In March I headed north to join the Celebration of Life in honor of our good friend Tim Marshall. Afterwards Colin Peters kindly invited me to fish with him at his lakeside home. We had a blast not only catching a few fish but reminiscing about growing up fishing in England and sharing our many experiences of carp fishing in the USA.
President Address
As some of you know Colin fished alongside Tom Brooks in numerous carp tournaments. It was certainly eye-opening to learn from his knowledge of pack baits and to see firsthand how he uses it in practice. Colin and I also took the opportunity to call up and chat to our good friend Frank Warwick… a call that lasted over 2 hours and had us howling with laughter as the conversation, as so often happens talking to Frank, deviated wildly!
After sharing many wonderful memories of Tim with his family and friends Tim’s wife Susan wondered what to do with his extensive carp fishing library. We decided to make Tim’s books available for sale and to donate the proceeds to two key charities.
The first ALS North Carolina whose mission supports and empowers the ALS community through a collaborative approach to fostering bold research initiatives, advancing advocacy, and providing comprehensive care to individuals and families affected by ALS. The second the Inter Faith Council of North Carolina works to confront the causes and respond to the effects of poverty in the community. I’m delighted to announce that we have already raised over $2,500. There are also plenty of great books still available!
The carp season is already shaping up and I’m looking forward to seeing the results of the Spring
Big 4 as well as some great images from the monthly Essence of Carping Photo Competition.
Enjoy you fishing and Tight Lines Everyone! Tight Lines!
Iain Sorrell CAG President
By Colin Peters
By Iain Sorrell
Mike Dragone
Evan Cartabiano
Jerome Moisand
Late evening on a Dale Hollow ‘creek’.
Main river channel is the Obey River. Apart from the upper reaches the main channel that runs through the lake starts at around 70’ deep. It winds through the lake with depths that average in the 130’s with 148’ looking to be the deepest part at the Barksdale Bend section.
There are numerous creek arms which contain both deep and early season warm shallower water which the fish wander in and out of.
2. The Fish.
Jayce Russell (Kenny’s grandson ) with a ‘beast’ of a common!
Kenny with a stunning mirror.
I personally like to categorize the carp typically found in large US lakes & reservoirs in the following manner:
Resident - Transient - Migratory
Just to complicate things, these groups/ pods interact, co habit and may change in size. There are also pods within the group types that are somewhat divided by weight class.
We are here in springtime and the water at Dale Hollow was about 56F during our visit, pods of fish belonging to all 3 categories are feeding well and taking advantage of the warming water.
The resident, perhaps older but not necessarily bigger fish are moving around the localized creek arms.
Transient fish are doing the same but may have a larger range moving up and down the main creeks and surrounding arms, in and out of the main lake, I would guess this category has the most fish in the higher weight class.
The larger shoals of migratory fish making up the larger pre spawn gatherings – the later I would say would have the lower average weight, I’m going to also go out on a limb and say migratory fish would mostly be resident in the main lake in larger open water.
Some other notable fish are present including world record class Smallmouth Bass, Pike, Musky, Walleye & Alligator Gar.
A typical narrow deep channel…
3. Creek Arm Topography
The topography of this whole area is somewhat mountainous and therefore very hilly in general. The lake is man-made via a 1,717’ long dam. When you look around, what you see above water i.e. the severity of the slopes, the points, the gullies is pretty much what you get below the water. A relatively small arm in a creek may at first look may look great and a piece of cake to fish as it may only be 125yds across… But it may be 30’ or even 80’ deep in the middle!
Experience counts when fishing these side creeks.
Dale Hollow has hundreds of side channel and creeks to explore!
Guide and Host Kenny at the helm.
Honestly, I was hesitant to go this route because of a lot of reasons, mainly because in the first few months of the year, fishing is really good at home, so I was on the fence.
Kenny Mac just kept posting photos of the magnificent Dale Hollow fish and the temptation - it got too much and I couldn’t resist any longer. This was a 6.5hr drive, another big lake, its spring, prime time with the clock ticking down to spawn. It started to all make sense, especially when you stop to consider 1. The stats, 2. The fish, 3. The topography. It was time to cut to the chase and try the houseboat experience.
I had been invited along by Colin Davis & Glyn Patrick; we joined the USA Carp guide crew Kenny Mac & Daniel Irish.
At the Marina, gear was loaded onto a pontoon boat, a boat ride followed out to the houseboat, which was already parked at the pre baited chosen destination.
The level of emersion in this guide service is totally up to the individual, you can show up with no fishing tackle and approach this as you would perhaps a sea fishing charter. Or you can bring rods and reels, end tackle and bait and fish it in the normal way, so this guide service is suited for all mindsets.
I will say both Kenny and Daniel are both hardworking, great hosts and want nothing more than seeing results and contented guests, their level of commitment is nothing short of amazing.
