# Alum Creek Carp-In Retrospect



## Miso_Ohio

*That Which Does Not Kill Me Makes Me Stronger*

A Quote to live by this past weekend at the year-end Alum Creek Carp-In. This was event full off rain, sleet, cold, winds in excess of 30 mph, and of course carp. Before I start I would like to thanks everybody who came out and braved the weather, this was about as bad as it gets. Here is the list of the *Xtreme Eighteen * that fished the event.

*Ak* aka CarppieLooker, *Sean* aka Mishio, *Tim* aka Tim412, *Tim* aka TimJC, *Dick * aka 10BoilieDick, *Craig* aka Cypry, *Phil* aka RadaarPhl, *Clayton * aka CWCarper & fiancée *Bambi*, *Rick* aka CarpioHunter, *Brian* the South African, *Mike* aka Carpless & future Brother-n-Law *Jeremy*, *John* aka CarpChaser, *Justin* aka CarperBoy, *Rick* aka Catking, *Jack* aka Flathunter & son *Steven*

I would also like to put a kind word on all Brollies and Bivvies used this weekend, every single one of them from Fox, X2, Chub Tackle and Duck Blinds held up brilliantly under extreme winds and weather conditions. 

Ak arrived way too early Friday as usual, I think he was there around 10 AM, reports from him was it was windy as heck. Anyways I finished loading the old Jeep and headed up there only to arrive around 12:30. Ak was still setting up, I borrowed his cart and got my gear out there, and also set up Shawn Woerleins brolly (thanks for letting me borrow it), a very difficult task in the 10 mph winds. After setting up we both baited a little and then sat down to a cold one awaiting the magical 3 Pm when the event officially starts. At this point I was a little afraid of a poor turnout due to the weather. 

3 pm comes and goes and our lines are in the water, meanwhile Tim from PA shows up and starts to set up, he had a new Chub Tackle Cyclone EZ brolly, it was great, everybody should check them out. Very soon afterwards Tim from Cincy, Dick of 10 boilie fame and Craig (the reigning Ohio Carp King) show up and set-up. While this is all going on AK starts landing the fish pretty consistently. A little later Phil shows up to setup for the next day, and Clayton and Bambi show up. The evening has been set with 8 carpers on the bank and 6 staying the night, the bank was starting to fill up with Brollies. 

The night went on with the winds picking up a little and on and off showers, AK quickly lead the way with something like 11 carp landed, followed by Craig who landed a bunch as well. Most other people landed at least one this night as well. It didnt take long, at about 9 PM AK lands the big one of the event and season at 21.5 Lbs, he followed this one up much later with a 19.5 Lb fish, he also landed a nice 8 lb mirror at this time the only one of the event. Craig landed a bunch of low teen fish out on the point; this was about the average size of the fish caught. I experienced a few problems with the zebras and bumped up the shock to 80 Lb power Pro. Lots of runs and a lot of missed fish that night, and a lot of false alarms due to the wind. Rick from Indy showed up in the middle of the night, he set-up and then went to the truck to wait out the weather. Brian also showed up and sets up and chums a swim, then heads for home to give it a go the next day. Around 10:30 Ak heats up some Chicken Vegetable stew to warm everybody up, it was tasty and hot.

Saturday morning, came about to very calm conditions, I started to think to myself that the weatherman was wrong until the dark clouds appeared in the distance. Then came the rain, which quickly turned to sleet about half the size of a pea. We had about 5 sleet storms of different degrees from morning to about 11 AM, meanwhile Mike, Jeremy, Catking, John and Justin show up and setup and fish. The weather was nasty but at least the winds where somewhat manageable at around 10 mph. Then Jack and Steven show up and the wind decides to up the ante, we are talking wind at around 15-20 with gusts well over 30, I was waiting for Brollies to go flying everywhere, but they all held. We also had on and off showers at this time as well as temps in the low 40s, we are talking Xtreme Carping here folks. I have fished in the rain, the snow and heat waves but this was plain nuts. During this time not too many fish if any where landed, mainly Craig and Brian where catching, and again there was a lot of missed fish due to the mussels. 

