3rd Place- CAG National Big 4 Tournament/ TWO Potential State Records Released

My biggest carp in the tournament was a 38 lb.,
12 oz. monster common.  It was a potential state
record, and the second largest carp I have ever 
landed in RI!

The CAG National Spring Big 4 Tournament has come to an end, and I ended up in third place overall this year.  It was one of my best finishes ever in this event.  The event drew over 60 members from all over the US.  And, these guys really know how to carp fish! The first place finisher with 143 lbs. fished in Tennessee.  Second place came from Pennsylvania and surprise, surprise, third place came from RI.

The tournament ran from March 15 to June 15.  The goal was to enter your four biggest carp.  My four fish total came to 133 lbs., 12 oz. I had carp of 38 lbs., 12 oz. (potential state record), 36 lbs., 4 oz. (potential state record), 29 lbs., 8 oz., and 29 lbs., 4 oz. All my fish were caught from RI waters.  This was my second biggest weight total in the 12 years that I have been doing this tournament. I caught all these fish on the same baits- a combo bait of one kernel of maize and a white pop-up artificial corn fished on the hair rig. A  method ball was packed around my sinker.

For my third place finish, I won a $100.00 gift certificate to Big Carp Tackle. I'm sure I can find something nice to buy with that! 

May Leg of RI CAG Big 3 Tournament Completed

 We are now 2/3 of the way through our RI CAG Spring Big 3 Tournament.  Here are the results from April and May along with the totals.  Medals donated by CAG are awarded to our top 3 finishers.  The tournament ends in June.

1st- Brian Savage- 20/7 + 25/1= 45/8

2nd- Tom Perron- 18/4 + 16/ 5= 34/9

3rd- Tony Carvalho- 0 + 23= 23

4th- Manny Dias- 15 + 0= 15

Brian Savage landed the biggest carp in May
for our Tournament.  The fish weighed 25 lbs., 1 oz.
The one on the mat is not too shabby also!

Tight Race for RI CAG Spring Big 3 Tournament

 

Brian Savage leads the Big 3 with a 20 lb., 7 oz.
common.

The first leg of the RI CAG Spring Big 3 Tournament has been completed, and it is a tight race for the top three places. Here's how our Big 3 works.  Members enter their biggest carp for April, for May and for June.  We add up the weights at the end of the tournament and that total determines our winners.  Medals donated by the national CAG group are awarded to the top three finishers.  In the past we have had some impressive fish entered in this event. All fish entered in this event must be caught here in RI.

Here are the top three results for April:

Brian Savage- 20 lbs., 7 oz.

Tom Perron- 18 lbs., 4 oz.

Manny Dias- 15 lbs.

Bait Choices- Less Can be Better

 

Look closely at the bait in this carp's lip. It is one 
kernel of maize and a kernel of artificial, plastic
maize.  This has been a real hot ticket in the last
week for large and small carp.

The carp fishing has improved greatly here in RI in the last week.  The water temps have ticked upwards and the carp have gotten far more active.  I've been getting good numbers of large fish as well as smaller ones.  But, this warm water has also delivered the dreaded pests- turtles, horned pout and catfish.

In an attempt to avoid these pests, I have gone light on the bait. I am using no method since that bait ball really attracts these pests. I'm going with just a kernel of maize along with a white, plastic pop-up corn on the hair rig. Turtles and cats are not high on the plastic offerings but carp find that plastic corn fascinating and often hit it when paired with a kernel of the real stuff.

That approach has upped my catches of carp while decreasing my catches of pests.  It has accounted for small carp and big ones up into the twenties in the last week. In my experience, less has been better in the last week.

Large carp like this twenty pound common have been
hitting since the warm weather arrived. This one fell for
a combo bait of maize/ plastic corn.

Ups and Downs of April Carping

 

It was one lone carp yesterday in a number of
locations. April fishing, thus far, has been slow
and inconsistent.

April is one of the most inconsistent months of the year when it comes to carp fishing in RI. The fishing generally mirrors the weather which is all over the place. This is the first week in months that I am not skiing on a daily basis so I have spent a lot of time carp fishing. All I can say is some fish here and there with small, low water ponds producing the best.  Makes sense.  Smaller ponds heat up faster and the carp are generally more active in this warmer water.

Yesterday, a warm day, I had some interesting experiences in a number of locations. First stop was a big pond that had some depth.  I was fishing the drop off. After three hours of nothing, with not a hit, jump or bubble trail, I packed up and left.  Next stop was a shallow cove in a small pond.  I could actually see carp slowly swimming around the sunny areas, yet not feeding. I even saw some coming right out of the water in what looked like spawning. But, they were not hitting, and I got skunked once again.  Last stop before dark was a small, shallow pond.  I stuck it out until dark when suddenly the alarm sounded.  It was a mirror carp of about 7 lbs. and my only fish of the day.

My experiences yesterday highlight carp fishing in early April. In a word, inconsistent. But, take note.  A big warm-up is coming next week and that should bring more consistent carp action for the second half of the month. It will get better!

Photo of the Day, "Evening Mirror"

 

Spring is in the air as the carp become more and more
active.  I landed a couple of mirrors right before dark
this evening.

Off and Running

 

Yes, the fish were hitting on this
warm day today.  Weather will
play a big part in the early season.

For me, today marked the start of spring fishing for carp. I tried three other times in the last week and blanked every time.  But, each one of those times, I was putting bait (maize) into my spring spots.  I knew it would be a matter of a short amount of time when I would start seeing carp in at least one of those places.  Today, I saw them as well as caught a number of them.  I spotted some fish moving around in the shallows and tossed more bait into the spot I intended to fish.  I went back to this location several hours later. The rods were out no more than ten minutes before the alarm went off and I was on.

Note that early spring carp fishing in March can be a lot like the weather- inconsistent.  The key to success is to have a plan, bait up a few spots and stick with it. The warm days will outproduce the cold days.

Today's fish fell for a combo bait of maize and pale pink artificial corn on the hair rig.

Note:  Here in RI you can only fish non trout stocked waters until Opening Day of trout season (second Saturday in April)..  You will also need a new, 2023 license if you intend to fish any freshwaters in the state at this time.