NEWFishing

Madison Fishing Expo

2010-03-03T17:52:00.000-08:00

I spent last Saturday on the St. Croix Stand at the Madison Fishing Expo, and I had a great time. I met lots of loyal and happy St. Croix Customers, and had the chance to chat about their favorite rods, as well as show off the 2010 range.

Popular rods on the stand were the Legend Tournament Musky Rods; it's good to see that longer rods are in vogue with Musky Anglers, and I'm sure they will find these rods easier and less stressful for a solid days casting after Old Toothy. I also did some "show and tell" on several of the St. Croix fly rods, and I think the 13 foot and 15 foot Avid Centerpin Steelhead & Salmon rods caused quite a stir; these were certainly the longest rods on display at the Expo. Lastly, it was fun to show off the new Avid Pearl range to the Lady Anglers; all agreed that these are a much-needed and colorful addition to the St. Croix range. The pic above shows me with the 13 foot Avid Centerpin Rod, complete with my favorite Centerpin Reel. I have a couple of these rods arriving shortly, and I'm really looking forward to some "big fish on the float" trips this Spring. To my left is the Avid Pearl range; the Fuchsia Metallic finish and Abalone reel seats are quite striking!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and said Hi, or swapped stories about big fish; for me this was the very next best thing to going fishing with you all! Here's wishing all the Madison area St. Croix Anglers a wonderful Fishing Spring, and hoping that you all catch the Fish of your Dreams!

City of Oconto to Host WI CC Qualifier!

2010-02-23T20:09:00.000-08:00

Great News from the City of Oconto; they have agreed to host a WI Carp Championship Qualifier in their fair City this year! The Oconto River is a classic Big Carp water, with large fish running up the river each Spring. The Oconto WI CC Qualifier will be held on Saturday May 8th, which should give all anglers competing a chance at a really Big Carp... or three!

Please contact me if you'd like to fish this Tournament; the Entry Fee of $25 is payable on the day, and (as always with WI CC Qualifiers) there will be a 100% payout of the Entry Fees. The rules are simple; catch & release Carp Fishing from the Shore in the Tournament Area only, weight of the best 5 Carp will count (just like a Bass Tournament), fish-friendly rigs and equipment to be used, fish will be weighed by "buddy system" (you weigh your neighbor's fish, they weigh yours), etc. For more details on the WI Carp Championship, please check out this link.

If you're interested, but not sure if you can catch Carp in a tournament setting, please feel free to check out the action on the day; I'm sure all the anglers will be happy to share their knowledge and show off the big fish they are catching!

Bays & Flats Panfish

2010-02-07T19:57:00.000-08:00

I've been out recently, trying to catch a few Panfish from some of our more pressured areas during the annual "hard, white water" season. One of the special techniques I've been experimenting with this year is the use of attractors and appetite stimulants to:

1) Attract Panfish into your area, when the fishing is hard and the fish aren't too frisky, and;

2) Get them to bite on your bait or lure, particularly when they've apparently seen it all before, and developed what appears to be a permanent case of lock-jaw.

I've been lucky enough this year to be involved in a couple of new developments in the "ice fishing attractors & feeding stimulator's" scene. Since January I've been helping Larry Kirchner test his new Bait Flare attractor, and I've been working with Attila Agh of TopMix USA, on a complete line of feeding stimulant groundbaits. It's been interesting and fun to work through all the various combinations and options, and although I feel like I've a long way to go, I've already experienced som interesting results to share with you.

One of the toughest bites at this time of the year is when you are chasing pressured Panfish across relatively featureless bays or flats. We've got to that time of the year when the weed is generally breaking down, and thus pulling oxygen out of the water, making extensive weedbeds an unhealthy option for Panfish to hole up in. So, we are reduced to tracking Panfish across the less weeded areas of bays and flats, but these are also relatively featureless and difficult to hold fish in your fishing area. Once you've found them, you not only have to hold them of course, you also have to convince them to bite!

Eric and I were out experimenting today. We fished a fairly large bay, with a constant depth of around 3 feet under the ice, small lumps of rotting weed, and a reputation for being a tough bite during the middle of the day. What seems to happen here is what I've found happening on a lot of similar flat, featureless areas; the fish are moving relatively fast, very hard to hold, and almost impossible sometimes to hook!

What worked for us today was one of Larry's Bait Flares; this turned a fishless wasteland (according to my underwater camera when we started) into the fishy equivalent of a fast-food restaurant; we definitely had some "drive-by" action within a few minutes of the Bait Flare going in! Of course, such a shallow area (3 feet isn't exactly a deep spot) wasn't ideal for Larry's Bait Flares, which I think need around 6-10 feet of water to really do their thing (they are quite explosive, and will pull fish from some distance), so I wasn't exactly sure what to do after the first fish were caught and their buddies dropped back away from us. Quite clearly the Bait Flare had done it's work, and we'd attracted some fish; what we now needed was something that would really stimulate their appetites?

Time to turn to Attila's latest "prototype" stimulants. Sure enough, one of the lightest, most active of these (added to the water via a mini-Tiger Feeder) seemed to turn the Panfish into eating mode. Instead of small Perch, we started intercepting some good-sized Bluegills; the biggest one even tried to pull a rod off its rest! Small mainly Pink jigs worked, with surprisingly large waxies and spikes; it seemed that the combination of Bait Flare (attractor) to start, and then a regular but small amount of Top Mix feeding stimulant was just the ticket for curing the lock-jaw problem. Instead of struggling just to get a bite from a tiny Perch by careful jigging with ultra-small jigs and a single spike or piece of micro-plastic, we were able to keep triggering bites from good Panfish with sensible sized jigs and baits. Every time the fish backed off from under our holes, a small application of stimulant inside a mini-Tiger Feeder down the target hole was enough to bring them back to us... with a healthy appetite in each case!

To sum up, I really think it's worth trying these new approaches, particularly if you are struggling to keep feeding fish under your holes, and not wandering off under the ice to your neighbors. If you need more information, please contact me about Attila's Top Mix feeding stimulants (here's his current website, and he has a new e-commerce website coming soon), and here's the link to Larry's YouTube video on the Bait Flare. Please ask me if you want more information on the "how to" of fishing with attractors and stimulants; this is a tricky subject, and there's not a lot of information out there at the moment... maybe I should write a detailed article on the subject! :o)

Tight Lines!

Tournament Trail Tales: The 2009 WI Carp Championship

2009-08-08T19:31:00.001-07:00

Hi Folks, welcome back to my Blog. It's been a while since I last wrote; have I been busy this spring and summer! The tournament trail has been mostly kind to me so far this year, as both a competitor and organizer, so I thought I'd bring you up to date with what's been going on.

Of the tournaments I've been involved in, by far the most important (in my view, but I'm probably biased!) this year was the 2009 WI Carp Championship. The Anglers and Stewards had a great time, with friendly competition, big fish caught and lots of interest from the spectators. For all the details on every angler, don't forget that the WI CC Website is still up and running; expect to see new details on the 2010 WI CC on this site soon!

For me, the WI CC is all about individual memories, moments that flash into focus during the "organized chaos" that is what the WI Carp Championship seems to be all about... it doesn't matter how much I try to keep everything organized, there are always a few "interesting happenings" both before, during, and after the Tournament Weekend. Here are a few of my WI CC memories.

First, of course, was the look on Josef's face when he realized just how far ahead of the rest of the anglers he was, at the end of Day 1. A little bit of pride, and lots of relief, that all the hard work had payed off, and I'm sure a realization that he'd been lucky enough to draw a peg in the best section on Day 1. It was good to see some other great anglers put a little pressure on that lead over Day 2, but Josef stuck to his task and pulled a solid result out of a so-so peg, to pick up his second successive WI Carp Champion Trophy; well done Josef!

