MARCH EDITION
Our Angler of the Month for March is Bobby Oney from Ohio. A dedicated American Carp Society member and one of the USA’s top rods, Bobby is the epitome of professionalism with his captures, photography, and representation of the sport. Always willing to help others, he is dedicated to the pursuit of the species, in all weathers!
We loved this month's shot that really tells the tale of his dedication … freezing temperatures and not the ideal conditions for catching carp, but the reward says it all!
Keep doing what you're doing Bobby … in a world of nonsense, it's the dedication of those in the USA that continue to represent the sport so well that means we have such a bright future.
Big congratulations on all your recent captures.
Check out Bobby’s Insta page for a like and follow.
NOTABLE CAPTURES FROM MEMBERS
Well played to everyone who got out on the bank last month to wet a line. The photos below especially caught our attention, so we thought a little extra recognition was warranted. We greatly 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 tag american_carp_society in your stories!
Beginning next month, look out for an extra little bit of carpy content in your inbox every other week. The Carp Leader will be a quick reminder of essential skills, tips, and techniques with links back to more in-depth content on the ACS site or elsewhere. Oh, and a little inspiration too to get you through the work week!
THANKS FROM OUR MEMBERS
Thank you! The yearly care package you guys send out is more than a steal for 29 bucks and the ACS website just helps fire the passion we all have, so thank you all! - Colin P
I truly appreciate you guys so much! If it was not for ACS, I wouldn’t be where I am today in my passion for this fish…It just keeps growing and growing. I appreciate you guys so much! - CarpCraze909
Thank you for setting the example of what Carp Angling in the USA can be. I’m tired of the clowns! This fish has enough negative past history to battle with! - Roger H.
Big shout out and thanks to everyone for tagging us in their Barnaby’s Revenge captures last month. Some mega looking commons and buffs fell to the bait in February. As Spring kicks into gear, we look forward to a lot more catches and success for ACS members. Please remember to tag captures #americancarpsociety, #jointheguiltyones, and #barnabysrevenge to be featured.
Desert fruit = PINEAPPLE fusion!
We’re pleased to announce that our reformulated Desert Fruit line of boilies, sprays and tigers will now be known as PINEAPPLE FUSION. With a new highly concentrated pineapple citrus flavor and additional amino’s, nyjer seeds, and eggshells added to the boilies, we’re sure these will do incredibly well in the spring and summer months ... keep an eye out for pop-ups coming soon to the store as well!
ACS MEMBERS ONLY MERCHANDISE
As we endeavor to include more exclusive membership benefits at The American Carp Society, we start off this month by adding some really cool new merchandising to the MEMBERS ONLY STORE. Each product is hand designed and available in multiple colors and sizes to 4/5 XL. We’ll be adding 2-4 new designs each month as 2024 progresses.
Each item is individually made as they’re ordered, so shipping may take a week to 10 days from ordering to landing on your doorstep. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thanks for your patience in slightly longer shipping times and for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!
If you order any of these new members only items, along with other products from the store, please note they will arrive in a separate package.
When you tag your captures #americancarpsociety on social media and you’re wearing an ACS ball cap or an ACS beanie, with a visible ACS logo (and the more visible the better!) - you’ll automatically be entered into our monthly bait contest. If you also submit this shot to Big Carp Tackle for their monthly online contest and WIN, you’ll also receive an extra 1kg of ACS Barnaby’s Revenge boilies from The American Carp Society!
We’re looking for great images that capture all angles of this great sport. The preparation, the capture, the wildlife. It’s not just about the largest fish or weight … which open’s the contest up to ACS members in all states.
So if you’re posting fish on your social feeds and you’re an ACS member…this is another opportunity with a few tags and a shout out to the organization to potentially add to your personal monthly baiting inventory at no cost!
February’s winner …
Big congrats to ACS member Riley Klote from Kansas, who has been catching really well on the ACS Barnaby’s Revenge products this month. His picture submissions have been great, and he doesn’t leave home without his ACS cap!
BAIT PACKAGE of Boilies, Tigers and Spray on their way to you Riley!
These incredible shots stood out for us this past month. It’s so rewarding to see anglers taking the time to get behind the lens and document the natural world around them. For us at The American Carp Society, this is just as important as catching the fish.
Part of the magic of carp angling is the chance to be at one with nature, to experience it and capture it in words and images. Congrats to everyone featured.
Complete your collection!
The world famous American Carper is available in all 3 original editions. With each volume at an impressive 300+ pages of interviews, stories and stunning photography, these volumes lovingly detail the emerging American Carp Culture that is spreading across the USA.
