Underwater Battle (from the lens of the Go Pro)

 

Ghost Carp

Check out the white streak on this fish's back and 
under the dorsal fin. The dorsal fin was also
very light.

Scientifically, ghost carp are an artificial breed of the common carp. They are generally all white and are found in Europe.

Around here we refer to light colored common carp as "ghosties", or ghost carp.  They might feature whitish, grey heads or streaks of white along the scales of their bodies.  Most of those ghosties found around here are common carp, although I have seen one mirror ghostie.

Every year I seen to catch one or two of these ghosties. Today I caught one of them, my first one of 2021.  It had streaks of light color in its head, and it had a wide, white line running down its back under the dorsal fin.  The dorsal fin was also quite light.  In the water it looked like I was reeling in a wet, white towel as it swam around. It was quite different as I knew right away I had a "New England Ghostie." 

The head of this fish also had very light
streaks running along its side and top
of the head. It was very whitish in the 
water. Its scales were also very light.

Third Place Finish.....National CAG Spring Big 4 Tournament

Biggest carp, 38 lbs., 2 oz, a 
potential state record.

 I had my best numbers ever in the CAG Spring Big 4 Tournament and ended up in third place in this national event. This tournament featured 75 of the best carp anglers from all over the country. The event ran for three months, beginning on March 15 and ending on June 15. The idea was to enter your four biggest carp of the spring, and your poundage total became your point total.

I've entered this event for the last 15 years. The best total I could put together in the past was 124 lbs. This year I far exceeded my previous best total by 11 pounds.  My entries were all carp in the 30's- 38/2, 34/8, 32, and 30/6.  Added all up it came out to 135 lbs. For the third place finish, I won a $100 gift certificate at Big Carp Tackle.

The most exciting day of the tournament was the last day for me.  On the afternoon of June 15th, I managed to bank a 34 lb. carp that moved me from 4th to 3rd place overall. I never expected to land

Second biggest fish....34 lbs., 8 oz,
another potential state record.

such an enormous fish on a bluebird afternoon.

I changed strategies from previous years. Rather than traveling all over the place in MA and CT and fishing these big venues, I stayed right here in RI. Yes, I caught all these monster fish (two of which were potential state records) right here in RI, but in different locations.

I also made a significant change in baits. For the last two weeks of the tournament, I fished only with large boilies.  Boilies are known for luring large fish.  In that two week period, I had at least a dozen carp in the 20's and two in the 30's. The use of large baits (in this case, Carp Maxx coconut boilies) was a major factor in catching these big, post spawn carp.

Mulberry Drop Happening

 

This nice mirror feel for a free lined mulberry 
today. The mulberries are dropping and the carp 
are right under the trees.

Do you know a carp pond or river where a mulberry tree is at the water's edge.  If so, you have a hotspot to fish right now.  The mulberries are ripe and dropping from the trees and most likely carp are right under these trees slurping them up.  Sweet mulberries are one of carps' most favorite late summer natural food.  These berries come in white, purple and red and will be falling from the trees for the next several weeks.

Fishing them is super simple.  Just a hook is needed at the end of your line (no weight).  Impale a berry with a # 6 or #8 hook depending on the size of the berry.  Cast it where the carp are feeding.  Most likely a hungry carp will rise up from the bottom a gulp down your offering.

Impale a mulberry with a #6
or #8 hook.  Fish it without a 
weight for best success.

I got out today and landed my first mulberry feeding carp on a white mulberry.  It took a whole of ten seconds to get the fish to take.  It was a good size 10 lb. mirror carp. 

Be aware that carp will get onto what you are doing mighty fast.  They will actually learn to pass up the berry that has a hook in it once they see a lot of fishing activity!

Boilies....Big Bait for Big Carp

Boilies are commercially
produced flavored baits.

As many of you know, I haven't written a whole lot about fishing with boilies
for carp. Rest assured, I do use them on occasion, but maybe I should be using them more!

Last fall I won a photo contest sponsored by CAG.  I won about 40 lbs. of Carp Maxx boilies in a coconut flavor (20 mm size).  I had them sitting in my basement and decided to pack some in my bag. Two days ago I was out fishing and getting nothing on the 'ole reliable maize/ plastic corn bait.  Good size fish were occasionally jumping so I knew they were in the area I was fishing.  Why not try a boilie?  I baited up in front of me with a few spoonfuls of a maize/cut up boilie mix and proceeded to bait up my hair.  Since the boilies were large, I decided to cut them in half and add a piece of maize to the combo.  That's a rather large bait, but no problem with fish over 15 lbs. The results speak for themselves.  In two hours, I caught carp of 16, 18, 21 and 23 lbs. all on the boilie combo.  The maize/plastic corn combo, fished on another outfit, did not even get a hit. I was sold.

I has good success
with a combo bait of
half a boilie and a 
kernel of maize

Many experienced fishermen will tell you that boilies are a bait made for big carp. While 15 mm seems like the average size most anglers use, some of the big carp hunters will go with a 20 or even 24 mm size.

Boiles can be purchased online in most carp fishing stores like Big Carp Tackle or Carp Maxx (found on Facebook). If you are looking for a big fish, boilies are certainly a good option.

Here's the proof that boilies work.  They are big baits made for
big carp!

Standings Through May for RI CAG Spring Big 3 Tournament

 

Tom Perron ....biggest
mirror!

The guys and gals from RI CAG were catching some big carp again this month in the second leg of our Spring Big 3. I added up April and May results and the total weight equals the total points. All fish were caught in RI waters.

Here are the standings:

1.      Brian Savage- 31/10 + 23/11 = 55/6

2.      Manny Dias- 16/8 + 24/8 = 41

3.      Laura Mitchell- 15/13 + 19/2 = 34/15

Laura Mitchell....19 lb. common!

4.      Tom Perron- 13/2 + 16/2 = 29/4

5.      Jeff Henderson- 20

6.      Eddie Taylor- 15