Learn more:
https://www.facebook.com/usacarpguide
7. Bait and they will come
Another nice common for Jayce!
Kenny Mac shows how it’s done!
Not always the case. I live on a lake and I know how quickly you can empty your bank account thinking this will work. If the fish are in the vicinity, great, If the fish are 2 or 3 miles away or more, that’s where they’re going to be. USA Carp Guide has many spots on the lake that they will rotate through with a pre-baited routine, they also have a good handle on fish movement so spots are baited accordingly. Without the ability to put an Apple Air-Tag on fish it’s anybody’s guess where the fish go, as daytimes were very quiet.
The waiting game
Did the fish leave the cove or are they in deeper water? In the evenings the fish would start showing and would do so through the night and into first light. Did the arrival of fish contain resident or transient fish, is it even the same pods of fish or new? If smaller pods of fish turn up then you may get in a situation of fish rolling but you don’t get runs, I think everyone has experienced this. There’re all kinds of theories on what’s going on, my experience is simply too much bait in the water for numbers of fish present.
You’ve also got to consider this... the fish look great in the springtime, even late winter early spring, male & female alike, they’ve packed on weight during the winter, they don’t get fat by being totally dormant. They got fat by feeding. Carp are opportunistic and although it helps, they didn’t get fat by just eating corn alone either, they will quickly upgrade their food choice given the availability. Dale Hollow has Mussels, Clams, Snails, Crawfish there’s plenty of natural protein. The cove we were in had been producing well, in fact just prior to our arrival 38 fish
were caught in just a few days, it also gave up 4 x 40+ lb fish over a 2-week period. We had large fish rolling and there was a feeling of inevitability that a 40 or maybe even a 50 was going to get caught.
Dale Hollow is captivating and mesmerizing.
The large beautiful fully scaled Mirrors teasing and tantalizing and in an instant Dale Hollow will also frustrate and break your heart. Just like most massive US waters Dale Hollow is an enigma, it’s American carp fishing perhaps at its finest.
Glyn Patrick shows off another cracking DH FSM
We fished, we laughed, we cried laughing, we left with phenomenal memories, and we left wanting more.
Despite ridiculously loud snoring as if elephant seals had somehow snuck on board during the night, and the inevitable - with no wives present, release of huge amounts of flatulence, we all agreed this should be a yearly gathering.
The trip was a vacation of sorts, a breath of fresh air (not entirely true), it was medicine for the soul. And on that note, we are so lucky to have these fishing forums, with 5 of us on a boat, I knew everyone- kind of, but had not met anyone in person before ever. In the crazy world we live in who does that? Who thinks nothing of spending 4 days on a houseboat with total strangers.
Us carp anglers that’s who... it’s a beautiful thing.
About the author: Colin Peters has been carp fishing for over 50 years and as an expat Brit has been living in the USA for over 38 years. For many years he teamed up with legendary pay-laker Tom Brooks a partnership that resulted in some memorable tournament wins.
In May 2009 they won the 50 hour Northeast Regional Carp Tournament on the Seneca River near Baldwinsville, NY with 182 fish, for an incredible grand total of 2,804 lbs.
If you combine their third and second places for the two previous years then the total weight of carp stands at a staggering 7,849 lbs… That’s almost 4 tons and probably a world record! For the past 9 years Colin has lived on the shoreline of a large NC lake that covers 27 Sq Miles and has 365 miles of shoreline.
Colin brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that combines European and US Paylaking resulting in some great catches over the years!
A classic Dale Hollow FSM for Colin Davies
CAG members are invited to submit photographs that capture what is unique and exciting about carp fishing in North America.
Each month the winner will receive a special prize plus recognition for two runners up.
The photos do not have to be of someone holding a fish (this is NOT a Trophy fish competition) but they should be recognizable as being related to carp or buffalo fishing in North America and should reflect the capture of a special moment.
The ‘essence’ of carp fishing in North America might memorialize a remarkable scale pattern, someone’s first carp, a group of friends fishing together, a spectacular sunset, time of year or perhaps a dramatic background or landscape.
The judges will be fellow members who should pay particular attention to the subject matter and composition and not just the photographic or editing skills. In the event of a tie or any disputes the CAG BOD will be the final arbitrator.
Each month we’ll announce a winner and Award a prize or voucher (worth $100) with the winning photo appearing in a forthcoming NACA magazine as well as the CAG Forum Site and Facebook page. The top 3 will also receive CAG Medals.
The Rules:
The entrant must be a Full CAG Member & the owner of any copyright to the photograph.
An entrant may submit a maximum of TWO photos only in each month.