3:30 Pm Saturday, AK has a TV setup in a shelter so we can all watch Ohio State get embarrassed in Iowa, meanwhile we start getting the food ready. Around 4:30 the call for soups on went out and carpers started braving the walk from *Bivvy City* to the shelter house, I also get the call that Tim from PA is landing a fish at this time. After we all enjoy a good hearty meal of BBQ Hot Sausages, Meatloaf sandwiches, Scalloped Potatoes, Pickled and Deviled Eggs, Chips, and Choc & Lemon sheet cakes it was time for the raffle drawing and next years venue discussions. I will let Shawn give out the official results but I will let everybody know that the CarperBoy has a new rod and reel, Carpless a new landing mat and RodMan is the luckiest man alive. After the venues discussion was complete everybody helped clean up and we went back to carping around 7 PM. 

Most of us started baiting the swims when an amazing thing happened, the winds died down, it was beautiful, perfect (all though cold) carping weather. There was not a ripple on the water; Ak reels in a quick 3 fish and a few other people landed some fish as well. A few people went home and I cant say I blame them. After all was said and done Craig, Ak, Tim & Tim, John and Justin stayed out the night. There where a few runs in the night but again a lot of missed chances where fish where not there when you got to the rod. Meanwhile I doze off only to be awaken around 1:30 to a screaming run, I slid down to my pod and pick up the rod and then nothing, sliced clean, this became my routine throughout the night, I must have had my bait right at the bottom of a drop and I was getting sliced on the edge. The same thing was happening to TimJC throughout the night.

There I am sitting in the Brolly enjoying a snooze when out of nowhere I am awaken by one of the hardest and coldest winds we have had all weekend. The front of the Brolly was almost touching the ground; I can see huge swells in the water in front of me as the wind pushed it, I checked the time and it was 1:55 AM. The wind went on and off like this all night, at this time Tim412 and Ak decided to call it a night and head to the cars, I remember Ak saying something while he walked by me to the effect *You Guys Are Friggen Crazy. * Throughout the wind the bite was not all that bad, Tim and I had many bites all night long all though we missed them due to cutoffs, I was really getting frustrated at this point. 

By next morning the clouds where cleared and the wind was down, but still there and bitterly cold. I come to find out the John had landed three fish throughout the night in the wind, including one on Justins pole that may have been bigger then AKs 21.5. Unfortunately they didnt get it weighed, makes you wonder what might of been if he would of, they where a distance from us and I can understand not wanting to make the run to get me in all of that wind. The morning up to the end of the event at noon Sunday was a nice clear sky, with some cold wind, but by far the nicest weather of the event. The problem with Zebra Mussel infested waters is they are very clear, and a clear sky normally means no fish and that held true throughout the morning. At noon we all packed it in, I handed AK his plaque for the Ohio carp King (I am thinking about having a crown made because it would look funny on him) and everybody headed their separate ways.

Sitting here thinking back on the event, it is like most events I have been too where the weather was rough. You hated being there, but you also develop some of your fondest memories from these events. There is something about going through this with other like-minded anglers that kind of bonds everybody together in friendship. I will always remember, hanging around AKs Bivvy and eating veggie stew at 10:30 at night Friday. Also zipping out of that sleeping bag and stumbling down the rocks (almost in the water) to my pod in the middle of the night, only to get sliced off again. Also tying a new rig around 6 AM in my Bivvy Sunday morning in all that wind only to have Craig poke his head in and say, hey you want to get a picture of the 17 I just caught. Also having a beer with Tim412 in my Bivvy with the heater going talking about carping in general. Brian landing that carp on his 16-foot single piece rod in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday. Watching the Buckeyes get demolished (not just beaten) by Iowa Saturday afternoon. Watching a young carper named Justin win a 12-foot Warrior Rod and Shimano 4500 reel in the raffle. Trying to setup a shelter for Clayton and Bambi with a tarp and some posts, it sort of worked. Catking not landing a single fish (sorry I had to throw that one in there). Yelling back and forth at TimJC all night while laying in the Bivvy about how warm you can get in a sleeping bag with the help of a little natural gas from those pickled eggs. The site of all those Bivvies set up on the breaker wall, something you dont see too often in the USA, as Craig stated, *it almost feels like I am back in England. * There are many more memories then this but I have probably bored you with this many already so I will let the other members of the *Xtreme Eighteen * post them if they want. 

