Fishing Perks Up

We were in a lull for the past two weeks, but for whatever the reason, the fishing has picked up considerably in the last couple of days. I landed many decent commons this week from 10-18 lbs. (see pic of 18 lber. caught today). I also saw a lot of activity with fish jumping, moving around and bubble trails in multiple ponds. It all represents an upswing in activity. Water temperatures in several places I tried were right around 50 degrees, far warmer than most years for this time. Until we get an extended cold spell, the fishing should remain productive.

The hot bait continues to be unflavored sweet corn. I'm taking a finesse approach with small method balls, small sinkers and smaller hooks. This seems to be the ticket to success at this time of year.

Same Fish, Another Record!

The CAG record for mirror carp has been broken again. This is the third time in half a year it has been broken, but it all involves the same fish, the same location, and two fishermen.

In the summer, Corey from MA caught a 22 lb., 6 oz. mirror carp to set a new RI CAG record for that species. Shortly after, Jeff Allard, RI CAG member, landed the exact same fish in the same spot, but this time it weighed 22 lbs. 10 oz., setting a new record. Finally, a week ago, Jeff landed the exact same fish in the exact same spot, but this time it weighed 23 lbs., 15 oz. I have my money on Jeff landing it again next year and the fish weighing 25 lbs.!

Bad Weather, Good Fishing!

I took a break from my striper fishing and got out carp fishing today. The weather was lousy with high winds, cold and showers, my type of fishing weather. It didn't affect the fish as they were very active. I was quite surprised at the screaming runs I was getting. Maybe it was because the water was still 50 degrees.

In a session of three hours, I landed 6 carp, all small ones in the 5-6 lb. range and missed several other runners. I got three of them on unflavored sweet corn and three of them on small doughballs. Unflavored sweet corn and small doughballs made from rolling the white part of a slice of bread are about the best late fall baits to use. I also had a small, oatmeal based method ball up ahead of the bait. I used the finesse strategies described in my posts below. Yes, it is still happening. I plan to keep fishing until the ice comes in.