gorgeous day! great fishing (picture heavy)

[carpmanjake]

it was a beautiful day. very calm and relaxing. alot of the birds were out, muskrats were playing around the edge of the ice, geese were honking and swimming around, and there was always the soft cracking of the ice as the sun beat down on it. (keep an eye on the background in each pic. you will notice some of the wildlife i was able to enjoy watching throughout the day)

there were so many fish moving around that they were like a huge bio mass. you could walk down the entire shoreline and see 20+ fish in a school. and the schools were never more than 10 or so feet apart.

i kicked the day off to a great start with this gorgeous 29" carp

a shortly after i hooked up with another good carp. as i was fighting it a few people from the house next door came out and watched. after i landed her,they offered to take a pic for me

about 15 or so minutes later i hooked and landed this beauty

i caught a few small 1-3lb carp on accident after that

then i hooked up with this 30-31" beauty

fishing slowed down a bit after i caught her. so i waited a while and spotted a lone carp in the 1-4lb range. i decided to try and catch her

i stopped fishing for a while to eat and allow the fish to calm down and regroup.

as soon as i started fishing again i spotted a nice white sucker. i pitched the jig to her. she unhesitantly turned and sucked up the bait. i set the hook and the sucker just spazzed out. jumping and and running like crazy! i have only caught a few white suckers in my life, i was suprised because none of the whites i ever caught jumped or ran a much as that one did

shortly after that i started slingshotting my jig as close to the ice as possible, hoping to get some sunnies, perch or maybe some crappies. eventually my jig was hammered by this hammer handle. my first pike of the spring

i kept pitching, and eventually i hooked up with a heavy fish!

eventually i landed her. a 29" golden ghost

CONTINUED NEXT POST

[carpmanjake]

afterward the suckers got pretty active and the carp seemed to shut down. i was able to land 4 suckers before the carp started getting active again

i stalked around for a while before i seen a fish i wanted.

she turned out to be the same split tail carp as i caught yesterday.

yesterday:

today:

i have to apologize. i did overestimate her size. she is only a 30-32" fish. but i still dont agree with her being anything lower than a low teen. thats one thing i know for sure is that she is not under 12lbs.

a while afterward i hooked up to another 31" good carp

all in all, a great day. and a great haul for only a 3-4 hour session

[HossFisher]

Great fish! I tried for an hour or two today but didn't have any luck. Keep up the good work!

[Alan]

Nicely done! I am very jealous...I was out today and had no luck. Tried crawler's and corn...nothing...still was a nice day to be outside though..

[carpmanjake]

Nicely done! I am very jealous...I was out today and had no luck. Tried crawler's and corn...nothing...still was a nice day to be outside though..

alan try waxies. they are loaded with protien. and thats what the carp are looking for before their spawn.

also if you can find snails or clams or crayfish (crawfish) those will also catch good numbers of fish due to their nutritional value, and considering they are completely natural, carp will eat them more willing then other baits. (just be sure u take the shell off the clams and snails first LOL)

[Alan]

Quote:

alan try waxies. they are loaded with protien. and thats what the carp are looking for before their spawn.

Just some waxies on a #4 hook? Just like a crawler? Just more of them I suppose...???

[carpmanjake]

Quote:

alan try waxies. they are loaded with protien. and thats what the carp are looking for before their spawn.

Just some waxies on a #4 hook? Just like a crawler? Just more of them I suppose...???

i would go down to a #8 hook. hook 2 or 3 behind the head.

[fiskyknut]

Jake...

Them 'Clams' are actually Mussels and are illegal for use as bait in Mn.

You may wanna bone up on Crayfish regs incase too maybe.

fiskyknut

[Alan]

Quote:

i would go down to a #8 hook. hook 2 or 3 behind the head.

Thanks for the tips...I will give it a shot..appreciate it..

[Here-Kitty-Kitty]

Yes you can not use mussels

[carpmanjake]

Jake...

Them 'Clams' are actually Mussels and are illegal for use as bait in Mn.

You may wanna bone up on Crayfish regs incase too maybe.

fiskyknut

really? i use to use them alot when i was younger for panfish. i read about pople using them alot for carp and catfish. i dont use them anymore because i have no way of getting them

[fiskyknut]

Hey man I'm no yarnspinner! It's for real.

[carpmanjake]

Hey man I'm no yarnspinner! It's for real.

thanks for telling me. i had no clue at all. i always thought they were legal as long as you got them from the same body of water where you are using them

[Here-Kitty-Kitty]

Ya that rule doesn't apply to mussels as it does to other things

[Tyler Holm]

Jake, were all these fish caught with waxies? Is that exclusivly what you've been using the past few weeks? What else have you tried in terms of bait. If you wouldn't mind, take a picture of your rig on our next outting.

Great pics. Solid fish.

[carpmanjake]

Jake, were all these fish caught with waxies? Is that exclusivly what you've been using the past few weeks? What else have you tried in terms of bait. If you wouldn't mind, take a picture of your rig on our next outting.

Great pics. Solid fish.

it was waxies exclusively the first few days. now its jigs and plastics since i ran out of waxies. look at my post the best day yet, the lure i am currently using alot is laying on top of the carps gills or in the mouth

i am just pitching jigs to visible feeding fish

[dufek]

Those carp I pulled out ice fishing this summer were suspended on a waxie and man did they hammer it. I plan on giving them a shot as soon as I can sight some.

[Paul_Kramer]

Those carp I pulled out ice fishing this summer were suspended on a waxie and man did they hammer it..

Where do you ice fish in the summer? LOL, just kidding ya.