The photograph must have been taken in the submission month (final date for submissions is 24 hours after the end of each month)
All fish photos must demonstrate appropriate carp care and catch & release
Each submission must include the following details:
1. The type of device (e.g. camera or phone) used.
2. The date the photo was taken.
3. Location (nearest Town and State).
4. Your Name
5. Photo Title (e.g. Mirror Magic, Waiting for the Bite etc)
Entries should be submitted to the “CAG Essence of Carping Competition” under the appropriate “Month” below.
Entrants agree that CAG may use or display a submitted photo on the CAG website and Social Media resources.
2nd Place
Dave pickering
3rd Place
Dave pickering
2nd Place
sam hernandez
3rd Place
brent behnken
MARCH 2025 Winners
1st Place
IAIN SORRELL
2nd Place
sam hernandez
3rd Place
Jerome Moisand
Quick Tips for Carpers!
Here are just a few tips I’ve learned along the way that might just help you.
Check your Hook Point - before every cast!
One of the most crucial checks you should make before each and every cast is to look closely at as well as feel your hook point. It doesn’t take much for a hook point to get ‘turned’ by hitting the lead or a rock.
Even after a couple of fish a hook point can lose its penetrating edge. A diamond hook file and a P-Clamp (to hold the hook securely) make sharpening the point quick and easy.
PVA Mesh Bags
PVA mesh bags are ideal for attracting carp to your hook bait. Just hooking the bag onto the hook is OK but for longer casts I prefer some added security. Here’s a quick and easy way to secure the bag. Slide the hook carefully into one end of the mesh and then make a ‘half hitch’ around the knot at the other end. The weight of the bag and baits will keep sufficient tension on the hitch to hold it for even distance casts.
Another neat trick is to place a PVA nugget in the bottom of the mesh before adding the food items. If you push your hook point through the mesh into the nugget it not only protects the point but also helps ‘float’ the hook up to sit on top of the free food items.
Rod Bands
Silcone hair bands are a quick, easy and secure way to hold your rod sections together!
The choice of colors also makes it easy to identify different rod configurations (length, test curve etc).
Clean your Line.
If you are fishing in waters with a lot of algae, leaves, foam etc your line can soon pick up a coating of dirt or grime. This will significantly reduce potential casting distance.
The answer? Just carry a small tub with a piece of sponge soaked in diluted dish soap so that when you wind in you can pull the line through the sponge. You might be amazed at how much dirt comes off! The soap will also help break any surface tension thereby helping the line to sink below the surface to avoid any drag, floating debris etc.
If you need to make your line float when surface or float fishing then carry a small container or tube of silicone grease.
Reflective Tape
Have you ever hiked back to your car in the middle of the night only to find you’ve dropped your car keys somewhere along the way? Only happened to me once… so they now have a piece of reflective tape along with the modern day equivalent – an Air-Tag attached for good measure! A small piece of reflective tape on key tackle items can help you find them quickly even on the darkest of nights or in among undergrowth etc.
Reflective Snow Poles or Banksticks with reflective tape added can mark a safe area to enter the water or highlight possible snags to avoid.
You can find ‘Iron-On’ reflective patches or rolls of reflective tape in hardware stores and on-line. The Iron-On patches on nets make landing fish much easier.
The red or green light on headlamps does not spook the fish as much as a white beam but still makes the reflective patches ‘light up’ to make guiding the fish into the net much easier. I also add the patches to retention slings to help locate them easily in the dark.
Washed Out Baits
Over the past 30 years carp fishing here in North America I’ve noticed times when I’ve had carp ‘rolling’ all over my baited area but not taking the hook baits. Invariably this was because the baits had way too much flavor or scent with the result that the carps senses were simply over-loaded!
As a result I began soaking, especially strongly flavored, baits in lake water for 1-3 days. This allowed the excess flavor to ‘leach’ out and after pouring off the now ‘flavored’ water I often found my catch results to be significantly better!
You can still fish a strongly flavored hook bait which will now stand out among the washed-out freebies!
Braided Loop Connections
Loop connections to swivels, leaders, spombs etc are very handy when you want to change rigs or set-ups. The downside with braided lines is it can be very frustrating to get the loop to open again once it has tightened in place. The answer is one of those “why didn’t I think of that?” revelations. All you need to do is take a short piece of braid (ideally a different color) and make a 2” loop in it. Then just make a ‘loop to loop’ to the loop on the end of your mainline.
Then when you need to separate the loop connection just pull on the short loop tag and ‘Hey Presto!’ you can very easily pull the loop open!
THE EVOLUTION OF A CONFIDENCE BAIT (PB CRAYFISH)
By Mike Dragone
So I’ve been doing this carp thing for many years now. Quite often when we begin this carp fishing endeavor we tend to get roped into by what I used to call “E.B.D.” (also known as Excessive Bait Disorder). Although not an actual illness, its symptoms can be hard to shake at first. Many of us have likely traveled down this road early in our carping careers, packing multitudes of various baits & flavors, fearing that the one you leave home will be the one you will need to catch on that particular day. It’s funny, I wrote a humorous article for the CAG Newsletter about E.B.D. like 20 years ago, and I just saw an online article in Angling Times just recently talking about this using the same name!
