Cornacarpio's Cumulative Carp Culling Caper
- Cornacarpio
- Rank: Snapper
- Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 11:52 pm
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Re: Cornacarpio's Cumulative Carp Culling Caper
Headed out to Taylor's Lake today in the state's west on an absolutely glorious winter's day - the sun was out and not a breath of wind on the water. Temperature wise, it was almost a 'balmy' 12 degrees. Unfortunately, despite the almost ideal conditions, the fishing wasn't quite as propitious...it wasn't until I threw a can of corn out for burly and started started packing up after a solid 3 hours that I got my first and only bite of the day - a carp in the 50-60cm range. Of course, this inspired me to stay 'a bit longer', but no more bites were forthcoming. I was just happy I caught something.
CC
No winter worries!
+1
2019/20: 51 (1762)
CC
No winter worries!
+1
2019/20: 51 (1762)
- Cornacarpio
- Rank: Snapper
- Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 11:52 pm
- Has liked: 16 times
- Likes received: 115 times
Re: Cornacarpio's Cumulative Carp Culling Caper
Boy oh boy, goodness gracious me.
Headed out on my bicycle armed with a Penn Legion Rod and an Ecogear SX40 (that I haven't used in years), hoping to catch some stocked Rainbow Trout at the family-fishing friendly Cato Lake in Stawell, Western Victoria.
What I didn't count on was foul-hooking a record-equaling PB 80cm Carp in the tail on a hardbody! Pretty much as soon as I hooked it I saw the tail splash and realised straight-away that it was a pretty big Carp. I was somewhat relieved that there are hardly any snags in Cato Lake, but this was offset by the fact I was 'only' using 8lb line and had no landing net. 'Necessity is the mother of invention' as they say, so I phoned my Dad while tiring the Carp out to say 'I've git a bloody big Carp on can you bring a landing net down'. I had no longer done that when a passer-by yelled out; 'Having any luck?', to which I replied 'Yeah, I've got a bloody big Carp on'. He said 'I've got a net in my car you can use' to which I replied 'Yes'. Before I knew it, I had two people, with a landing net each circling around my fish trying to grab it. I could see that it was hooked in the anal fin and I was petrified the lure was going to pull-out. Eventually, it tired enough and I think my Dad was the one to net it. Of course, as my Dad drove down, I raced to the car to grab the brag-mat and was pleasantly surprised the Carp 'weighed in' at a hefty 80cm (give or take a few mm). After I calmed down a bit and stopped shaking, I manged to accomplish what I set-out to achieve: to catch a few 'stockies'; they were okay, certainly better than catching nothing, but give me an 80cm Carp any-day!
Fishing is a bizarre experience: yesterday I did a 100km round-trip to catch a fairly average Carp and today I rode 400m down the road to catch a PB equaling Carp (along with a couple of stocked Trout)! What strange times we live in, and during winter no less!
CC
Catching Carp in Cold Conditions...
+1
2019/20: 52 (1763)
Headed out on my bicycle armed with a Penn Legion Rod and an Ecogear SX40 (that I haven't used in years), hoping to catch some stocked Rainbow Trout at the family-fishing friendly Cato Lake in Stawell, Western Victoria.
What I didn't count on was foul-hooking a record-equaling PB 80cm Carp in the tail on a hardbody! Pretty much as soon as I hooked it I saw the tail splash and realised straight-away that it was a pretty big Carp. I was somewhat relieved that there are hardly any snags in Cato Lake, but this was offset by the fact I was 'only' using 8lb line and had no landing net. 'Necessity is the mother of invention' as they say, so I phoned my Dad while tiring the Carp out to say 'I've git a bloody big Carp on can you bring a landing net down'. I had no longer done that when a passer-by yelled out; 'Having any luck?', to which I replied 'Yeah, I've got a bloody big Carp on'. He said 'I've got a net in my car you can use' to which I replied 'Yes'. Before I knew it, I had two people, with a landing net each circling around my fish trying to grab it. I could see that it was hooked in the anal fin and I was petrified the lure was going to pull-out. Eventually, it tired enough and I think my Dad was the one to net it. Of course, as my Dad drove down, I raced to the car to grab the brag-mat and was pleasantly surprised the Carp 'weighed in' at a hefty 80cm (give or take a few mm). After I calmed down a bit and stopped shaking, I manged to accomplish what I set-out to achieve: to catch a few 'stockies'; they were okay, certainly better than catching nothing, but give me an 80cm Carp any-day!
