Perfect Storm/ Epic Day

 

This ten pound common was one of
50 fish landed in yesterday's
massive storm.

Yes, I did fish in that massive storm that hit our state yesterday, and it turned out to be one of the most epic days I have ever fished in my carp fishing career.

I just knew when I got up yesterday morning and looked at the weather that this would be the PERFECT storm for carp fishing. I've fished in some big storms in the past like Hurricane Bob, Hurricane Sandy and Tropical Storm Jose to name a few. And, I know what can happen in these events as carp get charged up and go on a feeding rampage.  All of those days mentioned above were memorable, so I knew what was coming. I was well outfitted to deal with the elements in my Grunden parka and rain pants along with my muck boots (same commercial rain gear you see on Deadliest Catch).

I got to my venue in late morning just as it started to rain and the temperatures began to rise out of the high forties into the fifties. Fishing started off slow.  The first hour I landed just 2 fish, nothing special. So, I decided to move on to another location in the same body of water.  At this point, we had all the weather events moving into high gear- high winds, temperatures rising in the upper fifties and a warm, driving rain. As I was walking along and looking at the water, I saw what at first I thought was a wide area of coon tail weed.  Only thing, it wasn't weed. It was a massive school of carp just milling near the warm surface water being heated by a warm rain. There were hundreds of carp in this school in a part of the shoreline that went on for 20 or 30 yards. I never imagined this venue had even fifty carp, let alone hundreds of them in one spot. This is where I set up to fish.

The day's haul of 50 fish included a mix
of commons and mirrors that ranged from 
5 to 12 lbs.

For the next three hours it was non-stop action. I never waited more than ten minutes for a runner.  In the next three hours of daylight, I landed 37 carp that ranged from 5 to 12 lbs. I had several doubles in the mix.

Now, nighttime set in and the driving rain and wind had turned into a gale, but I decided to stay and fish in the stormy darkness (yes, I did remember to take  a headlamp with me). I saw a massive tree blow down about fifty yards to my left as the storm seemed to intensify.  Branches and sticks kept blowing off the trees into the water, but it didn't deter the carp from hitting.  After dark, I landed 11 more carp in an hour and a half of fishing in a monsoon.  I had two doubles in the mix.

Once I reached 50 carp for the day, I called it quits. I have never come close to these numbers in all my years of carp fishing.  I remember once getting 30 fish in one day, and I thought those numbers would never be beaten. All my fish fell for a combo bait of maize and a white artificial corn fished on a hair rig. No method ball. These fish weren't fussy as they would key on the bait as soon as it hit the water at times.

Yesterday's storm was every bit as potent as those hurricanes I fished in. And, once again, the carp were charged up, feeding voraciously and super active in this nasty weather. Just epic!