Cold Weather Cools Off Carp Fishing

Last week's warm weather and great fishing is now a thing of the past.  The cold weather, big winds and freezing nights of the last two days have slowed down the carp fishing here in RI to a crawl.  I fished the last two days just about all day and ended up with just one small mirror carp.  I've seen no activity, no fish jumping and no bubble trails.  The carp are just laying low and not hitting.  This is not unusual for March fishing.  I've said many times before that March fishing is very inconsistent due to changeable weather.

Terrific Buy in Sweet Corn

My friend Nick put me onto a great buy in sweet corn that is really effective for carp.  Nick who runs a blog,  http://www.southernnewenglandoutdoors.blogspot.com/ , has been slamming the carp this week using Value sweet corn from Stop and Shop. This stuff is durable and larger than most other sweet corn.  You can buy a 29 oz can of it for just $1.25.  Terrific price!  And, it really works. I have fished with Nick and I have been using the expensive pineapple Pescaviva, and I can tell you he is far outfishing me with this plain sweet corn. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

Change in Tactics Leads to BIG Mirrors

About a week ago I switched tactics.  First off, I switched locations I was fishing, leaving some good size commons behind to go after some good size mirrors.  I found a new hotspot, a previous unknown venue which held some real good size fish.  Secondly, I changed bait, opting to just go with my plastic pop-ups with one kernel of Pescaviva (see post on making pop-ups from plastic worms).  And, finally I changed my method mix.  I am still going with the basic oatmeal, cornmeal and bread, but I am now going with several handfuls of sweet feed (sold in feed stores) in the mix.  This method smells so good I'm even tempted to eat a handful.
Whether it was one or two tactics from above that worked or whether it was a combination of everything, I had a past five days to remember, landing over 30 good size mirrors that ran up into the twenties.  For sure, the warm weather helped, but I like to think my approach had something to do with my success.

PB's Falling; Big Fish Hitting Like Crazy

The carp fishing has been as hot as the weather in the past week.  It seems like every day, another RI CAG member nails another PB fish (personal best).  Within a three day period this past week, three of our members have landed PB commons of 20, 21, and 23 lbs., all real good sized fish here in RI.  I have also landed 5 commons over 20 lbs. in the last week along with a load of teen sized fish while fishing in the morning.  In addition, in the afternoon and evening I have been targeting mirrors in the last couple of days and have landed fifteen big mirrors from 10-18 lbs. (see pic).  The current string of warm days has charged up the carp and has gotten them in high gear.  With water temperatures close to spawning temps, the fish are active and feeding. If you are looking for a big fish, now is prime time to get it!

100th Carp of the Year Landed on Other Guy's Rod

I landed my 100th carp for 2012, but it came on another guy's equipment.  I was out fishing today with my friend Nick.  He was getting fish; I was not.  Things slowed down so Nick decided it was time to leave in early afternoon.  He was up at his car bringing some stuff, but left his rods in the water.  Suddenly, his alarm went off.  So, I grabbed the rod and when Nick returned, I had a nice 14 lber. on the shore. Thanks, Nick, you saved my day.....I owe you one!

Pop-ups From Plastic Worms!

I stumbled onto something very hot today.  I noticed a bunch of white plastic worms (intended for largemouths) in my basement.  I got the idea to cut some up into small pieces to use as pop-ups. I put them into a small container and added some pineapple flavor (from K-2 baits).  Yes, they do float.  I then tried them fishing and the results were terrific.  I used one of these small pop-ups with a kernel of sweet corn on the hair rig.  Rather than causing the bait to float, the piece of plastic seemed to add a neutral buoyancy to the offering, something that carp find very attractive in bait.  Using this set up I landed 4 good size carp today up to 21 lbs.  On my other outfit, I had just the usual 2 pieces of sweet corn.  That outfit yielded only 1 fish.  Many fishermen like to add these pop-ups to their bait.  Pop-ups usually come in the form of small boilies or plastic imitation corn.  Both are quite expensive.  The cut up worms are a far cheaper and equally effective way to go.

First HOGS of the Year Landed

The large fish are now biting.  I'm catching them, and others are also reporting catching them in various parts of the state.  Credit the big warm up that we are having this past week for getting the big fish moving into the shallows and feeding.  Prior to this week I had been catching good numbers of carp in moving water.  These were mostly small fish under twelve pounds.  However, in the last week, I've gotten about a half dozen fish that went between 15 and 26 lbs.  At the right is my biggest for the week at 26 lbs.  It had a huge gut on it but was a fairly short fish.  All my fish this week have been caught on pineapple flavored Pescaviva (sweet corn) fished ahead of a method ball.  The best fishing time of the day for me has been the warmest part, around mid day. I've also been trying at night and have taken a couple of fish, another sign that fishing is heating up.
With warm weather forecast right into next week, expect the good carp fishing to continue.  Hey, there's a ton of guys out there twiddling their thumbs waiting for Opening Day of trout season to arrive.  Why not give carp fishing a try?  You can legally fish right now in any state waters that are not stocked with trout.