Jeff's First Carp

Last night I went fishing with Jeff Henderson. Jeff is an old buddy of mine from coaching little league baseball. He had been living in Kodiak, Alaska for the last couple years enjoying world class fishing for salmon and halibut. On top of that, seeing Kodiak brown bear, whales from shore and bald eagles was a daily occurrence. For that time I have been EXTREMELY JEALOUS of him during summers and quite happy not to be him during winter.We've gone fishing a few times this year, mostly hitting saltwater.

Jeff had never caught a carp. Before he moved to Alaska, he was strictly a saltwater and occasional largemouth fisherman. Like a lot of people, he had no idea we have great carp fishing in some of our good bass lakes. A couple months ago we went for Jeff's first carp at a lake in Cranston, RI. We got a couple runs but nothing to show for it. He kept a good attitude and was willing to give it another try.

After that we ran into some really good striper and scup fishing so carp fishing was put on hold. This week I started working my old/ new job. I knew I'd be kind of tired after work and would not be willing to or have the time for any big fishing adventures. I asked Jeff over the weekend if he wanted to give carp another try Tuesday night. He said yeah. For the last couple days I baited up Hopping Hill with tons of corn. I really was hoping for Jeff to catch one. With all this hot weather the carp are as miserable as we are in the heat. I was hoping all the corn would make the carp feel like they were on easy street.

We got to the lake about 6:30 with the plan of fishing until after dark. We set up 4 poles. The plan was for Jeff to take the first hit no matter what pole got hit. I was just a spectator. Tell me that doesn't make me the best friend nicest guy in the world!!! After a short time we got our first run. Jeff set the hook and the fight began. It was a long battle of about 10 minutes. He could not believe how strong a carp was. This from a guy that catches sockeye, king salmon and dolly varden just for sport. When the fish tired I jumped in the water and grabbed the fish. I was wearing sandals and it felt good to soak my tired dogs.

The fish was about 15 pounds. It was a good sized one for that lake. An hour later right at dusk Jeff got another hook up. This one was on a lighter pole using only 12 pound line. The fight was just as long. The carp was a little smaller than the first, maybe 12 pounds. It sure as hell didn't fight like it. I picked it out of the water and gave it to Jeff.
We got some pictures of both fish before we let them go. I was impressed at the way Jeff admired the fish. Considering he has caught so many " glamour " fish it was nice to see his admiration for a " trash " fish and its fighting ability.
I think Jeff is hooked.

I will post some pics as soon as my computer is fixed. Hopefully in a day or two