December Nights

 

First one of the night was a mirror.  It hit a combo
bait of maize and an artificial corn.

This is the time of year that I often fish at night, especially a warm night.  For some reason, carp will prowl the shallows at night in late fall in search of food.

Tonight I had the right conditions.  It was warm yesterday followed by a warm night and warm again today.  So I prebaited a spot I wanted to fish this afternoon and headed out after dark.  I managed to get three fish, all mirrors and all mid size- 6 to 10 lbs. I got them all on a combo bait of a white pop-up artificial corn fished with a kernel of maize on the hair rig.  I used no method. I like to go "small" on the bait in cold water.

Carp will continue to hit even in cold weather until skim ice starts to form. Once the ice comes, they seem to go into a funk in still water lakes and ponds.  They tend to be more active in moving water (rivers and streams).  Don't expect to catch big numbers in December, and any carp landed in December is a bonus in my book!.

Final fish of the night was this good looking mirror!

Results of 2023 RI CAG Fall Combo Tournament

Tom Perron, gold medal!

 

Brian Savage- silver medal!

The RI CAG fall combo tournament is in the books. The event ran from Sept. 1st to the end of November.  Our members fished and entered fish by length (inches).  We had three categories: mirrors, commons and a bonus fish (catfish or sucker). Add up the total lengths and that was the score.  Once again, our top two big carp fishermen, Tom Perron and Brian Savage, slugged it out for the top spot with some impressive fish.

Here are the final results:

Gold medal- Tom Perron- 79 points (30 inch mirror, 30 inch common, 19 inch sucker or catfish)

Silver medal- Brian Savage- 60 points (30 inch mirror, 30 inch common)

Bronze medal- Tony Carvalho- 15 points (15 inch catfish)

 

400th Carp of the Year Landed

 

This common, landed today, is my 400th carp
of the year. It's been a rough road to find numbers
of fish this year.

Today I hit a milestone as I landed my 400th carp of the year. I finally had a few fish today and that got me over the 400 plateau.

I set 500 carp as my goal every year. I keep logs of all my catches.  In my best year of the last ten years numbers-wise, I landed a whopping 1,300 carp.  Last year, my worst year numbers-wise saw 430 fish landed. If I were betting man, I would bet 500 is not going to happen this year.  Heck, I am lucky to reach 400 this year.  Overall, this has been a tough year of carp fishing.  We've had a lot of rain and a lot of warm weather.  That is the perfect storm for weed growth. The invasive weed, mostly milfoil and water chestnut, has been awful most of the year, making for impossible fishing in some of my favorite carp fishing places.  The weed has cleared up with the cooler weather lately, but the fishing overall still remains poor.

The carp fishing calendar is ticking away. It will end with the ice. I'm guessing in early December.  Even skim ice will end it in ponds and lakes. You can still get them in the moving water of rivers and streams, but carp fishing in the real cold is inconsistent and difficult.

Downright Poor for November

 

The alarms have been silent in November as it
has been a complete blank for me in multiple
locations.

It's been my worst November EVER for carp fishing thus far.  It's now November 10, and I have tried every day in November and it has been a complete BLANK.  I've switched up spots and tried at least a half dozen venues that have produced in the past.  I've been prebaiting these spots.  I've mixed up my baits.  All to no avail.  The carp are just not in the feeding mood!

This downward spiral began in early November when we had those two or three days of extreme cold. Up until then the fish were hitting.  But, that sudden cold put the fish in funk and they have not returned to active feeding.  I've also seen no jumps, no bubble trails and no fish near the shore moving around.

This can happen with carp fishing as it has its ups and downs.  Right now we are in a down period but I'm confident the fishing will perk up.

Start of the Fall Feed

 

This brightly colored common was one of many 
carp landed today. The fall feed has begun!

There has been a significant uptick in carp fishing in the last five days for me since we have been having these cold nights.  I call it the start of the fall feed. Every year about this time, dropping air and water temperatures signal to the carp that winter is coming.  This sets in motion increased feeding in preparation for winter. I've seen this uptick this week.  I had not been doing well and all of a sudden, I'm catching good numbers and some larger fish.  In the last week, I have landed three carp over 20 lbs. I've also landed some good numbers of smaller ones.  I had 12 carp in the last two days, real good numbers.  In addition, I've seen bubble trails and fish jumping in the places I have been fishing.  I didn't see that several weeks ago. The activity level has jumped.

So, if you are a carp fisherman, right now is one of the best times to get out and fish. 

Two Tournaments Running at the Same Time

 

Here's a nice 20 lb. common that I
have in the net.  Carp fishing recently
has been slow here in RI.

The fall carp fishing tournaments are now underway.  Here in RI, CAG members can take part in our RI CAG Fall Combo Tournament.  This runs until the end of November. You enter by length your biggest common, biggest mirror and biggest bonus fish (catfish or sucker). We add up the points and that gets the total. The early leader is Brian Savage who entered a good size mirror carp at 30 inches.

On the national level, CAG is running their popular Fall Big 4.  Members can enter this event. Basically, you enter your 4 biggest carp by weight.  You need photo documentation. At the end of the event, your weights are totaled up and that is your total.  There are some very nice prizes for those finishing in the top ten. I currently have a 20 and a 22 lber. on the board which has put me in 6th place in the early going. I am hoping to get at least 100 lbs. of fish. 

This has been a slow fall of carp fishing thus far for me. I have found no evidence that the fish are on a fall feed before winter.  In addition, the invasive weed has been a real problem in a lot of places although it is dying off. Finally, I've spent a lot of time striper fishing which has been lights out in the last three weeks. I I'm hoping to get back in the groove in the coming weeks.

High Water, Invasive Weeds and Pests

I landed this mirror yesterday along with a couple
of more. September fishing has been slow over-
all in RI thusfar.

We should be in the start of some good fall fishing for carp right now in RI, but we are not. The weather has been summer-like in the past week or so and that has warmed the water. The pests such as turtles and horned pout are right at home in this bath water, and they are active. They have been very bothersome with their bait stealing antics.

In addition to the pests, we have very high water and lots of invasive weed to deal with.  Most of the ponds in RI are very high right now due to all the rain in the last few days. Water levels are at a springtime high and not a fall low.  I don't like fishing high water.  Just too many places for the carp to hide in the vegetation near the shore.

Finally, there is the invasive weed.  It is just everywhere though it shows signs of dying out.  Last year it was generally gone by mid to late October but we will need some cold weather to kill it.

Still, I have been slogging through a tough early September and I have been catching a few fish here and there.  Nothing to write home about but I've gotten about 10 mirrors so far this month from 6 to 10 lbs. Better days are coming but we'll just have to wait it out till cooler weather arrives.