From one angler who had done very well indeed, I was also struck by how well another good angler, Tom Brooks, never gave up on Day 1. I'd stopped by Tom's peg with about 15 minutes to go, to see how the guy was taking the very weird happenings in Section B on Day 1; we'd seen a lot of fish rolling through most of the day, but the strong wind combined with all those baits and lines had seemed to make those carpies skittish as a basement full of kittens. I was impressed that Tom was still fishing, and was happy to see a smallish fish roll right over one of his baits with less than 10 minutes to go; I think I uttered the words, "don't worry Tom, you'll catch before the end". Just sometimes the Carp take pity on me for my stupidity, or maybe they thought Tom deserved it, but it happened; with less than a minute on the clock Tom's buzzer sounded and he landed his first and only Carp of the day. It was also great to see Tom turn around his bad luck on Day 1, and put plenty of good fish on the scales on Day 2. Well done Tom, and congratulations on that 27 pounder; that was a good 'un!

Some of my other Day 1 memories are of the Stewards; and the different "challenges" each section gave them. Watching Eric organize the "Drive to the River" was a treat; it reminded me of my history lessons about General Patton's "Drive to the Rhine"! Eric, that was some organization you put together in Section D! Then there was Tom's unique "relationship" with the Eagles Club Bar Staff; I was surprised to find a shot waiting at the end of the bar for him, every time I visited the Club at Section C. I wasn't too surprised to hear that Tom had "got the hang of Section C" on Day 1, and thought it best if he was assigned there again for Day 2!

Lastly, and my best memories, are of the people of Two Rivers. I've always enjoyed chatting with the folks whenever I visited, but this time was something special. I really felt that the WI CC was welcome, and that the people were happy to see us, doing something different on the local fishing scene, and hopefully, putting Carptown on the US Carp Fishing Map.

One thing is for certain. Larry Kirchner interviewed many of the anglers after the event, and they all echoed what I felt; it was a fun event because of the people of Carptown, as well as the fish. Thanks Two Rivers, for your support of the WI Carp Championships. We'll be back in 2010!

Only 4 Days to the 2009 WI CC

2009-05-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

The last few days leading up to a Tournament are always a little stressful, no matter how prepared you are as an organizer. There's always a last-minute hitch or unforseen crisis that occurs.

This year, the trophies are built, the anglers are signed up, the after-hours dining is lined up... I even have some of the media coverage organized! So, I'm thinking that something is bound to go wrong, and it will almost certainly be something I haven't anticipated. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to react quickly and do the best I can.

The weather and the fish seem to be cooperating this year, and hopefully there will be no major changes over the next 4 days. We are due a little rain, but this won't do any harm to the West & East Twin Rivers. They are both well up to usual level, but it would have to rain a heck of a lot more to get either of them to flood! The forecast gives around an inch or so of rain on Tuesday and Wednesday, then fine weather with low 70's during the daytime and 50's at night... perfect for the Thursday and Friday. Forecast currently is some light showers on Saturday and cloudy on Sunday.

The carp have certainly been active for Paul Sander and Andy Burnagiel, two of the Polish Carp Stars from the Chicago area. They caught a lot of fish in the high teens to just over 30lb this weekend, while practising for the Tournament. Here's a few pics of some of their fish; I'll leave it to the guys to post the pics of their biggest fish on the Carp Anglers Group Forum.

If you are in the Two Rivers area on Saturday or Sunday, come on down to Vet's Park, Washington Park and Paddlers Park and meet the Anglers; the 2009 Wisconsin Carp Championship should be one of the most interesting tournaments you will ever see. Here's wishing the Anglers lots of fish and hopefully some of them will break their big fish records. For more information on the Tournament, please check out this link.

Introducing the Wisconsin Carp Championship Website!

2009-04-19T16:31:00.000-07:00

In response to popular demand, I have created a website for the upcoming Wisconsin Carp Championship. So, here's the link: http://sites.google.com/site/wicarpchamps/

I've tried to include everything that a visiting angler will need to know, to get prepared for the Big Event; there's information on the various sections, and local sponsor details for lodging and food, etc. Of course, I keep thinking of ideas I've missed (e.g. how to get a WI fishing license?), so expect the site to keep growing over the next few weeks!

If you want to stop by at Two Rivers to see the action, please just come on down! Most of the sections will be based in the Vet's Park, Washington Park, and Paddlers Park, so there's parking available and spectators can get to see all the action for free. Whether you are an experienced angler who wants to see what all the catch & release carp fishing stars can show you, or you're just looking for an unusual day out for the family, the 2009 WI Carp Championship is an event worth visiting. The fans in the know from the '07 and '08 Championships will arrive with a lawn chair and set up behind their favorite anglers; watching lots of big fish being caught can be a little addictive!

There will be a Carp and Bank Fishing Gear Swap Meet on Friday 29th in the afternoon at Vet's Park, followed by the Championships fishing throughout both days on the 30th and 31st. The Two Rivers Parks & Rec Department is also working with a local charity to organize some food and drink for the spectators, so everything is set for a great weekend for anyone watching. Finally, some of the local businesses and the Sponsors are working on some family-friendly carp trivia events, complete with a few prizes for the kids.

All we need now is some good weather for the spectators and plenty of fish for the anglers!

Sponsor Spotlight - Village Inn on the Lake, Two Rivers

2009-02-24T19:09:00.000-08:00

The Village Inn on the Lake has kindly agreed to offer a discount on both their Rooms and their RV Park, for all WI Carp Championship attendees. They have 28 Rooms and 28 RV Sites (all with full hook-ups), and I expect these will fill up fast for the May 30-31 weekend, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

Call the Village Inn on (001 for International callers) 920-794-8818, and please be sure to ask for the "Wisconsin Carp Championships Discount". Here's the link to their website.

Carptown To Host 2009 WI Carp Championship!

2009-01-21T18:43:00.000-08:00

The 2009 Wisconsin Carp Championships will be held on May 30 & 31, at the most exciting carp fishing venue in the US; "Carptown, USA"! Also known as the City of Two Rivers, WI, this sleepy Lake Michigan shoreline community has been known as "Carptown" for more years than anyone there cares to remember; but now they are dusting off the name and wearing it with pride, as the rising sport of catch & release Carp Fishing comes to their town.

Two Rivers really does sit on... two rivers; with the West Twin and the East Twin rivers running through the center of town. The rivers provide easy marina access into the vastness of Lake Michigan, allowing a thriving charter industry to store their Salmon, Lake Trout and Brown Trout record-catching boats snugly away from the storms that occasionally blow across this inland sea.

But there's one fish that runs up these rivers every April, May and June that the charter skippers don't fish for, but see every year... totally wild, monster-sized Carp. That's the big draw for the 2009 WI Carp Championships; the chance to tangle with a WI-record sized fish (current record is 57lb 2oz), or catch enough fish to break the championship record; that's currently over 483lb. Will you be that lucky angler? With thousands of dollars in cash prizes up for grabs, what do you have to lose?

I am quietly confident of both the quantity and quality of the Carp that the 100 anglers will be fishing for. Two Rivers is the true "Carptown" in the US; it's carp soup here in late spring. Last year three of us fished in the Two Rivers area and caught more than twenty 20 pounders in a single day. There are also a lot of 30+ pound fish in the mix; I'd consider Two Rivers as the best choice for someone wanting to catch a 40 or 50 pound fish in May.

Interested? Excited by the prospect of being well paid to fish for big, hard-fighting carp? Check out the 2009 WI Carp Championship Entry Form and Rules at: http://acsdatacenter.com/index.php?act=ST&f=56&t=1169&st=0#entry9360

Any questions? Please reply to this blog post and I'll do my best to get you all the answers you need to be successful... and catch the big one!

Tiger and Panther Feeders

2008-11-19T18:55:00.000-08:00

Hi Folks,

I've been asked to write a short piece about fishing the Tiger and Panther Feeders; so here's the skinny on how to get the best out of them. But first, a shameless plug!

