Another Stormy Day Delivers!

Today's biggest fish, a 27 lber., sits in the water in the sling
in wet leaves and is about to be released.
 Nasty weather delivered again today!

I hate to sound like a broken record because I have written about this so many times in the past.  I just knew today would be a good day.  It was warm and very stormy with lots of wind and rain.  It was just the type of day that delivered big fish for me in the past, and it did again today.  I got out this morning and landed two  nice commons of 12 and 16 lbs. I went back this evening and landed another two fish, but this time, they were big fish (RI standards) that weighed in at 23 and 27 lbs.
Carp love this type of weather and often these wary fish become aggressive and careless in the bad weather nastiness.  They are opportunistic feeders that will feed voraciously under the cover of nasty weather. The bigger ones are tough to get under normal conditions, but they become vulnerable in bad weather.
All my fish today fell for a combo bait of maize and one white artificial corn fished on the hair rig. I did use a method ball packed around my sinker.
No question, the bigger fish are on the fall feed right now.  I've landed 5 twenties in the last ten days and a good number of teen fish.  Our RI CAGers have also entered some impressive fish in our fall combo tournament. Now is the time to land that fall biggie of the year!

Warm Fall Nights Productive

Here's a small mirror that
was landed tonight.

This big common that sits in the water
was landed a few nights back.

It's that time of year when I am fishing more and more at night for carp.  It's getting dark earlier and earlier which is one reason I am fishing more at night.  The other reason is that it is very productive. Many fishermen don't realize that carp are big nighttime feeders. In fact, many experts say that some of the biggest and toughest carp to catch are more likely to be caught at night. Last year I landed a big 30 lb. common while fishing in RI at night.
I've fished several nights in the last week.  While I haven't gotten big numbers of carp, I've gotten some really good size fish in the low twenties along with some smaller fish. I stick to the same methods I use in the daytime going with a combo bait of maize and artificial corn. Sometimes I pack a method ball around my sinker.
If you are thinking about fishing at night, my suggestion is to pick a safe area. Inexperienced fishermen who want to fish at night might also choose lighted spots with streetlights nearby.  If you can, prebait a few hours before you fish.  That always seems to work better. In addition, warm fall nights are always better than cold nights.  The fish are more active and likely to hit on warmer nights.

Photo of the Week- "Here's Looking at You!"

Just the eye of a good size common peeks through the surface of the water.
The carp are on a fall feed here in RI. Now could be your best shot at a big one!

RI CAG Fall Combo Tournament Underway

Laura Mitchell is our current leader in the RI CAG
Fall Combo Tournament. Here she holds a
terrific 34 inch mirror carp.

Our RI CAG Fall Combo Tournament is well underway.  It started in September and will continue until the end of November. The idea here is for RI CAG members to enter their biggest mirror, their biggest common and their biggest "bonus" fish (catfish or sucker). Measurements are by length to the nearest half inch. The total of all those fish (by inches) are the points. All fish must be taken from RI waters.
Our members have already landed some pretty impressive fish. The biggest common so far comes from Tom Perron with a 30 1/2 inch fish.  The biggest mirror comes from Laura Mitchell with a 34 inch beauty.
Currently Laura Mitchell, one of our frequent tournament participants, leads the pack with 82 1/2 points (29 1/2 inch common, 34 inch mirror and 19 inch sucker).

Nasty Weather Improves Fishing

This is one of several carp taken in this morning's nasty
weather. The rain and wind improved the fishing.

The last time I posted was Sept. 19. I've fished for carp quite a bit since then and have only caught a few fish, way below what I normally catch at this time of year. The slow fishing from late summer has just continued into the fall for me. So, when I saw this nasty weather coming in, I could only think it might improve the fishing.  It has!
I got out this morning and landed several nice fish in the 12 to 13 lb. range. I had "perfect" conditions with light rain and a strong wind, just the type of daytime conditions that wary carp love at this time of year.
I got my fish today on a combo bait of maize and a white artificial corn pop-up fished on a hair rig. I also had a method ball packed around my one ounce sinker. I was able to prebait this spot last night with maize,
and I think that helped the fishing.  Whenever you can prebait, it ups your chances greatly of catching.
I'm hoping this is the start of a fall feed here in RI.  We'll see how it plays out in the coming days.