Hot Weather /Hot Fishing- July Turning out to be a Decent Month

 

Here's a good size mirror resting in some 
shallow water before release. July fishing
has been as hot as the weather!

As past Julys go, they are usually slow carp fishing months. Not this year.  I am working on a good July numbers-wise and size-wise. The weather has been generally hot and the water has been super warm, but the carp continue to hit well. So far I've landed 64 carp in July with still a week to go. I've also had some decent ones.  I've had 8 fish over 20 lbs. with the biggest going 27 lbs. July is not regarded as a big fish month but this July has produced some good size fish.

I have to admit that the turtles has been a Royal pain in the you know what! Both snappers and sun turtles have been messing with my bait. I'm generally using a combo bait of real maize and a white pop-up plastic corn on a hair rig.  They will take off the real maize and will not touch the plastic artificial.  Yet, the carp will not hit my bait unless I have that kernel of the real stuff on the hair rig.  So, I'm reeling in more often than usual just to check that I have my bait.

Note that I have been fishing mostly the coolest parts of the day- mornings and evenings.  I also keep an eye on the weather and have fished a lot in the rain or the day after it rains.  It seems like the cooling rain drops the water temperature and the carp feed well afterwards. That's always been the pattern in the dead of summer. 

Photo of the Day- "Good Size Summer Carp"

 

I landed this 20 lb. carp this morning. Yes, large carp
can be caught in the dead of summer.  Cooler times of the
day like morning, evening and after dark are best on
hot summer days.

Dropping Water Temps Perk up Fishing

 

Here's a carp in the net that I landed today.
Fishing has perked up in the cooler water.

When I walked in the water today in my waders, I felt that the water was noticeably cooler. That northeast wind, cold temperatures and rain in the last few days was responsible for dropping the water temperature. It was just enough to perk up the carp fishing, which had been poor in the heat wave.

Today I found good numbers of actively feeding fish, something I haven't seen in the last two weeks. I landed 6 carp today in a few hours of trying. These fish ranged from small five pounders up to fish in the 20's.  All the fish were landed on a combo bait of a kernel of maize and a white artificial corn fished on a hair rig.

I also noticed the turtles were not active today maybe due to the cooler water. They have been real pests in the last couple of weeks in the hot weather.

Results- RI CAG SPRING BIG 3

Evan- silver medal

 

Dave- gold medal

We recently completed our Spring Big 3 Tournament. This event began back in April and finished at the end of June. The members who chose to take part entered their biggest carp by weight for the months of April, May and June.  The final point total was the weights added up.  The first, second and third place finishers will get medals donated by CAG.  Here are the results below for each month and the totals.

1. Dave- 25/14 + 33+ 31/4 = 90/2

2. Evan- 23 + 25/4 + 26/12 = 75/0

3. Tom- 23/5 + 19/9 + 22/9 = 65/7

4. Brian- 16/12 + 17/8 + 14/9 =48/13

5. Scott- 0 + 26/2 + 20/4 = 46/6

Tom- bronze medal

Highlight of the Day- A Ghost Carp

 

A ghost carp comes to the net. Notice the dark 
and light blotches all over this fish.

Yesterday I landed my first ghost carp of the year.  A ghost carp is usually a common carp that has very light, whitish, ghostlike pigments in its scales.  When coming to the net, they almost look like a small white sheet at the end of your line.

The one I landed yesterday was about 15 lbs. and had a lot of white blotchy spots on its head and along its sides. I caught it on a combo bait of maize and a white artificial corn fished on a hair rig.

While rare, I usually will  get one or two "ghosties" a year.

RI CAGers Score in National Big 4 Tournament

Evan Aziz- 15th place-
102 lbs., 14 oz.

 CAG just completed one of their signature tournaments, the Spring Big 4.  In this event more than 50 top notch carp fishermen, all CAG members, from all over the country squared off in this three month event.  The idea was to enter their 4 biggest carp by weight and that was their total. This year produced some of the biggest catches ever entered with some of the top guys averaging over 40 lbs. a carp.

We had great representation from RI.  Two of our members, myself and Evan Aziz, scored in the top 15.  The top 15 are the prize categories in which gift certificates were awarded.

Evan came in 15th place and won a gift certificate to Bottom Feeder Baits. He landed carp weighing 26/12, 25/4, 25/2 and 24/12 for a total of 102/14.  It's amazing that Evan has been only fishing a few years but already is posting numbers like a seasoned veteran. 

I came in 8th place and won a gift certificate to Big Carp Tackle. I landed carp weighing 33, 31/4, 31/2 and 27/2 for a total of 122/8. Fortunately, I landed a carp of 31 lbs. on the last day of the tournament and that moved me from 10th to 8th place. Every year I enter this event, and every year I am shooting for a top 10 finish.

Note that all of my carp and Evan's fish were all caught in RI waters. Yes, we have some big carp here in RI!

Dave Pickering- 8th place- 122 lbs., 8 oz.

Carp Fishing Slows in the Heat

 

Carp fishing has slowed in the recent heat wave.
But, they can still be caught by targeting the 
coolest times of the day.

I just wrote a post about how striper fishing slows in the heat.  Well, the same can be applied to carp fishing. In the last week since this latest heat wave arrived the carp fishing has slowed considerably.  In addition, the best fishing has occurred in early morning and late evening, the coolest parts of the day.

Carp are naturally creatures of comfort.  On these searing hot days, they might be found in the shade of overhanging trees.  They might venture out into deeper and cooler water. I've also seen some this week hanging out under lily pads.  The pads are like beach umbrellas to carp.  So, consider all these examples when deciding where to prebait and where to toss your lines.

They are still hitting but you might have to work a little harder to catch them.  You might also need to be more clever in your approach.