Friday, March 8, 2024

Springing Into a New Season

 It's early March and the spring carp fishing is starting locally.  I got out several times in the last week trying multiple venues. I ended up with 2 mirrors and 1 common.  It's a start.

I must say that these fish were super active unlike the ones I was getting in the cold of winter. Each fish sent the alarms screaming on the take.  They were also feisty on the fight unlike the sluggish fish of mid winter.

It all tells me that the new season is here. Now, as soon as I get the first 20 lber., I can really say it's really here! That's coming soon.

Just a reminder- if you plan on carp fishing in RI, you must now have a new 2024 fishing license.  Also, any waters stocked with trout are closed to any kind of fishing until after Opening Day (second Saturday in April).

I landed this beautiful mirror today. Spring carp fishing 
has started!


Friday, February 23, 2024

Some Ice, Some Open Water, Some Fish

 Hey, it's still February and the fishing reflects this. In the last week I did some exploring and was surprised by how much ice I found in many of the ponds in RI. Some places had almost no open water.

I did, however,  find a spot that was fishable, and I tried today.  I did manage a few fish but it was not hot and heavy.  Once again, it's February, not May.

Your best bet at this time of year is to look for a small pond that is ice free. If the pond is shallow all the better since the water will warm up faster on a sunny day. Small rivers are also a good bet.  Look for deep, slow moving water in small rivers.

There are no pests around at this time so sweet corn is a good bait at this time. You can either use a hair rig or just thread a few pieces on a small hook. Method balls are optional. I caught my fish today on a combo bait of a small piece of maize along with an artificial pop-up corn fished on a hair rig off a #8 hook.

 I landed this mirror carp today in some ice free water.
They will hit in February but don't expect the action to be hot and heavy.



Sunday, February 18, 2024

Next Stop......Springfield Sportsmen's Show


 My next stop on my winter seminar tour is the Springfield Sportsmen's Show on Saturday, Feb. 24 at the Big E in Springfield, MA. I will be doing seminars at 1:00 and 4:00. 

For anyone who has never been to this popular show, it is a mix of everything outdoorsy. There's hunting and fishing stuff, camping stuff, outfitters, charter boat captains, tackle shops, boats, kayaks, etc., all in a massive venue. It also features an all star line-up of seminar speakers.

I will be doing my striper and carp fishing shows. My striper fishing show is called Finesse Fishing for 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.

My carp fishing show is titled 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.

The striper seminar is scheduled for 1:00 while my carp fishing seminar will take place at 4:00.

Hope to see many of my loyal readers at the show! Form more info, check out the show information at  www.osegsportsmens.com


Friday, February 9, 2024

Back in Business

 

Here's a mirror that I landed today.  Yes, carrp
can be caught in the dead of winter!

I'm on the board with my first ones of 2024.  I was out twice this week and landed 3 mirrors.  They all looked like clones in the 6 to 8 lb. range.

Yes, you can catch carp in the dead of winter in ice free waters.  However, realize these are not the voracious feeders you find in the spring when the waters have a chance to warm.  In the very cold water of February, these fish will feed sparingly.  Everything about them has slowed in the cold.  The takes will be just subtle bangs of the rod tip.  The fight will be sluggish. Most likely, you won't catch a lot of them and the ones that do hit tend to be smaller fish.

Still, on beautiful winter days like today, it feels great just to just get out and wet a line. Carp tend to hit on these warm, winter days. If you plan to try, here's a few tips. Go light with the bait. Today I was using one small kernel of maize with a white, artificial corn on the hair rig. I was also fishing a "small" spot.  Big waters don't tend to produce in the wintertime. Best times will be a sunny afternoon, or the warmest part of the day.

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

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.



Thursday, December 28, 2023

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.



Wednesday, December 13, 2023

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.