april carp...brings spring smiles

**tangledline** · 04-14-2012, 10:19 PM

carp fishing april 14 outer harbour/spit
8am until 4pm
i got there by ttc and alot of walking
kearney got there by car
carp were there when we got there(earlier might have been better)
note i seldom see carp b4 10am at the toronto islands but in deeper water along toronto's shoreline they are up early.
we fished corn....little ground baited and a little on the hook
note ...i notice they prefer to eat off the weeds than the open sand areas...
this presents a visual problem...bait so that the carp can see it as well as smell it...bait can get visually lost in weeds.
popping up your bait above the weeds..6 inches can help....use yellow foam on your hook with corn...
we got action in the first half hour....kearney (master basser)...noticed trout ...fished for it and got it on...
head shakes and runs.....unfortunately trout was lost...kearney and i pumped and andrenaline awaken...
1o minutes later i see my line moving...drag is set really low...i pick it up...fish on....carp
as i fight the carp it takes some solid runs...i tried to slow it down...tightened the drag too much like a novice.
the line breaks as the carp wraps it around himself and uses the old tail to break line....6lb test mono...
20 minutes later....my line goes out again....fish on ...another carp and she heads for bridge pilings....
i work her back with the butt and body of my rod...6'6'' med st croix avid...with a repaired tip that is failing again...spun around sideways....
i get her to run another direction and i slowly advance her away from the bridge....careful this time to allow drag to let line out on the carp crazed runs....yikes...she keeps fighting for ages....my face is red and i am a little out of breath...
i am low on the confidence scale about landed her....i never caught a carp b4 where we were fishing...but i knew it would be tough to get a fish out as there was a good drop to the water, a fence issue in front and behind, as well as only 3 feet of landing area in between.....the fight was prolonged to wear down the carp sufficiently to successfully land her and to handle her without injury to her in such cramped landing area.....
big thanks to kearney who landed her in a net i made using a painting pole and an old net frame and new large basket netting
the two poles of the net are shoved together not attached....easier for transport ..not so easy to land the fish with.....
kearney scooped under her as she was all tuckered out.
hook removed...pics...pose...release....
see pics and video
we saw trout, salmon, pike, bass, and lots of carp...
we only caught the one carp.
i think when i caught the carp she sent out warning smells cause we did not entice more carp to eat....
every fish we saw around the baited area was wary from this point on....
the barometric presure changed and we saw carp sleeping on the bottom in lots of places...
rest of the day was slow.....
mnr dropped by asked for our licences...2nd time this year??....great to see them out.
first carp of the year for me....april 14...one week earlier than last year....
see video here:
http://youtu.be/mJeVLth0gWQ

**tangledline** · 04-14-2012, 10:30 PM

**tangledline** · 04-14-2012, 10:34 PM

note on the carps cheeks both sides were holes damaged by bacteria or by lampreys i am not sure...
last week i saw a salmon with a huge lamprey attached to her.....in the same area....

**MikeH** · 04-14-2012, 10:58 PM

Nice fish!

**tangledline** · 04-14-2012, 11:04 PM

mike i wanted to go to the osf meet but my fishing buddy could only go part day...early part...and those island carp are not up that early...
call for rain etc..and low pressure...the outer harbour was close to where my buddy lives...but another time...i am interested to meet up with you guys as well as the cag guys.

**MikeH** · 04-15-2012, 08:26 AM

Originally Posted by tangledline

mike i wanted to go to the osf meet but my fishing buddy could only go part day...early part...and those island carp are not up that early...
call for rain etc..and low pressure...the outer harbour was close to where my buddy lives...but another time...i am interested to meet up with you guys as well as the cag guys.

For sure Dave!

I knew we were in for a tough session when I saw the weather coming in off the lake and we got a temperature reading of only 42f in Long Pond. We had a good time, saw a few Carp cruising, but no takers. The CAG guys absolutely loved the islands and will definitely be back again. There's an open invite to anyone up here interested in Carp, for a return visit to their usual spot in Hamilton Harbour.

These guys travel fully loaded, including shelters! Very different to our usual roaming, light tackle approach. It was cool to see the latest in Carp gear. I got some good tips on gear and rigs etc.

I would guess that the next organised OSF meetup would probably be for Pike opener (seems a good choice) Would any of you at Fishing Fury be interested in having a few of us from OSF join you for a Pike session?

**MuskieBait** · 04-15-2012, 03:44 PM

Very nice Dave!

In clearer water, it's interesting what you can observe. I saw the same avoidance behaviour after catching a carp (or in some cases, even missing the hookset on a couple of fish can lead to that too). It's crazy how wary they can get when those stress/fright signal gets in the water. Those fish could be all over the chum before, and they can totally abandon the area after. I've seen fish avoid the "stressed" area all day, ie. if I had fished one area in the morning, caught a fish, and left some chum in the area, the fish could ignore the chum all day and into the evening when I check that spot again. Sometimes, even for carp fishing, it pays to move around.

I wonder if that's why people tend to do better in rivers in general for carp at specific areas. The flowing water tends to dilute and carry away these signals. The current also help to distribute the chum and scent later to attract fish.

I went for a little trip to TTP yesterday morning before work...just a scouting trip to walk around to look for potential. Lots of areas look good with even some shallower areas where it maybe be great for sight fishing for carp on the fly rod.

I only saw a few jumpers yesterday but didn't see any fish shallow. No fish at the gate either (guess it's still a bit early).

@MikeH - As long as I don't have to work, I'd be up for that. My Italian friend like the whole heavy tackle, bolt rig, method feeder kind of fishing, which I find it tough to do at the Islands. I much prefer the light tackle finesse approach at the Island...although I can appreciate method fishing even with the light tackle. Definitely something to try this summer.

**Master Basser** · 04-16-2012, 01:48 PM

That was alot of fun Dave, although I am still yet to get my first fish of 2012, Who knows, maybe this week...I might take a day off this week, it's slow here.

**jwm** · 04-17-2012, 05:39 PM

Nice fish!! Congrats!

Originally Posted by MikeH

I would guess that the next organised OSF meetup would probably be for Pike opener (seems a good choice) Would any of you at Fishing Fury be interested in having a few of us from OSF join you for a Pike session?

NOOOOOOO THE ISLANDS ARE ALL MINE! Just kidding of course. If you see me out there just say hi