What would your first carp catch be like?

What would your first carp catch be like?

One of my regular clients after some prompting decided to try something new and attempt to catch his first carp. He brought his fishing partner along and they met me at 3:30. I prefer morning trips. I firmly believe the morning bite is better then the evening bites. There was blue bird skies, it was hot, and a 30 mph wind to deal with.

I called fellow DuPageAngler.com member Joshua Bennett for a little help. He is a carp angler and photographer. It was great to have the extra rods out for the guys and having awesome photos shots of the guys fishing!

http://www.sunshinephotography.net/Outdoor-Sports/2014-07-27-Fishing/

http://www.sunshinephotography.net/

The first spot we chose was a new but reliable spot plus it was sheltered by the wind. After and hour of soaking carp bait,I see my 14 year old client playing on his phone and I know it is time to move.

Joshua had been fly fishing carp at a new pond with some great results. It has a nice lawn, a parking lot close, and a good carp population. The problem was its next to a corn field so there was no escape from the pounding winds.

We set up on a small point when lady luck struck a corn rod. (We had both float rigs and bottom rigs setup using corn bread and boilies.)It was a nice fish! The kid was excited and the look on his face was awesome. Then it was George’s turn they both seemed surprised at the strength and bull runs the carp made. I think I was more excited then they were.

Joshua for some crazy reason brought an ultra light and of course it gets bit!! We handed the kid the rod and said good luck with smirks on our faces. He didn’t have a snowballs chance in hell of landing that fish. He surprised us big time! He reeled against the drag for a moment then calmed down and settled in for the fight. Kid has his second carp ever on and he was fighting it better then most. We were both impressed as the fish was landed.

We were running out of light and George decided to call it. Just then one rod bent in half and he landed the biggest fish of the night!!

It was a fun evening. The guys had a great time and so did I. Joshua’s photography services will soon be available on any trip from shore! So please check out his site and his shots from the trip.

If you would like to have an Angling Adventure of your own just visit dupagefishingguide.com

EIGHT SUMMER ANGLING ADVENTURES

6-26-13 Kayak fishing with Dupageangler.com member Soonerbass aka Ted Yates:

We fished a suburban pond from out yaks and just crushed the fish! Sooner scored his on top water and I landed over 20 on four-inch Berkley Power worms it was an awesome summer night and a great way to break up the workweek. I landed an 18-inch fish on this trip! More on the trip click HERE

6-30-13 Whacker pond fishing with DA member JcCrappies (aka Chunsum Choi):

We hit three ponds and we had a blast!!! We went through so many whackers we had to stop at the house of Crabby Bass Lures partner Charles S and get some more plastics!! I landed an 18 and a 17-inch fish on this trip!

7-1-13 Kayaking and bassing a local lake solo to start my vacation:

I landed over ten bass with Crabby Bass Whackers and 4 in worms! My big fish for this day was a toad that measured 21 inches!!

7-3-13 Kayaking for summer panfish:

I was able to yak a private lake and got a bunch of 10-inch crappies and 7-inch gills. I used little atom plastics and night crawlers

7-4-13 Kayaking with Dupage Anglers and our kayak wars team:

Sooner Bass, Brim, JcCrappies, and myself all met at a small lake at dawn. The top water bite was non-stop for about an hour. Many bass were caught. Once the sun popped the bite all but shut down leaving us with only a few opportunities with plastics. I had so much fun. I landed 3 big fish on this trip a 17,18, and a 20 incher.

7-5-13 Short DuPage River wading trip fishing with Wacky Bass aka Marty R.:

Wacky and I had a couple hours and got a late start. We fished a stretch of the west branch in Plainfield and were covered in sweat before we even started fishing. We drifted live bait and grubs. We caught about 10 between us, had some fun, and then decided to get out of the heat.

7-6-13 Wading the West Branch with Chunsum (aka JcCrappies) in Shorewood:

We arrived very early and started drifting crawlers and crabby helgies. The Bite was not hot and heavy but persistence paid off. We did not catch many in our tradition holes many of the fish were hugging the shores under trees. I am glad Jc noticed this or we would not of caught at least 12 of our fish. My big fish for the day was 17 inches!

