My guest post is from my wife. She has submitted and now it is in draft form. She was an avid fisherman along by my side up until she had our daughter. I will let her tell her side of the story.

Rick is my husband.  He and I started fishing together more than 16 years ago.  My favorite part of carp fishing was carrying these monster fish (the largest fish I had ever seen in person were the mounted bass on people's walls) up to the shack to get them weighed.  After becoming pregnant, my husband and other family members wouldn't even let me carry a bag of groceries in, so I lost interest in going.  I couldn't reel them in or carry them to be weighed.  However, I never lost the thrill that I get every time my husband gets a BIG one.  Now my brother-in-law and nephew are joining in on the fun.

How To "Make Bait" Photos

"In the making"
Long-Term Rice after ingrediants was first put together

Long-Term Trout Chow made with Syrup and a little water

Short-Term Chow made with R & W Flavor (Juice Plus)
This was used to catch the 19.1 common is last weeks tourney win

"Ready to go"
Long-Term Rice after setup time is complete

Long-Term Soybean Meal

Corn pop  pickups made with syrup
10 seconds in microwave

New package of plain pops

"A key ingredient"
Cracked corn - essential to pack baits

"Ready to Make"
Dry Oats - Just add cream corn and flavor

Saturday July 19, 2014 Tournament

19.1 lb. common carp
Tournament Winner

I would like to say that the weather was great and there were excellent fishing conditions. They were not. It rained off and on all night.

It turns out there was only 7 fishing in the tournament.

The fish did bite rather well considering the conditions. Below is some pictures of the fish that I was able to catch along with the tournament winner pictured above.

The tournament was close as the rankings went : 1st place - 19.1 lbs.
                                                                          2nd place - 18.8 lbs.
                                                                          3rd place - 18.2 lbs.

13.6 Common Carp

An old one but a good one 11.8 lbs.

All of these fish were caught at Darr's Carp Lake in Trinity, NC 

All of the fish were caught on my chow recipe listed earlier in this blog. I used both the long term and short term chow baits.

Tournament Time Tomorrow

I just got back from Ingles in Thomasville, NC.

In order to get ready for tomorrow, I had to stop and pick up some corn puffs  (they go directly on the hook, this is actually what the fish bite to make a "run" and some flavored pancake syrup.

I will be making bait in the morning and since I am going to another lake, I will only be fishing 8 hours tomorrow.

My intention for tomorrow is to finish making my baits for the weekend and to try and upload the pictures so that you can see exactly what I will be using.

Depending on how well the fish bite. I am going to capture a small video so that you can see a run. I am not sure how it will turn out but it will depend on how well the fish bite as to whether I will have a video for you next week or not.

Wish me luck!

CARPn this week Destination unknown

O.K. Let us get back on topic. Today's big question, where am I going to "research" my coming posts? I have narrowed it down to one of three choices.

Choice 1 - Bailey's Carp Lake - This is my home lake but I believe I am going to experience a different location this week.

Choice 2 - South Davidson Carp Lake - Located in Denton, NC. About the same distance as my home lake.

Choice 3 - Darr's Carp Lake - Located in Trinity, NC.About 10 minutes closer than the other lakes.

Right now I am leaning toward choice # 3. The above links are to their respective facebook pages. Check them out. They have a lot more pictures concerning the individual lakes and weekly tournament information.

Bait of choice this week - Trout Chow - (Aquamax 200) I am makinag two batches. One long term and one short term. See my previous recipe posts for my choices.

Any suggestions???

How to "Catch a Trout"

I have decided to take a break this afternoon and instead of talking about carp fishing, I would like to say a few words about trout fishing.

I went on my first trout fishing escapade in Gatlinburg, Tennessee this year. I must say that I had a pretty good time.

Please check out my page titled Trout Fishing Expedition foh r some pictures taken during my trip.

The water was low and the fish were small but overall is was a real nice trip.

I usually like to cut myself out of the pictures but in this case there was no way to catch the trout and get the shot so there you have it.

The pictures include some great background shots, a picture of the bait (although not very clear), and some of the trout that I was able to land.

Some areas not pictured was at the beginning of the trip where the terrain was real treacherous and I chose not to stop and take pictures. Safety first. So the pictures that see on the page were taking after we reached some clearings.

The temperature was perfect and it was an exhilirating trip, but carp fishing is still my favorite.

So please go by my page and check out my trout fishing expedition. Thank you.

Saturday July 13, 2014 P.M. Tournament

There was a much better turnout for the night tournament. There was at least 41 tournament fishermen.

The key to this tournament for me was the draw. And for me, it was not good. I got to fish in the lower lake at Bailey's Carp Lake but it was crowded and the fishing was slow as expected.

This week was a poundage tournament (not the ideal time for a slow bite) but because of the speed of this tournament, I was only able to get one picture.

See the picture below for a fish that I caught around 1:30 a.m. This was well after the poundage part of the tournament was over.

I was able to pull four out of the water during the night tourney even though I only have one picture to show for it.

My biggest fish of the night was a 14.5 pound common carp (not pictured).

The weather turned out to be a non-factor but it was a great night for fishing.

