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hammercarp

Member Since 21 Mar 2011
Offline Last Active Mar 21 2016 11:28 AM
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#299945 Quick and easy floats for carp

Posted by hammercarp on 24 January 2014 - 02:44 PM

Float fishing is a very effective technique for catching carp. There are a large variety of floats used made mostly in Europe and Asia. Most tend to be elongated. They are usually not available in your average multi species tackle shop. So I  made a couple up from some very common materials. They are simple and easy to make. You will need to find some of these reeds.

You pretty much see them everywhere.

 

798px-Phragmites_snow_ehm (798x599).jpg

 

Cut a straight section out of the reed. You can see the joints just like bamboo. You will also need some heavy thread, nail polish both clear and coloured, some bamboo skewers , some soft wire , some glue either epoxy or hot glue will do. You will also need something to drill out the reed at the joint so the bamboo will fit inside the reed. Even a small nail will do. 

 

HPIM1822 (800x601).jpg

 

If you want to give float fishing for carp a try and these type of floats are not readily available you can make these up in one evening. There is no sanding or finishing involved except a good coating of nail polish..


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#297377 Snow Carp!

Posted by hammercarp on 13 December 2013 - 07:47 PM

I got out today determined to catch my first snow carp of the season. 

 

My set up.

HPIM1814 (2) (800x596).jpg

 

Snow carp.

HPIM1814 (800x596).jpg


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#296388 December mirror

Posted by hammercarp on 02 December 2013 - 11:09 AM

Nice fish ! What's a mirror carp ?

A mirror carp is a variety of carp that has very few scales. They are the same as common carp except for the scales.

Carp have been bred in Europe and Asia as a food fish for hundreds of years. Fish farmers or what we call today aquaculturists began breeding carp for the market that had fewer or even no scales. Carp have big tough scales which were difficult to remove and dulled knives very quickly. These carp with no or few scales got top dollar in the market. 

Our carp here were brought here from Europe about 130 years ago and were stocked in waters across north america to replenish fish stocks that were rapidly going down as a result of over fishing. 

These fish carried the genetics for the mirror variety. In north america  only one in thousands of newly hatched carp fry is a mirror. In Europe there are a lot more mirror carp maybe even more than fully scaled or common carp. There are even fully scaled mirror carp here. They have the oversized scales of a mirror carp that completely cover them. They can look incredible. You can also catch carp here that have regular scales for the most part but have a distortion in the scale pattern on only a part of their body. We call these muddlers.  


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#295004 FYI on C&R

Posted by hammercarp on 18 November 2013 - 11:30 PM

I hope this helps you guys sustain your fishery. http://www.ginkandga...t-even-know-it/ .


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#278616 Rude people

Posted by hammercarp on 19 August 2013 - 10:37 PM

I can honestly that has never happened to me in Hamilton. I have met and had conversations with hundreds of people over the last 7 years. Maybe it's because I am still fishing for carp and not repeatedly casting. 


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#274908 After the storm and heat wave.

Posted by hammercarp on 22 July 2013 - 01:08 AM

Carp are a warm water species. But like all cold blooded animals it takes some time for their metabolisms to adjust to a change in temperatures. Any sudden increase or decrease in water temperature can put them off their feed  for a while so to speak. The heat wave could also make the surface water very warm and create stratification in the water with layers of water at different temperatures . I think the storm stirred up the water and created a large volume of water at the same temperature . Anglers were catching other species too. Large mouth, white bass  and others. 


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#271357 My First Carp (well my first one over 2 pounds)

Posted by hammercarp on 23 May 2013 - 10:30 PM

Well done. Congratulations on a new Personal Best.  :) Now you will be on an eternal quest for ever bigger fish and more fun on the bank.


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#270220 Cag Fish-In

Posted by hammercarp on 09 May 2013 - 08:50 AM

Just a quick post on the fish in. We had a good time . Only two fish were caught . This was probably due to the late spring and water tempertures being still too cold there. We ate a pile of sausages, enjoyed each others company and everyone went home with a prize.  


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#267490 Carp Angling Southern Style

Posted by hammercarp on 09 April 2013 - 09:17 AM

Here is a slide show I put together showing how to make and fish some basic baits. You can click on the YouTube logo and then click on the icon beside it to expand the video to full screen to make reading the text easier.


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#267486 Carp Angling Southern Style

Posted by hammercarp on 09 April 2013 - 09:08 AM

I thought I would add some more to this thread further explaining this system of fishing carp.This will also give those that haven't had a chance to look it over.

Here is a reprise of the basic rig.

