Brian Pearcy
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Posts posted by Brian Pearcy
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I used the peanut suet in my panko and cream corn pack bait. I also use chicken feed from time to time. I like the peanut suet. Peanut powder is also something you can use but the straight powder is kind of expensive to use in pack bait. That's why I found the peanut suet.
Yes. I use the one you linked to from Home Depot.
I like to use chicken feed instead of bird seed. The chicken feed doesn't float and you don't have to boil it.
I like to flavor some flavored field corn (deer corn) and mix that in my pack bait too. I bought a 25 bag that has lasted me for two years.
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I use C and S Wild Bird Food, Peanut Nuggets ‑ 27 oz purchased at Home Depot for less than $4. These last several sessions and work well.
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LOL. I see my phone did a spell check for me and changed "Kok" to "Kim" above. Mario Kok has some posts that will really help you out I think. His posts helped me make some boilies that caught two small mouth buffalo PB's in 30 minutes time the first time I used them.
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I buy 25 pounds of Panko at GFS. It comes inside a bag within a cardboard box. It's easier for me to store that way. I paid $27.99 last time. I used to buy the 3 pound bags of Panko but now buy the bigger quantity for much less money.
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In the autumn of each year I look forward to the chances to catch some high quality carp specimens. I am lucky to have accumulated quite a bit of vacation in my 20 years working at my employer, so I can actually fish several days during October.
After blanking on Saturday after driving 3 hours round trip, I headed out Monday morning with high hopes and the carp did not disappoint me. In fact I caught 9 carp and a small mouth buffalo. I hope you enjoy the pictures.
1st fish of the day 
2nd fish of the day 
3rd fish 
Close-up 
This fish was the second fish in a double header.
I was struggling to get pictures before another fish screamed off,
so I snapped this picture of the fish while still in the landing net.
This is the first fish of the double header.
It was the big fish of the session at 20 pounds.
This fish was still eating pack bait even after I captured it in the landing net.
It made me laugh so hard I decided to snap a picture as a reminder.
My last fish of the day was caught while I was actually packing up my gear to leave. 
Here is a little better picture of the small mouth buffalo. I love this fish.
For a small mouth buffalo, this fish was in pristine condition.
It's not the biggest buffalo I've caught, but it's definitely my favorite.
And in case you are wondering, this fish weighed a little over 16 pounds.If I am lucky I can get a few more sessions in before it turns too cold to catch. The last few years on Halloween I have had very good fishing luck. My fingers are crossed for this weekend.
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My first several caro were caught in a 10 foot King Kat rid from Cabelas. You probably already have what you need but might need to use it a little differently.
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Search for Mario Kim on the forum. He posted a nice write up that has helped me a lot.
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Homemade has worked better for me.
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My largest two buff's were caught on homemade boilies made from puréed hot peppers. Peppers so hot it makes your eyes water just being in the house while making them. But more key is that I catch many that never set off an alarm. I know watching the rods is not everyone's wish but catching drop backs is a big key in my opinion. They do not always attack bait like carp do. I catch a lot on flavored maize too.
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You can try looking at your state's DNR website. In Michigan they post survey results from various lakes. The surveys indicate the predominant fish in various bodies of water.
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Thanks. Good idea.
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I have been fishing for carp almost 4 years at this point and fall arrives each year with mixed emotions for me. On one hand it signals winter's pending arrival. On the other hand I got my personal best 26+ pound common a couple of years ago in October, so it can be a good thing too.
I had a vacation day on Friday and decided to head out to a local spot and spend the day fishing for carp and small mouth buffalo.
I arrived to my spot and got set up for fishing only to realize that
I left my alarms and bite indicators at home sitting on my garage
floor. I had to transfer my gear from one vehicle to another and
didn't get everything transferred. I fished old school style for a couple
of hours until my wife brought the alarms and indicators later.
There are realistically only 3 weeks or so remaining before I will be out of fishing season for a few months. I don't ice fish at all so we're in the home stretch for 2016. Here are some pictures from Friday's efforts. There were 3 catfish and 6 carp landed ranging from 3 pounds to 24 pounds.
