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Arrangements
I planned to meet topwater this morning for my first real attempt this year for carp. Two weeks ago we gave it a try but the fish just weren't having it and with strong winds and rain we probably weren't putting as much effort in as we should.

Topwater was out on thursday and managed to land 2 out of 5 takes with the other 3 mostly getting cut off on the zebra muscles. He didn't have anything big but it was a sign that the fish were in the area and feeding.

After a phone call last night fish-hawk also managed to get out to meet us for a long over due days fishing. I remember him saying last year how much he wanted to get out for some big fish well now he had the chance.

Today we went to a regular spot and got setup and were fishing for about 7am. Fish-hawk coming from the west end planned to meet us around 9:30.

Big Fish of the day
I'll start with the big news No not a 40lber but getting there

This one was the only fish i managed to get to the net today but it weighed in at 32lbs and measured 36 1/2" which is a great start to the 2005 season!



Topwater was the one with the horseshoe getting most of the action today. His best was 22lbs and a good high average fish for the area. I beleive he had 5 fish in total and lost one so a good turn around from the previous day.



Fish-hawk managed to land 3 fish including this 21lber pictured below. He also managed to get in a 16lber and 13lb 9oz fish but also lost one when the hook pulled.



Here are a selection of other pictures from the day:





A great day out with Topwater and fish-hawk... We all caught fish and had a thirty, 2 twenties, plus a few others.

What a way to kick it off for the year Johnny Ol Chap!...

Nice to see Fish-Hawk catching real fish....

Great pics....and report!

RJ

Awesome pics John.

Great job on a great day.

HOLY CARP MAN!!!!
Those are some awesome fish.nicely done.WTG.

Nicely done John, ...

Got a lot more "respect" for those critters now......

Makes me envious for some more watercow action. I see a familiar tree in the pics, and some awesome big carp too. WTG John and company.

Nice day's fishin' guys. Those look like little hogs with tails. Great pics. Looked like a fun day. Congrats. Cheers!

Awsome John..Mike and Mike..Jujst awsome..

I can't wait to get out there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amazing lads!! Those are some huge carp!!

Man those are big fish.

Can I get one too?

Nicely done boys!!

John that thing is huge

Wow . You lads take that carping pretty serious I see by the rigging. Great pics and fish . I'm gonna have to go south and try that some day, those are some serious looking fish .

TD

trapperdirk when i took the rod setup picture i mentioned to fish-hawk that these pictures always look good. It can take several years to get all the gear needed to seriously fish for carp. It can be done on a budget but once you get bitten, as with all fishing, you just want to get better and better gear.

Moosebunk You know the spot i'm sure When they get that big watercow is a good description... It was funny topwater got a take on his rod and about 3 seconds later mine shot off. I was still playing mine after he had landed his, photographed it, and released it... so needless to say i knew it was a biggie.

It's been funny this year... The fish usually stack up prespawn but it's happened very quickly due to the cold weather and then 30deg temps this week. We saw a lot of fish cruising the shoreline in packs of 3-10 but they were obviously more interested in being around eachother than feeding. I suspect the spawn is only a week or two away at the most.

I had a great time out with Mike and John , of course its easy to have a great time when you have great company and the fish co-operate . It was kind of strange three rods out within say 100 feet of each other same bait same depth and 8 of the nine fish come on one rod . I would like to say it was my superior abilities but I guess will have to go with B%$^^%*^T luck

Congrats John on the 32 and yes as much as I hate to admit it I would trade my 5 for that one 30+ fish. Well maybe this week, going to be out a few times this week

A great big thanks to Topwater and John for playing host yesterday morning. I had been trying to go carping with John for two seasons but never worked in the time. But then the stars aligned themselves properly and I knew I had to seize the opportunity. I phoned John at 9:00 on Friday evening and asked if he was going out the next day. Sure enough.

While playing with my first carp (the 21 pounder) I was amazed at the tireless power of these fish. There are few things in fishing that I have experienced like the first run a carp makes after it realizes it has been hooked - hang on tight! For me, hanging on tight was confounded by having just lathered up with spf 45. My hands were kinda slippery.

It was indeed a ton of fun and something I have to do again for sure. Thanks again fellas.