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CLAYTON LOTHROP

Featured as the Angler Of The Month for March on the homepage of the website is our very own, Clayton Lothrop! As Operations Director for The American Carp Society, Clayton is fully hands-on with everything that we do..managing the store as well as coordinating with our membership on a daily basis, he has his hands full. He is a passionate Carp angler and this shot by Sean Manning was captured during the filming of the ‘Mandala Gold’ movie that will be released later this month. He has his hands full once again, this time with a bar of gold! The picture is affectionately titled ‘Wee Baby!’

alexei perciuleac

Big congrats go out to our friend and American Carp Society Member, Alexei Perciuleac, for breaking his PB at 32 lbs. 10 0z. Alexei has been out in all types of weather throughout the Winter, diligently targeting the Carp in his area and he was rewarded with this tank! Well done bro…result!

NOTABLE CAPTURES

We’re fortunate that we get to see the best carpy pictures from all over the USA from our members and friends. These photos below certainly caught our attention in the month of February. Congratulations to everyone on the success of their angling sessions this past month…We appreciate all your tags and mentions, and can’t wait to see what you guys and gals catch this coming Spring season! Don’t forget to tag us #americancarpsociety #jointheguiltyones

This month will see the release of the new ‘Mandala Gold’ film and bait products line exclusively for our members. Thanks to everyone for your patience on this as we have been getting daily enquiries on the new line of bait…it’s just about ready to go!

As with everything we do, thorough research and field testing were done. We traveled, we filmed and we fished! The full 14 minute film will be released later this month. In the meantime, here is a very short snippet with some fun and some fish for you! The award for ‘best fish save captured on film’ must go to Wayne…

Coming out later this month we will be featuring ‘Carp on the Fly’ Angler’s Lucas Annear and Carson Lako on the podcast, who are making some films together on their beloved subject. These guys both have a deep passion for our beloved species and have put together a very cool black and white photo book documentation of their exploits together called ‘Headshake’. We’re going to be giving some of these away this next month exclusively for our fly members in competition…take a look at the vibes here!

You can drop by their Etsy store here: Oscarsoddends.etsy.com

Here’s a brief edit from the guys on some of their carpy adventures so far….

We wanted to feature some cool flies being spun that came across the feed this month! Thanks to CarpUnlimited and CarpUnlimitedFlyFitters for tagging us with these cool pics!

CARP Boats: part 1

By: Brandon Tourigny

You can have the perfect fly rod and reel set up. You practice twice a week and your casting skills and accuracy are at their peak. The fly box is primed to imitate any forage carp desire. But, all of this is futile if you cannot get to the fish. For that you need the right vessel to put you into scenarios that will allow you to put your gear and skills to the test.

Over the next three months I hope to spell out for you what makes the perfect carp boat or kayak. I’ve fly fished for carp from both, and there are unique characteristics in each that make them perfect for pursuing carp. In this month’s article let’s get a high-level view of what a boat or kayak needs to be, “a carp boat.”

First and foremost, you should seek a vessel that is highly stable. This characteristic will be unique for you. In my kayak, I can comfortably stand up, look for fish, and cast to fish, without as much as leaving a ripple on the water. For others that have fished in my kayak, this wasn’t the case. So, you need to find a watercraft that you personally can stand in and maneuver comfortably without making much disturbance.

Second would be a casting platform. Being able to stand elevated above the water line is very important in a perfect carp boat. You want to be able to look over a long distance and see into the water. If you can’t see carp, you can’t fly fish for them. Your boat or kayak should help you accomplish your need of sight into the water.

The third thing you need in a perfect carp vessel is shallow water draft. Many times, you will fly fish for carp in water so shallow that their backs can become exposed out of the water. You’ll be fishing in inches rather than feet. Heavy, or bulky, vessels will keep you from reaching carp. This should exclude things like jon-boats, bay boats, or v-haul boats. Not to say carp on the fly can’t be done from these, but again we are looking for the “perfect” carp boat.

Next month, I’ll speak specifically to kayak anglers, and what kayaks will make you a successful carp angler!

We’ve been working on these for our members for a while….Soon to be available in very limited quantities are these custom made Guilty baiting needles….Stylish but ergonomic, and of just the right dimensions and finish to sit sweetly in your hand. The body is made from a black anodised aero-grade aluminium, laser etched and capped with a silver, red, gold, or blue anodised knurled head section. The two piece design means that the body can be unscrewed, so you can interchange the fine needle for any other Solar system needle (fine/stringer/drill etc) or replace it in the event that it is broken - no more plastic throwaway needles, this one is built to last.

We’ll let everyone know when they are ready to go. Unfortunately as each one is handbuilt there will only be very limited quantities available in the first run for our members only.

We’re getting ready for the launch of the new ‘Mandala Gold’ range of products and have been rolling some Pop - Ups for the store….we thought we’d add some more of our Asterbury Creme Pop-Ups for the store as well…

working together today for a better tomorrow…

We are working on a number of opportunities for our members to increase the profile of the species to the general US angling population…one of which is with the IGFA (International Game Fish Association) who are partnering with us to provide ‘Carp on the Fly’ related content for their membership this year. If you are a “Fly Carper’ that has a passion for documenting your sessions through art, stories, pictures or film, please let us know so that we can submit your work to the IGFA.

The other opportunity is with Monkey Climber Magazine for our traditional Carp anglers for overseas outreach…having the opportunity to be featured in the world’s most popular cult, carp angling publication ‘Monkey Climber’ is something to seriously consider by giving some thought to putting pen to paper and documenting some sessions this year. This should be on everyone’s radar!

If you have an interest in either of these opportunities please reach out to us so that we can provide you with more details!

The American Carper Vol. 4 has been featured again overseas, this time in the German Carp in Focus publication. A wonderful depiction of our humble efforts in full color print layout. With our focus being here in the USA it is really gratifying to have our friends overseas give a tip of the hat to us once again here at The American Carp Society…’Hands Across the Ocean’.

carpinfocus.de/2021/02/19/a-new-dawn-jetzt-auch-digital-erhaeltlich

Coming up this month on the podcast, we look into one of the challenges faced by anglers wanting to film their sessions for Youtube. Luke Annear and Carson Lako join us for some discussion about capturing some ‘carp on the fly’ content from a skiff, and the cameras, film and approaches used to capture the live, raw vibe of carping…some outtakes of what’s coming up later in the month below: