Tuesday, November 14, 2023

400th Carp of the Year Landed

 

This common, landed today, is my 400th carp
of the year. It's been a rough road to find numbers
of fish this year.

Today I hit a milestone as I landed my 400th carp of the year. I finally had a few fish today and that got me over the 400 plateau.

I set 500 carp as my goal every year. I keep logs of all my catches.  In my best year of the last ten years numbers-wise, I landed a whopping 1,300 carp.  Last year, my worst year numbers-wise saw 430 fish landed. If I were betting man, I would bet 500 is not going to happen this year.  Heck, I am lucky to reach 400 this year.  Overall, this has been a tough year of carp fishing.  We've had a lot of rain and a lot of warm weather.  That is the perfect storm for weed growth. The invasive weed, mostly milfoil and water chestnut, has been awful most of the year, making for impossible fishing in some of my favorite carp fishing places.  The weed has cleared up with the cooler weather lately, but the fishing overall still remains poor.

The carp fishing calendar is ticking away. It will end with the ice. I'm guessing in early December.  Even skim ice will end it in ponds and lakes. You can still get them in the moving water of rivers and streams, but carp fishing in the real cold is inconsistent and difficult.

Friday, November 10, 2023

Downright Poor for November

 

The alarms have been silent in November as it
has been a complete blank for me in multiple
locations.

It's been my worst November EVER for carp fishing thus far.  It's now November 10, and I have tried every day in November and it has been a complete BLANK.  I've switched up spots and tried at least a half dozen venues that have produced in the past.  I've been prebaiting these spots.  I've mixed up my baits.  All to no avail.  The carp are just not in the feeding mood!

This downward spiral began in early November when we had those two or three days of extreme cold. Up until then the fish were hitting.  But, that sudden cold put the fish in funk and they have not returned to active feeding.  I've also seen no jumps, no bubble trails and no fish near the shore moving around.

This can happen with carp fishing as it has its ups and downs.  Right now we are in a down period but I'm confident the fishing will perk up.