Why Cabela's Trout nets are too small....

[Steve-O]

I cut the shallow bag out of my collapsible net and replaced it with a deep mesh laundry bag.

My net has to be able to hold at least 30 pound fish. This one was close.

38" length with a 25" girth pushing 27# on the scales.

That's Urban Angling, baby!

Sneak peek ....more pics after a dinner date with my sweetie.

[Steve-O]

First cast. 15 minutes of give and take line. Asked a fellow urban angler who was bassin for a few photos .

[Keta]

Buglemouth Bass?   Carp are strong fighters.

[Steve-O]

Amur. Or grass carp. Also Caught 3 Commons and the same mirror carp for the 3rd time.

[Newell Nut]

Those are nice ones. Reminds me of fun times with my grand dad about 60 years ago. What is the popular bait now. He used a concoction of cotton, dough and molasses.

[Steve-O]

That recipe works great. The cotton fibers mixed into the dough help keep the bait on the hook longer and the molasses releases a scent trail that sugar crazed carp can't resist. Corn is king. Tried and true but illegal in this state. I use sourdough bread usually unless I cook up some "boilies" made of corn juice, vanilla, flour into dough then ropes then boiled then cut into tootsie roll sections.

Carp are super wary and easily spooked but also greedy as pigs.

[Keta]

In the spring when we got tired of shooting them with arrows and gigging them we would catch them on flies.  Smoked carp from clean water are good eating.

[Steve-O]

They pitchfork carp for sport, here.not my cuppa. i have a friendly wager with a fellow carp angler.."if you eat one , I will, too."  Still considering it. We do have some clean water carp. Crystal clear Bear Lake up north and a nearby pond.
Another shot.


No "long arming" needed with this fish.

[Fisherman Paul]

Top angling, very nice fish. Great when you get that nod nod
and it's play time, what more can a guy want.

Nice pics.

[Keta]

They pitchfork for sport them here. i have a friendly wager with a fellow carp angler.."if you eat one , I will, too."  Still considering it. We do have some clean water carp. Crystal clear Bear Lake up north and a nearby pond.
Another shot.

Don't eat the dark meat but the rest is as good as smoked salmon.  Watch for bones.

[Steve-O]

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Don't eat the dark meat but the rest is as good as smoked salmon.  Watch for bones.
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Yea, carp have about a million Y bones, I'm told.


As good as smoked salmon?    You sure your taste buds are in normal working order?  I had smoked salmon, yesterday. Not thinking of smoking carp anytime soon. We'll see after my annual Alaska trip in September. IF I come home without, fresh coho, halibut, rockfish, etc.....maybe i'll get desperate enough to try it.

[Fisherman Paul]

Now salmon that gets eaten, won't be long now till
the grilse/salmon are up our salmon club river.

Like this fella i caught last season.

[Keta]

As good as smoked salmon?    You sure your taste buds are in normal working order?  

I lived in SE Alaska, ran a substance gill net and lived on what I caught, shot or harvested on the beach.  We smoked, canned and consumed  100-150 8-12 pound sockeye a year and I was taught how to smoke fish by an elderly Tlinket neighbor and do a good job.    Carp are far better than humpies (yuck, who would eat a "sea slug"), about the same as a coho, chum (Oncorhynchus keta  ) or short system Chinook but no were near as good as a sockeye or long system Chinook.  Bonk, bleed, gut and chill a clean water carp (common carp or Cyprinus carpio are what we ate) then smoke it and see for yourself.  The secret is proper care of the fish before smoking.  Mountain whitefish and clean water suckers are also good to eat when properly cared for and smoked.


Paul, here's some average Oregon ocean caught fall salmon, I've landed fish in the high 40's (22kg) when I lived in Alaska and put two over 50# on the boat.  I never could break 50#.  I need to scan the photo of the IGFA 6kg record chum salmon I caught.

[Fisherman Paul]

Hi lee, that's some size of fish buddy.

A catch of any size fishing from a river bank
on land is a bonus.

Can be bloody hard graft.

My first salmon was many years ago on the fly,
i saw it take it, turn and fish on.

[Tightlines667]

Nice fish Lee!  Wow a world record Salmon is no easy feat!

I have had some good smoked cold water spring-time suckers before too.  Never got the courage to try smoking one of the carp I caught though.  I believe they could turn out ok.  This talk of smoked cold water fish reminds me of when I used to work with the old timers netting Lake Superior whitefish for the state.  They would sing old time sea shanties while we hauled and picked, and treat us to a variety of home smoked treats at the boathouse while we dealt with the catch.  Never saw any Humpies in the lot though.