August Edition
Yuriy Nesterov
Our Angler of the Month for August is Yuriy Nesterov from Philadelphia, PA.… One of the USA’s top Carp Angler’s and an absolute whiz behind the lens. Yuriy’s dedication to his captures and documentation of them is second to none. As an angler who gives careful consideration to every detail of a shot he is truly an inspiration for US Angler’s looking to learn from someone behind a lens.
In a Country that is plentiful with this incredible species, he takes nothing for granted…which can be seen from the quality of his work. Big Congrats Yuriy…Keep up the great work!
Click HERE to check out his insta page!
NOTABLE CAPTURES
July was a hot one for many of our members across the USA. With the dog days of summer now officially upon us temperatures will be increasing through to the end of the month in many states. Please be mindful of the welfare of the fish when it’s really hot…the oxygen levels will be down on many of the smaller waters and their handling at this time of year is crucial. Please make sure that they are well and truly revived after capture before releasing them. These photos below certainly caught our attention in the month of July. 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 everyone is catching over this next month! Don’t forget to tag us #americancarpsociety #jointheguiltyones and mention @american_carp_society in your stories!
NEW MEMBERS ONLY - COMMUNITY CONNECTION MONTHLY LIVE ZOOM
We will be debuting the new live ACS Members Only - ‘Community Connection Hour’ with Joel Harber starting in September. It’s a place for community and chat on everything carpy in the USA…with no drama!
With an overview of membership benefits for new members, it’s also a place to have your questions answered in a live ‘real time’ setting and to share info and thoughts with other more experienced members. It will be a live Zoom video & audio setting, so this will be a great opportunity to meet everyone!
The ACS Community Connection hour will be hosted on a Sunday evening by our good friend, top Angler and ACS member - Joel Harber.
We will be sending out the zoom details in the coming weeks but are scheduled to host the very first Community Connection Hour on Sunday September 17th.
Keep watch for more to come….!
THE NEW AMERICAN CARPERP VLOG & PODCAST
We will be hosting a twice monthly video log (vlog) and audio podcast for The American Carper starting in September! Joel Harber will be interviewing Carp Anglers, asking questions and continuing the tradition of the American Carper Podcast series…but this time with added video as well. We will be sending more details as it gets closer to launch but suffice to say there are a lot of special things in the works!
Young Tyler’s made the news overseas! Click on the picture below…..
Calling all Carp Anglers!!
This is a wonderful Carp event and worthy cause each year to give something back to the sport that we all love! DTU does a great job for all of the anglers and the future of the sport On the Denver South Platte River. They are raising funds to improve angling access for children, veterans and disabled anglers along the River by building ‘lifetime angling access areas’. Join the event or donate to the cause to show your support and automatically be entered for a chance to win!
The American Carp Society supports enhancing angling for carp on the DSP!!
All donations help the Denver South Platte and Trout in the Classroom
CARP SLAM XVII – SOUTH PLATTE PRO/AM – SEPTEMBER 16th, 2023 –CARPSLAM.ORG
A fly fishing tournament testing world class fly anglers | Presented by Denver Trout Unlimited | #carpslam2023
This fly fishing tournament helps restore the health and habitat of Denver South Platte River, supports our environmental education programs like Trout-in-the-Classroom and Meet-the-RIver team building events, helps fund our continued fight for pollution protection on our home waterway.
We are working with other stakeholders to add 10 beats of Lifetime Angling Access Areas to the five major projects slated for the Denver South Platte over the next ten years.
We'll tell the story of this river on the rise through youth programs, trout-in-the-classroom, river bank cleanups, visitor outings, and social media.
Here's your chance to do something great for the future of urban fishing in the heart of Denver!
Click HERE for more details!
Staying Ready for Summer
BY: LUKE WILSON
Many anglers, myself included, get excited before a fishing trip and love to get prepared for what's to come. I line up my gear, go through my box, and make sure I'm ready to catch all the fish I can. Unfortunately, I also tend to get tunnel vision when I'm ready to leave, so I have a “grab-and-go” mentality to get out on the water as soon as possible. Whatever I pack is good to go, but sometimes I forget about many things that aren't fishing gear or flies that I hadn't set aside already. Those mistakes often end up with me leaving early. After countless excursions being cut short due to lack of preparedness, I have quite the list of personal items to remember to bring, and other tips to remember while out fishing to keep us out on the water as long as possible during the summer months.