I remember many early sessions where my mates and I would pack our vehicles & rucksacks with many a concoction. A half dozen buckets of maize, all with different flavors, tons of different store bought & homemade boilies, particles, dips, etc. so many choices… and of course we piled it all in, probably confusing the fish along the way.
Most of us through natural carp fishing evolution finally figure out that this is entirely unnecessary, and that it made more sense to just stick with just a few baits that you are totally confident in, that would suffice just fine.
Mike Dragone with a nice common
We all have a favorite bait, one we would never leave home without, and for me that bait in the Pineapple Banana Crayfish boilie. What follows is the story about how this came about, and how its uncanny fish catching ability became almost legendary.
Let’s travel back to the mid 90’s. At that time I had full blown E.B.D. and was always eager to try new baits. At one of the early Connecticut spring Fishins at Candlewood Lake I was approached by Chris (Carpist) Labucki at bank side. He is one of the original CAG members, a true OG of the sport. Chris is always great at giving us newcomers tips & advice. On this particular day he gave me and my fishing buddy Ed Wagner a small bag of a dozen or so boilies. His comment to us was to try these boilies when nothing else is working. They smelled kind of different, not the pleasant smell of the typical strawberry or pineapple baits we were used to. He said that they were pineapple boilies coated with a few drops of the original SBS “Freshwater Crayfish” oil.
I accepted the offering and said thanks, and tossed them into my Wilson tennis bag (this was before I had some real carp fishing kit!). There they would stay for probably a month or two, as I had actually forgotten about them. Later that spring I had an invite from a friend to fish a reservoir in New Jersey for a day session. It was a stellar day to be on the bank, the only problem was that the fish were a total no show.
With an hour or so to go before packing up I stumbled upon the small bag of boilies. Remembering what Carpist had told me I plucked one out of the bag and dutifully placed it on my hair rig (which I tied using dental floss at the time!). I half heartily tossed it out whil I started the slow process of packing up for the day.
No more than 10 minutes passed when I had a screaming run, and shortly thereafter netted a beautiful mid teen mirror! May we have stumbled onto something here??
Nice Common from Ed Wagner
Then it was discovered that the chemist/flavorist at SBS that developed this original flavor had moved on (or may have even have passed away?). Our contact at SBS told us that they only had a couple of 500 mil bottles in stock and it would no longer be available in the future. Fearing a dwindling supply we quickly snatched up all remaining stock. Over the next few years we used up our remaining stock (and unfortunately lost one bottle to an unfortunate situation!). By this time Ed and I had come to work closely with World Classic Baits (WCB) as reps/field testers.
We sent them our remaining 30 mils to see if we could replicate this flavor and develop a line of baits worthy of the original. After some tweaking and field testing we knew we were where we needed to be. We’ve been using these baits ever since, helping us place 3 times in the Ed French Open (Seneca River NY).
So there you have it. 30 or so years later the PB Crayfish boilie is still going strong. We all have our confidence baits, and this will always be mine. Sometimes you just need to keep things simple to have great success!
Rigs & Bait
– Part II
By Evan Cartabiano
Finding the fish is certainly the biggest component of the catching equation–however, it is not all of it. Once you have located the fish, in a spot where you can get to them, then you need to get them to bite and (just as importantly!) get them hooked well enough to land. There have been many millions of words written about this topic and just as many spoken on video, so working out what to start with can be overwhelming. The aim of this article is to cut away as much of the unnecessary details as possible and keep it narrowed down to what I have found to work, and–to the extent possible–those rigs and baits that have proven successful for others as well as myself. This advice should work in most waters that hold Common Carp in the world, but this is in the NACA so lets focus on North America.
BAIT
If you happen to head over to Big Carp Tackle’s website you will see, as of 2/9/2025, 731 listings under bait. Almost all of these baits will catch or attract (depending on what they are intended to do) carp in some or many conditions. Speaking from personal experience, it is good fun to buy and sniff test as many of these as you can and see what ones work for you, but this is not necessary. I am going to first go over the baits I would take anywhere and then how I would use them in most situations.
Sweetcorn (NOT Field corn/Maize) is probably the single most useful bait in carp fishing. It is fairly cheap, easy to get, and in most situations carp cannot resist it. Its bright color combined with its sweetness makes it an eat-on-sight/smell bait on most waters. It can be used both as a feed or on the hook or hair. It tends to not fill up the fish very quickly so they will keep eating it for some time. The downside is that many other species like it too. A lot.
This can make using it as a hook bait difficult on many waters especially during the warmer months as sunfish, catfish, turtles, etc. will frequently steal your bait. There are ways to deal with this, even if there are a lot of nuisance species active. Plastic sweetcorn either by itself or combined with some real sweetcorn on the hair is a good way to make a tougher bait.
