Midsummer Carping 2015 (and The Small Issue of Bright Skies)

Hi all! 

It's been a long time without any carpy pictures, so I decided to go and take some new ones. Of course, it was not an easy task, as I was fishing a new swim. I once wrote to the Carp Core magazine about new swims and blanking, so I know quite a bit how "carpy looking" swims can cause you some hard times. Luckily, this was not the case this time around.

I managed to prebait the swim just once, so I wasn't really optimistic about catching anything. Luckily the weather was nice with some sunshine, wind and clouds. The night was also quite cloudy, so it wasn't too bright for carps liking. In Finland, June nights are so bright you can read a book outside even at 2 am. Sometimes that is more or less an issue when you fish a night lake (where carp feed only in the dark hours). So having the clouds up in the sky was a good thing for me.

My setup was this time again my trusty Okuma Trio 55 Baitfeeders and Prologic Fastwater 9'6" 3,5lbs. I just can't tell how nice it is to battle carp with this really compact and lightweight setup. I will not got back to using 12' or 13' rods. Casting distances are rarely a problem in Finland anyway, sometimes casting 10 meters is is enough. Doing that with 13' rods is really not easy :) Besides, I usually fish alone - netting the fish is so much easier with a shorter rod.

During the night I heard some carp jumping in my swim, so I woke up every now and then. It really wasn't a good nights sleep. So when I got a definite liner at 4 am, I was getting more and more excited about actually getting a bite. A couple of hours later I got a screamer run. Rushing outside the tent and grabbing the rod was as fun as ever! I can say the fight was really hard, and I was pushing my line (0,405 mm Prologic Interceptor Fluoro Carbon coated monofilament) to the limit. The fish pulled the line through some rocks close to the bank, so I was more than happy to have the fluorocarbon coating on my line. I think braided line would have snapped in an instant... 

I managed to net the fish and my new unhooking mat was tested for the first time. The fish was a great looking common carp. I was more than happy with the result.

Wind(blade) of change

I have usually changed a lot of my set-up between seasons. It's a long time from November to May, so it's too easy to start changing all of my tackle when you have nothing else to do (I am not into ice fishing at all). 

The biggest change will probably be just that I am starting to use the Prologic Windblade swingers. They are really good looking - than not being the main reason for my change. I have been looking for hangers/swingers that really are not prone to hard wind. Getting beeps all night long due to the wind is something I hate. Turning alarm sensitivity down isn't a good option either. You might miss cautious bites and dropback bites.

Last spring I was fishing with a friend, David. I noticed how nicely the windblades worked. (Photo from Smartinsko lake)

One thing I am definitely NOT going to change is my rods. Prologic Fastwater 9'6" 3,5lbs are the best rods I could be fishing with. I am going to stick with them for years to come. Last summer I was playing a carp with one hand, easily controlling the rod lifted high. It couldn't have been possible with longer rods. Also the short butt-section of the rod gives me freedom to play the fish as I want. (Of course I still have my 12' rods for lakes that require longer casting distances). Rods are forgiving while playing the fish, yet you still have total control.

A blog update usually requires a photo of a carp and its captor. Well here you go! This one was caught from Slovenia.

Just Another Blog Update - With a Belly Rub!

Dear Readers,

It's been too long since my last update. Sometimes writing is easy, sometimes it isn't. Well, just to summarize my season - it was nice. Especially as I didn't have so many nights out on the bank. My fishing notes regarding this year however were quite good considering the seasons to come. I learned a lot of new things. I even managed to pull off a 4 carp night fishing alone. Considering the low number of carp in our lakes, it's more or less an achievement here.

Hopefully you will enjoy this picture of a very concentrated belly rub!

Sometimes it's good to have a landing mat with walls. Carp can get veeery active when you don't expect it.

Some product talk here. I started using the Prologic C.O.M. pod this season. It is really nice on tight swims, and its low profile is really stealthy, so you can stay below radar on waters where you don't want to be seen. The light attached to the pod is just to humor me, and to give me an indication where the pod is (in pitch black conditions).

My current set-up (Switching hangers to Prologic Windblades for 2015)

Short Rods For Carp Fishing

Dear Readers,

I suddenly remembered that this SHOULD be a blog about carp fishing. So, here is a picture of a carp for you. This was the first time my new Prologic Fastwater 9'6" 3.5 lbs rods were out there. I love them. A lot. 

So why the short rods? In most cases, our natural lakes have only tight swims where it's almost impossible to cast properly with a 12' rod. Also, the fish are so much more fun to land with these shorter rods... Combined with Okuma Trio 55 Baitfeeder reels, my combination is really lightweight and still packs a lot of power.

A nice wild mirror carp. Wasn't held in a sack, but photographed just after the capture.