Bailey's is having a $1000. per hour tournament on Saturday night, but the cost of the tourney is not going to afford me the opportunity to fish this one. I will be making a trip to either South Davidson Carp Lake or Darr's Carp Pond this weekend. I have struggled at both locations so I could be in for a  tough weekend. We will see.

13.6 Common Carp

Saturday July 13, 2014 A.M. Tournament

"Perfect." No other word to describe the day. The conditions were right for a good tournament and a good tournament it was.

This was one of the smallest tournaments that I have been a part of. There was only 5 fishermen in the tournament but that did not deter a great day of fishing.

See the pictures below for some of the fish that I caught at Bailey's Carp Lake. They were "ripping" on Saturday.

The 15.3 pound buffalo was the largest that I caught. Not pictured was the winner, who caught a 25.6 pound common carp.

15.3 lb. Buffalo Carp

How to Complete the Hook Setup

As I mentioned yesterday, I wanted to discuss the hook setup. A picture is worth one thousand words.

The first picture will show the individual parts, the second will show you the assembled hook setup.

The parts include, beads, 15 lb. monofilament fishing line, 2 #2 hooks, single swivel, and 1 oz. flat (flounder) weight.

Hook Setup Parts

Final Hook Set

"Attitude"

Getting excited about the weekend. It is time to go fishing.The bait is made and loaded on the truck. Just waiting on Saturday.

Hope to get some nice pictures from the 2 tournaments on Saturday.

Make a child happy... take him/her carp fishing today.

Watch a child catch a brim -- generally happy
Watch a child catch a catfish -- laugh and watch them jump around
Watch a child catch a carp --- see some of the happiest children in the world

Remember, carp rarely will be caught less than 7 pounds. So, it creates attitude. Take them brim fishing after catching a 10 pound carp and listen to their reaction.

Listen to the "attitude"

Tomorrow's post will talk about hook, weight, and knot tying options. See you then.

How to "Catch a Carp"

I have recently talked about the base bait mixes, but I have not discussed how to catch a carp.

For a pickup, the bait that actually goes on the hook, you can use Corn Pops, Honey Smacks, or an off brand corn puff cereal.

When the actual bite takes place, you need to be ready to react. You need to pull straight back on the rod in the exact opposite of the way that the fish is pulling the line.

After that, keep the rod tip up without putting too much pressure on the fish. Drop the rod tip only while you are reeling the line.

Any slack in the line will give the carp an easy out and he will get off.

You can count on a final run when you get the fish near the bank so maintain your stance and the be patient. The fish will give up and roll up on its side, at that point, net the fish.

Now it is time to take it to the scales. Good Luck!

Well, as you can tell, my daughter did not make the last fishing trip. She has plans with her girl scout troop in the coming weekend, so we are planning our next trip the following weekend.

Now it is time to get ready for this weekend. Since the fish bit so slowly last week, my bait is made for this week for the most part. My grits will be made up on the fly. Also, I may make some trout chow just to have variety.

I am currently working on my extra page layouts. I have several pictures of my trout fishing experience and I am gathering my materials on the different baits to include a page of pictures so you can see how they are supposed to look.

Also, I am looking at creating a page on hook tying. I am considering either pictures or a real short video. What do you think?

If you have any bait or flavoring that you would like me to experiment with, I will be glad to test and give a detailed report. Let me know.

How to enjoy a fishing trip when they are not biting

Tournaments are 8 hours in length. On Friday and Saturday, there are two tournaments each day. I mentioned quite a bit about the first tournament on Saturday at Bailey's Carp Lake but I did not mention much about the evening tournament.

Basically, I did not catch a fish in the entire 8 hour session. There were 52 other participants in this tournament. Generally, this many people will always slow the fishing down.

Through no fault of anyone or anything, the fish just did not bite where I was fishing. As a matter of fact, there was only 3 fish in the whole section where I was at. That is normal. So many times people will say bad things about a lake or the way it is run. No. This was just the way it goes. You do not always win and you do not always catch fish.

That keeps it interesting. If you caught big fish and a lot of fish every time you went, you would get burned out fast. After all, what is the fun in that?

The weather was great and the fishing was slow. But, overall, it was an enjoyable fishing trip.

I ended up with 3 bites all night and I just could not hook the fish.

Anticipation was unreal. Everything called for a great day of fishing. The weather was perfect. Then the tournament started.

My experimental grit recipe paid off. All 3 of the buffalo carp pictured below was caught on the instant grits with the almond milk and cocunut.

The rice turned out perfect. The end result was that I did not catch a single fish on it. Does not mean it will not work, it just means it did not work Saturday night.

The first tounament (on Saturday's)  is from 9:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m.The second is from 6:00 p.m. till 2:00 a.m. Yes, I spent 16 hours Saturday and was only able to catch three fish.

I did win the day time tournament with an 18.0 buffalo. Being an even weighted fish over 17 pounds, I won a jar (an extra pool of money for an even weighted fish from 17-25 lbs.)