Sweet corn is cheap and catches carp in just about every water.
Tip:
Even if there are nuisance species, sweetcorn can create a “feeding frenzy” which will attract all species, including the carp.
Tiger Nuts are probably the most popular hook bait in the USA overall. They can be used as feed as well but do fill the fish up much quicker than sweetcorn. You can make your own by soaking and boiling them or you can buy them ready-made. They are very tough and it takes a very determined turtle or catfish to get one off a hair. They are often fished with a piece of plastic corn. For baiting up, tiger nuts can be crushed up (or bought that way) so there are lots of little pieces to keep the fish busy and not overfeed them.
Tiger nuts are an effective bait.
Boilies are the quintessential carp bait and in the right conditions are the one you want to be using. However, for the purposes of this article we are only going to consider them as hook baits, and even then, since we are keeping this as simple as possible, we will just be talking about wafters. A wafter is a bait that has some flotation but not enough to lift the hook off the bottom. For whatever reason they don’t seem to be as popular as popups or bottom baits in the USA, but in my opinion, they are one of the most successful hook baits out there.
There are a ton of flavors and colors, but stick with ones that are sweet, fruity and/or nutty as these are the ones that will catch fish on most waters.
Ground/pack/method bait is certainly worth having and can be used in a variety of ways. A good mix is a simple oats mix that will work well on most waters and can be flavored in many ways. However, flavor isn’t really needed as the oats and corn are often more than enough to attract and get the fish feeding.
Oats Pack Bait
Basic Oats Pack Bait Recipe
1. One container of Old Fashioned Oats (42 oz)
2. One can of cream style corn; add more as needed to pack
3. One capful of flavor (Rod Hutchinson Legend Flavors are good; I like Mullberry Florentine)
4. Two tablespoons of additive such as Munch Baits Bloodworm Complex Liquid Food
These baits are the ones that I find to be the most useful, and will catch you carp just about anywhere you go.
Now that the baits have been sorted out let’s look at the rig to use them with. I must admit I love rigs, both tying and designing them, but when it comes down to it you really only need one set up for most fishing situations. That being said, we’ll cover two different setups because I can’t help myself and they will each work better at different times.
Rigs:
The lead clip set up is extremely easy to use and is very versatile as you can change the hook link and weight quickly. I feel it does a good job of presenting the bait over many bottom types and the lead will fall off easily if it becomes snagged. When using a lead clip I fish with a blowback rig with coated braid stripped back a short distance. A method feeder is the other set up I would recommend having with you.
This allows you to add a nice little pile of ground/ pack bait right around the hook and can be devastating on many waters. I have found that it catches a lot of fish, but they may not be the biggest fish around. I use a soft braided hooklink and the same hook arrangement as with the lead clip.
Hook size is simple: size 6 for smaller baits, size 4 for everything else. As far as hook pattern, most will work, but I have very few hook pulls (zero on my “home” water) with a Gardner Tackle Mugga hook.
Baiting up:
For baiting up you will need a spod or spomb and a rod that can cast it. If you don’t have a spod rod a surf rod will normally get the job done just fine. Little and often with baiting will also boost your catch rate if you get it right.
Watching feeder match fishing videos is a good way to see how it’s done. Instead of dumping in most of your bait bucket, put out 5-10 spods of bait and then fish over that.
If you catch a fish, put in 2-4 more spods. If you go more than an hour or so with no activity, put out 1-2 more spods of bait. Use finer baits for this, like sweet corn, finely chopped tiger nuts or some of the ground bait with some sweetcorn in it.
IMPORTANT POINT: If you only get one thing from reading this, this is it: make sure you fish and bait accurately! If your hook is in the same exact (not 20’ away) area as the bait you are putting in you will catch more fish. If you can bait ahead of time, do so. There has been at least one study (that I remember) showing that more carp will show up the longer you bait and this is borne out by my own experience. Even just baiting the day ahead of time will help. Again, make sure that when you go to fish you can fish in exactly the same spot as you were baiting.
Example session:
Let’s look at an example water, Mill Creek in Canton, TX. This 237 acre lake has a good stock of carp up to 40lbs. The average size is around 1718lbs. With the information I provided in the first part of the series you can find out the rest of the info you might need.
Now let’s look at how to fish it, and of course there is not one “right” way, but I have done well with the same tactics that work in most other places.
Step 1: Select where to fish, both swim and depth/ range (as covered in part 1). On this lake there are a number of options, but don’t go much over 10’ deep most of the time as there is limited oxygen for the fish beyond that depth.
Step 2: Get the rods clipped up to the distance you want to fish at so you can be sure to hit the same spot every cast.
