The final stats was 3 carp landed out of 12 hooked. These freight trains were simply unstoppable with the snags surrounding me on all sides. Some would run under fallen trees as soon as they were hooked up. I may get 10 seconds if I was lucky; it was either turn them or lose them. If I force the issue, I had either pulled the hook or snapped the 15lb mono. If I tried to be patient and fight them out, they eventually find themselves deep into the fallen trees. Just can't win.
Even so...
I started searching in a back bay and found carp feeding very shallow. They were quite bold since they were protected by two large downed trees. After losing 4 carp to various aforementioned reasons, I managed to tame this 28" model.
Continuing my search, I came upon a trio of post-spawn bass still hanging out together. I pulled one aside for its photo session before the other two moved on.
There were some carp feeding near a dock. But under the dock was a lot of fallen branches plus an anchor chain. Fish were fairly easy to trick, but they knew to run under the dock as soon as there was danger. Another 2 carp lost, and a little Bowfin tried to sneak up on me. I taught another Bowfin not to eat nightcrawlers. I would later see the same Bowfin and tossed a nightcrawler to it again. It appeared he learned his lesson since I've never seen a Bowfin turn tail with such speed LOL.
It seemed all the hungry carp were in the back bay. They were again feeding very shallow and not shy at all...until I broke off 2 of them and the remaining fish became very cautious. A lot of patience later, one finally made the mistake. This time, I quick pumped the rod at the start of the run and managed to turn the fish before it even considered running into the fallen tree that had claimed the last two fish.
Returning back to the dock, I lost one more to the dock but finished the day with this little one.
What's up, fishing master~ Do you sometimes help other newbies catch something like that? It would be a great way to contribute your talent to poor fishermen like me. If you wanna volunteer some time, let me know!!
ReplyDeleteI do teach new anglers to the sport sometimes. However, I'm busy enough at the moment to volunteer to meet up with new people. I can offer you a tip though. If you wish to be successful, at the Toronto Islands or anywhere else, spend more time observing the fish and less time worrying about the various types of lures or techniques. Start learning by the basics - fishing live bait - and observe how fish react to your approach and your presentation of the bait. You will also need to understand seasonal movement and habitat usage for the species you wish to target. There is added complexity of where fish may feed or take shelter on a particular day. So taking time to observe and understand your observation is the best advice I can offer.
ReplyDeleteThis is an absolutely awesome tip! I really appreciate that. From your tip, I'm guessing that you're recommending "sight fishing." Is that true? I've been thinking that it is even harder to catch visible fish because if i see them, I'm assuming they also see me. And once they see me, of course, they won't bite. Well, since you say so, I think it's time to change my mind and try to start sight-fishing more in depth. That's gonna be my first assignment. I will consider the other things like understanding their movements or habitat usage for the specific species later when I upgrade myself to the next level. Thank you again. You are the best!!
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