RI CAG Fall Tournament Underway

 

Tom Perron is off to a
good start with a 25 inch
mirror carp.

Our RI CAG fall Combo Tournament is underway.  The idea here is to enter your biggest common, your biggest mirror and a bonus fish (catfish, horned pout or white sucker).  Get the lengths of these biggest fish, add the lengths up and that becomes your point total.  The tournament runs from Sept. 1 to the end of November.  All CAG members are eligible to enter. In the past we have had some big fish caught in this fall event as carp go on a feeding spree in anticipation of winter coming.

The national group is providing engraved medals to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers. Tom Perron, one of our premier big carp hunters here in RI,  jumped on the board first when he entered a 25 inch mirror carp this week.

Doldrums of September

I landed this mirror this morning.  It was my only 
fish today.  For the most part, September fishing
has been slow.

 I'm in the September slow down.  This seems to happen to my carp fishing every year.  The September negatives that contribute to the slow down are many. The water is warm and the fish are not on the fall feed yet. In addition, the pests are all over the place.  Sun turtles and snapping turtles are particularly active and irritating. Weed growth is at its maximum.  Also, this year the water levels are high due to excessive summer rains.  High water is always difficult to fish.

Still, I am still catching, though not at the same levels that I was getting back in the previous few months. I've had only one blank in September. Most of my outings have produced only one or two fish. For the most part, the carp have been small, under ten pounds. The best bait continues to be a combo bait of maize and one artificial corn on the hair rig. I haven't been using a method ball lately because it is a real turtle attractor.

I know better days are coming as October and November have proven to be big fish months in the past.

High, High Water Makes Fishing Difficult

 

My chair is actually sitting in the water along 
this flooded bank.  The shoreline bushes and
vegetation that were on dry ground several
days ago is now underwater.  It makes for
difficult fishing conditions.

Those flooding rains we had this week dumped 6 to 9 inches of water onto RI. It has resulted in very high flooding waters all over the state. That has been problematic carp fishermen. River fishing is out and even pond and lake fishing is difficult.

I've gotten out three times since the rain and it has been a fish here and there along with a blank yesterday.  In the places I have fished, the water is into the woods as the water levels rose about 3 feet in the last three days. All the vegetation and bushes along the shore are underwater in some spots.

So, how do you fish in those conditions.  Since most of the fish will be poking around the underwater vegetation near shore, I like to fish in real close, usually a flip cast away.  I also try to get into a spot where there are not a lot of obstructions in the water. I want to have a good chance to land a fish if I hook one. This morning I fished such a spot and came away with a nice 10 lb. mirror.

The flooding rains and resulting high water has not shut down the carp fishing here in RI, but it has certainly made fishing more difficult.