Happy Thanksgiving to all my Loyal Readers!

A rainbow forms right above me on this fall day.
I'm thankful for a great year of carp fishing here
in RI. For a small state we are fortunate to have
some of the best carp fishing in New England!

 

500

This mirror was carp number 500 on the year!

 I landed my 500th carp of the year today on this beautiful late fall day. It was a mirror that weighed about 10 to 12 lbs. I keep extensive logs on my fishing so I knew I needed just one fish to reach number 500.  I ended up getting 10!  If you asked me back in July if I'd get to 500, I'd say no way. This year I was committed to chasing down big fish, and it's often difficult to catch good numbers of big ones as well as big numbers. But, the second half of 2024 proved to be very good with good numbers as well as many big ones.  In fact, this has been the best second half of the year (from August to now) that I've had in a long time.

I attribute the good carp fishing in the second half of the year to low water.  Carp are always easier to catch when the water is low rather than when it's high and flooded.  In high water the carp have just too many places to hide.  Many places are inaccessible in high water.  River currents are also hard to fish when the water is high and really moving.

The window on carp fishing is slowly closing as the ice is coming soon (maybe next week), and that will put an end to pond fishing. Even today I found skim ice along the shoreline this morning. While carp can still be caught in river currents in the dead of winter, they are often lethargic and unwilling to hit.

Mirror Madness

 I have targeted mirrors in the last two days, and I came away with a bunch of them. Hot fishing for me with over 20 mirrors landed up to 15 lbs.  I was using maize and a white, pop-up artificial corn (white color) on a hair rig.  I had lightly prebaited before fishing.

All of this happened with NOTHING showing- no jumps, no bulbble trails, no fish moving around in close. I suspect this beautiful 60 degree weather had something to do with my success. 

As I said before, I plan to keep fishing until the ice arrives (if it does?).  In past years I have caught in open water right through the winter.

I've landed over 20 mirrors in the last two days
in this beautiful weather.  The carp are on a pre-
winter feed right now. I landed this beauty today.

Still Going

 

Here, in the weigh sling, is a big
common that I landed in the past week.

We've got this beautiful weather, and it has extended our carp fishing. In most years the cold weather is here by now and the fishing is headed downhill.  But, not this year. In the past week I have gotten out just about every day.  Last week I landed a good number of hefty commons. In the last couple of days I have targeted mirrors and I landed good numbers.

I will continue fishing for carp until the ice arrives.

Here are some suggestions to anyone fishing for carp in late November here in RI:

*Small bodies of water are far easier to fish since the fish have no where to go.  In larger bodies of water, the carp are heading out into deep water for the winter and they can be hard to find.

*Fish the warmest parts of the day.  Late afternoon until dark is the best time.  After dark can sometimes produce on a warm night.

* Go light on the bait.  I tend to fish just my bait on the hair rig without a method ball. I will prebait if I can but even that will be lighter amounts.

* Hits may not be screamers.  The carp's metabolism is slowing in the cold water and sometimes the hits will come as just bangs on the rod tip. Pick up the rod and pull if that happens.

*I tend to catch smaller fish overall in the cold weather. I've never landed a 30 lber. after Nov. 15. Not complaining, though, about 20's which I have caught.

*Dress warmly and good luck if you get out!

Here is a good size mirror coming to the net.
I landed this fish and others this afternoon.

Fall Combo Tournament Results So Far

 

Tom Perron entered
this hefty 34 1/2 inch
common.

We are 2/3 of the way through our RI CAG Fall Combo Tournament and the results are posted below. This tournament runs for three months from September to the end of November.  Members who entered post their biggest Common, their biggest Mirror and a Bonus fish (catfish, horned pout or sucker).  We measure everything in inches, add it up and that's the point total.

Here are the latest results:

Results- Common + Mirror + Bonus

Dave- 34 1/2 + 31 + 16 1/2= 82 points

Evan- 35 + 27 + 20 = 82 points

Tom- 34 1/2 + 31 + 15 = 80 1/2 points

Scott- 27 +30 + 0 = 57 points

Brian- 0 + 32 + 21 = 53 points

Check this out- A FANTAIL Common!

 

Brian Savage (right), one of our best carp fishermen in RI.
landed this fantail common recently while
fishing in the CT Open Carp Tournament.
This is Brian's PB fantail.
These fish can be found in the CT River but I 
have never seen one in RI waters.
Congrats to Brian on a terrific catch!