A Canadian Swim

Back to the Jungle

Lift-bite in action.

Weedy Swim

I went and did a little Asian style whip-fishing on Sunday. The weedy swim made things a little difficult but I still managed to catch a few. This time it was perch, small-but-beautiful  pumpkinseed sunfish and a surprising number of  largemouth bass. The bass gave a pretty good battle on the whip,  despite their small size.

RIP Bud Yancey

Bud Yancey

One of the founders of the Carp Anglers Group and its first president,  Bud Yancey has passed away.  I never met Bud but like all North American carp anglers, I’ve benefited from his tireless efforts to promote our sport.

Gear Report and some helpful links

Rod Bag and Float Box

Open Float Box

Float Box Detail

Here’s some more Asian style fishing gear.

The bag is 46” long and holds all my whips, rod holders and folding net. Its made of heavy nylon with a rubberized backing. I was hoping it would have some padding to protect the contents but it doesn’t. The long pocket on the front holds my float box.

The float box is made of bamboo and lined with some kind of foam rubber that’s cut away in intervals to reveal metal strips.  The floats are secured with the rubber collars you can see in the picture. The collars have magnets to hold to the metal strips. and the box is held shut with magnets as well.

For  anyone wanting to learn more about this style of fishing here are a couple of links.

This is an eight page pdf file from a Japanese bait company that explains the basics in English. There is plenty more information there,  so be sure to check out the rest of the site.

Thanks to a fellow member of the Carp Anglers Group for this link to an hour long video on hera fishing  from Shimano Japan.

Welcome to the jungle

Jungle swim

I did some whip fishing today. The day started off cloudy but eventually got very sunny. My swim was pretty overgrown with bulrushes but I was able to clear an alley for my 4.5m hera pole and managed to get away with only a coupe of tangles in the reeds.

The fishing started out slow, but picked up as the sun came out. Mostly bullheads but a few perch also took the bait. There was one heart stopping moment when I foul-hooked a big carp.  fortunately  the hook was only in a scale and I got my tackle back.  It was a great days fishing but right now,  I wish I’d remembered the sun screen.

Carping During the spawn

Spawning Carp

Mallard Duck

One of the 16lbers had a bad eye.

I went fishing today and caught two carp . Both of them weighed in at sixteen pounds. Carp were spawning all around the marsh, so I was happy to catch at all. Scopex pips were the successful bait this time.

Check out the duck picture,  I caught him mid-quack and I think it gives him a cartoonish aspect.

The Secret Carp

The Secret Carp by Chris Yates

I just finished reading The Secret Carp by Chris Yates.  It was tricky to get a hold of a copy  in Canada but well worth it.  It isn’t the typical how-to fishing book, but the story of a day and nights fishing at a forgotten carp lake in England. The book really delves into the feelings of mystery and the mind altering states that can arise through carp fishing. I’d say that Yates is second only to Arthur Ransome  in being able to really get to the essence of our sport.  If you ever heard me rambling on about Ransome you’ll know that’s high praise.

Muskrat love

Muskrat gathering bulrush shoots.

Here’s a pic of that busy muskrat I mentioned in a previous post.

Bullheads Asian Style

One of many bullhead.

I got  my Asian whip fishing gear together today and went to try and catch  some bullheads.  It was a beautiful sunny day and the bullhead were quite cooperative as well as a few perch. All gave a pretty  good account of themselves on the 4.5 metre hera whip.

The more I try this type of fishing the more I enjoy it . Look for a gear report coming up as my Ebay purchases start to be delivered.  I’ve got a lot of floats and other goodies making their way from the far east.

Still Skiving off

Three grains of scopex pips and a piece of artificial maize on a simple hair rig.

Today's lonely carp.

I took another day off work again today (I could get used to this!) to do some more fishing. I only caught one carp but it was a nice 28 pound common,  so I can’t complain.

Tackle-wise I used my usual rig today,  a simple hair rig using twelve pound Maxima and a #4 Partridge F5 hook.  I use a Palomar knot to connect the swivel and the no-knot knot to connect the hook and make the hair.  A three ounce inline lead fished semi-fixed for the bolt effect.

Nature watching between bites

Though clearly in love, these geese nearly drove me to the brink of gibbering madness with their constant honking.

The biggest catch of the day at 21lbs

I took another day off work today to do some more carping. There was a lot of nature to watch today between fish.  A muskrat was busy gathering bulrush shoots.  Snakes and turtles were swimming by and  all kinds of birds were flying by,  including some type of small heron, various gulls and terns, mallard ducks and a couple of very loud Canada geese.

On the fishing front I caught five common carp up to 21 pounds. They didn’t want the Minzilla Maize today preferring Wacker Scopex Pips.