TXMulti-Species
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Posts posted by TXMulti-Species
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Some notable buffs from this lake:
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A fantastic carp and buffalo lake near Austin, Decker Lake, is currently undergoing review as to whether or not it should be kept. The city of Austin is putting together a master plan for the lake and they've narrowed down the general frameworks to four. Two of the four involve letting the lake dry up.
Please give feedback through this survey!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WELArrange
All of the plans involve adding hiking trails and park amenities which are badly needed. But here's a rundown of the major differences:
Plan 1: keep the lake and most of the natural areas around it
Plan 2: keep the lake but put a golf course where there's currently a forest
Plan 3A: lose the lake, turn the dry lake bed into park stuff
Plan 3B: lose the lake and put the golf course in the old lake bed
After the power plant shuts down in the near future, it's primary function, water cooling, goes away. The current lake level is maintained by pumping water up from the Colorado River.
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Been looking through past issues, not sure if you guys knew but NACA 2016 Q2 (https://issuu.com/northamericancarpangler/docs/naca_2016_q2) hasn't been working. Is it possible to get it back up?
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Love these magazines! Full of amazing info and happy fishermen. Just wish they came out faster.
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Wind stirs up the bottom causing the critters that hide there to become exposed, attracting fish to feed on them. It also adds oxygen and changes the temperature. It's one of the best kept secrets for fishing success! Sometimes adding a bit of free offerings around your baits can make all the difference, I never fish without some form of packbait myself. Glad to hear you turned what could have been a blank into a success! Keep it up!
Edit: Maybe add a few pics next time? If there isn't a picture then there wasn't a fish!
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Congrats on the mirror! Too bad Nate didn't get to reel in his only fish of the trip, that was the first redhorse I've ever seen come out of a lake. Quick question, how do you guys make the paylake style nets? I've seen a lot of people use them and want to make one for myself!
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As a guest, he can't access that information. For this time of year, try an oats pack. Use some old-fashioned oats, creamed corn, and a flavoring of your choice. Snow cone flavors are pretty good, you already know about Jello, and any spice or flavoring in your kitchen will work as well. Experimentation is key! When summer hits, try using millet as a base instead of oats. You can also add other things to any pack to give the carp a variety such as sweet feed, trout pellets, hemp seed, etc. One of my favorite packs is old fashioned oats, creamed corn, fermented sweet corn (leave it out for a week or so), sweet feed, pulverized range cube (best way is by sledge hammer, those things are tough), and chili powder. Carp like it spicy!
The biggest tip I can give you when fishing any pack is to get the right consistency, it should just wet enough to mold and hold a shape, too mushy or too dry and it won't work. Don't squeeze too tightly and only give it a few compresses with your hands. To get a feel for the breakdown time, make a ball the exact way you do around your lead (same amount of compressions & force), and place it in the margins where you can see it. The ideal breakdown time is around 2-5 minutes. Good luck and tight lines!
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Thanks Aaron and KingKool!
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Thanks! I try to do my fair share, they tend to think along the lines of "why don't we fish for bass or catfish" or "you spend all your time and money chasing trash fish" until they hook into their first one.
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Congrats to everyone involved, there are some real tanks up in Ohio apparently!
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Feel like I've got so much time to fish now that school's over, but I'm certainly not complaining! I've been taking every opportunity to get out and try to get myself and my loved ones some nice fish, and what follows are the results. All fish were released to fight another day (unless otherwise specified), and were caught on a hair rig and packbait (bait varies).
Short, windy session @Ray Hubbard:
Had a bit of time to fish and decided to make the drive out to Ray Hubbard as I've had some really good luck there lately. Set up at a nice looking spot after I saw a couple fish crashing in the distance, but went about two hours without as much as a nibble. The wind was really picking up, the waves were crashing up against the small cliff I was on and shooting several feet into the air, so I decided to move to a different location. I drove to another part of the lake and set up shop at a public park fishing into a marina to try my luck. All fish here were caught on corn and an oats and chili pack, and were released safely to fight again.
First fish of the day, not what I'm after but I'll take him!