If you missed the American Carper Vol 1, Vol 2 or Vol 3, or know of someone who would enjoy these remarkable tomes dedicated to the passion of Carp Angling, now's your chance to complete the collection for a low price of just $15.99 per volume!
From the team at the American Carp Society, the very best wishes for the upcoming season!
ONE SHOT IN STOCK!
We have all ONE SHOT flavors now available on the store. Formulated by our bait development team here in the USA, the ‘One Shot’ liquid booster has been designed specifically with the US Carp Angler in mind having a multitude of uses. Containing oils, , amino acids, flavoring and other essential ingredients, it is a versatile product that goes a very long way in it’s usage.…it is strong!
The required amount of liquid booster to use for each purpose will vary and so we designed the 500ML ‘One Shot’ container to include a built-in 30 ML measuring chamber, allowing you to accurately add the pre-measured amount of liquid booster to the chamber for your intended use as a boilie boost, method or spod mix boost or as a traditional glug, ensuring that you don’t use more of the product than you actually need to for any given situation.
A good coating of ‘One-Shot’ will boost your boilies and hook baits, leaking oils and flavor into the swim immediately when introduced through the water column.
The ‘One Shot’ liquid is PVA friendly and can be used to great effect in conjunction with ‘The Crumb’ in a stick mix or PVA bag helping to cloud up the water in the swim after breakdown, attracting fish immediately into the vicinity through the flavor disbursement.
When used with a method mix, the ‘One Shot’ can also help as a binder because of its properties and also leave a nice ‘slick’ on the surface when entering the water. As the method mix breaks down it releases more of the attractants, oils and flavoring into the swim.
The ‘One Shot’ liquid booster can also be used as a traditional ‘glug’ for your boilies; for hook-baits we like to add a 15ml boost to a pop up tub or tub of bottom baits coating all of them… shake well and leave for a few days before use.
ASTERBURY CREME
PINEAPPLE FUSION
MAPEX
NUTRABERRY
PURE FLAVORS
The BARNABY’S REVENGE ‘PURE’ FLAVORS RANGE are back in stock. This is the actual concentrated flavor that we use in our mixes… nothing added, just the ‘PURE’ flavor in its natural form.
When you remove the lid of the bottle for the very first time you will understand why we go to the lengths of research and time, refining the flavors as we do.
The 2oz - 60ml bottles of pure flavor are available in all of the Barnaby’s Revenge range:
ASTERBURY CREME (SWEET & CREAMY)
MAPEX (SCOPEX)
NUTRABERRY (SWEET)
PINEAPPLE FUSION (SWEET)
They are packaged in our dark green wide mouth containers that will allow a 24mm boilie to be directly dipped into the flavor for ultimate coverage with no waste.
MADE IN THE USA
A few different items this month: a photo selection from regular ACS fly contributor and professional guide Dagur Arni Guomudsson. Expect to see a lot more from Dagur over the next year as he will be working more closely with the American Carp Society on fly fishing content and education. Announcement to be made shortly.
We also have a essay from Carp on the Fly regular Luke Wilson about preparing for the new season. Thanks very much Luke.
And thanks also to the Denver chapter of Trout Unlimited and Patrick Mapes who reached out to let us know your support of conservation efforts is making a difference! Carp Slam 2024 will no doubt be an incredible event!
Dagur Arni Guomudsson
LUKE WILSON - THE FINAL STRETCH
If you are like me, you get sick of being cooped up all winter long and are ready to shoot out to the carping spots as soon as you are able. It’s always a slow start until the spring weather actually kicks in, so this transition phase between spring and winter can get annoying.
Right about now every year I really start to get sick of the winter and get ready for spring. It is usually triggered by the slightest break in weather, perhaps a sunny day that hits the mid 40’s. It is an innate reaction to the sun appearing after being gone from our winter skies. Sure it’s fun to get out and fish the hard water every now and then, but the ice has been rather inconsistent this year and the previous as well.
But that is just killing time for me, as I wait for the warm sun to gently kiss the back of my neck as I search the shallows for the next golden bone. This short period of transition becomes crunch time where we prepare for the real fun to begin. And let me tell you, I don't know if I’ve been more excited to hit the water. I like to double over all of my gear, my notes from the last season, and I love to give myself goals to reach for this year of fishing.
Here are some ways to itch the itch and help keep you occupied for this final short stretch.