Step 3: Put out a few spods of bait - normally I start with 5 if I’m fishing a shorter day session, closer to 10 if I’ll be fishing for longer such as overnight.
Step 4: Get the hook baits out. I normally fish a few different baits.You have to have confidence with your set up, and both the rigs I mentioned will work. In general I have found that the lead clip will catch bigger fish than the method for some reason, but the method will often catch more fish.
Step 5: Rather than get the baits out and then sit back and take a nap until you get a bite (which might never come) keep your eyes open and see if any fish give their location away. If they do, consider moving if it’s nowhere near your swim. If you don’t have any activity in an hour or 2, put out a couple of more spods of bait. Recast after 2 hours or less. Keep repeating this process until you catch some fish. It’s simple, but it is work.
This basic approach will catch you fish on most waters.
Catching a lot of carp from a water means getting all the factors right.
A nice mid 20 from Mill Creek Lake in Texas.
Simple, accurate baiting works for carp and buffalo.
Tiger nut and plastic corn is widely used and effective.
The method feeder rig that I have good luck with.
Tip: Quick Change hook baits
Being able to switch hook baits quickly (or get fishing quickly on a short session) will catch you more fish. I make up a number of different baits with swivels already in them so I can switch as needed without having to use a baiting needle every time.
Step One: Using a baiting needle pull some stiff mono through the bait as shown with the swivel in the loop.
Step Three: Cut off the tag ends to form a stop. The bait is now secured just like if you used a hair stop.
Step Two: Tie off the tag ends with a few overhand knots.
Step Four: Slide the bait onto the hook and use a hook bead to keep it from sliding off the shank. With a wafter your hook will sit touching the bottom with the bait floating up.
The following day, Vernon couldn’t fish with me. He suggested to fish a bayou, but not the kind you’d expect. It was straight in the middle of New Orleans, flowing into the huge (and salty) lake Pontchartrain, surrounded by residential homes, a very urban bayou! I lightly chummed an attractive bridge I had located on the map the evening before, then took my time to drive all along the slowmoving river. I found one spot I really liked, close to another bridge, where the bayou separates in two branches, with more greenery along the shore. I chummed and went back to the first bridge. Where I proceeded to catch and see absolutely nothing. I was a little bored when a young lady came to see me, kindly asking if I could move away. She
had scheduled a memorial ceremony of sorts for her deceased father with family and friends, right where I was fishing. Don’t think I’ve ever been kicked out for a memorial! I moved to my 2nd spot, set up my rods and noticed a long floating thing near the bridge which seemed impervious to the slow current. Then it started to move against the current (click to check the video).
It was a pretty sizable alligator (at least 6 feet long), which came to check me out, then decided that I didn’t seem terribly edible. After a couple of hours reading my book while nervously checking where the gator was, I finally had a run, and then another, landing two decent teens which made my day!
Vicksburg (MS)
Vicksburg was a short drive away and I got there around lunch time. I eagerly checked the main boat ramp in town, on the Kazoo river and was very surprised to find two GIANT cruise boats anchored there. Definitely not fishable. Beautiful murals on the walls protecting the town from the whims of the river system though! I drove along the Kazoo and couldn’t find access. I started to aim at a ferry crossing point, got redirected due to a road closure and found myself on a long dirt path my rental car wasn’t terribly suitable for. I was wondering what the heck I was doing when I suddenly noticed water on the left side.
Huh? Didn’t see that on the map. An appealing cove was right there, it all looked really nice with a larger expanse of water behind a couple of islands. I decided to chum what I dubbed ‘the unnamed lake’ right away. Then I kept going on the dirt path, occasionally finding some muddy water, but nothing practical. Miles later, I gave up before reaching the ferry point. My backup plan was to check Eagle Lake, one hour away from Vicksburg.
I went there, the main boat ramp wasn’t too good, but a smaller one seemed more appealing with a couple of docks from where you could fish for a few bucks. I hesitated to drop some chum, but somehow, I wasn’t feeling it.
Toledo Bend (Zwolle,
- Part 1
LA)
I had a bit of a long drive to cross Louisiana and reach this impressive reservoir.
While driving, it was raining pretty bad and suddenly an emergency alert blared on my phone “Tornado Warning, Seek Shelter Now”. Really?
The rain became torrential within minutes! Luckily, I found a gas station area with a sturdy-looking building and sheltered there while the storm moved on. Welcome to the deep south and its strange weather patterns, LOL. I reached Toledo Bend, where I had splurged a bit, booking a large Airbnb cabin on the side of a long cove, with large fish trophies displayed in the living room! Unfortunately, the shore wasn’t too good. The dock was half destroyed and super wobbly, several trees restricted access and
the (much nicer) docks on the neighbor properties promised to be snag-central. Urg. I decided to hedge my bets, I dropped a bucket of chum from the wobbly dock and went exploring. Long story short, I found a public pavilion on a large cove where crappie anglers seemed to say that carp roamed far away, near the cypress trees in the water and... not much more. After my frantic time in MS, I must say I wanted to take it easy, but it didn’t seem to go in the right direction.