Fishing is a bizarre experience: yesterday I did a 100km round-trip to catch a fairly average Carp and today I rode 400m down the road to catch a PB equaling Carp (along with a couple of stocked Trout)! What strange times we live in, and during winter no less!
CC
Catching Carp in Cold Conditions...
+1
2019/20: 52 (1763)
-
- Rank: Premium Member
- Joined: Tue Jun 17, 2014 10:41 am
- Location: Hoppers Crossing
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Re: Cornacarpio's Cumulative Carp Culling Caper
Well done CC, I would have thought the lure would pull out of a fin.
It would have pulled like a steam train too
Cheers Gra
It would have pulled like a steam train too
Cheers Gra
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- Bluefin
- Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2014 4:21 pm
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- Cornacarpio
- Rank: Snapper
- Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 11:52 pm
- Has liked: 16 times
- Likes received: 115 times
Re: Cornacarpio's Cumulative Carp Culling Caper
2020/21 Melbourne Metro Carp Re-opening!
Well the Melb Metro 2020/21 Carp re-opening was off to a solid start - didn't even have enough time to set-up my second rod (literally within 5 minutes) before the first one went off! On the end was a solid Carp, just shy of 70cm.
I only just chucked in the second one and similar results ensued, this time a Carp right on 70cm with all the usual antics - crossing over my other line, trying to get snagged, me wading in and falling over (and getting a gob full of Gardiner's Creek water - crocs and a hard clay bottom do not mix!), it not wanting to succumb, but me eventually succeeding. The Carp seemed ravenous after such a long fishing hiatus and simply could not resist my meticulously presented bread crust.
I've missed this, today was the most productive and enjoyable day I've had in six months. I know what I'll be doing for the next next six! Was nearly going to give it a miss today, as I thought the weather might have been a little cold at 14/15 degrees and the creek was a bit dirty from all the rain we've had recently, but it just allowed me to catch them in stealth mode, as they had no idea I was there...they can be very spooky when the water is clear.
After landing the two Carp, I found a worm in a bucket and decided to use that - I ended up catching my first Eel from the creek, which I promptly released.
CC
+2
2020/21: 2
(1765)
Well the Melb Metro 2020/21 Carp re-opening was off to a solid start - didn't even have enough time to set-up my second rod (literally within 5 minutes) before the first one went off! On the end was a solid Carp, just shy of 70cm.
I only just chucked in the second one and similar results ensued, this time a Carp right on 70cm with all the usual antics - crossing over my other line, trying to get snagged, me wading in and falling over (and getting a gob full of Gardiner's Creek water - crocs and a hard clay bottom do not mix!), it not wanting to succumb, but me eventually succeeding. The Carp seemed ravenous after such a long fishing hiatus and simply could not resist my meticulously presented bread crust.
I've missed this, today was the most productive and enjoyable day I've had in six months. I know what I'll be doing for the next next six! Was nearly going to give it a miss today, as I thought the weather might have been a little cold at 14/15 degrees and the creek was a bit dirty from all the rain we've had recently, but it just allowed me to catch them in stealth mode, as they had no idea I was there...they can be very spooky when the water is clear.
After landing the two Carp, I found a worm in a bucket and decided to use that - I ended up catching my first Eel from the creek, which I promptly released.
CC
+2
2020/21: 2
(1765)
- Cornacarpio
- Rank: Snapper
- Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 11:52 pm
- Has liked: 16 times
- Likes received: 115 times
Re: Cornacarpio's Cumulative Carp Culling Caper
Headed to the same spot today to continue my 'heroics' from yesterday, slightly warmer today, better conditions, so I expected slightly more fish...but nup, not even a bite! I got bored after a while and traversed the creek looking for golf balls...when I returned my bread was still on the hook - didn't even have a sniff! The two rotting Carp corpses at the bottom of the creek from yesterday must have acted as a warning to all the resident Carp in that spot
On the ride home I ran into Yellow Door from Shout Out To The Carp Masters hall of fame (a thread even longer than this one) on the Bream Masters Forum, who was also wetting a line. I could see he was burly-ing up, so I invited myself to fish along side him, socially distanced of course. He caught a small Carp and Eel in relatively quick succession using maggots and worms. Finally I got a bite - my first and only one of the day. As is always the case, there is always drama with me fishing down at the creek. We were fishing off a really steep section, and my Carp, as per usual, took off at a 100 m/ph. In so doing, my line got caught in an overhanging tree quite a bit away from where I was actually situated. I was praying to God that the friction created while the Carp was going nuts wouldn't snap the line. Eventually, the line freed itself (without snapping - and ironically, with a little help from the Carp) but this left me with a little quandary - how to actually land the thing, given we were fishing off such a steep section. Seemingly out of nowhere Yellow Door presented me with a landing net with the longest handle I have ever seen - 12ft possibly longer, which made landing the fish relatively simple. Come to think of it, I have no idea how he got it down the creek, as he was only on two wheels as well. Nevertheless, I managed to score a Carp (and a pretty decent one at that - just shy of 70cm) and not go home fishless.
