A Crappy Month

In past years, July was a very good month of carp fishing here in RI. Last year when the weather was rainy and cool, I caught over 150 carp in just the month of July. Not so this year. I will be lucky to log in 35 fish this month and I am putting in the same amount of effort in the same spots as last year. So, what's the problem?
I believe the problem started in early spring when we had the severe flooding. That moved a lot of nutrients into the water and also displaced a lot of fish, especially in our rivers. The oppressively warm weather in July has boosted freshwater temperatures into the eighties in some spots, a major turn off to feeding. In addition, the water is very low, near drought conditions in the Blackstone River. Also, the water is very discolored in many spots due to algae growth ( caused by heat and nutrients from flooding). It all adds up to very poor carp fishing in the month of July.
My limited success has come from fishing in late evening, just before and after dark. That time seems to produce some fish if you can stand the big numbers of mosquitoes around. A hot night for me these days is two fish, extremely poor for this time of year.

Making your own Sinkers

I've had it with the high cost of sinkers these days so I am now making my own. One kind I am making is a no roll sinker. This has a flat pear shape and has a hole through the center just like an egg sinker. The mold is produced by the Do-It corporation (http://www.do-itmolds.com/prodmolds.aspx?c=72) and has 4 cavities for sinkers of 1, 1 1/2, 2, and 3 oz.

It is easy for me to do since I have all the supplies such as melters, ladles, molds and cutters needed to make sinkers and jigs. The mold is fairly easy to pour except for the 1 oz. cavity which must really be heated in order to work. A pin is inserted into each cavity before pouring and after pouring, the pin is pulled out with pliers. Later, I paint the sinkers using brown or green powder paint. The finish is beautiful. It is tricky doing this since the sinker must be mounted on a piece of wire first, heated for 4-5 seconds with a small torch and then sort of rolled on each side in a shallow dish of powder paint. I later cure them in the oven at 350 degrees. If you are into making sinkers and jigs this is all standard procedure.

I know this is not for everyone since lead is a toxic material and getting all these supplies is quite costly. But, if you do make your own sinkers and jigs, consider making your own carp sinkers. You will save a bundle.

Flavor of the Month....Carp Quila

While I am not catching loads of carp, I am getting some fish in this heat. And, I am getting them all on the same flavor.....CarpQuila. Carp Quila is sold by The Bait Stop. However, it only comes in sweet corn, impossible to keep on the hook in the summer due to turtles and sunfish. So, I bought the Carp Quila dip from The Bait Stop and added the dip to a jar of my own boiled field corn. It works terrific and has been my hottest flavor this summer. Just ask that mirror on the left that hit my Carp Quila maize!

Slow Going

It's been slow going in the last week for carp fishing here in RI. The water is warm and the ponds and lakes are exceptionally low for this time due to little rain in the last month. The fish seem to be in the shady spots and are not real active in the daytime. It seems to an early morning or evening before dark bite, typical of mid summer fishing.

I'm generally getting either one or two fish on every outing. I've tried a lot of different spots and all seem to be producing the same marginal results. My best outing was last Saturday at the Take a Kid Fishing event held on the Blackstone Canal. It was very disappointing that I was the only fishermen to show up to this event. So, what the heck, I figured I might as well fish. Well, I ended up with 5 mirrors (see pic at right) and lost a couple more in just two hours of fishing.

Take A Kid Carp Fishing Day.....June 27

The national CAG (Carp Anglers Group) has designated the weekend of June 26 and 27 "Take a Kid Carp Fishing Days". Our group in RI will be having a kids carping day on Sunday, June 27, at the Blackstone Canal off the Bike Path in Lincoln. It is open to the public. We will be fishing in the wide area just north of the Martin St. Bridge. Members of the RI CAG should be there around 10:00 AM and we'll fish till mid to late afternoon. If you have a young fisherman who would like to try for a carp, bring along your rod and reel and come and join us. We'll offer advice to get you started, have the bait and rigs for you and hopefully you'll catch a carp. All kids attending should be accompanied by an adult.

First Carp

Went out last evening carp fishing with my friend, Paul, from Wrentham, MA. Paul is an accomplished bass fisherman but he had never caught a carp. Well, by the end of the evening Paul landed two good sized mirrors. Congratulations on your first carp!

Making Method Mix

It's a simple formula: 2 parts oatmeal, 1 part crushed up bread, and 1 part cormeal and corn. You can also add flavoring if you want. Mix it altogether in a container and slowly add water and knead. Once it packs you are done. It should pack around a sinker and cast without falling off. Once it settles on the bottom, it should break apart in a short amount of time leaving a round area of chum around your baited hook. Using method should greatly increase your catches of carp.