Back to the cabin, I spoke with a neighbor who said that carp were often spawning near a boat ramp I hadn’t visited yet. In the evening, another bucket of maize went in the water from the wobbly dock, although this seemed like a leap of faith. I had four nights here, so the day after, I took time to further explore. The spawning area tip seemed like a dud, plus the area stank due to a dead beaver vultures were working on.
I drove further and finally found a nice park which seemed more inspiring. I dumped some bait in there. I had chummed the pavilion in the morning, so I gave it a try early afternoon. Nothing in sight, and I couldn’t chum more when leaving, as catfish anglers arrived in droves (those guys are clearly an invasive species!)
Back to my cabin, I watched the water while eating an early dinner and, wait, is that a big roll near the neighbor’s dock? And did I hear a jump farther away?
I dumped another bucket of chum and went to bed early. At dawn, I chummed some while admiring a beautiful sunrise. I ate my breakfast while keeping an eye on the water and YES, another roll! I set up my rods with a tight drag to try to manage the cramped space. An hour later, a mid-teen was on my mat, confirming that carp had arrived. Mid to upper teens kept biting all day long and I was happy to lose very few in this tricky environment. Needless to say, I did the same thing the day after, although I set up my rods on the wobbly dock, making it easier to play and land fish. When the wind started to blow, this became quite the balancing act, notably with my next to last fish, a very angry 25 pounder. The bass angler neighbors were a little stunned to see this one. Multiple fish I caught were clearly carrying eggs, which fueled my suspicion that carp might be starting to regroup near spawning areas (this might explain my failure at Ross Barnett).
Sam Rayburn (Brookeland,
TX)
I had at the back of my mind to catch a nice buff during this trip. The ones I got in MS were low teens. I knew that a 30 to 50lb buff was entirely possible at Sam Rayburn. To my complete surprise, Miguel Angelo (who used to live in NJ) reached out to me after I posted my first LA carp and he told me he recently moved to south Houston and was eager to fish with me. As luck would have it, my local rental had 2 bedrooms, so I could easily host Miguel.
It was super close to the local state park, which Vernon has recommended. I also booked a camp site for 2 nights, not that we wanted to night fish, but to be able to fish all day long from a suitable spot. My Airbnb host had suggested a small opening in a bayou-like environment nearby, so I started to drop some bait in there too, to hedge my bets. Miguel arrived, we started fishing although I didn’t
think we’d catch the first afternoon. Actually, besides the obligatory catfish, I got two runs which were clearly carp (lost both in snags, my swim was tricky). We chummed heavily, confident we’d catch the day after. And we were right, after a slow start, we had regular bites all day long, with a couple of double takes. We chummed heavily again and were back at it the day after. Lucky me, my first run turned out to be a big buff (37-8 lb) which made my day. We were supposed to leave the campground at 2pm, but we cheated a tad, which proved prescient as Miguel got his new PB buffalo late afternoon (33-12 lb). My guess is that he’ll probably beat this pretty quickly! And I ended the day with a cool 26lb common.
We celebrated in the evening with an all-you-caneat catfish dinner! Overall, we had a really good time with Miguel, discussing music while fishing (his daughter Xana is VERY talented). Nicole Atkins, one of the artists I am in touch with was very amused when I told her later on that we caught a nice carp while she was singing on Miguel’s phone!
Remember the bayou-like spot my Airbnb told me about? I kept chumming it every morning, so I really wanted to try it before leaving the area. It was a very different environment with lots of cypress trees growing in the water and not a lot of space to fish. I cast my rods and grabbed my book. Just a few minutes later, I was on a VERY HEAVY fish. Alas, I horsed it a tad too much (being nervous about all those trees and the likelihood of underwater roots) and the hook pulled. I was a little bummed (did I lose a really big buff?),
but not too much as the day was just starting. 15 minutes later, another run and I didn’t lose this one, which turned out to be a 29lb common. I caught more commons, I had a good time, alas it was a Saturday, and a couple of noisy families arrived, partly invading my space. Also, multiple bass boats had started to become annoying, hovering around the cypress trees. At lunch time, I decided to call it quit and to move to my next step.
False River (LA)
Remember my initial idea of circling around the Mississippi river? I had located on the map an oxbow lake of sorts amusingly named False River. The location was a few hours away, getting me close to New Orleans, and it was my last stop.
As I was driving towards it, the scenery changed, back to those glorious trees we see in Louisiana. And then I crossed a tall bridge and a large river. This was the Atchafalaya river and I was driving through the corresponding basin area. For whatever reason, I totally ignored this river in the planning of this trip (why, oh why?).