Second little cat of the day, but a tug on the line is never a bad one
Took a bit but got this little carp on the bank, he was a scrapper!
This was quite an experience, my first ever triple by myself. It was a doozy balancing three rods with feisty fish on the ends!
Second fish of the triple, when I saw this fish in the water I thought he'd be a mirror but it turned out he just had some weird scale patterns. The mirror carp continue to elude me, for now!
Last carp of the triple
First night session at the creek:
I hadn't had a big carp in a while so I thought I'd give a visit to a creek that I know holds some giants. It was mother's day, and I wasn't able to get on the bank until about 6 so I figured I'd go ahead and make this my first time fishing at night. All fish were caught on corn and an oats and chili pack, and were released to fight another day.
First fish of the day, and my biggest in some time at 13lbs even.
They're getting bigger! This beauty came in at 16lb 1oz.
Got myself a Yellow Bullhead, been a bit since I've caught one of these. Actually caught two that night, but the other picture was pitch black.
Taking my cousin carping @ Ray Hubbard:
As always, I've been bothering my family and friends with tales and pictures of the fish I catch, and telling them that they need to take some time to get out on the bank with me. Finally convinced my cousin Johnny to tag along. So far, everyone that's been has had an absolute blast, showing off their catches to their friends and family and asking me when I'm going fishing so they can go again! This was no exception. Even though I was under pressure to catch with someone new with me, I decided I'd try and experiment with some new techniques. We tried a new packbait base and flavoring, some new hookbaits, and an entirely new rig. All fish were caught on boilies or tiger nuts with a fruity grits pack, and were released to fight another day*.
*Two of the smaller fish were given to some other fisherman to eat.
His first fish of the day, and his first ever Smallmouth Buffalo @23lb 4oz! This beat his biggest previous fish by 15lbs. He had seen pictures of me with big fish but didn't believe he'd catch one this big. Unfortunately, this one didn't put up a fight at all and was just dead weight on his line. Sometimes buffs will do that, though!
His second fish of the day and another first! His first ever Common Carp at a solid 8lb 10z. This one fought a lot better, he was surprised at the strength of these beautiful fish.
Just a baby catfish, he'd been playing with my bait for quite some time. Finally nabbed him so I could get my rod back out for some carp!
His carp are getting a little bigger! This one came in at 13lb 8oz. Just 1oz shy of my biggest out of this lake. Not too bad!
My first buff of the day, a beautiful 27lb 3oz fish. Had to work with her for some time at the release, she just didn't want to swim away. After about 3 minutes of reviving, she swam off just fine.
Just a little guy, ended up giving this one to some Hispanic folks to eat.
'nother little one, his fate was the same as the one before him. As an aside, while I do normally practice catch and release, I'm a firm advocate of taking home the smaller fish for the table or bait and releasing the big ones if you want to take any fish at all. Helps the big fish get bigger, maintains fish populations, and you're not eating meat filled with heavy metals!
His first ever double, and a new PB as well! This oddly colored Smallmouth Buffalo ran 27lb 1oz.
Second fish of the double, the smallest buff I've ever seen out of this lake!
Got myself another nice one, 19lb 2oz of fun!
Doubled up! His fish is the biggest carp I've seen out of Ray Hubbard and a ghostie to boot! 18lb, his new PB. My buff weighed 19lb on the nose.
Was showing my cousin how to identify the fish as a Ghost Carp. He beat my biggest ghost by a bit over 4lb!
Last fish of the day and the smallest buffalo I've personally caught out of this lake at 17lb 14oz. Still a fantastic size!_________________________
New to angling. Catch and release. The dream - to catch at least one of every species in our great state (if I can manage to resist carp)!
https://txmultispecies.imgur.com/
PB Common - 20lb 6oz
PB Ghost - 13lb 9oz
PB Koi - 9lb
PB Smallmouth Buffalo - 28lb 12oz
"Take only memories, leave only footprints, kill only time." -
Six inches is pretty solid for a bluegill! Hopefully you'll put her on some giants pretty soon!
