# Your Best catches of 2004, so far?



## RiverRat (Apr 5, 2004)

Hey guys, since most of us have gotten into some carp already this year...whats your best so far?

Ive gotten very lucky and taken a 30.9 lber(new PB), 20 lber. & 19 lber. as my top 3 so far.
Ive also landed one mirror carp at 7-8 lbs. and a few buffalo under 6 lbs.


30.9 lb. from Scioto.
20 lb. from Alum creek Res.
19 lb. from East Harbor /Lake Erie

I would post some pics. but this forum only uploads small pics. so heres a link to view some of my catches so far.
http://www.angelfire.com/oh5/carp-catchers/march1

Scott


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## PAYARA (Apr 7, 2004)

iam slow to get started this year.i havent caught anything 
over 8lbs so far  i will never have a better
year than i had last year,i had over 40 20's including 
the current pb of 27lb thats a big accomplishment for myself.i'll be happy to catch just one 20 a month this
year  i have a feeling that iam going to have a BAD
year in '04 for some reason,that E.Harbor outing was a
blow to my moral  seriously, i doubt i will recover.
i have lost my mojo


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## Fishman (Apr 5, 2004)

my PB this year was a 6lber.....


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## RiverRat (Apr 5, 2004)

Greg....let me give you a little "secret" to catching carp at these event:
#1 pick a spot and stick with it(if you would have you might have landed the many nice carp TimJC did including his 16 lber....and maybe that BIG ONE that got away??)
#2 CHUM your area very good...it took awhile for the fish to find mine, Tim's and Shawns area, but after the wind changed i managed 13 fish during saturday night when everyone else was sleeping.
#3 and very important, you MUST keep your rods in the water at all times...if your hook aint in the water, how ya going to catch fish? LOL. i think you spent 70% of your time trying to decide where to fish, the other 20% using your marker float and 10% fishing.
We all know that bay is shallow with a thick silt bottom...anywhere you went you found the same thing.....on other waters it migyht pay to work the area to find that hidden gravel patch..but at East Harbor i think you would have to search the whole bay for a week to find such an area(and probably never find it).

I know i didnt do very well at the only other event i went to, the first East Harbor fish-in 2 yrs ago..but this year i have the right equipment and more knowlege and i think for my first "offical" year of carp angling next to other carp anglers im doing pretty good since i tied for most fish with Craig(16 total) which was 2nd place and now that i look at the final standings i came in 2nd for big fish with my 19 lber(no SHAWN not 16 lbs.) right behind a tie for first place with Richie & Bill's 20 lb even catches. 
Hang in there man and keep them lines in the water and you'll do great..take it from a rookie that slept only 7 1/2 hrs from thursday til sunday....lol but i was catching.

Scott


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## flathunter (Apr 5, 2004)

10.2lbs Lake Logan


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## PAYARA (Apr 7, 2004)

yeah Scott,you are right.i should have just stayed put
some place and kept the rods in longer than 2 hrs at a
time  .that first spot where Tim set up later on, i spodded for a half an hr only to leave the rods there for probably less than 2 hrs,my spodding had nothing to do with Tims fish or his swim as he was fishing closer in and off to the left.i have a problem,iam too worried about perfection.if i am not sitting my baits and my free offerings in a spot iam comfortable with i wont catch.i never had this problem in the last few years,but ever since i have been using the floats i can't help but search for that ''perfect''spot.its like an addiction because this pice of equipment,the marker float,i have improved my fishing quite a bit or so i think,but i may have made it worse  .

i should be back soon  hopefully


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## TimJC (Apr 6, 2004)

PAYARA said:


> iam slow to get started this year.i havent caught anything
> over 8lbs so far  i will never have a better
> year than i had last year,i had over 40 20's including
> the current pb of 27lb thats a big accomplishment for myself.i'll be happy to catch just one 20 a month this
> ...


Hell, I'll be happy to catch another fish this month. I haven't caught anything in ohio outside of the east harbor outing.

Oh yeah:
- Ohio = 16lbs @ east harbor
- Illinois = 11lbs and change @ lockport (got me $60 and a silver medal)


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## RiverRat (Apr 5, 2004)

Greg, im not a big user of the marker float system, but i think if i fished lakes more i would be forced to use one...or suffer not catching the better fish.
In the rivers i fish, there are key holding areas that are used by many species and its easier to put a pattern together(for me atleast) but on lakes i am lost because ive spent such little time fishing them.

As far as the spot Tim fished, yea you did spod out farther than he set his rods, but he also use his baiting spoon to toss out MANY frozen balls of chum also....then i had Shawn to my right that put in a bunch of chum with his catapult...add all the chum i put out with method feeders and there must have been a large long bed of chum out there... i think the key along with the chum was the storms that came in and changed the winds in our favor and pushed fish right into our area...when they finally came in it was hard to keep 2 rods in the water...but most were alseep at this time of night.

Tim, good show again for the Silver medal showing at Lockport..congrats!

