Photo of the Day....Catching in Today's Cold and Sleet

Got this hefty, good looking common along with another decent fish in today's
miserable  weather.

From TERRIBLE to TERRIFIC

This good size mirror is one of
40 carp landed in the last three
days! The carp have been on the
rampage at ice out.

Wild, hybrid goldfish have also
been hitting as I have landed two
of these "rare" fish in the
last three days.

I have fished the last six days in a row. These were mostly short sessions of 3 to 4 hours a day.  The first three days I blanked.  Yup, not a darn thing in a number of different places in RI and MA waters.  In most of those places there were pockets of ice along the ponds I fished so the water was super cold.  Then, the ice disappeared in the rainy weather we had this week, and the fishing went from terrible to terrific. In the next three days I managed to land a whopping 40 carp with a couple of goldfish also. It was as good as it gets at ice out at this time of year.
The carp I landed were all sizes from small ones to good size fish up near 20 lbs. I got them either on just sweet corn or a combo bait of artificial corn and sweet corn fished on the hair rig.  I also used a method ball packed around my sinker.  In these three "active" days I saw numerous fish jump and whirl, a sure sign that fish are getting more active.
As a bonus I was also able to land two "rare" wild hybrid goldfish.  These fish, which look like commons but with smaller scales and no barbels,  were fat as footballs, an indication that they were full of eggs and getting ready to spawn.
I'm guessing the nasty wintry weather predicted for the next two days will likely cool things off. But, if I can get to the water, I plan to fish the nasty weather.

100

Got my 100th carp of the new year today.

This good size common is my 100th carp of the new year.
It was a good day today with several fish this size.

Chalk up another big score on a rainy, lousy day. I had a decent afternoon with five carp on the bank along with a couple of more runners that dropped the bait.  These were decent fish in the 10-20 lb. range.  All fell for a combo bait of sweet corn and a white artificial corn fished on the hair rig with a method ball ahead of the bait.
This spring's fishing has been particularly tough.  The weather has been extreme and all over the place....very cold one day, warm the next, snowing one day, rainy the next, waters iced over one week, gone the next.  The inconsistency of the weather has led to inconsistent fishing at best.  So, it has been a slow climb to 100 fish for me this year. March has been especially difficult this year with the colder than normal weather.
But, spring keeps ticking forward, and I can at least see that the fishing for larger fish is slowly improving. If the ice and snow is behind us, the fishing should continue to get better.

First 20 of the New Year

First 20 lber of the new year.

I have been catching decent numbers of carp this winter (nearly a hundred fish) despite the weather. But, the biggest fish I was able to land was a fish in the low teens.  That isn't surprising since the smaller ones seem to be more active in the cold water, and I have limited options of places to fish in the wintertime.  That is all changing as more and more water opens up for carp fishing with the departing ice. I know things are getting serious when I can catch my first 20 lber. of the year, and I got that one today.
I fished today in that brutal wind and wind chill.  I was determined to hit a number of spots and take it from there.  If I found fish after an hour or so I would stay; if not, I would move to a new location.  I found what I wanted at my second location.  There, I landed two decent fish.  One was a low teen and the other was a twenty pounder.  For the first time this year I fished plastic artificial corn and that seemed to do it.  I was using one kernel of sweet corn along with a kernel of white, ESP, artificial corn on the hair (see photo at left).  That artificial gives the bait some color and lift, two factors that lure fussy carp into hitting. That combo bait has been my ticket to catching some very large fish in the last two years.
Tonight's cold and tomorrow's cold will likely set things back a bit.  However, next week's forecast looks to be warmer and rainier, a deadly combination at this time of year. The fishing will only get better in the coming weeks. The serious spring fishing has begun.

Limited Options

It was five carp today landed
on a snowy bank.  Most still water
spots have ice so moving water
 is your best bet right now.

It's been nine days since I have been out fishing.  That's a long time in March.  So, today, with my limited options, I headed out. On a day in which I would have been happy to get one fish, I did manage to land 5 carp up to ten pounds.  Nice to get back in the game.
I scouted around yesterday and here is what I found.  Many of the lakes and ponds south of Providence have some ice.  Some are half frozen, some are almost clear of ice.  I suspect many of those places will be ice free by mid week.  North of Providence is a different story.  In many places it is solid ice covering the whole pond.  Some, though, are partially frozen.  Places north of Providence will take some time to shed their ice.
So, with the still water of ponds and lakes a poor bet, I headed to moving water which is never a sure bet in cold weather. Those carp I did manage to catch today were taken on sweet corn on the hair along with a small method ball. The takes were sluggish, but the fight was ok.  Yes, everything is  slowed in thirty degree water.
I have never been a fan of March fishing.  The up and down weather of March makes for inconsistent fishing at best. However, if you put in your time in March in open water, you still can catch carp even in the worst of conditions.

Good Fishing About to Hit the Skids

The snow was falling today but the
fish were still hitting. Looks like
fishing is heading downhill, again.

Get ready for the deep freeze that is coming weekend along with a snowstorm that has the potential to bury us next week.  Here we go on the March roller coaster.  Just when carp fishing was coming alive, it's all about to go downhill.  In the last three days I have landed 24 carp, real good numbers for this time of year. That warm spell on Wed., and Thurs., of this week really got the fish feeding. I even got out today in the snow and cold and landed 5 fish on a snowy bank.
I will have to say that while the fish have been hitting they have been sluggish on the take and on the fight.  That's all due to the cold water.  So, I changed up tactics a bit.  Instead of putting the bait directly on a small hook (not working this week), I tied up some smaller hair rigs.  I used a #10 hook and tied a small hair that would take only two small pieces of sweet corn, used lighter line on the hooklink (30 lb. test Power Pro), and added a small swivel.  I also went smaller on the sinker, opting for a half ounce steel egg sinker.  I also used a small method ball. It all worked great as I seemed to do much better with the smaller stuff.  I even set up a light steelhead rod and loaded it with a Shimano baitrunner with 8 lb. test mono.  That outfit seemed to get the most attention.
I'm more than certain the coming cold and snow will put the ice back onto still waters. I'm guessing we might be looking at 7-10 days before I can get again. So, it's back to the ski slopes for me!

Ups and Downs of March Fishing

Today's beautiful weather had the fish
active. Looks like a return to winter in
the next few days.

Overall, carp fishing is very dependent on the weather most of the year. In March that weather effect is super magnified. This month's weather and fishing have been a roller coaster thus far. It's sixty degrees one day, 20 degrees the next. It's snowing one day, beautiful and sunny the next. The ice comes, the ice goes.  All of this has made the fishing very inconsistent at best.
I got out yesterday and could barely find a section of open water in the ice to fish.  There was ice in most of the places I checked.  I got nothing in an afternoon of fishing.  Today I went out again in some beautiful weather.  All that ice that was around yesterday was gone today, and the fish were hitting.  I landed good numbers of them today using sweet corn on the hair. The water was freezing cold to the touch and the fish were sluggish on the take, but still hitting.
If you look at what is coming in the next few days, it looks like a return to severe cold, icing and maybe even snow. That will surely put the fishing down once again. Welcome to the ups and downs of March fishing.