14.9 lbs. Buffalo

15.5 lbs. Buffalo

18.0 Buffalo - Tournament Winner -

In continuation of yesterday's post, I decided to make some long term rice this afternoon. I used peach jello and Bailey's Lake Home Flavoring of Red Peach. Images will be posted on Sunday when I add a bait page complete with photos.

While I am grocery shopping, I am always looking for experimental baits to try. It drives my wife up the wall. I guess that is why I do it more and more often. Anyhow, I picked up some coconut flakes and some vanilla flavored almond milk.

No one has offered this as a recipe. I have just decided to add this combination to some instant grits and we will see what happens. Again, photos will be added on the bait page Sunday afternoon.

I also traveled down to Bass Pro Shop in Concord, North Carolina and picked up some plastic corks that I will remove the inside and replace it with a paper clip to make a slider. I also picked up some one ounce flat weights.

I am considering either taking pictures of the fishing leaders that I use or possibly a youtube video. Any suggestions? What do you think?

Preparation Day

Today is going to be a preparation day. This Saturday is going to be a special tournament. Well kinda. My 13 year old has asked to come out and spend the day with me. Hopefully she will not change her mind. 

Just in case she is coming, I am going to have to go ahead and get ready. So, I just got back from Just Save where I purchased some Minute Rice, Peach Jello, and some confectioners sugar. I already had the other ingrediants. See my previous posts on how to put them together and email me if you have any quesitons. 

My daughter, Brooke, has been fishing with me before. The funny thing is that she has more fun netting the fish than reeling them in. She says that it makes her tired and she would rather watch me reel them in. "Just let me net them daddy" she exclaimes. Too cute.

While I was there, I picked up some coconut flakes and 1/2 gallon of vanilla flavored almond milk. This is going to be experimental for me but I am going to put these in some instant grits. 

I have never tried this before but I saw them and thought I would give them a try. Hopefully the fish will be biting better than last week. 

Complete setup time will be around 45 minutes from start to finish. 

I am in the process of making arrangments to picking up my pictures from my trout fishing expedition so look for them by the end of the weekend. 

How to make Soybean Meal

Short Term Soybean
8 cans of dry soybean meal
2 cans of flour
3 ozs flavor of choice
1 can of cream style corn
3-6 ozs of Karo Syrup (optional)

Measuring is done by using an empty, dry cream style corn can (regular serving size). Add soybean meal to a 2 1/2 gallon bucket. Add flour and mix thoroughly. You can substitute 1/2 pack of jello (flavor of choice) or use 3 ozs of R & W or Superior bait flavorings. Then add optional syrup along with the cream style corn. Put lid anad let set for 30 minutes. When you arrive at the lake, check the bait for consistency. Add more corn or water to arrive at the desired texture.

Long Term Soybean - Method 1
8 cans of dry soybean meal
2 cans of flour
3 ozs flavor of choice
1 bottle of Karo syrup

Mix above ingrediates as if making short term soybean. The syrup is the key. No water based products allowed in this one. Let mixture set over night for best results. 

Long Term Soybean - Method 2 (My Preferred Method)
8 cans of dry soybean meal
Deer Corn / dry cracked corn
Flavor and Amount of Choice

This one is fun. I use Deer corn because I can buy in bulk and it saves me money. Email me if you are interested in trying this as I have done it so long, I just know how much to use. I have not measured it in 3 years. Put the corn in a blender and grind it to a fine and medium size. Place corn in a larger container and wash 3-5 times. This removes the trash and corn husks so you know how just the beautiful yellow corn. Place corn in microwave safe dish, add water to go 1/2 inch above corn then add liquid flavor of choice. (up to 3 ozs) Place in microwave for 8-15 minutes depending on the power of your microwave. The water will be almost gone. Add corn to the dry soybean meal and stir with a spoon, Let set overnight. The next day check and add dry soybean to get the proper texture. If you keep bait in a cool place with a tight lid this bait will last up to 8 to 12 weeks. Do not refrigerate as you will loose texture. 

This is by far my favorite bait. The recipe's that I am listing are hard to come by on websites without purchasing them. Plus I do not want mine to get in the wrong hands. I will be glad to share with the class on an individual basis if anyone is interested. 

This recipe was used to catch the 27.9 pound buffalo in my opening post.

12.5 lbs common carp

9.9 lbs. common carp

38.5 lbs. flat head catfish

What a ridiculously slow tournament this past Saturday. The two carp pictured was caught by myself. I did catch a couple more but I was not able to get any pictures. The one looks blurry but he would not pose for the picture.

The pond owner must have treated the water because he apparently lost some fish sometime in the previous week. When the pond gets treated, it reverses the oxygen in the water and when the sun goes down, the fish suspend themselves (in order to stay alive) and do not bite very well at all.

Fishing will probably be slow for one more week unless we can have a nice rainstorm to stir the fish back up agian. 

I can not take credit for the catfish though. I took the picture but I was standing about 4.5 feet back from him. This fish was caught just two spots up from where I was fishing. 

Yes, big catfish, like the one pictured, will absolutely make the carp bite much slower. 

Also, the two carp were caught on my trout chow recipe sited earlier in this blog. The flavor used was Concord Grape.