Cornacarpio's Cumulative Carp Culling Caper

[denis barden]

Kooooooooooooooooooool

[Cornacarpio]

Not quite the result I was after for the now traditional father & son fish off at Taylor's Lake on Chrissy day, but we did manage to get another mini-cod and a carp (which my Dad caught). Interestingly, I actually got the cod on corn, the second one I have caught on such bait. I guess the good news is the natives seem to be doing reasonably well in the lake, and the carp, although no doubt still in great numbers, were refusing to bite. It's bitter-sweet, as I'm hanging out for a decent carp-slaying session.

Feeding habits
Murray cod are omnivorous feeders, preying mainly on other fish, crayfish and freshwater mussels, but supplementing this diet with water fowl, frogs, water rats, grubs and worms as available. They are most active in summer, especially at night. During the day they tend to shelter near submerged logs and tree roots, where they often take up a position on the downstream side of the obstruction and wait for the back eddies to bring food to them.

From Encyclopedia of Australian Fishing (1979), Bay Books, 157-167 Bayswater Road, Rushcutters Bay, NSW, Volume II, part 36, p.1414

[Cornacarpio]

After feeling a bit subdued from some sub-par performances from Taylor's Lake over the past couple of days, I decided to give my former haunts out at the Wimmera River a bit of a go. My reason being; we've had a lot of rain recently and the river (and especially carp) tend to fish quite well after such an event (I remember catching A LOT of Carp in 2010/11 in similar conditions).

As I sat down in the spot that got me hooked on Carp fishing (many years ago) I was thinking "Geez, this place is a shadow of its former self". I sat there for about 30mins without so much as a sniff, so I decided to try another spot. But before I got back to my car, I decided to try another spot, just about 30 metres from where I was. I got an enquiry almost straight away, and not long after I had a very healthy 50cm river specimen on the bank. The bites, and the carp, kept coming, one after the other, just like it was in the 'good old days'. I mean, conditions were "cherry ripe"; 36 degrees, recent heavy rain, a gentle trickle in the river and plenty of mozzies. What more could one ask for?

It felt good to be back on the board, and back on the board in a big way as well - I haven't had a haul like this in a long time. I ended up with 12 all up (pics or it didn't happen right - so I'll class it as 10). I've been questioning what I've been doing 'wrong' recently with my lack of catches, but sometimes all it takes is a change of location and a bit of luck!

+10

2022/23: 15 (1988)

Ultra-Light Tackle
Fishing with ultra-light tackle is fishing in one of the most exciting forms. On mini-tackle the most puny whiting, bream, mullet or trout can become a monster. Some think that u/l tackle is for cranks or exhibitionists. Nothing is further from the truth. Only a few skilled fisherman can capture large fish on u/l lines and gear.

From Encyclopedia of Australian Fishing (1979), Bay Books, 157-167 Bayswater Road, Rushcutters Bay, NSW, Volume II, part 47, p.1859

[Lightningx]

Very nice haul CC!
Well done mate
Cheers

[Cornacarpio]

Went back to the scene of the crime, expecting big things. Packed twice as many rods, expecting twice as many fish - at least! I got one fairly early and then it went dead quiet. So quiet, in fact, that I was contemplating going home with my tail between my legs, when both my rods went. I ended up missing both of them, but it piqued my interest at least. They came on the bite an hour or so before dark, just like they did last night. These were much smaller, in the 30-50cm rage, and generally harder to hook, but they put up a great fight in such a small water system.

Last night I just used a pre-bought paternoster rig and I hardly missed a bite. Today I had a running sinker and a 'freeline', with just a hook and a swivel to tie a leader on to. The freeline caught most of the fish. I also probably missed about 6 bites tonight, they seemed much more finicky.

I was expecting to 'clean up' today and came extra prepared, more rods a proper landing net and everything, but I ended up catching less fish. I guess that's just fishing innit?

P.S. As I'm writing this I realised I've left the landing net out there...

+8

2022/23: 23 (1996)

Glenorchy to Horsham
The Glenorchy Weir holds back a good depth of water which produces excellent redfin and tench. An occasional Murray cod has been caught at Glenorchy. Redfin are mainly taken on gudgeon and yabbies and spinning with Ondex and red Dixon spinners.

From Fishing Wimmera Waters (1989), by Gary Knight, 2nd edn, Sportfish Australia Publications Pty. Ltd., Glenormiston Road, Noorat, Vic, 3265, p.43

[Cornacarpio]

Headed down to the creek after work today, mainly with the intention of finding golf balls, but noticed there was A LOT of Carp about. This is no different to usual, but given the water was so low and clear and I could see them all, it evoked a very visceral response, so I dumped the plastic bag with about 10 golf balls in it for the Marcus Threscothick (telescopic) which was in the boot of my car.

