Pennsylvania PB's
by
Will Passaretti
Hello, my name is Will Passaretti and I’m a carp angler from Pennsylvania. I feel extremely lucky because my state has many great opportunities for fishing whether it's fly fishing for trout, throwing lures for bass or targeting these bars of gold. I started targeting carp back in the fall of 2019 after I realized that the local pond I was fishing had some giant carp in it. I’ve been an angler as long as I can remember and have mainly targeted bass but after accidentally hooking a carp one day that Fall and feeling the sheer power, I realized Ian attempt to legitimately hook one would be a very worthy use of my time. It actually took me several sessions before I managed to hook one, and as I already knew, it didn’t disappoint! After several wonderful minutes with more than enough heart stopping moments, the fish slipped into my net and a new addiction was born.
I continued targeting that pond for about a year to see what other carp lived in there. During those sessions it became very apparent that It was a very low stock lake with only a handful of carp. While fishing there I met several people who shared an interest in carp fishing. I talked to them almost every time I was there as they were fishing there just as often… The one day they mentioned they had a friend that was really into carp fishing and that we should meet. The following week we planned a session at the local dusty pond. That session would be the day my carp angling would be kicked into overdrive as my sights would soon change from this pond to the mighty schuylkill river.
In summer 2020 we began discussing our first session on the river attempting to plan out an area of the river to target. I was working a closing shift at the time so a majority of our fishing would take place at night. My friend, Will had found a spot on the river that was not only secluded, it was loaded with carp! This special place on the river was not accessible by large boats meaning this carp weren’t as high of a risk for being bowfished. Finding a spot especially on the river away from the bowfishers was a huge priority. The bow fisherman will target areas they know we fish because they know the fish will be there. On the day of my first river session Will had already fished in the morning and caught several large fish but was unfortunately pushed out by very harsh weather.
We planned to return later that night after my shift had ended and arrived at the river around 9 pm. I was still new to carp fishing and the river was extremely daunting due to it’s size, I was used to small ponds and creeks but nothing of this size! Fortunately for me I had the equivalent of a Jedi master behind me and he was able to walk me through a good setup for the river.
I threw my first rod out towards the middle of the river and put the second one closer to the bank. Now many of us use a bait runner or a quick drag when it comes to carping but at the time, I had no idea what a quick drag was or how to activate it so when my rod finally ripped off it went flying into the river, fortunately I was paying attention and was able to grab the rod and reel quickly to save that session getting painfully expensive.
As soon as I picked the rod up I knew it was a big fish. The difference in power between the fish I was used to catching versus this fish was insane! The first initial run of this fish was super powerful, dumping the spool. After fighting the fish for about 15 minutes, I got lucky and it slipped into the net. My new PB of 27 pounds. Absolutely blown away by the fact that my first session on the river resulted in a fish that size.
I was hooked. I felt like I had no reason to fish anywhere but the river so that's what I did the following 2 years. I fished the river in hopes of breaking that 30 pound mark which was proving to be more difficult than I had thought. I spent the summer fishing in areas we knew had fish of that size but very rarely did we come close to that size.
One Thursday night in summer 2021 we had decided to hit a spot we had fished before. We had done decent here in the past but never a fish in the 30 pound class. We didn’t have much time with us both having work in the morning. We normally fished right out in front of us but I had decided to throw one bait way up the bank. I don't know what it was that was telling me to launch a bait that way but something was... I placed the rod way down the bank near the water to avoid the other lines we had out.
About an hour later as we were getting ready to pack everything up the rod tore off. I slid down the bank and grabbed the rod. As soon as I set it, I knew the fish was big. I fought the fish for what felt like forever but in reality was probably only 15 or so minutes. The fish finally slipped into the net and I knew at that moment I broke at least 27 pounds if not 30 pounds. We took our time to make sure the scales read zero before weighing, the fish was a new pb 31 pounds 5 ounces, an absolute monster in my eyes.
Little did I know I would shatter my pb yet again the following spring in a similar manner. With few hours to kill and some credible intel, I headed down to a spot that two 40 pound fish have come out of as well as countless 30’s. The area had a great population of big carp but being honest, after my first 30 I had no real goal for that year other than catching some fish and enjoying my fishing. This beauty is one of my favorite mirrors from those sessions…
Anyways, getting back to the session, I sat there as usual, in silence for about 2 hours until the silence was broken with the screaming of the alarm. My rod was tearing off with no sign of slowing, I was definitely hooked into something big. Any time I felt like I had control or was gaining line back the fish would turn and take a huge powerful run. After 25 minutes of battle with this fish I finally got it into a net and knew I had one of the giants in my net.
I called another one of my friends, Jeremiah Green, who lived close enough that I could ask to come down to take some photos of the fish. While I waited for him I put the fish in the sling and hoisted it up underneath my scale. I watched the scale as my arms shook struggling to hold the fish up, 36 pounds on the dot. I was blown away, not only was this a spur of the moment session that worked perfectly, I was looking at a fish that filled the entirety of my cradle. A fish that 3 years ago I had only dreamed about seeing, let alone catching.
A big fish like that made all of the bait used, hours spent catching nothing and overall time put in worth it. There’s something special about a giant fish especially when they come when you are least expecting it. I’m glad that I had people along the way that made a fish like that possible.
I hope these words convey the personal progress and pure excitement that is possible when pursuing this great fish! I’m looking forward to even more extremely carpy adventures in the coming years and hopefully, I’ll get the chance to share the joy by write about them …
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.
Will Passaretti