Closing the Book on 2013

My biggest carp of the year was this 33 lb. mirror that was
caught back in May.

I've finally gotten around to counting my fish and closing out my logbook for 2013.  I would rate 2013 as a "good" year overall.  I caught less fish than the last two years, but I did have a lot of quality fish.  It was also a year that was greatly influenced by the weather which was hot in the summer and cold, snowy and icy in the winter, making for difficult fishing at times. Here are a few highlights of what happened:
Numbers:  I landed 620 carp in 2013.  There were 428 mirrors and 192 commons.  Back in 2011 and 2012, "excellent" years, I had over 700 carp each year. Realize, though, I set a goal of 500 carp every year so no complaints from my end.
Big Fish: My biggest carp of the year was a 33 lb. mirror.  I also had a 31 lb. mirror.  I believe I had a 30 lb. common, but did not weigh it.  I had another common that hit 28.5 lbs. and the other common (30 lber.?) was bigger.  I also had good numbers of 25-29 lb. fish, sizes I consider very big for RI.
Most Memorable Fish:  It was actually two fish.  I hooked into a double as both alarms went off at the same time. This was a monumental battle trying to get these fish ashore as I was fishing all alone.  The small fish weighed 31 lbs. and the big one weighed 33 lbs. I don't think this will every happen again in my lifetime.
Rewarding Year: This was a year that I introduced more RI fishermen to carp fishing than any other year. The interest in RI is very high, yet most non carp fishermen don't have a clue as to how to do it.  I showed more fishermen the nuts and bolts of carp fishing this year than any other year, and I met a lot of new friends along the way.  Most of these guys turned out to be good, conservation minded fishermen.  Most of them also landed multiple PB's (personal bests).  It's great to see carp fishing taking off in RI.