+1
CC
2020/21: 3
(1766)
On the ride home I ran into Yellow Door from Shout Out To The Carp Masters hall of fame (a thread even longer than this one) on the Bream Masters Forum, who was also wetting a line. I could see he was burly-ing up, so I invited myself to fish along side him, socially distanced of course. He caught a small Carp and Eel in relatively quick succession using maggots and worms. Finally I got a bite - my first and only one of the day. As is always the case, there is always drama with me fishing down at the creek. We were fishing off a really steep section, and my Carp, as per usual, took off at a 100 m/ph. In so doing, my line got caught in an overhanging tree quite a bit away from where I was actually situated. I was praying to God that the friction created while the Carp was going nuts wouldn't snap the line. Eventually, the line freed itself (without snapping - and ironically, with a little help from the Carp) but this left me with a little quandary - how to actually land the thing, given we were fishing off such a steep section. Seemingly out of nowhere Yellow Door presented me with a landing net with the longest handle I have ever seen - 12ft possibly longer, which made landing the fish relatively simple. Come to think of it, I have no idea how he got it down the creek, as he was only on two wheels as well. Nevertheless, I managed to score a Carp (and a pretty decent one at that - just shy of 70cm) and not go home fishless.
+1
CC
2020/21: 3
(1766)
- Cornacarpio
- Rank: Snapper
- Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 11:52 pm
- Has liked: 16 times
- Likes received: 115 times
Re: Cornacarpio's Cumulative Carp Culling Caper
Boy oh boy wowee...a PB 81cm Carpus Goliath from the creek today.
I was a bit disappointed after I lost a 70cm Carp in my usual spot, so decided to try a new spot on my way home in order to avoid going home fishless for the first time this season.
Thing took off like a steam train - it almost took all my line, I could see the line on my spool rapidly disappearing and probably only had 20-30m of it left. Eventually it tired, and I slowly managed to get some line back with the pull-and-wind approach. After it tired some more, it was like reeling in dead weight, I thought I might have lost it and got snagged on a log before I sighted it close to shore. I was so relieved when I finally sighted it with my own eyes, and even more so when I landed it.
I generally like to keep my spots under wraps, but I caught it in a very public area and had about 15 kids surround me after I caught it, each vowing to bring their fishing rod tomorrow
A 1 metre Carp beckons this season - there has to be one in there somewhere!
+1
2020/21: 4 (1767)
CC
The Carp are out there!
I was a bit disappointed after I lost a 70cm Carp in my usual spot, so decided to try a new spot on my way home in order to avoid going home fishless for the first time this season.
Thing took off like a steam train - it almost took all my line, I could see the line on my spool rapidly disappearing and probably only had 20-30m of it left. Eventually it tired, and I slowly managed to get some line back with the pull-and-wind approach. After it tired some more, it was like reeling in dead weight, I thought I might have lost it and got snagged on a log before I sighted it close to shore. I was so relieved when I finally sighted it with my own eyes, and even more so when I landed it.
I generally like to keep my spots under wraps, but I caught it in a very public area and had about 15 kids surround me after I caught it, each vowing to bring their fishing rod tomorrow
A 1 metre Carp beckons this season - there has to be one in there somewhere!
+1
2020/21: 4 (1767)
CC
The Carp are out there!
Last edited by Cornacarpio on Fri Oct 02, 2020 12:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
- Cornacarpio
- Rank: Snapper
- Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 11:52 pm
- Has liked: 16 times
- Likes received: 115 times
Re: Cornacarpio's Cumulative Carp Culling Caper
Haha yep, the two telescopics that I got from Aldi that I'be been using for ages now have definitely seen better days and are looking a little brittle. I recently respooled one of them with 10lb mono, but looking back now that seems a bit conservative, should have probably gone 12lb at least to give me a little more breathing space. I don't think its any coincidence that since I've started using heavier gear (4000 reel with 10lb line v. 200 reel with 6lb line) that I've managed to land a few more heavier specimens...I still have nightmares about all the monsters I've missed...light gear is fine - and fun, but after a bust-off or two, I've found it really pays to stack the odds in your favour, not the fishes.