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Brian Pearcy

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Posts posted by Brian Pearcy

    Two Nice Fish This Afternoon

    in Pictures, Stories & Video

    Posted

    I got out this afternoon to a local pond and enjoyed the 60 degree weather and sunshine with hopes of catching my 100th carp for the year. With the year winding down I am unsure how many sunny days we will have left before the weather turns colder and the snow starts flying.

    Things started off well with some nice fish, but they just happened to be c-a-t-f-i-s-h which are usually a big disappointment for carp fishermen, but not today for me. I loved catching these. The pair of cats had some of the besting coloring on them for any channel catfish that I have ever caught.

    The clouds came and chased away the sun, which killed the bite so my 100th carp will have to wait a couple of days when get back out again.

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    Vacation Day Spent Fishing

    in Pictures, Stories & Video

    Posted

    I had a vacation day today and decided to get out and enjoy the wonderful fall day with temperatures in the mid-60s. It was cool to start and remained windy throughout the day with gusts near 30 mph, but the carp didnt seem to mind. Many times during the day there were white caps, but unlike the last time I fished this venue it was sunny without a cloud in the sky.

    I ended up catching 9 carp and a small bullhead catfish today. Individual fish weights were on the low end, but I dont mind one bit. Multiple carp are better than no carp any day. I had two that were about 11 ½ pounds, but most were near 10 pounds or less.

    I fished this same venue on Friday with bigger average size, but this particular spot is pressured a lot more in autumn. Water levels at this location decreases in October and this spot provides easier access for netting fish. The other spot a little further down the bank has a 3 foot drop from the bank down to the water line.

    I left for home at 3 p.m. thinking that my 9 carp were enough to put me at 100 carp for the year, but after checking my records today's carp put me at 99 and not 100. I guess I need to get out again soon and catch some more fish so I can top the century mark before the snow starts flying in a few weeks.

    Last year I was still catching double digits on November 2nd, so I should have plenty of time to add to those numbers.

    I also have some video clips from today that I will post a little later on.

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    Taking a Chance Today, Might Pay Off Big in the Future

    in Beginning Carping

    Posted

    Like many people I am a creature of habit. I know a few places I can go and probably catch carp on a semi-consistent basis. I have one spot that has provided me a 95% success rate albeit with smaller fish (biggest fish were a couple of 20 pounders the past couple of years). Another spot has provided me an 85% success rate with medium sized fish (my 3 largest were 26, 24 and 22), but there have been multiple 30 pounders caught at that venue.

    I have been in a semi-rut fishing those two spots quite regularly. I ventured out a few times for a fish-in, a couple of tournament events, and a personal trip to a big water. Those experiences didn't yield many fish, but did add to the social aspect of carp fishing.

    This fall I have made a personal commitment to fish more "new" spots. Last week a couple of spots on a small local river, a couple weeks ago a local pond in an obscure park, and tomorrow I am driving an hour to fish another city park that is a dam on that same small local river. There have been 40 inch northern pike caught in that city park, so it sounds good on paper and the DNR site confirmed there is carp in that particular locatoion.

    The question is whether it's worth it to forgo 85% to 95% chances of catching fish in order and risk a "blank" with a chance to identify a potential new gold mine that yields a new personal best; or at worst adds another venue to the list of potential places to catch carp. Variety is the spice of life. Ideally I will add another list of potential places to fish. If one venue isn't producing, I can simply shift focus and try one of the new discoveries.

    I guess it's a personal choice, but I think heading out and finding some new spots might payoff handsomely in the future. I am sure there are many hidden gems out there just waiting for me to fish them; and some special fish just waiting for me to catch them (I sure hope so).

    Fall Fishing Session

    in Pictures, Stories & Video

    Posted

    I have been looking forward to autumn for a few months. The leaves are turning, college football is in full swing, Thanksgiving is just around the corner and the chances of breaking by personal best weight for common carp increases to way above average. Last year I caught my current personal best of 26 pounds 10 ounces in October when the weather was very similar to our current temperatures, winds and cloud cover.

    I left the house at 6:30 and arrived to my favorite fishing spot about 7:10 after a stop at the convenience store for snacks and soda to tide me over for the next 10 hours or more. With the thermometer registering 39 degrees, I was appropriately layered up, gloved up and wearing a stocking cap to keep my bald head warm.

    I started out with peach flavor for my ground bait and peach flavored maize for my hook bait and had lines in by 7:35 and my hopes were high.

    My strategy was to feed them and feed them some more and keep on feeding them until I landed a couple of carp. I had a 5 gallon bucket full of panko bread crumbs and lots of cream corn so the race was on.

    I re-casted every 75 minutes until the first fish was landed and then backed off to every 90 minutes. With water levels lower than normal, I had to cast out 70 to 80 yards and started hooking fish shortly before lunch time.

    I made a miss-cast one time and the bait landed about 15 feet from the bank. I decided to leave it and see what happened. Well guess what happened…20 minutes later I hooked a fish. Unfortunately I didn’t land that one due to a hook pull.

    Overall it was a very good day of fishing. I hooked 12 fish, landed 10 and had 2 hook pulls. My second hook pull was a very good fish. I am kind of bummed about that one. I would have loved to see just how big it was. I am sure it wasn’t new PB material, but it was very likely the biggest fish I hooked today.

    My smallest fish weighed 10 pounds and the largest tipped the scales at 19 pounds 5 ounces. The majority of the fish caught today weighed in the 16 to 18 pound range. The average size for this time of year is lower than in the two previous seasons. I am sure the commercial fisherman who cleaned out the lagoon back in June impacted the average size. It will take a while for bigger fish to move back into the lagoon from the main lake.

    Here are some pictures I snapped during the session. My photographer had to work today, so I had to do my best with the 10 second timer function on my cell phone. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing. Hopefully I’ll have my photographer back for the next session for some better snapshots.

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    I will be fishing twice more this weekend. I only hope my next two sessions have action like I had today. It will be a great weekend if I can pull it off.

    First hair, thoughts?

    in Beginning Carping

    Posted

    My personal preference is for the hair to be 3/4" and I like the knot to be even with the curve of the hook, but I am sure others prefer it longer.

    I used 4 pieces of corn last year. This year I use 3 pieces. I've noticed more and more people using 2 pieces of corn this year so that allows for a shorter hair too.

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