The sun was out, nice and hot day, it should be like shooting fish in a barrel right? WRONG!. The Carp did everything but take the bait. They seemed just content to sunbake and completely ignored my offering of sweet sweet corn. I did have one mouth it, and I may have hooked it had I of struck the right time, but alas, I didn't. Feeling dejected, I headed home with my tail between my legs. Not to be outdone, or put off (it was a good day after all) I decided to make my way very close to home for a place I haven't fished since the opening pages of this thread, (seemingly) many moons ago, to catch the 'evening bite'. I didn't have to wait long. Here the Carp were much more obliging. See Carp, cast at it, then bang! The first was an absolute slab. The second was a pregnant female that was about to explode! In fact, it kind of did when I caught it - it pissed all over me for about 20 seconds when it first came out of the water.

The creek is a challenging place to fish - more often than not, the Carp won't just jump on the end of your line. You really have to get in their faces and hunt them down (without scaring them). Also, I think the time of day matters. Lately, I've had very little success during the day, when the sun is at its highest - almost to the point where it's not even worth trying. The best time seems to be when the sting has gone out of the sun in the hour or two before dark. Just my two cents.

+2

2022/23: 25 (1998)

Stalking the fish
Heavy footsteps, shadows, ripples and waves easily startle fish, especially in shallows close to shore. The experienced angler always tries to sneak up on the fish or stay a good distance away when fishing.

From Encyclopedia of Australian Fishing (1979), Bay Books, 157-167 Bayswater Road, Rushcutters Bay, NSW, Volume II, part 46, p.1815

[Lightningx]

Some great pics!
I like the top one where you can see them all.
Cheers

[Cornacarpio]

Went out to the Wimmera River today where it was hawt, which meant the Carp - and mozzies - were out in force. It's safe to say the mozzies were biting way more than the fish. The Carp out the river seem really active in the hour or two before dawn, where they feed really strongly, before the cool change swept through (I presume the barometer dropped) and they went off the bite.

The Carp were 'on', but I spent most of the time trying to untangle by line from the bloody landing net, which is a semi-necessity out the river, with the steep banks and all. I had two rods in: one with a runnning sinker and one with a paternoster. The same as last time, the paternoster outfished the running sinker by some margin. It may be because there was a gentle trickle in the river, which made the corn really 'pop', so to speak. I generally don't like using a paternoster, especially with 2 hooks, as it increases the chances of getting snagged, but it seems to work, so I'll stick with it, out the river at least.

I ended up with 13 all up, including my first mirror for the year, but it could have been more if I hadn't of missed so many bites, or spent untangling my line from the landing net (no, I don't have an enviro net), but I guess that's fishing. I love these hot summer days when the Carp are on the chew.

+13

2022/23: 38 (2011)

Cyprinius Carpio: These fish are known to attain a weight of 27kg. They are characterized by a long dorsal fin, large scales, and four barbels (whiskers) on the mouth, a feature not shared by the other two species.

From Jack Pollard's Australian Fishing (1989), Angus & Robertson Publishers, Unit 4, Eden Park, 31 Waterloo Road, North Ryde, NSW, Australia, 2113, p.113

[Cornacarpio]

Falling temps only saw 3 landed today. What a difference a day makes! Surprisingly I did catch a silver perch though (on corn). A lot of juvenile natives seem ready to take corn.

+3

2022/23: 41 (2014)

Silver Perch
Bidyanus bidyanus: The third most important native freshwater fish in Australia, ranking only behind Murray cod and golden perch. They are variously known as bream, black bream, Murray bream, grunter, bidyan, tcheri, Murray perch, sooty grunter and bidyan grunter, depending on locality. They have a peculiar habit of emitting a sound resembling a grunt, produced by vibration of the swim bladder, when captured.

From Jack Pollard's Australian Fishing (1989), Angus & Robertson Publishers, Unit 4, Eden Park, 31 Waterloo Road, North Ryde, NSW, Australia, 2113, p.670

[Cornacarpio]

Just got the one today. Tried the weir in Horsham, which I've only been to once before. Got a couple of very faint bites, but nothing came of it. Swung past 'the usual spot' at Taylors on the way home and got this bad boy. Got him almost straight away, so I thought I might have been in for another decent haul, but it wasn't to be. 'Twas quite a cool day for this time of the year, which may have had something to do with it.

+1

2022/23: 42 (2015)

Taylor's Lake
Due to irrigation, the water levels fluctuate greatly, however the wall end always contains a good depth of water (up to 15 metres when full). The south end bays dry up during the summer months in dry years, but when full the bays provide good catches over the grassed flats.

From Fishing Wimmera Waters (1989), by Gary Knight, 2nd edn, Sportfish Australia Publications Pty. Ltd., Glenormiston Road, Noorat, Vic, 3265, p.36