Both Tiger and Panther Feeders retail at $4 apiece, including postage & packing; please ask me if you want a dozen or more, as bulk order discounts are always given! The feeders are the result of two years design and trial, with several anglers fishing a wide variety of venues; here's a few of the highlights:

1. I just had my best season ever in terms of the percentage of 20 pound plus fish to total carp caught. I ended up with a Twenty Plus percentage of 23%... and I had over 500 fish again this year! During that time, I lost, trashed or otherwise demolished just 11 feeders, all in the rocks on rivers... these puppies are TOUGH!

2. Larry Kirchner caught his personal best carp on his first Tiger Feeder session... nuff said.

3. Eric and I fished Tiger and Panther feeders exclusively on our first ever Hoosier Carp Tournament, on the St. Joe River in Elkhart, IN. I had the third biggest fish, and Eric was unlucky to lose a fish that would probably have won the big fish of the year award, and would definitely have won the tournament... all this on a day when only 6 carp were caught.

The feeders come in three standard weights; light at 1.7oz (good for method mixes and pay-laking), medium at 2.9oz (all-rounder, for heavy method mixes, lake and river fishing), and heavy at 5.8oz (deep, fast-flowing rivers).

So, what's the best way to fish them? At close to medium range (0 - 75 yards), I recommend a standard Safety Lead Clip & Tail Rubber rig (Tiger Feeder in the pic), as this ensures a great bolt effect with a standard hair-rig, using both soft and stiff links.

If you are going for distance (75 yards+), I prefer to set up the Helicopter rig (Panther Feeder in the pic), as this is totally tangle-free and allows you to really punch the feeder out. It's also creates a fairly good bolt effect, whichever direction the carp moves after it takes your bait!

For either basic rig, you can fill the feeder in a variety of ways. If you want to mix up a specialist groundbait, or one of your own secret concoctions, you can fill the feeder completely, or plug one end of the feeder with groundbait, fill the remainder of the feeder with some samples of your hookbait, then plug the open end. This works really well for bigger, hungry fish, here's a video of me showing this method of fishing. And here's a link to a great groundbait that works really well with the Tiger and Panther Feeders, this stuff is awesome!

You can also fish either Feeder "method style"; although I recommend a twist on the usual procedure! I make up two mixes, one very dry and highly flavored mix; this goes inside the feeder, with a wet, sticky mix squeezed over the top and outside of the feeder, make sure you have plenty covering the lead "ears" of the feeder on either side!

The method mix is most effective in relatively shallow water; once you are fishing more than about 8-12 feet deep, it's probably best to go to a stickier groundbait mix, inside the feeder. Otherwise you will either lose too much method mix on the way down, or if you mix it really hard, you'll be playing fish with lumps of method still attached to the feeder... not good for collecting fish in one place! An alternative, and something that works well even in shallow water, is to use a pay-laker style pack-bait; grits mixes are especially popular in the springtime.

Finally, both feeders are very effective when used with a PVA bag; simply stick a bag inside a dry feeder, fill it with your chosen dry ingredients and attractors, seal the bag and cast it out! The Safety Clips really come into their own here, as you can make up a batch of PVA bags in dry feeders, and just swap feeders each cast. Of course, you will probably want to have about a dozen feeder if fishing three rods... so you can have three feeders out in the water, and three drying off, while you are re-bagging the other six! Here's a link for PVA bags, Safety Clips and Helicopter Rig bits; here's another link for PVA bags, and Safety Clips.

If you have any other questions, don't be afraid to ask! I'll be publishing more information on Tiger and Panther Feeders in the near future, including links to shops that stock them. I'm also working on a variety of new colors and sizes of Feeder... so if you just have to have a Camouflaged Feeder that weighs 6 ounces, won't bounce in the flow of a fast-running river AND is snag resistant, then let me know and I'll be happy to give you a cost-effective quote!

Larry & Josef Win Third Place!

2008-10-21T18:36:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Larry & Josef, who battled through the 72-hour Tournament of Champions (Hartford, CT), to win a hard-earned 3rd Place. All the competitors had a tough time, with colder temperatures and the fish not willing to feed much during the day-time; this certainly was an endurance event!

Here's the link to the competition page, with articles and video clips.

Way to go guys, this was a great result!

ACS Tournament of Champions; October 14-18

2008-10-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

The ACS Tournament of Champions is just about to start; and I'm going to be following it closely this year. This is one of the major catch-and-release carp-fishing events of the year; the 2008 competition is being held on the Connecticut River, at East Hartford, CT.

Yep, it's a long way away, but I just wish I was there, and I hope everyone catches a few good Carp. Entrants this year include my buddies and the 2007 & 2008 WI Carp Championship "spectators favorites", fishing as pair teams:

Josef Settele ('08 WI Carp Champ & '07 WI CC 3rd Place) & Larry Kirchner ('08 WI CC 3rd Place)

Ernest Kolodziejczk ('07 WI Carp Champion) & Chris Motwicki ('07 WI CC Mirror Carp Winner)

Andrzej Burnagiel ('08 WI CC Mirror Carp Winner) & Michal Brada ('07 WI CC Tony Safranski Award Winner).

Best of luck Guys, I hope you claim the top 3 places! Here's an article on the event.

YouTube Video on Fishing the Tiger Feeder

2008-10-07T17:57:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks!

A number of people have asked me about where they can see Tiger Feeders in action. Well... Eric has worked an awesome job on the video footage he took earlier in the year, while we were field-testing the prototype Tiger Feeders.

This was a short session at Two Rivers, WI; on a new stretch that we hadn't fished or pre-baited before. It was a really cold and very windy day; so windy in fact that this was one of the few areas we could find where it was possible to film without our gear being blown away!

The video is split into two parts, here's part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOLt3I0tuYc
This puts you straight into the action, with a couple of twenties and a big teen, then there's part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMQwG61tjm8
In part 2, I try to show the Tiger Feeder and rig, but am very nicely interrupted by a near-thirty. I do finally get the message across... the Tiger Feeder works with most standard carp rigs AND it helps you catch the bigger ones.

Let me know what you think; feedback is welcome!

Larry and the Twenties

2008-10-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

Larry (2008 WI Carp Championship 3rd place) and I fished one of my favorite venue's recently. We were using the new Tiger Feeders and an attractor that Larry's been perfecting, and the fishing gods smiled upon us. Larry had four twenties during the day, topped with a Personal Best fish of just over 29 pounds.

Way to go Larry, looks like my Tiger Feeders helped with the bigger fish!

2008 WI Carp Championship Results

2008-06-30T18:12:00.000-07:00

Well Folks, I've been really busy at work, trying to catch up from the few days I took off to run the Championship. However, Tony Safranski has kindly come to the rescue; here's his report, thanks Tony!

The 2008 Wisconsin Carp Championship is in the books. After two weeks of cold, windy and unsettled weather this year’s competitors arrived in Menasha on Friday, May 30, just in time to enjoy a weekend of sunshine and mild temperatures. Steady incoming winds brought in the carp and kept them within casting distance all along the Jefferson Park seawall both Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday morning started with competitors drawing their day’s pegs. Fishing began at 10:00 a.m. Within five minutes we heard the first “fish on” and the weigh stewards quickly got into the action. Three competitors took the early lead, Bobby Chokdee, Josef Settele and Larry Kirchner. Each found their individual rhythm and caught fish after fish all day long.

Every angler relied upon his own ‘Super Secret, No Peeking, Don’t Even Ask for the Recipe,’ ground bait mix to attract carp to their peg. And the carp came to the pegs all day long. Despite an apparent need to feed, upon feeling a sharp metal object in their mouths, the carp proved less than willing to give themselves up without trying all means of possible escape. Many fish found their sanctuary in the Fox River’s multiple weed beds and used the weeds as a great source of leverage. Much to the chagrin of various competitors the carp proved that it’s not just fishing but catching that counts in the end.
Bobby got into the lead early Saturday and held it all day long. We are not sure if his unique fish-fighting dance gave him some mystical edge over the fish or his competition, but it drew a spectator crowd most of the day. Even the girl’s softball team stopped to watch Bobby go through his gyrations. We will assess the possible need for a carp angler ‘Entertainer of the Year,” award.