 Paylake Rig for beginners

 
The basic paylake rig has as it's hallmarks, simplicity and effectiveness. There are only 5 components. A hook , some monfilament line , a large swivel  and a sliding weight. You can use a plastic or rubber bead between the weight and the swivel to protect the knot . That is it. 
Let's start with hooks,  any wide gap straight eye hook in sizes 2/0, 1/0 and 1 will do. Eagle Claw, Mustad Gamakatsu and Owner make hooks that are suitable.  The Owner hooks have a very small barb  . You can pinch the barb on the other hooks to facilitate unhooking the fish quickly and with less damage. Sometimes when using one of these hooks it falls out when the fish is on the mat. They still provide a very secure hold on the fish while playing it because the light weight combined with a very taught line keep the hook in place.   On some hooks like the Gamakatsu Finesse wide gap hooks you can straighten the turned up eye with a a pair of pliers or small vice. These are a very common hook in tackle shops because they are popular with the bass guys. The Owner bait holder SSW STRAIGHT EYE - CUTTING POINT™  is over all the best hook for the job. The hook design with the cutting point works with the design of the rig to give you a good hook up. They are not cheap at about a buck a piece and are not as readily available as other hooks. 
For the hook link or snell I use Berkley XL17 lb test or Berkley XT 17 lb. Test.  I use the XT sometimes in current.
Egg sinkers from ¼ oz. to 3 oz  are suitable. I most often use the ½  oz size.  I have rarely used 3 oz.  when I fished deep water with current .  The size of your weight is important and you should use the lightest weight you can get away with. You can also use river sinkers which are basically flattened egg sinkers. 
 
This rig pictured is configured with a single hook.
 
Basic Paylake Rig.jpg
 
I will go through each component of the rig in order to give you a clearer idea of how it works and why it works. I will start in the upper right corner and go counter clockwise to the upper left.
 
The hook. There are 3 important features of the hook used. It must have a wide gape or gap. This is because you are putting your bait directly on the hook. This will accommodate the bait and allow for hook penetration. The hook should have a straight eye. This will work with the snell to give the hook the right angle for wrapping around the carps lips. Turned up eye hooks will work against the mechanics of the rig and will make it less effective. Turned down eye hooks will over exaggerate the angle of the hook and lessen the probability of the hook point penetrating. The hook should be strong enough to hold without bending or straightening.
The snell knot. There are a number of ways to snell a hook. There are many on line videos available demonstrating the snell.  I tie mine from the shaft close to the hook eye with the loop on the under side of the hook shaft. After snugging the knot against the eye and tightening it I take the tail end of the line and bring it back and over through the top of the hook eye. It is important to make sure you use the curve of the line to achieve the desired shape of the rig, which is an opened up “C” with the hook curve on the inside of the “C”. 
The hook link or snell. 17 lb. Test Berkly XL was used . This provides the necessary stiffness to create the spring effect which makes this rig so effective. It is the same as the mainline so there is no need to buy extra hook link material. Braid, no matter how heavy, simply will not act in the same way. 
Figure of 8 loop . The figure of 8 knot has a very good “knot strength” and will not pinch the line and weaken it. It also does not distort the “C” shape of the hook link or snell. There are also  on line videos available demonstrating how to tie this knot.  
A large barrel swivel. It is important to use a swivel with large round eyes. This facilitates quick hook changes . Buy brand name swivels of decent quality. Really cheap ones break.
The palomar knot  is used to attach the barrel swivel to the mainline. This knot is simple and has good knot strength. 
The plastic or rubber bead helps to prevent the weight from damaging the knot at the swivel.
The egg sinker. This is a run rig so there is no bolt effect. The angler sets the hook. Just enough weight should be used to pin the bait to the bottom and to maintain a tight line from the rod tip to the wieght. 
17 lb. Berkly XL is used for the mainline. This is compatible with the large strong hooks used. This will allow the angler to play the fish effectively and land it in good time.  This means that the carp will recover more easily upon release. 
Rubber stop. I use a piece of eraser rubber to prevent the weight from damaging the rod tip when I put the rod away.  This is not essential to the rig. 
Each component of this rig adds to it's effectiveness. It is a system. It is simple, effective, well thought out and not expensive. If you change components you will likely decrease it's ability to hook carp. 
I hope you have some fun with this. By that I mean banking lots and lots of our scaly quarry. 
 

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#267110 Iced Out Carp

Posted by hammercarp on 03 April 2013 - 10:27 PM

The water is still cold so they will be sluggish. Try to fish the north side of the pond. It will get the best sun and should warm up first.


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#266998 Carp Angling E-zine

Posted by hammercarp on 02 April 2013 - 09:32 PM

Sounds good to me. There are a couple more guys from this forum that I have been meaning to spend some time on the bank with. 


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#266937 Carp Angling E-zine

Posted by hammercarp on 02 April 2013 - 11:48 AM

FN That lake is called Lady Bird Lake and is in Austin Texas. It has become known even in Europe as a place to catch large carp and buffalo fish. The city even passed laws limiting the keeping of trophy sized carp from the lake to one fish. During the two day tournament that was held there 17 fish over 30 lbs were caught. 


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#266798 Carp Angling E-zine

Posted by hammercarp on 01 April 2013 - 12:42 PM

This quarters issue of the North American Carp Angler is out. have a look.http://carpanglersgr...aca/2013Q1NACA/


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#264563 Cag Fish-In

Posted by hammercarp on 12 March 2013 - 11:34 AM

Hey fellow carp anglers. I would like to have a fish-in at the CCIW on May 5. Spread the word. We will probably have a big fish pool . Bring your grills , let's cook up some sausages and burgers and have some fun. 

Here is a Google Earth image showing The CCIW ( Canada Centre for Inland Waters) and some of the popular places to fish carp around the harbour.

HamiltonHarbourcarpspotsMedium400x343.jp


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