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Of course it's not necessary to add ketchup! You can experiment as much as you like with baits, adding both known carp catching ingredients and maybe trying out some unknown ones. Just make sure if you're using something like rice or seeds that you boil them to make them softer.
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Always love seeing your videos, hopefully some buff sessions coming soon?
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That was fast, and beat it by a long shot as well! Congratulations! Let's see how fast you can beat this one!
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What a beauty! Congrats on the PB. Beat it by a whopping 8lbs, too! Yet to get a grassy of my own.
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I use 30lb KastKing Braid in a Grey color, cheap compared to other braids and performs incredibly well. I fish in areas with lots of snags just like Lizardman, so I can't afford to skimp on my line strength when I really need to get their noses away from a rock or submerged tree. In areas with no snags I've gone as light as 6lb test fluorocarbon with no problem, but from what I've observed so far the carp here aren't so wary about lines like they are across the pond.
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Thanks KingKool! Always nice to take people fishing with you.
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Those are some tanks! Congratulations!
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Had two days free this past weekend and spent it the best way possible. Took my dad out day one to put him on his new PB, then went out with three of my buddies on the second day, two of which had never caught a carp before. All fish were caught on corn or wild blackberries with a method mix of oats and chili, and were released to fight another day!
Day One: Putting my dad on his new PB. We were catching carp and buffalo on wild blackberries we found right underneath our feet, I always love rigging up stuff we find on the bank and catching fish on it. My dad would take some for the fish and some for himself every time he re-baited!
First fish of the day, my dad's new PB Smallmouth Buffalo at a very nice 24lb 3oz. Where we were fishing, there was a pretty good drop to the water so I tried to net this guy with my metal-handled rubber net, which I soon found out could not support the weight of the fish when the netting tore and the fish fell back into the water, thankfully still on my dad's line. We threaded the rod through the net and had to try our best to use the European style net in not so optimal conditions. Gotta get a better net for these types of situations!
My first fish, a little channel cat.
First carp of the day for me, not too big but any tug on the line is a good one!
My second carp, we were catching them so fast we'd barely have time to get a single rod in the water before it'd tear off with a fish. We were on 'em!
Dad's first catfish of the day
He was telling me that these catfish were the perfect size to mount on your hat...
'nother carp for him, just a little guy.
Long and skinny carp for my dad, 7lb 12oz.
My dad's first ever Ghost Carp!
Earlier, he was going on about how he really wants to go fishing for bass, but I think he enjoys catching these judging by his smile.
I always get the feeling that if I just stay long enough to ride out these little carp I'll catch the giants. Wish I had the time to find out!
Dad caught another, I was telling him that when they raise their fins like this it makes them look bigger.
The red you see on this fish is actually some of the blackberry that it took off of my hook. They were tearing them up that day!
Another fish for me!
This was a chunky little guy, 9lb 8oz. Excuse the face, my dad only took one picture and this was it.
Last fish of the day, we had only been here a couple hours but my dad's back was starting to hurt so we decided to call it quits.
Since we cut it so early, I decided I'd take a quick trip down to the Trinity with my sister to see if we couldn't hook up with some gar. I ended up setting the hook on a nice hit, only to feel absolutely no resistance because the gar had bitten clean through my line. Actually did end up hooking into a nice 2.5-3ft Alligator Gar that came up to the surface and just sat there. When I tried to pull him towards me, he freaked out, jumped, and spit the hook. So frustrating, but I'm going to master gar fishing eventually.
My sister ended up with the only fish of the trip, a nice sized Freshwater Drum! I still haven't caught this species, so jealous that she got this one.
Day Two: Taking the carp newbies out for their first carp
While I was throwing bait in the water, my friend was casting around a lure and got this Yellow Bass almost as soon as it hit the water. I haven't got this species either!
After I had hyped up the fight that carp give, he wasn't too excited to get a small catfish.
At least someone was happy to catch a little cat!
They can be frustrating when you're after carp, but they're fun nevertheless.
Catfish all around! We were in the thick of 'em.