When competition ended at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, Bobby held the lead with a catch of 26 fish and a total weight of 233 pounds. Larry finished in second place with 22 fish for a total weight of 180 pounds. Josef came in third with 24 fish for a total weight of 156 pounds. Overall, the three leaders and the remaining 11 anglers caught 96 fish for a total weight of 914 pounds. The average fish weighed 9.5 pounds.

Sunday morning competition started at 9:00 a.m. The three leaders immediately picked up where they left off on Saturday. Bobby started the day’s entertainment with a full-blown carp dance while Weigh Stewards Eric Glazewski and Ulee Vang responded to the ‘fish-on’ call. Both Josef and Larry quickly found hungry carp in their swims.

In a fishing sense of ‘what a difference a day makes,’ competitors all along the seawall found hungry and cooperative carp and started to cash in soon after the start. Pegs that produced few willing carp on Saturday kept their anglers busy all day Sunday. Tommy Riley, Paul Pezalla and Wayne Boon all added nicely to their Saturday totals. Wayne Boon hooked and landed the match’s biggest fish. His carp pulled the scale down until the arrow showed it weighed 29 pounds 9 ounces. Tommy Riley landed two 21 pound fish one after the other.

Questions of who held the lead started early in the afternoon. Bobby still held the lead but Josef found his rhythm with a few hours to go and started to catch more fish than Bobby. We didn’t know it at first but around 4 in the afternoon Bobby started running short of bait. This forced him to change tactics. The carp didn’t like the new presentation and his peg grew quiet. Josef kept landing carp right up to the final minute. He managed a come from behind win with 13 more pounds than Bobby. Larry finished in third place.

The final standings for the two days competition are:

2008 Wisconsin Carp Champion:
Josef Settele, with 65 fish for 483 pounds 3 ounces

Runner-up: Bobby Chokdee, 48 fish, 470 pounds 9 ounces

Third: Larry Kirchner, 45 fish, 394 pounds 8 ounces

Largest Carp: Wayne Boon, 29 pounds 9 ounces

Totals for the competition: 272 fish, 2,656 pounds 7 ounces

2008 WI Carp Championship!

2008-05-23T15:33:00.000-07:00

2008 WI Carp Championship - May 31/June 1

Jefferson Park, Kargus Drive, Menasha, WI

Yes Folks, we are only a few days away from the 2008 Wisconsin Carp Championship! This is THE WI-based catch-and-release competition of the year, with internationally-known carp anglers fighting it out for a big cash payout, ultra-modern carp gear prizes, trophies and the prestige of winning the title: Wisconsin Carp Champion for 2008!

Last year was an awesome event, with plenty of large, hard-fighting fish caught right in front of the spectators, throughout both days. This year the Championship is back at the same venue; Jefferson Park in Menasha, where the spectators can see all the action as the competitors are fishing from the shore. The fishing starts at 10.00am on Saturday May 31st, and everyone will be back for more carp-catching fun on Sunday June 1st. All fishing is from the shoreline at the park, so spectators get a ring-side view of one of the most exciting angling events in the calendar; those Big Carp really do fight!

I'm hopeful that the 2007 records will be blown away this year:
Top Weight (both days): 450lb
Top Weight (1 day): 329lb
Biggest Carp: 25lb 10 oz

Competitors for this years Championship include:
Ernest Kolodziejczk (2007 WI Carp Champion), Event Sponsorship by WorldClassicBaits
Josef Settele (3rd in the 2007 WI Carp Championship & Largest Carp)
Wayne Boon (English Carp Angling Guru, now residing in California), representing American Carp Society
Paul Pezalla (American Carp Scientist), Event Sponsorship by Wacker Bait & Tackle

Come and see the competitors and their ultra-modern European Carp-Fishing gear, their different methods of bank fishing, and let's not forget the fish themselves! Last year, over 2,200 pounds of Carp were caught, weighed and safely released; this year's event promises to be even better!

For more details, or if you'd like to help by being a weigh steward at this event, please post a comment on this blog, with you contact information.

Trivers Twenties Trio

2008-04-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

The Trivers ABC (Two Rivers All Big Carp) Friendly Fish-in produced some small fish, but enough good carp were also caught to make it interesting.

Eric and I fished the West Twin both days; for some reason Eric believed me when I told him I could smell fish! Anyway, I must have been right, because I managed to hook and land the biggest three; with all my fish coming on a new home-made boiled bait and my new Tiger Feeders. We both caught on the Tiger Feeders, with me just fishing boilies (boiled baits, it was the Big Fish challenge, after all!), and Eric fishing with Delmonte's finest and some commercial boilies.

On Day 2, I had a number of visitors stop by, and heard tell of some high singles being caught on the East Twin, but apparently no-one made it into double figures there. I met some new Carping buddies on the West Twin, and I think they will be coming to the 2008 WI Carp Championships, to watch and pick the brains of the Carping stars!

I had a fun day, watched some other folks catch a few fish, and finally "sorted out" my peg. I didn't break my Day 1 biggest fish catch, but managed a couple more twenties, five doubles, and the rest of the 13 fish total for the day were just under the 10lb barrier.

When I fished the peg on Day 1, I caught 2 good fish early on both sides of the channel, then one smaller fish late on the 90 yd mark. Day 2 couldn't have been more different, with a fresh breeze blowing almost behind me and across the river, I felt that it was just possible that the bigger fish could move up into the very shallow water on the far side (Eric and I had seen the occasional fish roll over there, the day before, but my casts there hadn't led to bites). After catching one good double in the deeper water, I started to get bites from smaller fish.

After a few of these smaller fish, I decided to wind up some big casts and started fishing at about 110 yds, in less than 2 foot of water. The water on my shoreline still felt cold to me, but the wind must have been warming it up over there, as it was like turning on the Carp Tap... one fish after the other.

It just goes to show, it's worth taking a risk sometimes and being prepared to change things around a little. Although I was still getting bites from small fish, by fishing over into the shallower water, I improved both my catch rate and size of the fish being caught.

A couple of firsts for me:
1. First time I haven't opened a can of Delmonte in 8 years fishing in WI
2. First time I've fished just boilies for a whole day in WI
3. First time I've fished and caught on the Tiger Feeders at 100 yds+

All in all, a fun two days, met some good new friends, and there were some priceless quotes from the locals, as ever... it must be something they put in the beer there. A favorite was from an old guy who snuck up behind Eric on Day 1 and asked him if he'd "caught any crabs?" Fortunately, we were able to clarify that he meant crayfish; kinda worried about what he was referring to for a moment there!

Lastly, an old guy on a bike stopped behind me to watch me hook and land a couple of fish, including the 25 pounder. He then asked me "Why do you cast so far, why don't you just go and fish from the public park opposite?" Truth to tell, he had a point there... sometimes, I'm not too bright!

Here are pics of the three biggest fish, 27lb 8oz, 25lb 14oz, and 21lb 15oz. The 25 pounder was a fantastic looking fish, like a golden Mahseer; a good example of the famous Trivers Golden Trout!

Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo - Chicago Feb 8 - 10

2008-02-02T14:29:00.000-08:00

This years Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo looks like it's going to be a really interesting event; it's being hosted by the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center, February 8th to the 10th.

I wish I could get there, but it looks unlikely at the moment. The guys from Tight Lines Fly Shop in De Pere will be there, and I believe Tim is presenting on Sunday; his topic is NEW Smallmouth!

Here's the link to the Expo Website (also includes details on the Minneapolis Expo in March), and here's the link to the presentations.

Check it out, it should be fun and informative.

Get Ready for the 2008 WI Carp Championship!

