Slow but Consistent in January

Fellow CAG member Daphne Foster with a beautiful 10lb Mirror

Finally after the long wait for January to arrive and the mild to cold weather continuing to stay consistent I've managed to bag my first carp of January! Unfortunately i have been on the bank sparingly over the last few weeks as work has picked up during the business day making weekends the only time to venture out to get some time out on the bank. Every pond has now completely frozen over in NH along with most of the main stretches of the Merrimack river. There is still some slow moving water open in Nashua that i have still yet to try as a winter spot but plan to soon if the weather plays along..In order to escape the ice i have been traveling south to an awesome winter spot known to most local anglers, filled with about 90% mirrors. There are many attributes that can make a specific spot a great winter spot, wither it be warmer water, higher food source, more oxygenated water, or simply just a hole where carp are more comfortable in. Whatever it may be, once found these spots can produce great numbers all the way up until the ice covers over! So far in January i have caught 9 carp consisting of 6 mirrors an 3 commons ranging from 5-15 lbs. With the upcoming snow forecast over the weekend along with the sub-teen temperatures these numbers may stay the same as I'm predicting the bite to slow down to a crawl. Rain, Snow or shine the only thing i can count on is that the urge will be there to test the water until the bite does finally stop. Stay tuned!

CAG member Kevin Miller with another unique mirror

A Late Christmas Gift

After a long Holiday break away from fishing and not being unable to sneak away to hunt for a Christmas carp, i was drawn to head out in the pouring rain that following Sunday. Wasn't sure how hot the fishing would be after the previous night dropped below freezing and the water beginning to crisp over with thin ice. After waiting a long four hours in the downpour I finally had a screaming run from my left hand rod. Surprisingly the carp put up a great fight making a few hard runs for being in such cold water. As soon as the decent size, very gold common was in the net my second alarm started screaming! Absolutely nothing more thrilling than having a double, thankfully one fish was already sitting safely in my net underwater so i didn't have to battle two fish at once! Both fish fell victim to artificial baits, a white popup with a yellow fake corn topper dipped in a homemade vanilla glug fished over method. The first fish weighing in just over 20lbs and the second weighing 18.6 lbs. Really hope the fishing stays hot with this weather, holding off the snow as long as possible. I would highly suggest getting out as much as possible taking advantage of the rare opportunity to catch fish at this time of the year. The fight for the first January carp is about to begin!