After tough fishing conditions during last week's heat wave, I was hoping the incoming cold front would stabilize the fishing. Had a guided trip planned early on Sunday morning.
After last weeks' finicky fishing conditions, I decided to go with a slightly thinner line, namely, 50 lbs Power Pro. Though it cuts easier on rocks, it seems to get more hits due to it's thinner diameter and lighter weight. I also opted to go with shorter and lighter 9 foot rods, as my client was bringing along his 8 year old son. Not being too used to fishing, I imagined he may have a tough time with 12 foot rods.
Got to my spot around 7:00 AM. Set up 1 line, did some baiting, and waited for my first clients of the season to arrive. They arrive close to 1 hour later. No sooner had they got out of the car and said hello, we got our first run, again on my Vanilla/Hazelnut boilies. Unfortunately, the fish cut the line on the hookset, must have been wedged between some sharp rocks. Price to pay for going with thinner line.
Next hit came about 45 minutes later, same bait, same spot. 8 year old Eitan fought the fish most of the way in to the shore, then handed me the rod so he could net it as well. His first carp ever, and by far his biggest fish at about 13-14 lbs:
The strong winds were blowing a cold chill, and Eitan had had enough. He headed to the car to warm up.
Shortly after, the next one went off. Again, another Vanilla/Hazelnut boilie, they were really on fire. This time, his dad Avi took the line and fought the fish, had it on the landing mat within minutes. Slightly smaller at about 12 lbs:
At this point, I knew it was going to be a successful outing, and figured we should hook into lots more fish at that pace. Set up another vanilla/Hazelnut boilie line. Unfortunately, Eitan had enough of the cold wind, and wanted to head home early. They left after being there for about 2 hours, but both got their fish.
Now my dilemma was whether to stay to enjoy some good fishing, or do the smart thing and catch up on some work, as well as much needed work around the house. I opted to stick around for another 45 minutes. 10 minutes in, I got a screaming run, (again the vanilla hazelnut boilie), hooked into a nice one. It just wouldn't come up, and had my 9 foot rod bent in half. I brought it close to shore a couple times, only to have it take off in screaming runs again. I was sure I had a very nice carp on, until I finally got my glimpse of the fish.
To my surprise, it was a big channel catfish. Very unusual for them to fight like a carp, they typically just pull straight down, then roll round the surface once you get them to the top. This one fought like a carp until the very end, and I got my first batch of catfish slime onto the already carp slimed landing mat. Kind of my version of "bottom feeder gefilte slime". Weighed in at 13.5 lbs:
Headed home shortly after. Looks like the carp are back in their groove, I'm hoping it stays that way. Still have some available dates in the 3rd week of May and during the first 3 weeks of June, when carp fishing should be at it's peak. Book your outing by clicking: http://freshwaterphil.com/contactcarp.cfm
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