[Fall Big 4 - Mirror submission]

1 hour ago, Jerome said:

Nice hat! LOL Oh, and nice fish too...

I've got more fishing hats than rods.....and that says a lot!!

[Fall Big 4 - Mirror submission]

State - Massachusetts

 

Date of capture 11/19

Weight - 31lb 4oz

[Essence of Carping October 2021 - Post Photos Here]

1 - iPhone 6

2 - October 1, 2021

3 - Dale Hollow

4 - Dean Brookes

Last night on the banks.

[Yankee Challenge trying to find as much information as possible to bring it back]

I'd be happy to help with this event if you get it running Sam. I'm in Mass. and help with potential venues in Mass, CT and RI.

I'm sure there'd be a good number of anglers interested. Maybe looking at an event later in the summer or fall would be a good idea, so we're through the COVID regulations.

Let me know if you get more interest and/or need help.

Dean

[January 2021 - Post your Photos Here!]

1. I-phone 6

2. January 28, 2021

3. Northbridge, MA

4. Dean Brookes

[2020 Champion of the Queen Award - Iain Sorrell]

Well deserved. Iain has worked tirelessly for CAG and also the state of CT to promote carp fishing. A true gentleman and someone who I happily call a friend.

[NACA - Greatest Catches Articles]

As many of us are stuck inside and not fishing as much, if at all I thought I'd see if we could get a few extra articles for the next printed NACA, that I'm currently working on.

The topic is:

'Greatest Catches'

This could be your PB or a capture that stands out for other reasons.

As an example articles are 1000-3000 words long with 6-12 pictures. 

Please send any articles to naca@carpanglersgroup.com 

Based on the quality or space we have in the magazine your article will either be in the printed edition or the next online edition. 

Any questions please let me know. Get reminiscing and sending in your articles

Dean

 

 

 

 

[The Captures]

As the images in the leaderboard are so small, I'd recommend everyone post on this thread as well. Below are my biggest 4 so far (May 2nd) with a good start in Tennessee and then a good early fish from my local river

[North American Carp Conference - Program]

I'll be adding a lot of the things I discussed in my talk into 2 articles in the upcoming NACA, focusing on Parco Del Brenta

[Pictures and NACA Article]

Guys,

Hope you're all looking forward to another year of the ATC. While I can't make the tournament this year I always look forward to following the event and then putting together a review for the North American Carp Angler magazine.

We'll be looking to release a Spring edition in early April and with this in mind, please take lots of pictures of your experiences this year. I'd also love to feature an article by the 2019 Champions or anyone else who would like to highlight their fishing at the ATC. I'll reach out after the event to follow-up on this.

If anyone has pictures or magazine content to send after the event please forward it to me at:

naca@carpanglersgroup.com

Thanks,

Dean

 

 

[NACA - 25th Anniversary Edition]

6 hours ago, carpist said:

No magazine yet in Chicopee ma

Please check your address is correct and updated on the member info. section. Just checked on the mailing list and the address we had on file was in Ludlow, not Chicopee.

If you have moved please update and let me know and we'll get a copy mailed to you separately.

Dean

 

[NACA - 25th Anniversary Edition]

The 25th Year Anniversary edition has been printed and processed at the mailing house. All current members should start to see the magazine show up over the next week or so, with a 25 year pin included.

Please feel free to let us know on this thread when you get the magazine, along with any comments.

Thanks,

Dean

[CAG Spring Big 4 2018 The RULES]

10 hours ago, Jerome said:

Ok, got it. Yes, please clarify on this forum with a dedicated thread (including the map of relevance), as this regional concept isn't described in the rules published in the Q1-18 NACA, nor in the rules thread in the 'spring 2018' forum. It wasn't too clear if this was an idea in the air, or an actual decision. Thanks for the clarification.

Jerome, my fault on the NACA as I did the article edits a month or so ago and didn't post the regional rules in properly. I'll work with Phil on the next Edition to review the Spring event and write a full update of the new format. I like the new changes as it differentiates between the regions and gives more scope to complete wit anglers in your own area. If I had more time to fish I'd enter, but hoping I'll be able to have a go in the fall.

[CAG Newsletter - February 2018]

Fantastic newsletter. Well done Iain

[Sharp hooks??]

26 minutes ago, Dale Holmes said:

What's the best way to test a hook to determine if its sharp enough?

If you purchase hooks from a well know carp company (Fox, Nash, Gardener, Korda etc) you'll find they are chemically sharpened and will be decent straight out of the packet.

One other factor will be the pattern of hook. Straight point hooks are generally much easier to sharpen whereas beak points need more 'love'. I own a couple of different files; a cheap Bass Pro file, which does the initial work and then two different grades from Jag. I used diamond eye sharpeners for years which you can get from most hunting/fishing shops.

