Fishing Seminars this Weekend- NE Fishing Expo

 I will be at the NE Fishing Expo this weekend on Saturday and Sunday doing my latest carp and striper fishing seminars for 2024. The NE Fishing Expo is a pure fishing show that has gotten rave reviews in recent years.  This year it will move to the Royal Plaza Trade Center in Marlborough, MA which is right off Rt. 495. This is a show that caters to both freshwater and saltwater fishermen with loads of vendors, tackle dealers and the latest equipment on display. Show info can be found at their website at www.nefishingexpo.com

Here is my schedule.  Hope to see many of my followers at the show.

Saturday- 2:00 PM- Seminar- Finesse Approach to Catching Stripers.  This show is loaded with info on using a finesse approach to catching stripers from shore and kayak when the bait is small (which it was most of the time last year). The show is filled with tackle and plugging ideas. Some terrific video footage and photos from last year's fishing are in the narrated presentation.

Sunday, 11:00 AM- Seminar- Carp Fishing Strategies.  This show focuses on different approaches to catching carp. also nicknamed "freshwater tuna"! These monsters of freshwater can be difficult to catch on rod and reel, and I'll offer many suggestions on how to do it that should appeal to beginners as well as seasoned pros. I've got some serious photos in the show that include multiple potential state records.

2023- The Year in Review

 

My biggest carp of the year was this mammouth
fish of 38 lbs., 12 oz., a potential state record that
was released.

One word describes this past year of carp fishing in RI- SUBPAR. This was a year that I landed my fewest numbers of carp in the last ten years even though I fished the same number of times.  However, I must admit that I did land good numbers of large fish over 20 lbs., including three thirties.  I released two fish that would have been potential RI state records.  Those fish, 38 lbs., 12 oz. and 36 lbs., 4 oz. were magnificent RI fish. The 38 was a top 5 fish of all time for me.  Another highlight for me was coming in 3rd place in the CAG National Big 4 Spring Tournament, my best finish in recent years. I had 4 fish totaling 133 lbs., 12 oz., an average of over 33 lbs. per fish!

Some of the big issues that affected the numbers were high water and invasive weed. I was constantly struggling in these big rainstorms which sent the water in the woods in many places. When that happens a lot of carp feed in the flooded woods and you just can't get to them.  Invasive weed was also a big issue with big time weed growth happening because of a perfect storm of hot weather, lots of rain and runoff. The water chestnut took over many of my favorite spots.  Milfoil was another culprit that clogged many of my carp spots. All this weed was around big time from June to October.

Here are some numbers from my logs:

*Total number of carp landed - 411

*Number of carp over 30 lbs.- 3

*Best month numbers-wise- April, 114 carp landed

*Worst month (non winter)- November, 18 carp landed

*Best month for big carp- April, 17 carp over 20 lbs.

*Best Bait- Combo bait of one kernel of white artificial maize and one kernel of real maize on the hair rig

Invasive weed like this water chestnut covered
massive areas of some ponds and made fishing
impossible in 2023. Milfoil was equally as bad 
in some places.

CAG Fall Big 4- 11th place

 

One of my entries in the Fall Big 4- 24 lbs., 6 oz.

I ended up in 11th place in this year's CAG National Fall Big 4 Tournament.  I just missed the prize categories of 1st through 10th place. 

This was a tough fall tournament. We had a lot of sharpies from all over the country competing.  These were some of the best carp fishermen in the US, and they were fishing some of the best fall locations, mainly big rivers. I knew before I started that I needed about 110 lbs. of fish to make the top ten (weights of top four fish). That meant catching at least two thirty pounders or a couple of high twenties along with other fish over 20 lbs.  That's a tall order here in RI.

Here are my top four fish that I entered: 20 lbs., 6 oz., 22 lbs., 4 oz., 24 lbs., 6 oz., and 29 lbs., 6 oz. My four fish total came out to 96 lbs., 6 oz.  All my fish were caught in either RI or MA waters. 

November proved particularly tough for me. There was a lot of wild weather and the waters were high.  Weed was dying in a lot of places and problematic at times. And, the fish were just not cooperative.  I landed only a grand total of 18 carp in November, and I did not have a single carp over twenty pounds.  All my tournament entries were landed in October.

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.