7-7-13 Guide Trip Booked with DuPage Anger Member Mcalla:

Mike want to learn more about wading and with the fox up and running we hit a tributary instead. We fished from 5:30 – 10:30 dodging most of the heat. We used my drifting technique with minnows, leeches, and crawlers. Mike scored big with 25 fish, six species, and several nice fish!! www.dupageguideservice.com

Little Atom Lures Catch Cold Front Fish

After a couple of 80 degree days the temperature plummets down 30 degrees and my bass bite I had been enjoying shuts down.

DupageAngler,com has a podcast on Wednesdays which I co-host. We were talking about the benefits of being a multi-species angler. Two of those is the ability to drop what you are going after and the willingness to change water.

Since my bass bite was dead I decided to switch to bluegills in small ponds. I grabbed only a small ultra light and a box of Little Atom plastics. I rigged a fat-boy jig, a small Thill float, and a purl micro Nuggie. My third cast I hook into the first of 3 bass. Funny, I came to this pond because the bass were not biting. I then got into some nice gills. I continued to switch colors and from Nuggies to Wedgees.

Once the bite slowed I switched lakes and quickly caught a handful of fish. Yahoo!!! The temp drops, I am wearing a jacket, and I just had a great couple of  hours. Little Atom came through big time!

These baits are affordable, durable, sleek, and deadly. They are so sensitive that it only takes a slight twitch to get the tail moving. If there is some wind and waves you don’t even have to get the baits moving at times. They are so sensitive that the waves do the work for you. You can purchase them HERE.

You can listen to our latest PODCAST where we discuss these baits and others.

December Crappie Video

Two Days of December Crappie Bonanza

Two Days of December Crappie Bonanza

With no ice in sight, it is time for serious anglers to get the layers on and hit the water. I called Chunsum Choi (JC1Crappies) and Ted Yates (Soonerbass) both DuPage Angler.com members. We decided to hit crappies because the river bite has been slower and honestly it sounded warmer then wading. We met in the dark not expecting more then a couple of fish each.

The three of us wanted to increase our odds so we tied double rigs. This rig was floats with two offerings under it. This is a favorite presentation of DuPage Angler Brim Reaper that he uses for bluegill and seemed the right choice for cold winter bites. We just had to beef up the offerings. Chunsum used Gulp Minnows and Crabby Squirts, Ted tube jigs and Lake Fork Shads, I used two tube jigs.  The rigs are set 2-4 down and just need an occasional twitch to trigger a bite. Ted had discovered a rock pile way the heck out there and our yellow spotted foes were on the far side of said pile. So weighted foam floats were used once more to get the distance needed to reach the target areas.

The bite started slow but lucky for us it just got better and better. The outside air had a definite chill and layers were in order. The mornings are frigid so when the sun popped out at moments it was more then welcome. I suggest this time a year with wind, rain, snow, mud, and wet conditions around, it is smart to bring extra clothes like gloves, socks, and hand warmers. Wearing your snow boots will ensure good traction and keep feet warm and dry. One weapon we had was BeardHeads! These hat beard combos kept our heads warm and the wind out. They also provided laughs and added more personality to the smack talk among us anglers.

The double rigs were knocking the crappies dead, when Soonerbass scores not one but three beautiful white crappies! White crappie can be found in our area but are not in numbers or size and are a prize when fishing speckle villains.

As the day goes we catch a few bass, and Ted Soonerbass, show off white crappie pants, catches two at once!!!! Bastard! LOL!

The day ends so well that we decide to come back the next day. We are greeted by colder temps wind and rain. UGH well, we are here so might as well make some casts. The crappie didn't watch the weather cast because they were still in the mood to fill up for the upcoming freezing weather. The bite was great again and at times we would catch them on every cast. We caught dozens on this two day catch fest and released every fish to fight another day.

We missed some big bass as well. Including a 4-5 pound I fought with 2lb line all the way to shore only to loose the big mouth jerk right at my feet.

The crappies in this lake always relate to the wind and the bite turns on and off with wind conditions. Once the wind died and the rain picked up the bite stopped like someone controlled it by a light switch. That’s when we realized that we were wet, hungry, and cold. Funny how catching fish helps you not notice certain things like hunger. We shook hands, smiled, and each went on our way. On the way home Chunsum sends me a text that his shoulders are sore and as I type this my neck and shoulders are also sore from making a million long casts. He says we can chalk this up to sports injuries for the 40+!

When you look outside and the weather sucks, instead of hanging it up or waiting for ice get your butt off the couch and get back out there. Dress in layers, be prepared to change presentations on the fly, invite some friends, bullshit, laugh, and if your lucky maybe you too will have a crappie bonanza!