Big Carpin' and a little Toggin'

22 pound carp

Thursday:

I went carp fishing with a friend of mine Thursday at a good spot for big mirror carp (where I got my 26 pounder). The sun was out and we didn’t know what to expect from the carp. We both knew there were lots of carp in the area, but that does not guarantee they will hit. We arrived at about 9:45. By ten o’clock I had my first runner. It was a twenty two pounder. We thought we might be in for a great day. Then the rods went silent for the next two hours.

After that we had a little rush of three carp in 90 minutes (that is hot and heavy in the carp fishing world). I caught another fish that weighed about 16 pounds.

Dave also got a sixteen pounder. However his other fish was much bigger. When he hooked it, he thought he had a good fish. Then seeing it in the water he thought low 20’s. Then it breached the surface and it looked like a gold finback whale. When he got it in, it weighed 28 pounds. That is the largest carp I have ever had the pleasure to net. We took a bunch of pictures with his new camera lens. They are the best carp fishing photos I have ever taken. I felt lucky to capture the moment of such a beautiful fish with such a nice camera.

He didn’t get any more hits after that. We fished for almost four hours. The number of fish caught was low, but I got my third twenty pound mirror in a week and Dave caught a 28 pounder, so, it sure as hell was a successful outing.

Friday:

I woke up without a plan. That is usually a bad thing since I usually mope around and waste time until I figure out something to do. That is exactly what I did. I got up about 7:30, ate breakfast and

First tautog

brushed my teeth…Then I went back to bed to “brainstorm” about what to do. About 9:30 I got up and at least started getting ready. I packed a lunch and was about to put the kayak on the car but saw the wind picking up so nixed that idea.

I put my carp gear back in the car and looked for my trout gear. I couldn’t find my trout tackle box, so I crossed that idea off the list.

I checked the tide and high was about 2 pm. So I put my 8 foot surf rod in the car and decided to try for a tautog. Catching a tatoug is on my “to do” list for 2013. I’m pretty sure I had never caught one. Most saltwater fishermen start by bottom fishing. I’ve only used chunks a couple times. As for using sea worms I think the last time I did that, I was under 14 years old. (I have used squid for scup a few times though) So for a lot of people catching tautog might be easy. For me it was a new challenge.

I bought some sea worms at Quaker Lane. They said the worms would be more effective this time of

Bait stealing choggie

year than crabs. I told them I was going to Beavertail and they said that was a good choice. At Beavertail I went down to the water and casted. As Beavertail goes, it wasn’t too rough, but the waves were still cresting in places at five feet. It wasn’t impossible to get near the water, but it was tough. After a half hour I went to Fort Wetherhill, where I knew it would be much calmer.

I casted out and repeatedly got my bait stripped off the hook. If I casted way out into the channel, I wouldn’t get anything. If I casted close, I didn’t get anything. In the middle area from forty feet to a hundred feet, by the time the bait hit the bottom it was gone.

Finally, I got lucky and set the hook and something actually pulled back. After a spirited fight, I landed a 14 inch tautog. I took some pics and let it go. Thinking that all these misses were small tautog, I went up to my car and got some size 6 freshwater hooks. I put one on with a piece of seaworm. With the smaller hook, I did catch fish. Unfortunately, they were not tautog but 4-6 inch choggies. They turned out to be the bait stealers. After half a dozen choggies, I was done. Theres nothing more boring than reeling in a four inch fish on a surf rod.

I’m pumped I got a tautog. I have no idea how it got to the seaworm before all those choggies. Tautog fight like hell. I can’t believe how much fight a 2 pound fish can give on a surf rod.  When I got it in, there was excitement and relief. I’m glad I can cross it off my “to do” list. I will probably fish for them after work today to finish up my sea worms. After that, I won’t be going back in the foreseeable future. If I had someone who knew what they were doing to go with, and they knew a consistent spot without choggies, I’d be in. However if I’m going to bottom fish alone, at least for now, it’s going to be for carp. Maybe this summer I’ll give them another shot 

With teeth like these, its a good thing they don't get very big