As the air temps and water temps are cooling this time of year, it’s fairly common knowledge that many species of fish are putting on the feedbag in preparation for the long hard winter. The Common Carp also follows this cold weather pattern. Most people think of these big boys and girls as a spring/preseason fish to target, but, just like their toothy brethren they to also want to pack on the pounds before Ol’ Man Winter sets in. Here’s my pal….. We’ll call him “Angler X”, a seasoned Muskie professional, who donned his Hallow’s Eve best free Cub Foods costume with a dandy 12Lb. Cyprinus Carpio!
Catching these sometimes elusive bottom feeders in the fall consists of a somewhat sneakier approach than during the summer months. On the waters we’ve been fishing the water is much clearer and the ground is a little softer than usual due to high waters. Therefore, we have been very quiet upon approach to a spot and stand back a little farther from the bank than normal. Almost like you would approach spring time trout fishing on a small stream. Another photo of Angler X demonstrating the girth these fish are packin’ on for the winter.
As far as bait goes for this quick little trip we resorted to just using a plain ol’ corn rig on a #2 Walleye hook..splitshot placed about 2-3 feet above the hook in order to have a nice freefloating corn glob ( this time of year it’s a neccesity to keep your corn floating above the mess of leaves on the bottom of the river). Another excellent option for late season is to double the corn up with a nightcrawler or try your own favorite carp recipe.
With the days getting shorter and less fishin’ time after work, your friendly neighborhood carp might be a good option for a quick fix and some peelin’ drags. Good luck and most of all HAVE FUN!
Good report. We find on the river up north this time of year a fantastic sucker bite going also. Just simple slip rigs and a small piece of crawler. The action can be fantastic. That same sucker bite goes real strong on the St croix to. Those fish put up a great fight.
Thanks for sharing Jeremy!
Excellent!
I think the cub bag may be an improvement…
Thanks for the roughy report, I didn’t think they got targeted much this time of year.
Great report! Love the bag… nothing wrong with chasing Mr. Carp! I’ve got a great little carp pond right by my house. I may have to give it a whirl!
I love it
Nice report, how many do you catch in an average trip?
The bite isn’t as fast and furious as earlier in the year but the size of fish usually makes up for it. We usually average between 3-6 fish for a few hours fishin’ on a good day. Mid afternoons on a warm sunny day is probably your best bet for more action.
Hey “Angler X”, you ever fish “Lake X” ???
Maybe I should be asking you that question pal
I love catching my own Muskie Decoys sounds like a blast
mr. x looks vaguely familiar…
great job catchin’ those carps, boys!
they can actually get pretty elusive
We had a great season up in the Dells:
Both Bottom Fishing and drifting as well as fly fishing Video Go Pro Uncut and Fly Fishing Video Narrated
But the biggest surprises always come when you do not target them… HUGE BUFFALO Caught in a dinky raft and Released after the picture
Good to see some of these old reports again.