2008-01-29T13:51:00.000-08:00

Yes Folks, it's official, there will be a 2008 WI Carp Championship. We are just starting to work out the details, but the venue is likely to be the same as last year; Jefferson Park in Menasha. Date is likely to be one of the weekends between mid-May and mid-June, which should catch the Carp in feeding mode!

Anyone who wants to help with weighing steward duties is welcome; this is a great opportunity to learn more about catch and release Carp-fishing; and I'm planning on small prizes for the Weigh Teams this year! For details on duties, and all anglers interested in competing, please let me know by adding a comment to this blog.

Pics on last years exciting 2007 event can be seen at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wi_carp_champs/?saved=1

WI Carp Championship Pics

2007-11-19T21:37:00.000-08:00

At long last, I've managed to get my hard drive issues resolved. Here's a batch of pics from the 2007 WI Carp Championship; enjoy!

Halloween Horrors on the Fox!

2007-10-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

While the slow-rolling (and frankly, rather muddy) Fox River looks like a typical upper Midwest flatland river, it does hold more than it's fair share of surprises. I suppose it's because the Fox is a little weirder than the average river:

1. It flows North (yes Paris, that's the direction from Texas to Canada)

2. It's generally full of PCB's, cow-farm effluent and diesel run-off, all mixed up with a goodly measure of mercury and topped off with a dash of battery acid

3. It's frequented by some of the strangest fishing creatures in the world (it's a positive haven for Plaid-Bellied Fish-Balancers; for an explanation of this rare & mythical beast, please see: http://newfishing.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html)

Some say because of (but it may be in spite of) the above, it's full to the brim with Walleye most of the year. Now, these poor things lead a somewhat perilous existence, assaulted from all sides by bigger, meaner and smellier (Fish-Balancers) things that like to eat them. One would think that they suffer enough during their short and dangerous lives; but now a new and horrific monster has arisen to wreak devilish destruction upon them!

Yes folks, I'm here to tell you of a creature that will make your blood run cold. It's been no more than a whispered rumor for many years, a tale of cryptozoological mayhem and ghoulish glee; fit for camp-fire parties at lonely lakes, late in October and close to the witching hour.

I can now bring you proof-positive of the monster's existence! This ferocious denizen of the depths has been quite literally eating it's way through the local Walleye population; like a Chupacabra let loose in a New Mexican Petting Zoo...

At this point, I should warn children, Walleye anglers and all other adults of a nervous disposition to look away now; these are not pictures for the faint-hearted. I should also point out that everything I am about to tell is the complete truth; this is way too weird to make up.

I had wandered down to the Fox at Voyageur Park on Saturday afternoon, to try out my new camera with a couple of sunset shots of Walleye anglers slumbering peacefully aboard their Deep-V's. As I looked around for a photo opportunity, I was approached by a family who had just dragged a dead fish from the river, and were somewhat worried about what it could possibly be. Just another Gizzard Shad I thought as I strolled over to take a look at the body. How wrong could I be?

Take a look for yourselves, and tell me what you think this is? For comparison purposes, the fish is approx. 15 inches long, and appears to have been dead for about a day. It has an adipose fin, has a pronounced keel to the belly, and a set of teeth that would make mincemeat out of an unwary anglers fingers. As I recall my fish identification guide; "all piranhas have a single row of sharp teeth in both jaws; the teeth are tightly packed, interlocking, and used for rapid puncture and shearing. Individual teeth are typically broadly triangular, pointed, and blade-like (flat in profile)".

Is it a Piranha? Was it dumped in the Fox as a hoax? Or... has it been eating it's way through the local fishy population; only to die a horrible death after biting my mother-in-law during an unfortunate family shoreline-wading incident?

You decide, and drop me a line with your thoughts. The body is at this moment on it's way to the DNR biologists; I'll issue an update as soon as I receive one. In the meanwhile, don't let your dogs swim in the Fox. Oh, and it might be a good idea to warn your children too? I'd suggest that you let your mothers-in-law take their chances, but it might be more sporting to mention this article first?

Fat & Feisty

2007-10-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

I spent a little time Carp fishing on Sunday. I managed to find 11 hungry fish, topped by this Fat & Feisty 26lb 9oz Beauty.

Not much more to be said; another day in the life of a Happy Carp Angler!

Butterfly Net?

2007-09-24T20:26:00.001-07:00

I spent a few hours fishing the other day. The sun was warm and the sky was blue; it was a day for being lazy; waiting for the fish to come, rather than getting all hot and bothered chasing them around.

I caught a couple of reasonable fish early, and was sitting back resting in the sunshine, with my net starting to dry out... when I realized that I was not alone.

A large Butterfly settled on my landing net and decided to make it home. I carried on catching fish, and he moved off whenever I picked up the net... only to come back a little while later when everything had settled down again. I took a pic of my little pal, and looked him up later on the web. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but he looks like an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (or, Papilio Glaucus, to the edumified amongst my readership).

So, here's my two questions:

1. I thought butterflies were scared of nets? After all, what's the traditional way to catch butterflies? Yep, in a net... vastly more difficult to chase them armed only with a pin and a square of cork-board. So, is my little pal the Charles Bronson of his clan; is he truly a Deathwish fan? Or, is he more like a winged Forrest Gump, just sitting there hoping that "stupid is as stupid does"? Either way, he picked the right guy when he landed on my landing net; when I left he returned to the wild.

2. What was he doing on my net? As far as I could tell, he appeared to be licking the mesh, and as he spent a couple of hours there in total, he seemed to have done a whole lot of licking.

Now, anyone who knows me also knows a little about my fishing gear. Like good old Queen Bess, my gear generally gets a bath once a year, whether it needs it or not. What's worse, I not only know what's been in my net; I also know what some of my "net tenants" left behind them. Carp and Northern Pike are fairly British and tend to "keep a stiff upper lip"; I always get the impression that they're doing their best not to let you know they're scared when you net 'em.

Not so the Walleye; they seem to lose all control of their bodily functions, rather like a frenchman threatened with sentry duty in Baghdad on a dark Friday night after the Jihadists have hit town. Yes, that's right folks, they have made the phrase S**t-Scared well and truly their own. I do have some sympathy for the Walleye however. Considering it's the WI State Fish, the poor beast runs a terrible risk of grievous bodily harm every time if finds itself hooked. Not to put too fine a point on it (pun intended), 90% of Walleye hooked in WI tend to end up beer-battered... probably explains their loose bowels doesn't it?

Now all of you are intimately aware of the history of my net (and I confess that I have used this equipment to scare dogs and small children on hot days), be honest now; would you lick the mesh? No, I thought not. So, any ideas on what the butterfly found so delicious? Answers on a reply-paid postcard please to:

Lee Young

C/o The Sunny-Side Home for the Mentally Confused

Old-Timers Boulevard, Green Bay, WI

I'll stick all the postcards in a big sack (my landing net!); first one drawn will win a great prize. Yes, you guessed it, they'll get a jam-jar of the squeezings from my landing net next time I get it wet & fishy. It should be a magnet for butterflies of all descriptions... well flies, anyway?

Work is the Curse of the Fishing Classes...

2007-09-04T20:04:00.001-07:00

Wow, I've been really busy for the last few months; and both fishing and blogging have had to take a back seat. The good news is that all the hard work has paid off, and hopefully I'll be able to relax and take a few days fishing during the weekends of this fall!

I have the worlds best job, so it's not too much of a hardship to give some fishing time up occasionally. And I've still managed to grab an hour or two here or there to visit some of my favorite river stretches, even though I've not had the time to fish them.

Actually, visiting your favorite stretches of rivers during the low-water summer period can be really informative. With the water at a low summer level, you can see a lot more of the features that you'll be aiming for when the fall rains arrive, or when you are fishing for spring steelhead in a snow-melt spring flow. All you need is a large-scale map of your chosen river, a digital camera, sketch-pad and your hand-held GPS. An hour's prospecting likely holes, vertical features on bends, etc. can give you all sorts of clues where the fish will be lying once a few million gallons of H2O arrive.

