The big carp seemed to lie dormant in the conglomeration of weed growth which
grew on Murphy's shoal, on the St. Lawrence River. She had been resting within
the twenty feet high stalks of water weed which rose to the surface of the
St. Lawrence River. Here there was safety and an abundance of forage to sustain the
weight of the fifty pound fish. Such large fish become solitary in nature and spend
long periods conserving energy in the cool shelter of weed bed shoals surrounded by
deep water.

As daylight faded into dusk, Andy and Mike loaded their carp fishing gear. The
plan was to try the night bite. They drove to the Brandy Brook and pulled off the
highway to fish beside the overpass on route 37 which crossed the Brandy Bay.
Here was  located the public boat launch. During the day the Pike fisherman troll the water
close to the weed beds along the shore and water skiers provide the only waves on
this portion of the St. Lawrence River. But now the water is calm, and the night is
quiet. They set up the rod pods on the lawn maintained by the municipal park
service. They began to chum with fishmeal baits boiled into 20 millimeter round
balls, purchased at great expense in the United Kingdom. The boilies as they are
called are purported to contain secret ingredients developed to attract the largest
carp. Slingshots and throwing sticks are used to seed the area where they will place
their hook baits; hair rigged hooks which have attached the very same baits they are
offering as chum.

Around the same time that Andy and Mike were heading toward their chosen fishing
site, the big carp began to move. No one has been able to definitively explain the
feeding and social behavior of large carp, but many attribute it to the influence of the
sun or the moon. Other variables are seasonal changes and the availability of forage.
Some believe the fish are whimsical as are fisherman. Scientists believe fish do not
think, or in other words have never had an original thought. All their behavior is
attributed to instinct passed to each generation in the genes of the fish, originating
millions of years ago from their antecedents.

The big fish swam in the crystal clear glacial water, until he came to the mouth of
Brandy Bay. The stained water flowing into the river could be tasted by the fish, as
taste buds are located along the mouth, lips and barbels. Detecting chemical
changes in parts per million the great fish turned into the bay. Here was to be found
the youngest conglomeration of zebra mussels, and the myriad nymphs of insects,
crustaceans, annelids, mollusks and bait fish harbored upon the unlimited surface
areas of the grass and reeds grown tall along the shoreline.

The carp traveled along the deep channel, a natural corridor into the bay. She was
spawned here in the shallows of Brandy Brook twenty years ago before leaving for
the safety of deeper water and the flowing river. She soon neared the overpass
across the water where Andy and Mike waited, watching their line indicators and
bite alarms. Moving through the darkness of the water, the cautious carp detected a
chemical signal we would compare with our sense of smell. Following the signal
with the olfactory sense, the carp approached the first of the fishmeal boilies
scattered along the bottom. Carp are attracted to the acidic nature of most flavors
and the localized pH change which occurs. Most localized fluctuations in pH will
be investigated by carp to discover if the change indicates a food source. Taste
organs in the cheeks and barbels can taste a substance even before the fish takes it
into the mouth. The carp accurately differentiates this chemical signal from the
background environment. Boilie after boilie was hoovered up by the big fish.
Feeding confidently on the free offerings, the big fish was nearing one of the boilies
attached to the hair, rigged above an exquisitely sharpened carp hook. The fish was
intent to find and consume all the boilies it could. All things were right with the
anglers rigging from the well tied knots to presentation. The big carp will take the
bait and become hooked, and netted, and weighed, photographed and released. A
once in a lifetime trophy.

The cat fisherman was driving his eighteen wheeler truck after a long delivery to
Canada. He was heading back to the Alcoa plant in Messina. He was sleepy driving
the road that night when he approached the overpass and spotted the gas lanterns of
the bank fishermen. In an envious salute he gave two long blasts on the air horn as
he rumbled across the bridge. Sensing the noise and vibration through the swim
bladder and auditory nerves connected to the bone structure of the skull, the large
fish bolted in panic. Alarmed, she turned out of the bay and toward the river.
Serendipity!
 

The story above is true. Well I cant say for sure about the fifty pound carp, but the rest is true. We called the truck back on the hand held CB's we carry on our expeditions. The truck driver said he wished he could join us. He loved fishing for the ubiquitous yellow bellied catfish found in the St. Lawrence.

A number of my friends have written on what you need to do to catch big carp, and all of their advice is accurate. I wanted to present the problem to you a little differently, so together we can analyze the situation as it existed in the story 'The Big Carp'

Some of the short comings of the anglers was that they chose the above  fishing site for comfort. The location is one of my favorite fishing sites of all time and I have fished it with good friends many times. It is one of the places on the river where you can fish out of the back of your tailgate. Set up the cook stoves, make a pot of tea or coffee, click on the radio and you got instant fishing camp. The lawn is mowed and yes, I have caught many big fish there and so has my fishing mates. I have photos of thirties out of that water. It is within walking distance to where we stay and if the other guys are sleeping late because they had too much whiskey, leave them a note that you are there fishing before them. We almost always have a boat along but leave it moored and fish this comfortable spot. When it is time to pack up, load the gear in the back of the truck and go. Not like when you have boated in and you need to pack precisely when you boat out. The negatives are the public boat launch, fishing pressure from perch and pike anglers and water skiers. The highway traffic will influence the size and number of fish as big fish take no chances. The positive is if you are comfortable, you will fish longer and happier. Your girlfriend will spend more time relaxing while you await the big fish if you are comfortable.

