Here are the winners:
1. Gold Medal- Brian Savage- 82 points (32 in. common + 32 in. mirror + 18 in. sucker). Photo at left.
2. Silver Medal- Eddie Taylor- 43 1/2 points (29 in. common +14 1/2 catfish)
3. Bronze Medal- Laura Mitchell- 42 1/2 points (26 1/2 mirror + 16 in. sucker)
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| This ten pound common was one of 50 fish landed in yesterday's massive storm. |
I just knew when I got up yesterday morning and looked at the weather that this would be the PERFECT storm for carp fishing. I've fished in some big storms in the past like Hurricane Bob, Hurricane Sandy and Tropical Storm Jose to name a few. And, I know what can happen in these events as carp get charged up and go on a feeding rampage. All of those days mentioned above were memorable, so I knew what was coming. I was well outfitted to deal with the elements in my Grunden parka and rain pants along with my muck boots (same commercial rain gear you see on Deadliest Catch).
I got to my venue in late morning just as it started to rain and the temperatures began to rise out of the high forties into the fifties. Fishing started off slow. The first hour I landed just 2 fish, nothing special. So, I decided to move on to another location in the same body of water. At this point, we had all the weather events moving into high gear- high winds, temperatures rising in the upper fifties and a warm, driving rain. As I was walking along and looking at the water, I saw what at first I thought was a wide area of coon tail weed. Only thing, it wasn't weed. It was a massive school of carp just milling near the warm surface water being heated by a warm rain. There were hundreds of carp in this school in a part of the shoreline that went on for 20 or 30 yards. I never imagined this venue had even fifty carp, let alone hundreds of them in one spot. This is where I set up to fish.
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| The day's haul of 50 fish included a mix of commons and mirrors that ranged from 5 to 12 lbs. |
Now, nighttime set in and the driving rain and wind had turned into a gale, but I decided to stay and fish in the stormy darkness (yes, I did remember to take a headlamp with me). I saw a massive tree blow down about fifty yards to my left as the storm seemed to intensify. Branches and sticks kept blowing off the trees into the water, but it didn't deter the carp from hitting. After dark, I landed 11 more carp in an hour and a half of fishing in a monsoon. I had two doubles in the mix.
Once I reached 50 carp for the day, I called it quits. I have never come close to these numbers in all my years of carp fishing. I remember once getting 30 fish in one day, and I thought those numbers would never be beaten. All my fish fell for a combo bait of maize and a white artificial corn fished on a hair rig. No method ball. These fish weren't fussy as they would key on the bait as soon as it hit the water at times.
Yesterday's storm was every bit as potent as those hurricanes I fished in. And, once again, the carp were charged up, feeding voraciously and super active in this nasty weather. Just epic!
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| This is one of four Thanksgiving Day carp landed on this rainy and warm morning. |
I prebaited some maize when I got to my location. I put out my two rods with combo baits of maize and artificial corn on the hair rig. It didn't take long before one rod tip was bouncing away, and I was soon onto my first Thanksgiving Day carp of the day. It was a mirror about 6 lbs. I would go on to catch three more mirrors about the same size. I would also have quite a few other taps of the rod tip, a sure sign of weak takes due to colder water and the carp's slowing metabolism. But, also a sign that good numbers of carp were in front of me.
As I left the bank, I thought to myself, "not bad for a couple of hours of fishing in late November." We are fortunate to have some great carp fishing here for such a small state. We also have some of the best mirror carp waters in the entire US.
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| Yes, they are still hitting on these cool November nights. I landed several this week after dark including this good looking fully scaled mirror that I caught tonight. |
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| This is one of four mirrors that I landed today in cool, forty degree weather. They are still hitting. |
Winter Tactics: Less is more. I have just about abandoned the method ball and am now fishing a kernel of maize and one artificial pop-up on a hair rig. Soon, I will replace that maize with sweet corn. I am also using smaller hooks, generally a size #8. The fish I am catching these days are also smaller, generally running 5 to 10 lbs. As far as prebaiting, I am using less bait. Winter carp just don't feed as voraciously as summer carp. I am also targeting the warmest part of the day from mid to late afternoon.
Winter Locations: With this colder weather, I am guessing that many of the bigger fish have moved off into deeper water in big lakes to winter over. The fish are generally not in shallow water anymore. So, I've abandoned the bigger waters and bigger fish and have concentrated on small shallow ponds and "small" river locations. In these small spots, the fish have nowhere to go in the winter. Besides, these smaller bodies of water warm up quickly on warm days, and the fish quickly will turn to feeding. I am seeing a lot less activity these days....no fish jumping, no bubble trails and no carp visible, but they are still around. Today I landed 4 mirrors in cool 40 degree weather.
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| The mirrors were really hitting on this rainy and cloudy day. This is one of 10 mirrors landed. All fell for a combo bait of maize and artificial corn on the hair rig. |
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| This mirror is one of ten carp landed in the last two days. They are hitting in this record breaking warm weather here in RI |
In the past, I've had streaks of real good luck in mid to late November, and much of has been tied to the weather turning warm. It was ten years ago that I landed that 36 lb. RI common (RI CAG record at the time) during a streak of rainy, warm weather. I've had other days with big numbers of fish in November. You just have to get out and fish and find a hotspot that is producing.
In the last two days I have landed 10 decent size mirrors. I've gotten them all on hair rigged combo baits of maize and a white, artificial corn. I'm not using a method ball. I am also prebaiting with maize in the spots I am fishing.
Good luck if you get out and try in this beautiful November weather.