You can sketch the best spots, record them in your GPS, mark them on your map, and take a quick pic to refresh your memory later in the year... although remember that you'll probably have to mentally swap sunshine and low water for snow and high water when comparing pic with reality on a cold day in November.

Remember, the best anglers spend a lot of time looking for where and how they'll catch the biggest fish... rather than spending a lot of time "fishing blind and hoping"!

Thanks American Carp Society!

2007-06-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

Wow, my blogsite has won an award! I'm shocked, surprised... and deeply honored. Here it is, thanks to all of you who read my blogs.

Thanks, American Carp Society!

A Tale of Fish-Balancers...

2007-05-30T19:09:00.000-07:00

The weather changes in Spring bring about the emergence of many strange and unusual creatures. In May, you can often find snapping turtles the size of truck wheels, or hear the deafening chorus of a million sexually aroused amphibians at your local frog-bog.

However, it is not of the native wildlife of which I speak. No, the weirdest creatures that crawl forth every Spring are of the human kind. While I fear that the world is not yet ready for my tale of the "fish-balancers", take heart brave reader, and all shall be revealed.

This curious monstrosity can be found clustered on the shores of many a Walleye or Smallmouth water at this time of the year; yes that's right, they fish in packs. There are several varieties, ranging from the small and insignificant Lesser-Spotted Fish-Balancer, right up to the 400-500 pound majestic "king of the lake", the Plaid-Bellied Fish-Balancer.

These giants of the waterways can be found, gurgling, belching and farting in unison, at most waters bearing the tag of "Trophy Walleye Spot". If you are lucky enough, you will also at this time of the year witness them shedding their winter plumage, a truly awesome sight that few are privileged to behold first-hand. In a remarkable and speedy metamorphosis the Plaid-Bellied Fish-Balancer is quickly transmogrified from what appears to be a smelly, drunken fat man into a proto-larval stage closely resembling a pink, sweaty, beached whale. So, if you happen to spy what appears to be a vast mound of sunburnt blubber, approach carefully down-wind; if you catch the exotic scent of worms, Lienie's Red and week-old sweat you are definitely in luck... you have found a Plaid-Bellied Fish-Balancer in his mating plumage!

At this time, a small amount of patience will reward the observer; you will soon see the mating dance of this curious Wisconsin native species. The display starts with either an extra-loud snore, belch or flatulent attack (depending upon the time of day, although scientists are divided on this point), which appears to wake the dominant male from his normal pose of inebriated relaxation. He then gives vent to an inarticulate yell (sounding something like "Fak-me-bubbers-gorn", repeated quickly three or four times), while simultaneously (ah, the raw beauty of these instinctually-choreographed motions) pulling back hard on his short fishing rod, three or four times, as if he were a mighty samurai attempting the Kea-Wan-Huh, or up-stroke evisceration technique; a method normally found most efficacious when faced with a charging elephant.

Generally the display ends at this point with a high-pitched scream of either pain or anger (hard to prove as scientific opinion is still in doubt on whether this species can actually feel pain), as the offending bobber and terminal tackle exits the water at twice the speed of a Polaris missile, and impales itself either in the voluminous folds of the Plaid-Bellied Fish-Balancers beergut, or into the bank side herbage.

Very occasionally, you will be privileged to witness a truly unique event... with a ferocious winding a miniscule walleye or micro-bass will be hauled to the shore and dumped unceremoniously on the concrete. I was once blessed with seeing the ultimate ending display. The fish in question was somewhat smaller than average; the Plaid-Bellied Fish-Balancer was a huge creature, the sun glinting alarmingly off his polished red head. With a ferocious yell that would have reflected great credit on Attila the Hun, he ripped his "whuppin' stik" back with the sound of a rifle shot... the small fish ricocheted off his bald pate and flew into the road some fifty paces behind him, where it was promptly run over by a Hummer.

If you are not as lucky as myself, you should still get to witness the more-normal courtship ritual. With the fish wriggling on the concrete the "lucky angler' will shamble over to his catch and proceed to "balance" on one end of it (generally the tail end) while attempting to extricate the hook from the mouth end using the sort of equipment generally reserved for replacing the drive sprockets on Abrams M1A1 tanks. Yes that's right folks, that's how the Fish-Balancer gets it's name; it really does attempt to balance itself on every fish it catches!

Once (or maybe if?) the hook is removed, the same utensil is then used to pick the fish up by a lip or fin (assuming the afore-mentioned creature can still lay claim to such an appendage?), whence the final part of the ritual is played out. With a mighty heave and dexterous back-hand flip, the fish is launched in the air, high above the head of its happy captor, and generally back into the water. Sometimes the Fish-Balancer miscalculates this last and final art, with the unfortunate result that the fish ends up in a lady's hat, a passer-by's back-pocket or maybe on the roof of a nearby building. Generally however, the fish is returned safely (sic) to the watery depths... possibly wiser but definitely somewhat flatter from it's impromptu part in the whole strange, unscripted play.

Now, I know that some of you out there will doubt the veracity of my statement... but I swear every word of this strange, exotic ritual is true. Away with you, doubter's! Go out into the WI country-side with your camera, and try to get close to these wonderful, wild creatures; I promise that you will see the Fish-Balancers proudly displaying on any given weekend in May and June!

Nasty Weather, Nice Fish...

2007-05-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

... and there's really not much more to be said! I sneaked away from the household chores for a few hours yesterday evening. After a fair amount of rain had fallen I had high hopes of what the Irish would call "a fine, moist evening".

A bunch of high singles and low teens weren't quite what I expected, but I did connect with the "8.20pm Amtrak from Two Rivers to Houston"! Eventually I slid a long and beautifully-conditioned fish into the landing net. 33lb 2oz; always a good feeling to land the first 30-pounder of the season, even if the weather wasn't perfect!

Twenty Five Pounds of Trivers Treasure

2007-05-21T20:33:00.000-07:00

I seem to be slowly progressing through my ACL campaign... one good fish at a time. Of course, my efforts have not been helped by the weather; another very cold fishing Sunday made me wish that I could have been out chasing Carp on Saturday instead.

However, here I was at a new town and carp-hunting area, Two Rivers. Or, as the local residents call it, Trivers! I was here to meet two new carpfishing buddies, Wayne Boon and Tommy Riley, from California and Chicago respectively. They enjoy fishing Trivers every spring, and this was my first visit, the aim was to meet up and catch some good fish. However, the guys were still on their way up from Tommy's house, as they'd been fishing the ACS NE Regional Tournament the previous week.

I arrived at Trivers at about 12 Noon, only to discover that the guys wouldn't be arriving until 4ish at the earliest; so the obvious thing to do was to find some fish. With a cold breeze blowing in however, location was going to be a problem. I drove around the town, stopping at a number of possible places; with a couple of needs on my mind. If I was a Carp just in from Lake Michigan I'd be wanting somewhere as warm as possible, so I looked for an area with some shallows (to warm fast in whatever sunshine came along), but with a relatively deep channel or area for the fish to hole up in. Lastly I wanted somewhere sheltered from the worst of the cold wind. I eventually found somewhere warm and sheltered on the West Twin River, with a deep channel and a large shallow area just beyond it.... perfect!

I caught a couple of cats & bullheads early; enough action to give me a feeling that the carp would feed, and to force me to leave the worms alone! An older guy was out trying his new rod, and he hooked a fat Smallie, so it seemed that my warm spot was appreciated by most of the local fishy species! After he had left, I had 4 small Carp in 4 casts, on a chick pea/corn cocktail, down in the deeper channel. I'd also seen a few fish roll nearby, and one good fish rolled right over my right-hand rig, which I'd positioned about 25 feet out from the bank, on a gentle slope about 7 feet deep, leading to the deeper water.

