A Great Week for Big RI Carp

 

Biggest carp this October is this chunky
28 lb.+ common that was caught on a warm
night. Big RI carp have been on a fall feed.

I've had a great week of October fishing for larger carp.  In a recent post I mentioned how large carp were on the fall feed here in RI, and this past week proves just what I was talking about.

In a one week period, I managed to land 8 carp over twenty pounds with the largest one going 28 lbs.  I also had good numbers of carp in the mid to upper teens. I was getting the fish at night as well as in the daytime.  The hot bait continues to be a combo bait of one kernel of maize along with one white, artificial, pop-up corn.  At times I was using a method ball; at times I was not.

I credit a couple of things for my success.  First off, the weather was warm for the most part. Secondly, this mid to late October time period is prime time to catch a large carp here in RI.  Thirdly, my logs of year's past indicated this was the time (and I knew the place)! And, I have put in a good amount of effort.

I am currently fishing the CAG National Big 4 Tournament.  In year's past, I had done my Big 4 tournament fishing in RI, MA and CT.  However, with travel prohibited to MA, I decided to fish just RI waters this fall.  And, it has paid off.  Currently, my four fish cumulative total is 108 lbs. There are still a couple of weeks left to this event, and I'm still hoping to find a RI "30" somewhere.

Surprise of the Day

 I was watching my rods and suddenly, the alarm went off.  It was a slow run, so I expected a big carp when I lifted the rod off the alarm and engaged the reel.  But, judging from the fight it was no big carp.  In fact, it was not a carp at all.  It turned out to be a largemouth bass, and a decent one.  The fish weighed about four pounds. It took my usual bait of one kernel of hair rigged maize along with a white, artificial corn. This is not my first largemouth bass while fishing for carp. Years ago I landed a largemouth that was over 6 lbs. using a doughball. Yes, they will occasionally hit, but it is certainly a surprise when it happens!

The surprise of the day turned out to be a largemouth bass
that hit my hair rigged corn and artificial (in its lip).

Big Fish on the Fall Feed

A twenty pound carp rests in my 
sling in the water. Big carp are now
on the fall feed here in RI.

 This has been a good week of catching large carp for me here in RI.  With dropping temperatures and shorter days, I get the sense that the bigger fish are now on the fall feed.  I had a couple of twenty pounders this week along with many teen size fish. My biggest for the week was a 26 lb. common. I'm catching both in the daytime and at night. All my fishing is being done in RI waters.

The hot bait continues to be a combo bait of maize and a white pop-up, artificial corn. I'm also packing method mix around my sinker. I'm prebaiting whenever I can.

Leaves in the water has been an irritant but has had little effect on the fishing so long as I cast beyond the leaf line. Netting the fish along with a pile of leaves has been a mess.

If you are looking for that big carp for the year, the next month is an opportune time to get her. Big carp are on the fall feed!

Orange Pop-ups

 I discovered something interesting in the last couple of days.  I was fishing a body of water with poor water clarity.  I wasn't getting much on my white pop-up/maize bait combo bait offerings.  So, I looked around my bag for something which might get the carp's attention and stand out in this poor water clarity.  I found it! It was a pack of orange artificial corn.  I tried these a long time ago when I first started using artificial corn.  So, I set up one outfit with the orange artificial and the other outfit with my ole favorite white artificial corn.  In the two day stretch I landed 4 carp.  They ALL went for the outfit with the bright orange pop-up. The only thing I can conclude from this is that color orange is effective in stained water with poor clarity.

Color is an attractor in carp fishing and most of us will mix colored bait on the hair rig.  We know that white is a great overall color to use when using pop-ups. My second best color over the years has been pink. Orange is a wild card here and one that I plan to use in the future when fishing ponds and rivers with poor water quality.

This mirror went for a combo bait of
maize and an orange artificial corn (see
photo above) fished on the hair rig.
Orange has been an effective color in 
stained water.