The first thing that usually ends my trip short during summer months is the sun itself. It seems obvious that the sun is going to be a major factor throughout the day, but there are many aspects to it that can easily be disregarded. Polarized sunglasses are something that I bring with me everytime I go out. Not only can sunglasses help an angler see through the water when there's a tough glare, especially a good polarized pair, but you are protecting your eyes as well. It's easy to forget that the Sun’s UV rays are harmful to us because in WNY it's gone behind the clouds for six months out of the year. As someone with poor vision already, keeping my eyes safe and preventing further vision loss is important to me. The UV rays are not only harmful to the eyes. We all know how bad it can get our skin. Sunburns are another thing that I learned to avoid with age. My mother always told me to cover up and wear sunscreen. I listen to her advice now, but as a rebellious teen it seemed humiliating to do for some reason. Now, after many bad sunburns and so much time baking in the sun, I see why I always should have listened to her advice. Keeping the sun off of you is the easiest way to escape sunburns, and is also how I try to avoid heat exhaustion as well. This can be done in so many ways. On the bank it's as easy as staying in the shade. If shade isn't an option though, covering up may be the easiest and most effective. If you are asking yourself why you should throw on more clothes during the hottest months, I did too. But picking the right clothes does make a difference. On the boat, you have no choice but to be under the sun. To keep the sun off of me I like to wear large round brim hats. It protects my face and my neck from the heat and the UV rays. Your head and neck area is one of the areas in your body that regulates heat the most, so keep your head cool and you will stay cool. Wear a good airy hat and avoid dark colors, like black, as they just attract more heat. Light breathable long sleeves are also a game changer in the summer heat. I lost my awful farmer's tan because I wear long sleeves in the sun to keep that heat and the UV rays off of direct contact with my skin. Many options for a good, light, breathable long sleeve shirt like that may be pricey, but it is a good investment to get one. You will notice a difference when you find quality clothing to cover your skin from the heat of the sun.
Another thing that the heat of the sun does is dehydrate you. I have always brought a water bottle out with me, but once you're out of water everything gets hotter, and you can really start to feel lethargic. Dehydration should be a major concern for every angler and we should always stay on top of it. The more I have gone out the better I have realized how great it is to have nice cool water at your convenience. However long you plan on staying out, pack double the amount of what you expect to drink. We lose tons of water through sweat during the heat, and it's easy to work up a sweat under the sun. Stay on top of your water intake and always have more than you need. Water is one of those things that can easily be overlooked because you have just one water bottle ready to go. It's better to have the extra water than need the extra water. Another good tip if you're planning on being in the summer heat all day is to grab an electrolyte solution from the dollar store and finish that before you go out. You can find most of them in the baby aisle and they are pretty cheap. It will super boost your hydration for the moment, also meaning it's a good way to kick a hangover. That doesn't mean you should forget about packing that water!
This may sound like another obvious one, but watch the weather. Twice recently the weather went from bright and sunny, to severe thunderstorms for me and my brother. And both times the weather app failed to notify us of any storms coming our way. The dark clouds rolling over the horizon and the sudden strong winds were enough to let us know though. Once you hear thunder get out of the water and hunker down. It may pass over, or you may have to leave, but it's not worth the risk. The weather app may not always be reliable, but it's a great tool still. I usually keep a rain jacket right in my truck now though, just in case the weather decides to change. A little bit of rain isn't enough to stop for the day, and can sometimes make the fishing even better. Have some rain gear available most of the time, out of convenience and because it's better to have and not need than to need and not have. If I had planned to fish all day and it's only raining, it wouldn't be enough to stop my trip so at least I can be dry and comfortable if I pack some rain gear. Check the weather before, the day of, and during the trip because mother nature is always unpredictable.
The sun and the weather cause most of the issues I've tended to overlook, but with summer time plants and animals come out more than the previous months. That means BUGS. Nothing is more irritating than mosquitoes and deer fly hovering by your ears and chewing on your skin. Again, covering up with those good hats and long sleeves help so much with keeping the bugs off of you, but it's good to keep some sort of bug repellent available. It's something easily overlooked but it will make all the difference. There are also plants and animals that come out that may be harmful during this time of year. To name a few harmful plants, poison ivy and stinging nettle are both found in shady areas near water, a lot of which are good carping holes. As well as plants, snakes and snappers are a pretty frequent sight along the water. I am lucky enough to live in an area where my water snakes are not venomous enough to harm anything other than the little fish they are eating. But, many places down south have snakes such as cottonmouth and copperheads near water, and if you run into one of those it can be serious trouble. And I would hate to be fishing anywhere near alligators. Before you go out, educate yourself on local wildlife so you don't have a disastrous run in, even if it's a fluke.
Not many of these things are life threatening but they could all end your trip short if not planned for. The fish aren’t the only thing to prepare for if you want a good long trip. Protect yourself from the sun, stay hydrated, watch the weather, keep some sort of bug repellent on hand, and know what may be in the same waters as you. These are a few of the things I've started to learn to prepare for along my journey. The unexpected does a lot less damage when you prepare for it, even if it's minuscule it will always help. Best of luck to everyone out on the water, and hopefully something here has helped you get ready for your next trip.
Our ACS Groundbait will be back on the store this next week! Many thanks for your patience on this everyone…As you know all of our products are handmade here in the USA and we sold out quickly on the last run due to overwhelming demand. Keep your eyes peeled for them going up on the store!
“This stuff is incredible…No mess and I’ve been catching on it non stop! I wrap some around the lead and then bury the hook like a method approach…Thanks for such a great product!“ -David P., CA
“The American Carp Society has always shown great leadership for the sport here in the US…Concentrating on quality over quantity with its products and promoting the Carp as a worthy US sportfish, they avoid the drama and help new anglers understand the importance of fish care. I’ll always support them!” - Sam T , WA