Tight Lines, Best Wishes, And Cheers To The Next Session
Sean Lehman aka Mishio

PS: Sorry for the Novel, Loads of Pics to follow


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## Miso_Ohio

*Ak First Fish On Of The Event*










*Ak First Fish Of The Event*










*Bivvy City*










*TimJc's First*










*Clayton's First*










*Brian's First*










*Sean's First*










*Justin aka CarperBoy's Grand Prize*










*Carpless's New Pillow*










*Craig's First*










*Craigs Sunday Morning 17*










*All Bow Down To The 2004 Ohio Carp King*










*Ak aka Carppielooker Receives Carp King Plaque*










*The Last Of The Xtreme 18 Left To Right*
*Dick, TimJC, Ak, Justin and John*


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## DaleM

Way to go guys. Tough few days for you guys. Congrats to AK "CarpKing" way to show those guys how to "get-R-done" I hope to make one of these with you guys. When I do, I'll be parked next to AK that's for sure.


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## Shortdrift

Great story and pictures. Thanks for sharing.


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## crappielooker

first of all..i would like to thank Miso for everything you have done these past couple of weeks..from cooking to helping me bait the area the last 2 days.. you know you rock dooood..  i still have a cold Paulaner Oktoberfest waiting for you in the fridge..  
thanks to all who braved the weather and show up. hope you all had a blast..
i'm almost recoop from this weekend...


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## fish 4 bass

Thanks for the report. Nice pics. Congrats AK! or is it carp King.


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## GMR_Guy

Nice pictures and hats off to everyone for braving the elements. Congratulationsto Ak on is accomplishment. One thing all these fish ins show us is that you got to go through a lot of carp to land a 20+ in Ohio. 

What was the hot bait? Why did a couple of people catch quite a few and others not do as well? Was it location, prebaiting, luck, rig...?


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## flathunter

Nice write up Sean, congrats AK!


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## TimJC

Miso_Ohio said:


> Throughout the wind the bite was not all that bad, Tim and I had many bites all night long all though we missed them due to cutoffs, I was really getting frustrated at this point.


Now wait a minute... I didn't get cutoff once. I still have the same clips and swivels on the rods that have been on there since the few bad swivels I had at East Harbor in APRIL. The 30# power pro (mainline) held up yet again. My problem was keeping the fish hooked. I would hear the alarm, get my hands out of my toasty sleeping bag and pull back with a fish on. Then I would continue to play the fish until totally out of my bag and COLD. This is when those pesky fish would decide to end the fun (and NO my drag is not to tight).


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## johnboy111711

forget carp king...he's the corn king! I think he keeps Iowa farmers in bussiness!


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## tpet96

Sean,

Great write up and pics. Thanks a million for stepping in and running the show. You did a fine job  Now you get to see the pressures of running an event  hehe. Coors helps that though, eh?  

Crappielooker,

Congrats on becoming the 2004 Ohio Carp King. With all of the long hours you have spent learning the ropes of this great sport, you deserve it buddy. Banter it proudly, as you will be hounded next season 

All,

Thanks for a fantastic season. We had some great times and some not so great times this year, but all of that enriches us for future events to come. CAG in Ohio has developed into a great thing, and this great thing will continue with everyones participation, promotion, and most of all....friendship. With that said, I'm proud to annouce next years schedule that was set by the members attending the meeting on Saturday at the cookout. All is set except the SW region, which will be decided sometime in the next month or two. 

*February:* CAG Booth at Columbus Sport, Vacation, Travel Show; Ohio State Fairgrounds

*March:* Video and Tackle Talk Day / Social Event with Ohiogamefishing.com in Columbus

*April:* LE Season Opener: East Harbor 

*May:* NE Regional West Branch

*June: *CAGI- Scioto River, Downtown COlumbus (Alum Creek State Park Backup area)

*July:* SW Regional Eagle Creek/ Kiser/ Rattlesnake Creek 

*August:* SE Regional Dillon Lake (We will be camping right at the fishing area)

*Sep:* CEN Regional Buckeye Lake

*Oct:* Season Closer Alum Creek 

*Nov:* Scioto River- COSI Downtown Columbus Fishing Day

Next years format will be a little different in format. Due to the lack of attendance on Sundays, our fish-in's will only be official from 12:00 Noon on Friday until 7:00PM on Saturday. From 7:00PM Saturday through Sunday will be unofficial. Entries into the 2005 Ohio Carp King event as well as the 20-30-40 Clubs will only be accepted during the official times as well. 

