Back in Business and Avoiding the February Blank

Here's a beefy common that I landed today in
this beautiful sunny weather. Expect the carp
fishing to perk up when many of the state's ponds
lose their ice this week.

 It has been years, maybe decades, since I blanked in a winter month. As most of you know, I fish for carp year round, and some years it can be very good in the dead of winter. But, not this year as I was headed for a blank this February. Fishing has been particularly tough this February.  My usual winter moving water spots were not producing, and all my still water spots were completely iced over. I got out maybe a half dozen times with no luck until today.

Today I managed to put at least a few fish on the board for February.  It was a beautiful afternoon and the fish decided to hit. I got them to take my usual combo bait of sweet corn and a white artificial fished on a hair rig. I was also using a small method ball.

I get the feeling that carp fishing will break open this week in RI with a bout of warmer weather and rain headed our way. Carp tend to come to life at ice out, and I suspect many ponds in the state will lose their ice covering within a few days to a week. Get the carp gear ready. Spring is in the air.

Only Show in Town

 

It's not open water carp fishing, but it's fishing! I got out onto the ice this morning with my son Jon to do some jigging.  We came away with a lot of action and a lot of fish.  We caught bluegills, crappie and largemouth bass from the small pond we fished.  All the fish were caught on small gold Kastmasters tipped with a meal worm.  This is a deadly combo for jigging, and somthing we used to catch a lot of fish years ago when we actually had an ice fishing season.

I was surprised to find the ice was a solid 5 inches of clear, hard ice. How long it will last is anyone's guess. But, for now, we have the start of an ice fishing season here in RI, and I'm going to take advantage of it!

At a Standstill

 

Just about everything fishing related in RI is at a standstill right now.  On the saltwater striper scene, nothing is going on. The holdover fishing has been shut down in every spot I know due to icing.  In freshwater, my carp fishing is also in a dormant stage due to icing.  I can fish running water, but that has not been producing.  I saw a photo today of someone ice fishing in RI and catching stocked trout. So, apparently there is safe ice somewhere.  If it’s not safe now, it’s a good bet you’ll find safer ice this weekend if you are into ice fishing. But, the window here will be short. Expect a snowstorm in the beginning of next week.  I hate the feeling of walking onto snow covered ice since I just don’t know how much ice is under the snow.  Real dangerous.  In addition, expect a warm-up at the end of the week with rain which should mush up the ice. Doesn’t it seem like just about everything these days is screwed up including the weather?

Fortunately, I’ve got my skiing to turn to.  That has been great and I’ve been sliding down the hills almost every day!

If you’re a fisherman, hang in there, because who knows what will come our way in a week or two. Things can change very fast in February.

Back to Sweet Corn

This common fell for a combo bait of sweet corn
and a white artificial corn fished on the hair rig.

 It's a new year, but the most effective bait is the same in the wintertime.  Sweet corn rules.  

I was out today in a new January location that I had not fished before.  I had one rod out with maize and a white artificial.  The other rod had sweet corn with a pale pink artificial.  First carp was on the sweet corn.  Second fish was on the sweet corn.  Ok, that was enough.  I got rid of the maize and went with sweet corn and the artificial on both outfits.  I landed one more carp. Not bad for a mid January afternoon.

Without question from now until the weather warms, sweet corn from the supermarket will be your best bait whether you fish it on the hair rig or just on a hook.  Sweet corn is always a top notch bait, but the pests of warm water (bluegills, turtles, suckers and horned pout) love this bait also and can easily take it off.  In this cold water, all those pests are dormant.  If you get a hit on your bait, it is pretty much going to be a carp. I always fish my sweet corn on a hair rig and usually combine it with one artificial pop up.

Sweet corn from the supermarket
is your best bait at this time of
the year.

We are in a funky January as far as weather. The ponds don't seem to know whether they want to freeze or thaw. In the last week or so, in many places a thin coating of ice seemed to form at night and then melted in the daytime especially when the sun was out. Afternoon, the warmest part of the day, will always be your best bet at this time of year.

Catch of the Day...."January Gold"

Landed this 12 lb. common on this cold and nasty day. Not too shabby for Jan. 3!

 

First Ones of the New Year

 

My first carp of the new year, a 12 lb. common,
is in the net. My first outing in 2021 was very
productive.

My carp fishing for 2021 began today. I got out on a sunny afternoon and had quite the outing for Jan.2.  I landed 10 carp that ranged from 7 to 19 lbs., one of my better winter outings in recent years. 

Many people don't associate carp fishing with cold water but truth is they do continue to feed in open water in the wintertime. Get a nice warm-up with the sun out like we had today, and you have the recipe for a good carp fishing day.

Certain places offer a higher percentage of success in the dead of winter.  I like to fish low water spots that heat up quickly on a warm winter day.  These can be small, shallow ponds, small rivers and canals. These are the places that warm up the fastest which causes the carp to feed. I have never scored well in bigger lakes with deep water in the wintertime. 

I was fishing my usual combo bait today- a small kernel of maize along with a white artificial corn on the hair rig. That same bait that was scoring in the fall continues to catch. Sweet corn is also very good at this time of year. 

Closing the Book on 2020 - The Year in Review

Highlight of the year, a RI "40"!

 I've caught my last carp for 2020. Overall, it was a strange and different year for me.  With Covid on the scene and travel restrictions in place, I did almost all my carp fishing here in RI.  That was very different because in past years, I caught good numbers fish in MA and CT waters.  Covid caused me to REALLY focus on RI carp fishing, not a bad thing. I explored a lot of places and found some very good spots I never knew existed. I actually put up some very good numbers, maybe the best ever for just here in RI. I also caught some very big fish. In fact, one special fish was the biggest I have every caught in RI and the first 40 lber. ever landed here. That was probably the highlight of my year.

So, below are some interesting numbers that tell part of the story of my carp fishing in 2020:

Total number of carp landed- 724 (278 commons, 446 mirrors)

Biggest Common Carp from RI- 40 lbs., 40 inches (new unofficial state record), landed June 6

Biggest Mirror Carp from RI-  25 lbs., landed on July 1

Most carp in one day- 50 on Nov. 30

Most Productive Month- November, 105 carp landed 

Least Productive Month- December- 12 carp landed

Best Month for big carp (over 20 lbs.)- October

First carp of the year landed- Jan. 3

Last carp of the year landed- Dec. 4

Numbers Comparison to 2019- 704 carp landed last year; 724 landed this year