After about 3 hours fishing, the right-hand rod indicated a powerful drop-back bite, and my resulting strike hooked a very angry fish that made a couple of short but powerful runs out into the middle of the river. I tightened up on the fish as much as I could (worried about snags and navigation buoys & anchor chains), which brought the Carp to the surface about 50 yds out, where it lashed the surface with its tail... a good fish! After a couple more powerful runs, the battle became a tug of war down the edge, with my recovering line after every lunge of the fish. Finally it rolled on the top and I could see it was lightly lip-hooked, easing up on the fish I kept it turning for another minute and it was ready to net.

Great fight, and a short but chunky fish was in the net; I was happy! After a quick weighing it checked out at 25 pounds exactly; my best fish of the year so far. Thanks to a little thought about weather and conditions, and a lot of wandering around looking for the "right place for the day", I managed to catch a good fish under bad conditions.

Eric's First Twenty Pounder!

2007-05-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, you saw it here first folks, Eric has landed his first Twenty Pound Carp! The boy dun good, with a fit & fiesty fish caught at around 30 yds, on sweetcorn hair-rigged on a size 4 hook and Drennan open-end feeder rig. We both caught fish from our new venue in Oshkosh. We fished this area once last year, saw a lot of fish rolling, but couldn't buy a bite... this year's trip couldn't have been more different. After a slow first hour, we started catching small Carp, then managed to find some good-looking mid-doubles and three twenties.

That's enough from me, the important bit is the Apprentice has qualified as a real Carphead... and NEWFishing's first Sponsored Angler in the American Carp League; Congratulations Eric!

Getting a start on the Carp League

2007-04-28T15:38:00.000-07:00

This is the first full year of the American Carp Society Carp League Competition; and I signed up to compete in the second and third quarters of this year. I thought it might be a bit difficult to be competitive with the typical NEWFishingland Winter and Late Fall... but currently I'm finding "Spring" enough of a challenge!

I have managed one countable fish (over 10lb); last weekend I managed to get myself tied to a short and fat 11 pounder, hooked on the float fished at 40 yds, which was fun. Most of my floatfishing for carp is at fairly close range, so it was great to find a venue where you need to cast a bit to be able to get amongst the fish. This was also my first carp from this new venue; it was "created" last year when the authorities remodeled what was a swamp into a new piece of bank. I'm hoping for great things from this piece of carping real estate in future years.

However, that's been my only bright spot so far this spring; variable temperatures, winds and general lack of rain have upset my plans so far. I'm philosophical though, when everything lines up I just know I'm gonna haul! :o)

Harlequin Egg Flies & Steelhead... and Smallies!

2007-04-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

I've been having fun recently with small harlequin egg flies (size 12-14), fished under a float of course; given the opportunity, I always prefer to reject Wisconsin fishing reality and substitute my own version of the fishy universe!

Anyway, I picked up a few of these egg flies from Tight Lines, and although I haven't had too much chance to wear them out, I've caught Steelhead on the couple of opportunities I've had to fish them. It's impossible to be sure, but I had the impression that I was catching fish that had turned up their noses at spawn sacks and other egg imitations.

Last week, I had the opportunity to fish for Smallies in the Wisconsin River, at Mosinee, just a couple of evenings after work. Conditions on the first day were good, and I had a few small Smallies on my usual "float & jig" combinations. On the second evening conditions were ideal, heavy persistent rain! I prefer the old saying, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going", so I wasn't going to let a little moisture put me off... I'm English after all!

Anyway, I really struggled; nothing biting at all. So, always experimenting, I tried one of my harlequin eggs; first run down through a likely looking steady run and the float just disappeared down a big hole in the water. My slightly surprised strike met with stubborn resistance, and in a few minutes a large, fat and very angry Smallie came to the waiting net. Now, I'd been fishing that run for at least 30 minutes, so it's likely that fish had seen a couple of different offerings from me, so why the fascination with a size 12 egg fly? Anyway, it was the only fish that evening, but I was very happy to catch a 5 pounder while experimenting. As I was returning the fish, a guy came up and asked me how I caught it. After showing him my rig, his comment was "I've never read anything about fishing with egg flies for Smallies"; my inevitable comment was "I'm so pleased that fish can't read!"

Tight Lines, and keep on experimenting!

Rules & Entry Form for WI Carp Championship

2007-04-10T13:47:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is the link for the 1st WI Carp Championship Rules & Entry Form. If by chance you are struggling to find the document, please respond to this blog with your email address and I'll send it to you.

I'm starting to get excited, as this is the first Tournament of this type in WI; there should be several very experienced catch-and-release Carp Anglers attending from all over the US (hopefully we'll have some International Carp Anglers too!), and the prize-money will make it well worthwhile for anyone here in NEWFishing Land who wants to try their luck at Carp-fishing! Make a note in your diary or calendar; June 16th and 17th, at Jefferson Park in Menasha. You need to register by the end of May, by mailing in your completed entry form and deposit.

If you are thinking about fishing, but not sure if you are at a "competitive catch-and-release carp-fishing level", let me know, and I'll try and offer you some tips and advice on how to catch. Don't worry about me giving any secrets away; I've been asked to help organize the event, so I can't fish anyway!

NewFishing's New Logo?

2007-04-06T12:08:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks, I wonder what you think of the New Logo for this site? Thanks Dan, this is a great graphic, you are an artist and a gentleman, sir!

Wisconsin Carp Championship

2007-04-02T11:42:00.000-07:00

I'm looking forward to the weather warming up and a new competition in June: This is the first year of The Wisconsin Carp Championship! I've been talking with the American Carp Society for a little while about helping to organize a catch-and-release Carp Competition; and I'm finally getting off my butt and putting it together.

It should be a really fun event, with competitors hopefully from outside the state, as well as us locals of course. I'd like to get a few entrants from outside the US too, fingers crossed that their busy schedules and the rising cost of airfares won't get in the way.

Details for your Diary are:
First Wisconsin Carp Championship - June 16th & 17th, at Jefferson Park, Menasha. Rules and Entry Form from me, just email me and I'll send you a copy. Only Carp and Rough Fish to count (Bowfin and Gar Anglers also welcome!); and we're hoping to keep the administration costs really low, so we can pay out 75%+ of the entry fees as prizes and trophies. Entry fee is $120 per Angler, or $100 if you are a current member of the American Carp Society or Carp Anglers Group; maybe now would be a good time to join? :o) More news as it happens, watch this space or respond to this blog/email me and I'll keep you up to date.

Tight Lines Fly Shop - what a great store!

2007-03-27T06:42:00.000-07:00

I stopped by the Tight Lines Fly Shop last week after work; in hopes of some special flies for the upcoming warmer weather. Well, I wasn't out of luck; they had just what I was looking for. We also had a good chat about catch & release fishing in NEWFishing Land, and shared some fun tales about fishing for "golden bones" up in Door County (that's carping on the fly for the uninitiated).

As I left the shop, I was struck by what a great store Tight Lines is; a little piece of angling heaven that somehow still captures the essence of a traditional tackle shop. To me, a fishing store needs to offer the following attributes to be a "great store" experience:
1. Welcoming atmosphere - I want to go somewhere where I feel like a guest and a friend, as well as a customer. Too many stores these days seem like angling-themed mini-Walmarts.
2. Quality gear - these mid-western "fishin' warehouses" bore me; it's always the same cheap stuff, stacked high and low-priced to sell. When will the "buyers" for these chains realize that some of us want a specific product, the best product, AND the most knowledgeable salespeople to help us make a decision?
3. Tradition - You can't buy it, but you can't run a successful fishing business without it. Call it the "know-how" of generations, call it the smell of well-varnished split cane; whatever it is, most tackle shops don't have it in this part of the world.

I suppose that's why I like Tight Lines so much, it has all of the above 3 features and then some. Maybe it's because it also reminds me of the great tackle shops in England that I knew? I was a sponsored angler for a couple of stores during my competitive fishing career, and both of them had and still have that "come in and make yourself comfortable" feel. I still get offered a "cup of tea" whenever I can spare the time to make the trip back across the pond to visit them!

