Trivers Twenties Trio
The Trivers ABC (Two Rivers All Big Carp) Friendly Fish-in produced some small fish, but enough good carp were also caught to make it interesting.
Eric and I fished the West Twin both days; for some reason Eric believed me when I told him I could smell fish! Anyway, I must have been right, because I managed to hook and land the biggest three; with all my fish coming on a new home-made boiled bait and my new Tiger Feeders. We both caught on the Tiger Feeders, with me just fishing boilies (boiled baits, it was the Big Fish challenge, after all!), and Eric fishing with Delmonte's finest and some commercial boilies.
On Day 2, I had a number of visitors stop by, and heard tell of some high singles being caught on the East Twin, but apparently no-one made it into double figures there. I met some new Carping buddies on the West Twin, and I think they will be coming to the 2008 WI Carp Championships, to watch and pick the brains of the Carping stars!
I had a fun day, watched some other folks catch a few fish, and finally "sorted out" my peg. I didn't break my Day 1 biggest fish catch, but managed a couple more twenties, five doubles, and the rest of the 13 fish total for the day were just under the 10lb barrier.
When I fished the peg on Day 1, I caught 2 good fish early on both sides of the channel, then one smaller fish late on the 90 yd mark. Day 2 couldn't have been more different, with a fresh breeze blowing almost behind me and across the river, I felt that it was just possible that the bigger fish could move up into the very shallow water on the far side (Eric and I had seen the occasional fish roll over there, the day before, but my casts there hadn't led to bites). After catching one good double in the deeper water, I started to get bites from smaller fish.
After a few of these smaller fish, I decided to wind up some big casts and started fishing at about 110 yds, in less than 2 foot of water. The water on my shoreline still felt cold to me, but the wind must have been warming it up over there, as it was like turning on the Carp Tap... one fish after the other.
It just goes to show, it's worth taking a risk sometimes and being prepared to change things around a little. Although I was still getting bites from small fish, by fishing over into the shallower water, I improved both my catch rate and size of the fish being caught.
A couple of firsts for me:
1. First time I haven't opened a can of Delmonte in 8 years fishing in WI
2. First time I've fished just boilies for a whole day in WI
3. First time I've fished and caught on the Tiger Feeders at 100 yds+
All in all, a fun two days, met some good new friends, and there were some priceless quotes from the locals, as ever... it must be something they put in the beer there. A favorite was from an old guy who snuck up behind Eric on Day 1 and asked him if he'd "caught any crabs?" Fortunately, we were able to clarify that he meant crayfish; kinda worried about what he was referring to for a moment there!
Lastly, an old guy on a bike stopped behind me to watch me hook and land a couple of fish, including the 25 pounder. He then asked me "Why do you cast so far, why don't you just go and fish from the public park opposite?" Truth to tell, he had a point there... sometimes, I'm not too bright!
Here are pics of the three biggest fish, 27lb 8oz, 25lb 14oz, and 21lb 15oz. The 25 pounder was a fantastic looking fish, like a golden Mahseer; a good example of the famous Trivers Golden Trout!
Eric and I fished the West Twin both days; for some reason Eric believed me when I told him I could smell fish! Anyway, I must have been right, because I managed to hook and land the biggest three; with all my fish coming on a new home-made boiled bait and my new Tiger Feeders. We both caught on the Tiger Feeders, with me just fishing boilies (boiled baits, it was the Big Fish challenge, after all!), and Eric fishing with Delmonte's finest and some commercial boilies.
On Day 2, I had a number of visitors stop by, and heard tell of some high singles being caught on the East Twin, but apparently no-one made it into double figures there. I met some new Carping buddies on the West Twin, and I think they will be coming to the 2008 WI Carp Championships, to watch and pick the brains of the Carping stars!
I had a fun day, watched some other folks catch a few fish, and finally "sorted out" my peg. I didn't break my Day 1 biggest fish catch, but managed a couple more twenties, five doubles, and the rest of the 13 fish total for the day were just under the 10lb barrier.
When I fished the peg on Day 1, I caught 2 good fish early on both sides of the channel, then one smaller fish late on the 90 yd mark. Day 2 couldn't have been more different, with a fresh breeze blowing almost behind me and across the river, I felt that it was just possible that the bigger fish could move up into the very shallow water on the far side (Eric and I had seen the occasional fish roll over there, the day before, but my casts there hadn't led to bites). After catching one good double in the deeper water, I started to get bites from smaller fish.
After a few of these smaller fish, I decided to wind up some big casts and started fishing at about 110 yds, in less than 2 foot of water. The water on my shoreline still felt cold to me, but the wind must have been warming it up over there, as it was like turning on the Carp Tap... one fish after the other.
It just goes to show, it's worth taking a risk sometimes and being prepared to change things around a little. Although I was still getting bites from small fish, by fishing over into the shallower water, I improved both my catch rate and size of the fish being caught.
A couple of firsts for me:
1. First time I haven't opened a can of Delmonte in 8 years fishing in WI
2. First time I've fished just boilies for a whole day in WI
3. First time I've fished and caught on the Tiger Feeders at 100 yds+
All in all, a fun two days, met some good new friends, and there were some priceless quotes from the locals, as ever... it must be something they put in the beer there. A favorite was from an old guy who snuck up behind Eric on Day 1 and asked him if he'd "caught any crabs?" Fortunately, we were able to clarify that he meant crayfish; kinda worried about what he was referring to for a moment there!
Lastly, an old guy on a bike stopped behind me to watch me hook and land a couple of fish, including the 25 pounder. He then asked me "Why do you cast so far, why don't you just go and fish from the public park opposite?" Truth to tell, he had a point there... sometimes, I'm not too bright!
Here are pics of the three biggest fish, 27lb 8oz, 25lb 14oz, and 21lb 15oz. The 25 pounder was a fantastic looking fish, like a golden Mahseer; a good example of the famous Trivers Golden Trout!
