of the worm on the hook and caught one of these: By my reckoning this is a blacknose shiner. I lifer for me.

Way to a be positive fishing ambassador!

Thanks guys! SoCal... I have been there... I'm sure your luck will change!

I intended to gear up and fish the Rideau for Pike and Musky but I found the water to high and to fast to think it would be productive so I decided to change my target to Carp. All fish were caught on a #6 circle hook. I have been using two general approaches (i) a light split shot and a relatively freeline and (ii) a float rigged so the bait lies on the bottom. I pre-bait with both corn and a homemade ground mix and fish with a worm. I went two for five. The first own was lost as I was getting used to the area. The bank had grown weedy and the weed mat was thick and my net was not long enough to reach the fish. I had some first fish nerves and instead of just taking a deep breath and playing it I tried to horse it and in doing so, pulled the hook. I cursed and hoped I would have a chance at another fish. The second fish hit was small, I recon about 15 inches: A nice surprise a little bit later was this small Silver Redhorse: I had been getting many small light takes which failed to hook. I think there may be more of these small ones. I may try a small hook and smaller piece of worm. The third fish felt big but the hook got pulled after about 30 seconds of reeling. Fish number 4 was a nice fight. Nice firrm runs with lots of drag being taken. It felt nice and strong. The line got run through a low hanging branch when the fish broke for cover. At the time I was using my shorter rod (6'6" instead of 9' rod) and I did not have enough reach to get the line of the branch. As I tried to reel in the fish and it was pulled up vertically out of the water, suspended from the branch. It did not look any bigger than the one above. I gave it slack to see if it would free itself but it did not. Instead of prolonging the stress on the fish I gave a few sharp tugs, something would give: the hook, the line or the branch. It was the hook, the fish dropped and swam away. Fish number 5 was a nice bonus. As I was packing up to go, I though I would cast at some shady spots at the other side of the river. As I got the car loaded I turned to see my bobber going down and as I did the 50 yard dash to my rod (which was secured thankfully) and starting to bend with the weight of the fish. I picked up the rod and reeled in this guy: I caught about half dozen brown bullhead to boot....

I was trying for suckers and redhorse on the south nation today. I new Carp was a possibility. I got an aggresive strike and as I reeled it in I noticed it was a nice size carp. I must have been sloppy because my line broke at the knot (I was using 6lb Fluro); I was kicking myself. I picked up my backup rod (another ultra-light), baited it up and tossed it in quickly. Given the activity I was seeing under the surface I thought a pod might be moving in. Within another minute I had an aggressive strike. After a good fight on the UL gear with a lot of give and take I landed a PB carp. I did not weigh or measure but I called it at about 4-5 lbs. Knowing Carp was a possibility I had setup medium rod with a feeder and a hair rig setup with popup corn. It was funny. I tossed it in and let it sit for about 15 minutes. There was a lot of activity on the line but no takers. I reeled it back to find that the feeder that had been baited with breadflake and corn had been sucked bare without a take on the pop up corn. With the water being very murky it probably when un-noticed. I guess I should have buried hook in the feeder. Lesson learned. After about another hour I got another solid strike which I started reeling and identified as another Carp that seemed to be the same size as the one I got previously. Playing it diligently with the UL rod I let the rod take the much of the weight and letting it play out some drag. I reached over to get my net and then it flipped the hook. Dang!

What part of the St. Lawrence? It's long river.

Hi All, I have not posted here in awhile but I have been trolling regularly. Just wanted to drop in and say I got my first common in Ottawa this evening. One of the local fishing groups had a troll about Carp in a storm management facility near my home. I pinged the individual but never got any follow-up. I went there in the spring but did not see any signs of fish. Earlier this week I had some time at lunch so I decided to take a walk and see if there were any signs of fish. The water was cloudy but I did see allot of bubbling and I did see the some fish disturbing the water; Then out of nowhere a carp surfaced at a shallow area near where I was standing looked me in the eye and just slipped back into the water. I went back to the spot this evening and figured I try for carp at night. I thought it maybe more difficult at night but thought I would give it a go anyway. Hammercarp had recommend a paylake style pack of oats and cream corn last year so I gave it a try. My mix was a little on the dry side and would not ball up sufficiently for a gentle toss. so I used it as a chum and threw in a couple of kilograms of corn to boot. I figured the pop up corn I had purchased would be better for a clearer water so tossed in a worm on #6 circle hook. The end result was a 6 brown bullheads and 1 common carp. Thanks for all the help guys.... I think that now that I have dialed into what is required I maybe able to catch more in some more scenic locations in town. This is a great group with lots of good advice. Thanks! Estimated weight about 2 pounds.

Nice!

Arvand... I really appreciate all the DIY carping things you post.