In terms of tests, it really depends on how sharp you want the hooks. I'd never go to the extremes some use in England (Jim Shelley has youtube video's detailing how he sharpens the hooks to almost a needle point) as our American carp fight much harder and are usually in rivers with current, weed, snags etc. However, I do sharpen my hooks on EVERY cast and will replace them if they don't come up to standard.

The typical test is to drag the hook slowly down a thumb nail and if it catches then it's sharp. However, I prefer to sharpen the hooks until when I put them on my thumb they are 'sticky'. Sometimes this takes the use of an eye glass to check the points but in most cases 5-10 strokes on each side of the hook will do the job.

 

 

 

[NTrap vs. Coated Braid]

Coated braid offers a few advantages, depending on the type of fishing you are doing. 

It's not a supple material which means it's less likely to tangle on the cast. Also, you can strip off a section of the material and tie your knotless knot hair rig and have an inch or more supple section next to the hook. This creates an easy version of the combi-rig.

In some cases I use the coated hook-link as it resets better when you have lots of activity. 

If Powerpro is working for you, I'd suggest you keep using it

 

 

[CAG 25 Year Anniversary - Pictures and Stories]

Guys,

Looking for any pictures, stories and history from the last 25 years of CAG. I'm looking to put together a large article for the next NACA and would like as much as possible.

Please post any pictures (with a small description), stories, fish-ins, events etc that you think would be good to include. I'm trying to highlight the last 25 years of CAG so anything you have will be appreciated.

Please post on this thread.

Thanks in advance.

Dean

 

 

 

 

[NACA - 2018 Special 25 Year Anniversary Edition]

If you can get me any material (article or pictures) for January 15th I'll consider it for the next edition. I plan to have the printed edition out prior to the spring and then a follow-up online edition by May.

Dean

 

[NACA - 2018 Special 25 Year Anniversary Edition]

Although it's not been announced officially, I will be stepping back into the role as Editor of NACA. Iain Sorrell is working on an online Edition at the moment but I will also be working on a 'Special Printed Edition' to mark CAG's 25 Year Anniversary.

I would like to include a section on the history of CAG so will be looking for the following:

Years 1 -5 - Stories, pictures and any other information on the first few years of CAG's history

Years 5-10, Years 10-15, Years 15-20, Years 20-25 - Stories, pictures, history of any and all of these years.

Please reach out to me with stories (could be fish-in's, competitions, etc), pictures, and any information, large or small as I'd really like this to be comprehensive and not miss anyone out. I'll be reaching out to some of the long term members specifically, but if anyone has any of the above please send to:

naca@carpanglersgroup.com 

Thanks for everyone's help.

Dean

 

 

 

 

 

[As your new President - Thank you!]

Congratulations Iain. Really looking forward to seeing what we can ALL do to move CAG forward

 

[Two fish certified as new Vermont state records]

Nice fish but I think you'll find fish have been caught and released out of Champlain over 10lbs bigger and over 15lb's bigger elsewhere in Vermont

Great to see a kid with such an impressive fish though.

 

[Tidal river carping]

You can be successful in tidal rivers fishing flats that are dry land at low tide. I typically don't worry too much about the depth, but look for the weed line and drop off areas and fish just off them. Structure is also good. The key is finding the feeding behavior of the carp as sometimes they will be feeding hard on a specific tide (incoming, outgoing, high, low etc).

Bait wise, particles work well, as long as they don't wash away! Maize is always effective and I've caught plenty on chick peas. Due to the tidal nature I tend to add oils or powders to my baits to create a scent trail. Remember to take into account the flow as where you bait is not necessarily where the bait will end up.

Up your line/braid (15lb mono or 50lb braid is good) add a leader (leadcore or 30lb mono) and up your end tackle with bigger hooks as the fish fight a lot harder than lake carp!

Good luck.

 

 

[SPRING BIG4 post your pics]

That's a monster fantail Dave!!! Awesome

[SPRING BIG4 post your pics]

Guys, just a reminder that for your fish to qualify:

YOU MUST POST A PHOTO OF THE FISH (WITH BIG FOUR LOGO AND SCALES) ONTO THE LEADERBOARD.

With 3 days left I see a few fish that are posted, but no picture is uploaded. I'd hate to see them miss out on prizes due to missing the picture.

Good luck to everyone competing.

 

[Cag Big 4 Prizes]

The last couple of Big 4's were financed by CAG. We set aside $500 as prize money and I also added as prizes; CAG merchandise, membership extensions and also articles in NACA.

With around 40 entries a $500 prize pool will only cost us $100 extra and maybe a little more if we add some of the other things. I think it's great we have extra sponsor prizes but I still think we should have the $500 prize pool and some of the other extra's.