I think the only event so far that the "buckeyes" have'nt done very well at is the Austin one.....but i plan to be there and fish it HARD next year for sure!!!
I think the next big event that we need is the CCC, which our own Bob B. swept last year, we need to keep it going and some Ohioan needs to do it again . I'll be there for sure.

Scott


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## RiverRat (Apr 5, 2004)

Also, no one from CAG in Ohio has put a 40 on the bank for our state.
This year needs to be the one to showcase what we have to offer and what Buckeye carp anglers are all about......who's going to set the bar for the rest of us to follow and shoot for?

only time will tell.

Scott


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## tpet96 (Apr 6, 2004)

> #2 CHUM your area very good...


Scott,

That can be good.....and bad at the same time. All depends on what you chum with. What I chummed out up there looked like a lot...but really it wasn't. The stuff when broken down will be about the size of grains of sand. It's more of a "visual attractant" to the fish than a "food source". That's why you don't see me chumming whole kernals of corn or anything very often  


As for my best thus far.......

27
24
20
19
17
16
Numerous low and mid teens


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## TimJC (Apr 6, 2004)

What abour the Indiana CAGI? We definitely need to hit that...


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## tpet96 (Apr 6, 2004)

This will be the year for change


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## cwcarper (Apr 5, 2004)

Still looking for the carp to turn on for me this year...i usually don't start catching until May rolls around. Missed my best Ohio common this year due to a submerged tree (low to mid 20 fish)...but i did land some nice grass carp down in South Carolina...38 lbs was my biggest.


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## Fish-N-Fool (Apr 12, 2004)

Hello to all the Carp guys!  

I'm not a serious carper like some of you guys, but I started fishing for them a couple seasons ago and I now fish for them several times a year. I keep my presentations simple and use a lot of wheatie ball mixtures. I've never really met many other carp fisherman.  Usually when people find out I'm fishing for carp they ask me "why?" 

My best carp for 2004 so far is 8 lbs.  Pretty small for you guys, but a lot of fun for me!  I've only caught 2 this year - the 8 lber and a 2 lber. 

Good Luck on the 2004 season to all!


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

If you want fresh chum, just take Zfish along and stoke him with a good greasy breakfast.  Set him in anything that floats, anchor it in the area you want chummed and rock him continously.  Guaranteed to work.


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## Fishman (Apr 5, 2004)

haha, I've never known zfish to get sea sick! Is this the truth?


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## Zfish (Apr 5, 2004)

Yep it sure was.. Only been sick twice on a boat. Once was off the coast of Oregon and another time with Shortdrift. Only thing I can figure is that I didnt feel good either day before hand and it threw my equalibrium off. 

I was a trooper though.. After I took a little nap that is. LOL. I kept fishing.. Did pretty darn well that day too. I think it was the unconventional chumming that brought the fish in


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## PAYARA (Apr 7, 2004)

the biggest thing keeping me down at the moment,
besides the float funk ,is the fact i have no ride,,man.
yes this is my excuse,lol

its cool though,one of you guys will have to post the
30's and the odd 40 i catch this year out of my own back
yard, not too mention the 70lb grassers over at the 
dream lake(you seriously would not believe the size of these giants) but you will believe it when they are sitting
on my Mega Mat   ................yeah right!


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## Tornichio (Apr 14, 2004)

My biggest so far is only 8lbs. Here is a picture of my personal best though. NO idea of what it weighed because I did not own a scale at the time. How do you guys turn it into an avatar? when I reduce the picture down in size it is super grainy any suggestions?


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## Tornichio (Apr 14, 2004)

OH and another thing this carp matched my shirt color very well how cool was that.


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## catking (Apr 5, 2004)

42 pound grass carp......... Contact mrfishohio about the avatar Tornichio  THE CATKING !!!


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## RiverRat (Apr 5, 2004)

I hear ya Shawn about the chum, i chum heavy during the warmer times and hardly a handful in winter(just enough to get them interested).
I like to chum with my normal CAGer type baits, but if im fishing sweetcorn or maise i include a small amount in my method mix to give them something to eat & search for....and it matches my hook bait, but i dont flavor the chum baits. I think chumming with small particles like corn keeps them in your area and makes they easier to catch because after a short bit they relax and are'nt as "spooky"..very good thing in clear water.
Guess with all of us fishing together this season with our many styles and favorite baits will see who puts together a good consistant fish catcher...

Scott

Greg, if ya need a "ride", just sell me those Shimano rods and buy ya a car buddy...lol


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## tpet96 (Apr 6, 2004)

> Guess with all of us fishing together this season with our many styles and favorite baits will see who puts together a good consistant fish catcher...


Among other things


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## GMR_Guy (Apr 10, 2004)

I've managed to catch three 29" carp in my local lake this year. I estimate that they weighed around 12 to 13 lbs. I'll be hitting the local gravel pit for a few hours each morning for the next several days. This is where I caught my pb of 19 lbs last year. I'm past due to break the 20 lb barrier.


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