When I had planned the trip, a cursory look with Google Maps (the street view) had shown multiple
open areas along the shore of False River which seemed ok for fishing. I dropped my luggage at a large house (the Airbnb host was out) and started to circle the lake. Hm. Shoot. Not only was it heavily residential, but the open areas I had spotted all had signs “Keep off, private property”.
A small campground at the end had a tiny bit of access, but was really not inspiring. I texted the Airbnb host, asking him if he had some form of waterfront access by any chance, I got no answer, so I kept driving.
As I was nearly done exploring with absolutely zero luck, the host sent me a message, saying that I had dropped my luggage at the wrong place and I should go across the road, on the side of the water. Really?
I was a little confused, but I happily moved my stuff and marveled at a spacious cabin beautifully decorated and more importantly, with a terrific fishing dock with shade, rod holders, lights and all. The host had upgraded me for free when discovering that I was a French fisherman (remember, Louisiana used to be French!). I couldn’t believe my luck. I chummed, set up my rods, fished into the evening thanks to the lights, caught a few catfish and chummed heavily before bed time.
I was up at dawn in a very misty weather, so eerie. I caught two nice buffs in the morning, quite a lull followed, then two more buffs mid-afternoon (all between 25lb and 30lb).
Some carp started to jump far away, then closer, but I couldn’t get one to bite although I tried until 10pm! Ah, if only I had one more day, but alas, I had to wrap up my gear, put everything back in my luggage and ski tube and get a few hours of sleep.
A few more thoughts
While waiting for a bite during the last day, I was looking at a book showing stunning pictures taken in bayous and swamps in the Atchafalaya basin. And I reflected on my trip. Sure, I caught a good number of fish at the reservoirs in LA and TX (after miserably failing in MS), including a few nice ones. But what really struck me the most was this unnamed lake near Vicksburg (which I now suspect was the result of the Yazoo river flooding at some point, quite possibly the great flood of 1927, then it got separated by the levee construction) and the small spot in the cypresses at Sam Rayburn. Why? Because this was a type of environment I had never fished before. How cool is it to catch fish in a wild forest of big trees growing in the water? And I realized that maybe I missed an opportunity for a more striking adventure than fishing the umpteenth reservoir.
Maybe my initial plan was on the right track, but instead of circling the impossible Mississippi river, I should have found ways to fish the Atchafalaya basin?
Is such environment especially fertile and could host some really large fish? This probably wouldn’t be practical without access to a boat though. Well, you know, I’ll keep mulling over this, and maybe I’ll come back to Louisiana at some point.
In the meantime, after nearly 20 days of fishing and exploring, I did succeed in adding two more states to my personal record. I am now at 45 states with carp caught. What states are missing for the lowest 48, would you ask? Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. You know where I am going next! And no, I won’t do Blackfoot, I’ll try to be a tad more creative.
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St. Lawrence Carp Marathon, 2025 Schedule (Tentative)
Thursday, July 24th:
Peg Viewing - ALL DAY - Go and take a look at all of the peg locations and get comfortable with the areas. PLUMBING AND DEEPERS ALLOWED, ONLY.
Friday, July 25th:
Peg Viewing - ALL DAY - Go and take a look at all of the peg locations and get comfortable with the areas. PLUMBING AND DEEPERS ALLOWED, ONLY
Saturday, July 26th:
3 – 6 pm Registration, Raffles, Peg Draw at 5 pm sharp! The Ole Smokehouse 3513 County Route 14 Madrid, NY 13660
4 – 6 pm – Barbecue Buffet will be available for purchase.
Sunday, July 27, 2025:
6 am - You may arrive at your peg location and begin pre-baiting. 8 am - FISHING BEGINS
Monday, July 28th: FISHING
Tuesday, July 29th: FISHING
Wednesday, July 30th: Fishing Ends: 11:00am Awards Ceremony: 1:00pm
Howie’s Bar 809 New York Avenue Ogdensburg, NY 13669
North America’s Longest Running Carp Organisation with a Dedicated Mission:
• To gain acceptance of the carp as an exciting and challenging sport-fish.
• To become better carp anglers, assist others and encourage them to join us.
• To treat the carp with respect, promote the release of trophy-size carp & encourage others to do the same.
• Most of all: Go fishing, Share with others, and have Fun.
As a member you will also be adding your voice & support to help CAG continue its efforts to work with State & other organizations to increase the recognition for carp as a sport fish to benefit the angling community
Member Benefits Include:
• Full CAG Forum Community Access
• Quartely NACA Magazine*
• Member Benefits
• CAG Apparel & Merchandise
• Fish-Ins, Events & Competitions
• New Member Tackle Pack *inc Printed Full Color Special Edition Membership is only $20 / Year (+ a one time $5 joining fee) which includes you, your spouse & any children under 18 living in the same household
The Carp Anglers Group is a non-profit organisation