Also next season, I will not have a ton of time during April, May and June due to our wedding. So to keep things fair, we will be having our regional hosts once again as we did back in 2003. We will have a host for LE, NE, SE, SW and CEN. As of now, I believe the following have stepped up to host:

LE: Shawn Woerlein
NE: Dick Laubscher & Richie Elderidge
SE: ??
SW: Catking
CEN: Crappielooker (AK)

Of course, we can use as many "hosts" as you wish for each of these regions. The hosts will do the scouting, send me the info, and I will get it posted as to where to be fishing, etc. as we have done in the past. I plan to attend all events, but not sure if I can make May at all. Planning for April and May will be tough for me, but I will have help. The CAGI will be arranged in Jan, so that will be squared away and ready to go come time. 

We will need help for the Sports Show in February. I have already had a few volunteer to help out. I won't have the pass/parking information until closer until the show, so I'm not fully sure how many free passes we will have. BUT....if you wish to work, I will pay for a certain number of admissions to help out each day. No sense in you paying to get in to help out. 

For now though.......it's time to take a break for the season. We have 1 relaxed fishing day left....Saturday, November 6 on the Scioto River in front of COSI in Columbus. Feel free to join us. Lunch will be delivered from Phillips Coney Island for those that wish to order. Look for an official mailing in the mail sometime at the first of the year. Looking forward to 2005 already! Good fishin'....and many more memories to come!


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## Miso_Ohio

TimJC said:


> Now wait a minute... I didn't get cutoff once. I still have the same clips and swivels on the rods that have been on there since the few bad swivels I had at East Harbor in APRIL. The 30# power pro (mainline) held up yet again. My problem was keeping the fish hooked. I would hear the alarm, get my hands out of my toasty sleeping bag and pull back with a fish on. Then I would continue to play the fish until totally out of my bag and COLD. This is when those pesky fish would decide to end the fun (and NO my drag is not to tight).


My bad Tim, I saw you getting runs Saturday night but not getting any in, I assumed you where having the same problems as me.


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## cypry

great write-up sean , congrats to ak , now you have to put up with ME calling YOU carp king all year.lol . you deserved it dude , i remember landing a fish at 5:30 saturday morning and seeing you still spodding bait out...crazy  

It was tough out there at times, i remember talking to carpless saturday afternoon and struggling to get motivated to do another night , well we went down to the shelter and got tucked into all that great food and all was right with the world again , the enthusiasm returned . that meatloaf was awesome ...thanks for giving me a bit extra to take home sean ..mmmmmm...

everybody came well prepared for the weather but i think it was the combination of the strong cold winds and the rain not to mention hail that we all struggled with , i can deal with one or the other but all together it makes conditions tough . it was great to see everybody again , sorry you couldn't be there shawn but we all understand . i'm hoping to get down to the scioto fishing day in november . you watch the weather be in the 60's for that one


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## tpet96

Craig,

You and I have 1 more trip to make before the season is over  We still have a little time though


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## crappielooker

thanks all..
yes, i would love to help out at the booth..
and yes, i can be a host at alum next year..


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## crappielooker

heres a pic of the only mirror caught at the event..hehe


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## ShakeDown

Congrats AK! I think everyone, even us non-carpers, knew how badly you wanted that plaque 

I knew I should've asked for your autograph in front of COSI last week when you ate that boilie!


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## catking

This was simply a wonderfull year for going to the Carp-Ins. I enjoyed every minute. Thanks to ShakeDown & Captnroger for stopping by for a few minutes before heading out to fish in that mess  Nice seeing a couple of the OGF'S finest officers........ Thanks Shawn, Sean, and the rest of you guys and gals......... CATKING


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