Another little catfish for me, by this point we were starting to think we should take some home.
Sadly, this was his last fish of the day. He decided to move to another spot as we hadn't caught any carp just yet, and he paid the price.
First carp of the day and his first carp ever! 9lb 9oz as well, not too bad for his first one!
Got myself another catfish.
Biggest catfish of the day!
My first carp of the day, they were finally starting to find our bait.
His first ever carp! He doesn't look terribly excited in the photo but he sure was hollering when the fish was peeling drag. 5lb 11oz.
His second carp ever, right at 7lbs.
Finally got into some nice ones, my friend didn't believe that he'd get a fish as big as this! This was his first ever Smallmouth Buffalo, and a really solid one at that, at 19lb 1oz. Mine was just under that @ 18lb 14oz. The fish were starting to get super active, and if I was by myself I'd have stayed, but everyone was getting tired, hungry, thirsty, and beaten down from the heat so we decided to pack it up. They were all satisfied with their catch, and even though it was a relatively slow day in my opinion, they had one of the best fishing days of their lives. They certainly can't wait to go again!_________________________
New to angling. Catch and release. The dream - to catch at least one of every species in our great state (if I can manage to resist carp)!
https://txmultispecies.imgur.com/
PB Common - 20lb 6oz
PB Ghost - 13lb 9oz
PB Koi - 9lb
PB Smallmouth Buffalo - 28lb 12oz
"Take only memories, leave only footprints, kill only time." -
Finally got my setup in! Can't wait to take it out to the water. One of my reels on my bass rods already busted so I've tested out one of the new ones, and I've gotta say that they easily surpass anything I've used thus far. If everything performs as well as the reels I'll be one happy camper!
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Thanks Dale and KingKool!
2 hours ago, (TN) Cannonball said:I would think that any type of fish could be used for bait. When I lived in Louisiana, bluegill were used for stump lines. A heavy nylon cord was attached to a stump (who would have thought?), the cord had a big sinker of about 4-6 ounces and baited with a bluegill, hooked through the tail. Next morning, a big catfish should be on the line. They were flathead catfish, locally know as Ops or Opelousas catfish.
I'll definitely be trying the smaller fish first, either shad or some sort of sunfish. I'll only use the carp as a last resort, and a small one at that.
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1 minute ago, (TN) Cannonball said:
Buffs will slime up your net. I take mine home, lean it up against the brick wall and hit it with the garden hose with high pressure.
BTW, Jeremy Wade did a show on the Trinity River with a guide who put him onto some big alligator gar. Jeremy cut his hand on a scale. The guide said the local Indians used the scales for arrowheads. They were fishing with cut bait. Hope it wasn't a carp or buff!
I've done a bit of reading on gar fishing, and buffalo, carp, and shad are the preferred baits. I've only seen them use smaller carp (less than 10lb) as cutbait, so I'm not too opposed to it. Taking the smaller ones helps the bigger ones get bigger! The Trinity does seem to be one of the best rivers for them, hopefully I'll land one that's pretty decent!
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19 minutes ago, (TN) Cannonball said:
You have found some nice venues for fishing. Buffalo pull a bit different than carp and don't run as much. They do test your patience, though. We learned that buffs bite very light with only a line twitch or a small movement of the rod tip. More the former than the latter. When the line straightens, set the hook. Thanks for the photos and the comments.
Thanks! I really enjoy sharing my catches in the places that helped me learn how to do it in the first place.
If anyone was curious about the buffalo we caught in the Trinity that felt rough to the touch, another fisherman informed me that their skin gets that way during the spawn. Guess they're thrashing around so much they ding themselves up!
Walter E. Long (Decker Lake) to be Drained?
in TX
Posted
Sources for photos:
http://www.austincarpangler.com/a-record-straight/
http://www.austincarpangler.com/hit-the-ground-running/
http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/8188902/Re_WCC_Austin_November_session
https://texaseliteangler.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/save-lake-walter-e-long-decker-lake-from-austins-drought-response-plan/
Here's a video showing that this is not simply a local attraction, but draws the passionate from around the globe: