April Edition
Bobby Oney
BOBBY ONEY
Our Angler of the month for April is Ohio’s Bobby Oney! Seen here with a stunning fully scaled Mirror, Bobby was featured in The American Carper Volume 4 ‘American Gold…A New Dawn’ with an in-depth interview of his approach to angling for these incredible specimens. A dedicated US Carp angler and one of Ohio’s top rods, he is continuing to push the barriers in his angling sessions. Congrats Bobby on another great month!
FINLEY MILLER
Finley Miller…Undoubtedly the ‘exotic species’ Carp angling king of Texas and one of the most dedicated bank-side advocates of the sport that we have. An incredible month resulting in the crowning glory ‘Joan of Carp’! Congrats Finley, from all of us at the American Carp Society! Keep up the great stewardship and coaching to all of the new anglers.
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 March. 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 Spring season! Don’t forget to tag us #americancarpsociety #jointheguiltyones
Don Low
new MONTHLY TIP SECTION
Moving forward we will be featuring some monthly tips for our American Carp Society members…With the help of some of the top US Carp Anglers, we hope to bring you something ‘useable’ each month that can be immediately added to your carp angling repertoire!
In the first of a series of articles, Massachusetts Carp Angler, Don Low, looks at the methods used to catch a bite in the colder months using PVA.
PVA FRIENDLY PARTICLES
By: Don Low
At this time of year in the North East US, the carp have woken up, but their metabolism is still slow. I will be baiting and fishing over a only a handful or two of easily digestible particles like maize, sweet corn, and chicken scratch. By the start of May it will be going in by the bucketful with a good quality boilie.
If you want to present a single mouthful of particles right next to your hook-bait you’ll need to make them PVA safe. You can buy the prepackaged stuff, but it just doesn’t look appetizing, its dried out and congealed, and expensive. It’s far cheaper and you'll have better results by making your own.
There are two ways to make particles PVA friendly. The addition of salt or an oil based liquid. The latter not being ideal for cold water temperatures. Add a ¼ cup of salt to a well drained can of corn and it won’t melt the PVA. This sounds like a lot of salt but if you make the bait up a couple of hours before fishing, it will disperse very quickly in the water, and the PVA will still melt within 2 minutes. Don’t make it up the night before. By the time morning comes many of the seeds will have petrified in the salt and gone hard.
You can use table salt, or kosher, but if you want to really amp up the attraction try rock salt. Rock salt gives the carp many additional minerals that they will want at this time of year. It doesn’t have to be the mega expensive imported Himalayan pink rock salt. We have plenty of salt mines in the US. Their products are usually sold as horse feed supplements which you’ll find in most feed stores. Give it a try!
A big thanks goes out to Keith Thompson, Erick Maybury, James King and Martin Rich for their dedication to furthering the exposure of the mighty Buffalo species in what is a wonderful article that has been featured by Premier Angler!
http://premierangler.com/why-fish-for-buffalo-the-experts-share-their-knowledge/
Spearheaded and coordinated by our very own Kelcey Combs and featuring a wonderful forward by Clayton Lothrop, this piece has already made an impact. All of the angler’s coordinated together to cover some very interesting history, facts and thoughts on this incredible species. As Carp anglers, we all have a healthy respect for this sometimes mysterious fish and it deservedly has its own place in our US ‘Carp Angling’ culture…and as Erick Maybury said:
“I have to thank the fish with the giant moon eyes and its animated features for exposing me to many anglers who have come far and wide to pursue them…that I now call friends.”
We encourage you to take some time and check out the piece…and many thanks once again to Keith, Erick, James and Martin for taking their time to contribute to this wonderful article. Just another great example of American Carp Society members stepping up and leading the way forward.
WE’LL GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS…
Our dear friend and American Carp Society team member, Richard Cervantes, has had the worst thing that can happen to a Carp Angler…GEAR STOLEN!!! Richard is an incredible guy who selfessly gives so much of his time and dedication to the sport each year, hosting events for others and helping the profile of the fish in Southern California. PLEASE help him recover some of his losses by donating just a few bucks! Every bit helps and is appreciated as we need to get this Carp catching ambassador back on the banks, helping young anglers once again!