I was fishing alone and had no one to snap pictures of my catches. So I posed the camera and took some test shots using the timer on my cell phone. I prefer someone else to take the pictures so I can get the fish posed properly, but self-pictures work in a pinch. I took several pictures to judge the distance and lighting and settled on this spot. Luckily I had fish to pose later. The day started out with 3 channel catfish. Even though I was primarily targeting common carp, I really don't mind catfish too much because it does help pass the time until the carp start feeding.
This was my first carp of the day. I took a little extra time reeling this one in because when I picked up the rod from the cradle I sensed this fish was very high quality. I turns out I was right. The fish weighed a few ounces over 24 pounds. I wish I could have gotten a better close up to show the size, but it's hard to judge the distance using my cell phone. That fish was caught on plum/berry flavored corn with a butternut flavored pack bait.
This was the second fish of the day caught a short while later.
Third carp (6th fish of the day)
The 4th carp was uniquely shaped. I think this fish has the potential to be a lot bigger some day soon.
Although shorter and stocky, this was a very dense fish. I hope I get a chance to catch this fish again when it finally "grows into" that long and slender tail section.
Pardon my pose. The camera fell a little low on the tripod and I was trying to ensure I got the fish in the shot. Taking self-photos can be tricky at times when you're catching fish every 5 or 10 minutes in succession. 
Little guy that actually jumped out of the net twice before I got him corralled for the final time.
I wish I had it on video because it was very funny to see.
Here's a picture of the 24 pounder being released back into the lake.
Hopefully he'll be back to be caught another day (or by someone else who appreciates carp fishing like I do).
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I use Korda Wide Gape in size 4. They are my favorite. This time of year stocks of the common sizes are sometimes depleted. You could try Carp Kit. I order from Simon regularly. He is a CAG sponsor too.
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Nice fish
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I have used Ashima, Korda, and Gamakatsu G Carp for hooks with good results. Size 6 or 4 works well. I'd get some of both sizes. Ashima also makes your rig rings. Enterprise artificial corn is my favorite.
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After blanking for 7 hours on Friday I decided to return to an old venue with mixed emotions. The old venue isn't what it used to be, but it's definitely better than blanking at a new spot.
I was targeting common carp obviously but I caught a little bit of several different species. The buffalo are cool, simply because they are relatively rare in the venues I have fished in Michigan. I have been fortunate enough to catch quite a few in the last couple of years. They rarely set off a bite alarm, but if you watch your rods closely and see the indicators bounce a couple of times chances are it's a small mouth buffalo at this venue. I've probably missed several others because if you are not watching your rods you may not know you need to set the hook.
I caught a total of 12 fish and at one point in the day just keeping 3 rods in the water was a challenge since I was fishing alone and trying to take a few pictures. My right arm is sore this morning from carrying fish in the net, but it's a good soreness for sure.
I'll rest up this week, pop a few Aleve and hope that my fishing sessions next weekend turn out well too.
None of these fish broke a personal best for any of these species, but almost all were high quality. When I saw the buffalo jump and splash as it neared the net I hoped briefly that it would be a new personal best but it missed that mark by about 15%.
The bite stopped after about 3 p.m. and I only managed a couple of runs (and hook pulls unfortunately) until 5 p.m. so I headed home. -
No experience needed fishingthemitten. Going to the social will help you learn in an easy, low key environment.
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Grand Rapids' Grand River has carp, but I have never fished it personally.
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We fished almost 5 hours on the big lake with 6 rods between us. No fish. We could have fished another 5 hours and blanked or move and try elsewhere. The move worked out this time.
I agree that wind seems to help spur bites, but my time is limited to 10 hours per week. I try to maximize it.
I plan to go back again.
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Great job guys
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Cass Lake and Stoney Creek are good bets for you both.
Membership Renewal
in Beginning Carping
Posted
I just renewed my membership.
The information I have learned here, the contacts I have made, and the ability to make contributions based on my unique own experiences make the cost of membership very worthwhile for me.
I now target carp exclusively when I fish and if it weren't for my membership, the pursuit would be much more difficult and would definitely be more trial and error based.
For anyone who is on the fence about being a member, my feedback is that it's worth every penny to me. It's a chance to be a part of something bigger than our individual carp fishing efforts, which is something I value.