Family Ties & ‘Knots’

by Malissa, Richard and Dion

Some anglers go fishing to seek solitude, others see it as a competitive sport where they put their skills and knowledge up against their fellow anglers for prizes, bragging rights and online clicks/followers.
Yet for this family, our fishing time is a chance to set aside all distractions and really appreciate each other, overcoming challenges and to grow stronger as a team.

Just last year, Richard and I started fishing together as friends and it blossomed into something much more… After just a few weeks of our carp fishing sessions together, I was proud when Richard said to me, “I was shocked and surprised how natural Carp Fishing is for you, even though you have never done this style of fishing before.” But honestly, I felt intimidated by all of the different carp angling tactics that Richard was showing me and assumed he was just being nice.

Yes, the basic terms “rod/reel/line” I understood, but that is just the foundation to Carp Fishing, let alone the Euro Style of Carp fishing. It was like a foreign language, however he really impressed me with his knowledge and showed me tactics and techniques in easy to understand stages that all made sense to me. I could see how passionate Richard was about Carp and preserving the fish species for others to enjoy catching by using extra fish care practices.

Prior to that day I’d only had a negative perception of Carp. Richard exhibited a sincere concern for them, and since our first bank session, we’ve fished together as often as possible. Surprisingly, my son Dion also showed a strong interest right from his first carp session with us and it quickly became a favorite pastime enjoyed by all.
Richard has helped coach both myself and Dion to become independent, well rounded carp anglers by encouraging us to push past our comfort zones.

Unanimously our favorite thing about fishing for Carp would be the fight this amazing fish gives us once hooked!
We all found our passion in saltwater and have a real love for adventures, so the camping often associated with us carp fishing together is a natural progression.
Richard’s earliest memories of fishing were with his dad on the jetty, “We’re going to the wave breaker!” His dad, Ignacio shouted with excitement. Richard remembers seeing the waves crashing on the rocks and often mentions with a chuckle, “I was so scared to cross onto the jetties!”
However, his dad encouraged him and made him feel safe. He faced his fears and has been hooked on fishing ever since. As Richard grew up, he would fish with his dad and older brother, then eventually as a teenager started going on deep sea fishing trips.

Richard remembers, “It wasn’t until I was 28 years old that I saw my now good friend, Aaron fishing for Carp.” Because Richard showed a genuine interest in Carp, Aaron took Richard to Lake Perris, in Southern California to fish for carp. Richard said, “The weather was so rough and windy, I doubted we could catch anything but another friend, Erik who was fishing with us caught a 22 pound carp and my eyes shot out of my head!
When I finally got a run, I unfortunately pulled a rookie move, I didn’t have alarms and I wasn’t prepared at all… because of the sound of the wind, I didn’t see my line shredding from my reel for a while. When I did grab my rod, I couldn’t believe the power of that fish, it was amazing!”

Even though Richard eventually lost that fish when the line snagged and was cut off by rocks, That was all it took, Carp fishing became his main focus. For a freshwater fish that can be found in almost any body of water, even the smaller ones can excite any experienced angler.

As many of you reading this will already know, landing a Carp can be very challenging. There are a lot of things to think about and plan around both before and during the time on the bank. I’ve learned that depending on which tactics I choose to use during a session can make or break my day.

Dion also really enjoys Mixing different things to to his pack baits to see what works. One of his favorite things to add is crushed Hot Cheetos.

Once an alarm goes off, we all get excited, regardless of who’s rod it is. People ask, why put so much energy into catching a fish that you won’t eat? I’d say, at the end of the day, regardless of the fish caught, we appreciate our time that is well spent together.
Dion enjoys hanging out with friends and family. Some had never fished for Carp before, so he enjoys handing them the rod to have them reel the carp in. He says, “sometimes I find that even more rewarding than catching the carp myself.”

Many anglers still believe carp are “trash fish” but we all love promoting Carp as a sports fish and showing others how important all living things really are in this world!

Thank you for taking the time to read about our experiences and how Carp fishing has strengthened this family’s ‘Ties and knots’ bringing us all closer together…

Malissa, Richard and Dion.