An On and Off Deal

 

Here's a mirror landed earlier in the week.  The
carp fishing in RI has been an on and off deal
that has been greatly influenced by the weather.

As the weather goes, so goes the carp fishing.

It's been a week of contrasts.  That beautiful sunny weather at the beginning of the week had the carp really active.  I saw fish jumping, mud coming up from the bottom feeders and fish sunning themselves. The fish were also hitting as I landed 16 fish in three days in various spots.  But, the hammer fell last night with a cold rain that brought temperatures in the 40's.  Those cold 40's continued today under an overcast sky.  I went out this morning and didn't even get a sniff. It was a complete shutdown in the cold.

Hey, this is early season carp fishing.....hot one day, cold the next.

Opening Day Coming Early; Carp Fishing Gets More Consistent

Here's a decent 10 lber. that I landed a few days
ago.  Carp fishing has gotten more consistent in 
this nice spring weather.

Everything is looking up in this beautiful spring weather. 

Big news that will affect carp fishermen is that Opening Day of trout fishing will come early this year with a "soft opening" happening on Wednesday, April 7. This will open up all bodies of water in the state.  To those who don't know, some of the best carp fishing venues in the state such as Olney Pond (Lincoln  Woods), Lake Tiogue and the Blackstone River have all been closed since March 1 because they are trout stocked waters.  They will open up on April 7. This will give carp fishermen in the state more options.

In the last week, carp fishing has gotten more consistent for me and other members of the RI Carp Anglers. Many are reporting good catches of fish in this warming weather. There's been nothing real big, but I and others have been catching good numbers of fish up into the low teens. Biggest I have gotten this week has been 13 lbs. Nothing wrong with that! Sweet corn or sweet corn in combo with artificial corn has been the hot bait.

Finally Perking Up

This mirror is one of 9 carp landed
in the last two days.  The warm
weather has really perked up the
fishing.

 After several false starts in the last three weeks, the spring carp fishing has lit up.  With an extended period of consistent warm weather coming, it looks like the good fishing should continue.  I got out yesterday and today and landed a total of nine fish in all.  I also saw some carp jumping and others cruising around in the shallows, a sure sign that fish are on the move from deep to shallow water to feed.

All my fish were caught on combo baits of sweet corn and a white artificial corn fished on a hair rig.  I did do some prebaiting with maize, and I think that helped. I know other RI CAG members were also catching this weekend in a variety of spots so it is happening all over.

Note that carp fishing is off limits in RI in waters that are stocked with trout. Trout stocked waters (yes, that includes the Blackstone River) will not be accessible until Opening Day which is the second Saturday in April. All non trout stocked waters are open to fishing.

If you are looking for that first carp of the new year, this week is an opportune time to catch it.

Baffled

 

Here is a common from last week.  So far,
March fishing has been a big disappointment.

Carp fishing is not going well for me.  I've fished quite a bit in March and have come away with a paltry 7 fish.   The fish are just not active. This lousy fishing pattern has continued all winter long. Last year, 2020, at this time, I had over 170 carp.  This year I fished about the same number of times, and I've landed just 44 fish to this point. I try to tell myself that the weather has really been up and down, a negative for carp fishing, but that's the way March usually goes so not really different. Yes, the water is cold.  Yes, the ice reformed in a lot of places this week.  So, we've not seen an extended spring pattern of weather yet. I've tried fishing a lot of my previous March hotspots and just not much doing.

I'm hoping a warmer week next week might perk up the fishing here in RI.  I'm also guessing that when things do perk up the fishing will get hot very quickly which just might lead to an extended hot streak. Until then, I'll keep looking and trying.

A Strange Carp Tail

It's dark out, but you can clearly see
the hook and white artificial stuck
in the tail of this carp. It was snagged
while reeling in my bait. The hook 
was a small, #8!

 I had a real weird experience this evening while carp fishing. I had landed a couple of fish in the evening, and as the darkness was upon me, I decided to pack up and leave.  So, I went to reel in one outfit, and as I was about halfway in, I suddenly was stuck.  I thought I hit a snag, and I attempted to pull it out.  But, as I pulled, the snag pulled back, and I quickly realized I was onto a fish. Just as I was onto this fish, the other alarm went off.  I grabbed that rod also and was now fighting two fish at the same time.  Or, was it?  I thought maybe the first fish went into the other line.  In total darkness, it was hard to tell and both lines were in about the same spot. As I fought two fish (or one) and made some headway while getting the fish close to shore, I saw two distinct jumps right in front of me, and now I knew that I did have two fish.

I got one fish close to shore and quickly popped the hook out.  The other fish, though, continued to put up quite a battle.  Once near the shore, I realized something was wrong here as the fish was very difficult to reel in. When I got the carp close enough to see it, I realized I had snagged this fish in the tail. That was the fish that was hooked as I was reeling my bait ashore. My #8 hook just caught the fish in the tail.  What are the chances of that happening? It was a common about 10 lbs., and the hooked popped out quite easily and the fish was on his merry way. 

I've got to tell you that carp hooked in the tail put up quite a battle. The fight can be described as a tug-of-war. I really thought I had a much larger fish!

Back in Business and Avoiding the February Blank

Here's a beefy common that I landed today in
this beautiful sunny weather. Expect the carp
fishing to perk up when many of the state's ponds
lose their ice this week.

 It has been years, maybe decades, since I blanked in a winter month. As most of you know, I fish for carp year round, and some years it can be very good in the dead of winter. But, not this year as I was headed for a blank this February. Fishing has been particularly tough this February.  My usual winter moving water spots were not producing, and all my still water spots were completely iced over. I got out maybe a half dozen times with no luck until today.

Today I managed to put at least a few fish on the board for February.  It was a beautiful afternoon and the fish decided to hit. I got them to take my usual combo bait of sweet corn and a white artificial fished on a hair rig. I was also using a small method ball.

I get the feeling that carp fishing will break open this week in RI with a bout of warmer weather and rain headed our way. Carp tend to come to life at ice out, and I suspect many ponds in the state will lose their ice covering within a few days to a week. Get the carp gear ready. Spring is in the air.

Only Show in Town

 

It's not open water carp fishing, but it's fishing! I got out onto the ice this morning with my son Jon to do some jigging.  We came away with a lot of action and a lot of fish.  We caught bluegills, crappie and largemouth bass from the small pond we fished.  All the fish were caught on small gold Kastmasters tipped with a meal worm.  This is a deadly combo for jigging, and somthing we used to catch a lot of fish years ago when we actually had an ice fishing season.

I was surprised to find the ice was a solid 5 inches of clear, hard ice. How long it will last is anyone's guess. But, for now, we have the start of an ice fishing season here in RI, and I'm going to take advantage of it!