Nostalgia, fishing stories, a variety of quality tackle, great service and that wonderful "guest at the fishing club" atmosphere; yes, Tight Lines is a proper fishing tackle shop! Here's the link, go visit (mention that Lee sent you!), and enjoy the experience: http://www.tightlinesflyshop.com/

I caught... and so did the DNR!

2007-03-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

It was a sunny and cold afternoon, with the wind blowing straight down the Fox River. Conditions didn't look good for anything other than a Northern or two, but there's always a chance of a reasonable Carp in this spot, so I spent a few minutes spodding in my "Winter Mix"!

I fished 2 rods, one with a sliding snap-tackle (otherwise known as a sliding quick-strike rig; I make my own as I can only buy fixed quick-strike rigs here, and they don't work well at anything over 30 yds range) fished at 45 yds at the bottom of the drop-off. The bait of choice was the largest fathead I could find in Green Bay; I was confident that it would attract old Esox if she was in the 'hood. The other rod was fished at 55 yds, next to what can only be described as a "Snag Pit" of wood, metal and piping. A simple hair rig on a 6 inch snell to a large Feeder. Bait was 3 sunflower seeds and a chunk of field corn for visibility, feeder was filled with Winter Mix bound with quick-dissolving flour; I had my fingers crossed for a Carp.

I expected a long wait for any action. After all of 2 or maybe 3 minutes, there was a confident, medium fast run on the Snag Pit rod; I struck and walked backwards and to my right, all in the same motion. This stopped the fish from diving straight into the snag; it's amazing what a 12 foot 2.75lb test curve rod can do! I followed this up with lots of right-hand side strain, as I hopped precariously down the riprap to my "net position"... I like to plan well in advance! Although the fish hadn't managed to run through the snag pit, it proceeded to kite to the left, where there are more snags to run around; so the fight developed into a short but hectic tug of war, with the rod continuously hooped well past it's test curve until I'd managed to drag the fish into open water.

Once in an area where it could run safely, it became obvious to both of us (me and the fish!) that matters had reached a conclusion in my favor, and within a couple of minutes a fat & healthy 8-9lb Carp rolled over the edge of my net. And that was it for the rest of the day... one bite, one fish! Oh well, it's a cold start to March, these things happen.

However, I wasn't the only one to catch. There were about 6 or 7 other guys fishing close by, as this is a park area and has a boat launch. I was waiting for my next fish (positive thinking!) when a voice behind me asked what I was fishing for; I looked round to see a DNR Warden. After checking my '06 license, and asking about the gear I was using (a constant topic with other anglers), he went over to check the other guys licenses. Apparently, he did a lot better than I did that day, as he hooked, played and landed 3 Guys, whereas I only banked the 1 Carp! When I saw his bag, I felt a little sorry for the them; it was obvious that he wasn't interested in catch & release... However, to his credit, they were dispatched cleanly and compassionately.

Which brings me to my question; was I wrong to feel a little sorry for them? After all, if you fish in WI, you need to carry a valid license with you. If you don't buy a license and don't get caught, then I suppose the rest of us who have bought licenses are subsidizing your fishing? I was just relieved that I hadn't somehow left my license at home. Make sure you always take your license with you when out fishing; as it's unlikely that the DNR will practice catch & release on you!

Gone Fishin'!

2007-03-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

The sun is shining and I'm about to go fishing... too bad the temp is only going to rise to around 40 today. So, where to go? Is it an attempt at big Browns at Kewaunee? Possibly later in the evening, but it's way too bright right now. How about a big Walleye at De Pere? Again, the sunlight thing is a factor for me; I will fish for big Walleye under a bright sun if I don't have any other options... but I bitch and moan all the time I'm doing it!

Am I the only one facing this problem this time of year? It often seems that March and April are either perfect fishing weather (if you don't mind being half-drowned and blown inside out at the same time), or we have a series of sunny, low temperature days that don't make it easy to catch anything. I'm a big fan of nasty wet & windy weather for most of my favorite fish at this time of the year; it always seems to me that when it's hard to actually fish properly, that's just when the fish are most obliging!

So, I have to make the best of what I've got, and a couple of options spring to mind. There may be a chance at a fat & lazy big old hen Pike at this time of the year, particularly if I can find some sunny, mud-bottomed bay without any cold breezes blowing across it. The other option is fishing for Panfish and/or Carp, somewhere near a warm-water outlet. Of course, the ideal would be a warm-water outlet into a sunny, mud-bottomed bay! Wait a minute, I can think of a couple of places that might fit that category, I'll let you know how I do...

Steelhead Spring?

2007-03-17T06:45:00.000-07:00

It's mid-March, and I'm wondering; are we looking at a Steelhead Spring this year? I'd be the first to admit that we probably need a little more rain... but try telling that to the Manitowoc River-bank residents after last weeks ice-melt! I didn't hear too much in the local press, but I'm guessing that as the water was only 6 inches below the bank, that someone was flooded out?

In the streams and rivers I like to fish, plenty of March and early April rain is very welcome. I'm not one of those guys who cluster shoulder-to-shoulder in a few well-known spots on our Lake Michigan streams; for me that is more social experiment than fishing! No, I'm to be found up in the wilder, streamier places, even though I'm probably trading numbers of fish I'd like to believe that I'm receiving a better quality experience? That definitely means I need more water in Spring, to maximise my chances of Steelhead running through my chosen stream.

I'm not difficult to spot when I'm out; I'll be the guy with the 13 foot or 20 foot UK-style river float-fishing rods, coupled with either my beloved Young's Centerpin reel or a medium-size spinning reel, depending on the flow and volume of water on the day. I find the combination of a well-balanced float & jig/float & fly outfit, together with a rod, reel & line specially developed for river fishing, gives me maximum chance of catching whatever fish make it past the horde of anglers downstream, to the more peaceful stretches I wander. That's also one of the reasons why I need the extra space, my techniques are designed for drifting float & jig/fly down the fast water/slow water "crease" in the flow... sometimes I'll hook a Steelhead within 5 or 6 feet of the drift, sometimes I'll be hooking my fish 50 or more yards downstream!

If anyone is interested about this method of catching lots of Steelhead, without continual retying bottom-bouncer rigs (our freestone streams hereabouts can be tough on rigs!), then let me know, as I have several articles and can give you the skinny on the tackle you will need to be successful. Only one problem... you may turn into a lone Steelheader, rather than just one of the crowd? You have been warned!

In-Fisherman Editor Matt Straw is impressed!

2007-03-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't met Matt yet, but it sounds like he might be a convert to Carpfishing! Here's his trailer from a recent In-Fisherman article on Carpfishing:

Editor Matt Straw has caught giant steelhead and salmon and most everything else that swims in freshwater. "An absolute blast," he says of his experience with carp in clear water. "The fish are absolutely mombos. It's like nothing else I ever experienced in freshwater fishing."

Thanks Matt, and here's a link to that series of articles.

In-Fisherman Article on Spring Carpfishing

2007-03-15T11:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a good article from In-Fisherman; it's just detailed enough to get you thinking, without giving you all the answers! Check it out here.

Now, if you are interested, let me know and I'll give you the skinny on how to tune those basic methods to get you catching big fish right here in NEWFishing land! :o)

Good Websites for US Carpfishing

2007-03-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

With humble apologies to anyone I may have missed, here's my shortlist of good websites for Carpfishing in the US. My classification of "good" means that there's plenty of information for the beginner and experienced angler alike. Here they are:

American Carp Society: www.americancarpsociety.com
Membership-based society, with a good forum, great competitions, bait & tackle webstore, what more could a serious carp-head want? :o)

The Carp Anglers Group: www.carpanglersgroup.com
Membership-based society, some good information, local chapters in most states.

Carp.com Website: www.carp.com
An extensive forum on all things carp, tackle webstore, and a truly international flavor... you can hang out with the English Carpers and learn what the European Carp Scene is all about!