A heartfelt THANK YOU to all that have contributed so far…Please help out if you can at the gofundme page The American Carp Society has put together.
CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO TAKE YOU DIRECTLY TO THE GOFUND ME PAGE - THANKS!
NOTABLE CAPTURES
Our Carp on the fly members and friends have been anxious for the weather to get a bit warmer…and in some states it’s already happening! Congratulations to everyone on the success of their angling sessions this past month! We appreciate all of your tags and mentions, and can’t wait to see what you guys and gals catch this Spring season! Don’t forget to tag us and spread the word! #americancarpsociety #jointheguiltyones
CARP BOATS PART 2: kayaks
By: Brandon Tourigny
Last month I introduced you to the in’s-and-outs of what makes a great carp boat at a high level. Fly fishing for carp is a unique skill, and the vessel you choose requires unique characteristics to put you in front of feeding carp. This month we are going to dive deeper into the specifics of fly fishing for carp out of a kayak.
If you are thinking about fly fishing out of a kayak you need to accept one thing about it, you are going to need to stand up in it. Standing in your kayak when trying to find carp allows you to peer down into the water, rather than looking across the surface of it like you are when sitting. Your field of view also extends when you stand, allowing you to spot carp farther out. With that said, when you choose a kayak you should test it out before you buy it to make sure you can comfortably stand in it. Sit-On-Top fishing kayaks from Ocean Kayaks, Old Town, Hobie, NuCanoe, or Jackson are ideal in this regard.
Also consider how many accessories the kayak comes with on the deck, or rather how few it comes with. Fly line has a knack for tangling around everything it can find, so try to reduce to amount of accessories on the kayak deck. When you do find a carp and go to make a cast, you do not want to find out your cast is 5ft short because the line was wrapped around something. Two kayaks come to mind when thinking about this: the NuCanoe kayaks and the Jackson Mayfly really shine in this area.
My last tip for kayak anglers does not have to do with the kayak. Do yourself a favor and pick up a fly rod holder that fits around your waist. That will prevent you from having to bend down to pick up or put down your fly rod & paddles. I have blown many shots at carp because I have made to much motion when I went to set my paddle down and pick up my fly rod. Having a rod holder around your waste gives you somewhere to conveniently store your rod while standing up and paddling, or your paddle when the moment of truth comes. Recently the best one I’ve found is the O’Pros 3rdHand Rod Holder.
Next month, I will talk more about details I look for in a carp skiff! Until then, good luck fishing!
Chris Galvin & Joe Marr
We would like to congratulate Chris Calvin on becoming the latest sanctioned American Carp Society guide. Hailing from Colorado, Chris is an exceptional angler, having won the Denver South Platte Pro - Am Carp Slam five out of the last six years!
Chris - “A day spent chasing this fish is never a day wasted. No matter what happens, you will learn and grow from the experience.”
Clients can expect a dedicated effort to find, hook, and land fish throughout the urban corridor. Many different venues can be explored in a single day. As a side note, every angler that has taken a guided trip with Chris and then competed as an amateur in the Carp Slam, has gone on to catch a fish in the tournament!
Featured on this month’s ‘Carp on the Fly’ section is American Carp Society member Corey Sorel from Austin…hailing originally from Massachusetts, he is a bonafide ‘Carp on the Fly’ fanatic. Cory also ties his own flies that we are now featuring on the Store… Some incredible patterns and unique Nymphs that look like they would pull carp out of a puddle!
Thanks everyone for your support in listening and sharing the podcast! The word is getting out and we are seeing continued growth and expansion of our Carpy message each month! We have some exciting and thought provoking interviews lined up over the next month or so….don’t forget to tune in, subscribe and share the link on your social media pages to further the reach and please reach out us directly if you have any questions or guests that you’d like us to bring onto the show! Send Sean an email directly with any suggestions: sean@americancarpsociety.com
Exclusively for our members this month!
On Thursday April 8th we will be releasing our custom made ‘Guilty’ baiting needles…Available in Gold, Red, Silver or Blue we have a very limited quantity of each color on these items and expect them to go quickly!
Completely handmade, 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 aluminum, 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.
HAND MADE WITH VERY LIMITED QUANTITIES AVAILABLE