The positives are that the anglers tried the night bite. Big carp are more active under security of night fall and most forage is at a disadvantage. Crayfish and mollusks are nocturnal and big carp want the most return nutritionally for their efforts. You are less likely to be seen by wary carp at night, despite the use of lanterns. It is not likely the fish can accommodate visually to discern objects but care needs to be taken when passing before the light source and excess movement of the lighting source should be avoided. Some anglers use only small candlepower sources such as miners head lamps and small flashlights, but in my opinion the lantern has more advantages than not. Lanterns verses penlights? Safety and visual acuity top off the argument for me and I am usually casting where no light can diffuse into the water anyway.  Remember, noise is a no-no!  They will hear excessive vibration through the ground. Don't pound those tent pegs in. Sounds through the atmosphere have little penetration into water, but maintain a subdued discipline. A good hint is to know the water you will fish. Check out the depths by plumbing during daylight. You will not be over come by visual misperceptions if you know the water. Enjoy the nocturnal sounds and animals. Bring the bug repellent and keep it off your bait.

Concerning bait, bring your confidence bait. Ensure that you are fishing water that hold big carp potential. Do your homework on that. See my feature on the growth of carp. Learn how and why carp grow big and apply that knowledge to judge a water. The men above are fishing a bay of the St. Lawrence river which holds all the kinds of structure for forage connected to deep water. Fish the bays and back waters in spring, hit the river in the summer. Chum for good effect using proven baits. Remember that chumming may attract smaller fish which discourage larger carp. Fish slightly away from the chummed area if you are catching too many smaller carp, or move elsewhere. Chumming only a small area may help attract bigger fish. Chumming with maize will attract smaller fish, chumming with boilies may attract larger ones. Why? It is said boilies may select for only bigger fish because they are a harder bait, but you will see the exception also. And what is harder than boiled maize, or zebra mussels? But I do subscribe to the belief that boilies select for larger fish, the problem is that they don't work everywhere. On some waters, dough baits and corn out fish them. A compromise is boilies over maize. Be ready to change tactics. What worked a month before may not cut it today. Experiment. Don't over flavor or over sweeten a bait. A little is usually better. Over sweetening alkalinizes a bait, reducing its chemical attraction. Carp detect chemical signals of a bait, they do not smell through air as we do. The mechanism is different, and they are keenly sensitive to flavors and attractants in baits. Use natural baits and remember a dead minnow may out fish a live one. Why? Chemical signal and decomposing flora and fauna are right down there where the carp live and feed. In the detritus. What, you don't like the word detritus? Then read my article 'The Lake' and get into biodiversity as a study. Detritus is good, and when you see those big carp with large and protruding abdomens, remember they got thick on detritus.

What about equipment. Your choice. I use it all. I often take fifty year old bait casters to the hydroelectric dam I love, to work them big carp. And I got all the euro gear too. It don't matter what you prefer, but learn to tie that knot right. You need to learn two or three basic knots that will work on what you use, braid or mono with out a failure. I use the Gibbonson knot or no name knot I got out of the BK Book of Carp Rigs. I use two shock leader knots. Wet the knot with saliva when you draw it tight and test a few knots till you get it right. Check the links on my web site for knots. Check the CAG Carp Anglers Group site also and join up. Learn about effective terminal rigs and make the best ones you can and buy them if you cant. Carp gear dealers are on my links too.

I believe in bite alarms also. Too fancy you say. Most bites occur when you aint ready for them. How do I know? Because most of the time the bite alarms go off, you will be surprised. The first thing to happen before you even see the line move is the audible alert. When your digging in your gear, lighting that cigar, performing so many necessary tasks around camp, or relieving yourself of all that beer you drank. How many of those missed, often undetected bites were the big fish of a lifetime? You can only guess at that one. And you old timers out there, experiment with hair rigs and bolt rigs. You'll switch, I'll bet.

Learn to sight cast to large carp on the surface. Know now and don't forget that some of the largest carp in a water system will occupy themselves sucking tiny bugs on the surface of the water, especially during a hatch. They can suck thousands of bugs into gill rakers, form a golfball sized wad of bugs over and over and assimilate almost 100% of the nutrient value. And they will not leave that hatch to overturn rocks for crayfish or the most fragrant of boilies. Remember especially in the spring, bow hunting contestants acquire, in short distance forty and fifty pound fish on the surface, usually pre-occupied eating the most minute of bugs or seeds. Such fish are receptive to skilled fly casters and bug casters with spinning gear. Check out guys like Lefty Kreh and others pioneering this form of stalking carp.

So the guys in the story never got the fish. Not many fifties are ever caught on tackle methods. But you gotta increase your fishing time. Keep baits in the water and go fishing more and more. Convince your wife and employer first, but go. You cant catch them on the internet.

Alan Kowaleski
Specimen Angler
 

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