One of the things I do during this stretch is check the notes I've taken in my logbook. I do this all winter long if I'm being honest, but it really gets you excited when you know that now the weather will start to return to ideal fishing conditions.
I’ve said this before in a previous article, but the notes you keep in your logbook may be the most useful, and underrated tool an angler can have. Checking over your notes gives you the insight of all your trips before and can be used to help the angler in so many ways. I love to plan trips based on these notes. You can easily get lost in the notes you've taken and start to picture all the trips you plan on taking this year, even if they are only in your head for the time being.
Spots that are extremely productive are easily highlighted when we revisit our notes and we can start to plan future trips long before they come. Categories such as location, date and time, gear and flies, and the features of that specific day such as weather conditions can be useful tools to help determine where and when to head out. I also try to keep a page for oddball notes to go along with them if there is a specific pattern that I've noticed in a specific spot.
What I write on those pages are usually very specific to that spot alone. I describe the cover or structure of that spot. The type of bottom, such as a rocky or mucky bottom is something you can note as well. Another great example I have is knowing what fly works for specific locations. Logbooks are a great way to recap the year, see what flies worked where, what places had the biggest fish, or the most fish. The possibilities are up to you to determine if you want to record them or not.
The off season is a great time for a carper, or any fisherman, to review their logbooks, and determine a plan of action for next year. It has become the center of preparation for the new season.
Going off of the logbook, I use those notes to check my fly box and make sure I have extras of what worked well last year. I find myself going through my box and organizing quite a bit when I’m bored. But, that never stops me from doing it over again. Right before spring kicks off is the best time to make sure everything is in order. Pretty soon the action will begin and we do all of this prepping so we can have as much time on the water as possible. Reorganize, and refill.
Keeping an organized box is very helpful when you're out. It greatly increases the speed and ability of tossing what you want out to them. I’ve said this before, when we get our box ready we strive for clean, efficient, and speedy. Look in your notes to help refill those fly boxes!
Another thing that we should do before the season kicks off is give our gear a once over. Check your rod, reel, and line while you've got the extra time and it will save you when you're ready to hop out for the first time. Give everything a good cleaning and it will also improve the working ability and longevity of your gear. Prop up on a chair, play some music and go to town inspecting your gear. It would thank you if it could.
The last thing I do, and is definitely one of my favorites, is set new goals for myself and the new season. It just gets you itching to hit the water. Perhaps a goal is to try a new spot, so scout around and use the resources available to you to pick a new spot. One example for me is finding a new spot on Lake Ontario. I'm no stranger to the Lake, but, even so, finding a consistent spot has always been difficult.
I've been looking for some new spots I've wanted to try, so by using a local outdoor atlas I've narrowed it down to a few spots I will try. The big lake was difficult to find a spot I could return to and find carp over and over again. There is just way too much water and shoreline to cruise around and just hope for the best. That is why planning and picking out a good spot comes in handy. There are a lot of resources to explore new waters other than taking a test run and recording what you find.
Luckily for us, finding a new lake or river system to fish is only a click away. Most states now have government produced websites for accessing new waters. You should definitely be using those to your advantage. If I’m trying somewhere completely new, I love to look online. Remember, carp are sight casted to, so the depth of the water is important. Shorelines are a good spot to look but they need access to deeper water so they feel safe. Look for shallow flats with drop offs nearby and that can help narrow the spots down.
Going along with that goal, my new target this summer is to land a +25lb carp, and in Lake Ontario there is no shortage of these behemoths. The difficulty comes with locating them in that immense body of water. A big fish is always a goal we have, and is always a great goal to achieve. Check in your notes and see if there's a spot where big ones keep showing up. Don't forget other people can be a resource to use as well, so ask around and check your favorite forums for other useful ideas to get started.
A goal all carp angers set is landing a mirror carp. For this goal you need dedication and luck. They are rare specimens and time on the water will be your greatest ally in seeking one out. Perhaps there is a spot where they are more common so don't forget to ask around. Another goal I've set for myself is to broaden my fly tying capabilities and try a few new ones out. Tie a new fly there are no shortages of examples or tutorials out there. Perhaps you might find one that works really well that is a must have in your box. The least it can do is improve your fly tying abilities and broaden your catalog. The possibilities of your goals are only limited to your ideas. They give you great ways to challenge yourself and become a better fisherman.
With the weather beginning to break, it is just a matter of time before we are all back on the water and enjoying what we love to do most. Take advantage of this transitional period to prepare. Get ready to make this year's trips the best. Build on that every year and they should be getting better and better as time goes on.