I've Officially Been Converted

[hoglaw]

So I did an overnight on one of my favorite smallmouth streams this weekend with my little brother and another lawyer friend of mine. Saturday was an epic float day, and I sure hope you guys managed to get out. Beautiful clear day, warm, and very little wind. The wind yesterday was horrible, but I knew this going into the deal and we did most of the float on Saturday and fished hard with just a little water to finish on Sunday.

The smallmouth were not cooperating. We managed a few, but it was one of my worst numbers trips ever. Maybe it had something to do with all that cold weather last week...I don't know, but we really struggled. That is until I decided to fish for carp the rest of the way down.

I spent a good part of last week building a rod specifically designed for carp. I used an MHX hotshot blank, which is 7'6" I believe. It is extremely fast (stiff tip) but very light. It's made to use in shakey head applications I think. Anyway, I outfitted it as a spinning rod with microguides (see attached picture) as small as a size 3. It also has a Tennessee handle as opposed to a reel seat, and no wrap on the micro tip-top. I was trying to build the lightest spinning rod possible to throw maribou jigs as small as 3/32 oz while maintaining enough backbone to handle 20lb carp. That's a delicate balance, but I have to pat myself on the back because this rod preforms exquisitely. A little slower rod would throw these jigs farther, but I didn't want it to be overwhelmed by fishing something larger like a shakeyhead or a fluke. I threw all three applications, and it handles them all like a dream.

Anyway, back to carp fishing. I've never done it on purpose before, but I've had carp try to nail my maribou jig on the little red while trout fishing. I figured they'd do it up here in the warm water too. It was 100% sight fishing. I never made a blind cast. Standing up in the canoe, I would spook most of the fish, but those I managed to sneak up on and make a good cast to would eat my jig 100% of the time. I didn't catch any of the monsters I've seen, but I did land this guy who was 14'8". On 6lb mono, it was a long fight and he drug my canoe down several riffles before I could finally beach to land him. Probably fought him for 1/4 of a mile of the creek.

I think I'm converted. It's going to be tough for me to smallmouth fish these creeks when I know I can tangle with these brutes. Wonder what the line class record for 2lb line is on carp? May have to look into that this summer.

[Trout Commander]

So I did an overnight on one of my favorite smallmouth streams this weekend with my little brother and another lawyer friend of mine. Saturday was an epic float day, and I sure hope you guys managed to get out. Beautiful clear day, warm, and very little wind. The wind yesterday was horrible, but I knew this going into the deal and we did most of the float on Saturday and fished hard with just a little water to finish on Sunday.

The smallmouth were not cooperating. We managed a few, but it was one of my worst numbers trips ever. Maybe it had something to do with all that cold weather last week...I don't know, but we really struggled. That is until I decided to fish for carp the rest of the way down.

I spent a good part of last week building a rod specifically designed for carp. I used an MHX hotshot blank, which is 7'6" I believe. It is extremely fast (stiff tip) but very light. It's made to use in shakey head applications I think. Anyway, I outfitted it as a spinning rod with microguides (see attached picture) as small as a size 3. It also has a Tennessee handle as opposed to a reel seat, and no wrap on the micro tip-top. I was trying to build the lightest spinning rod possible to throw maribou jigs as small as 3/32 oz while maintaining enough backbone to handle 20lb carp. That's a delicate balance, but I have to pat myself on the back because this rod preforms exquisitely. A little slower rod would throw these jigs farther, but I didn't want it to be overwhelmed by fishing something larger like a shakeyhead or a fluke. I threw all three applications, and it handles them all like a dream.

Anyway, back to carp fishing. I've never done it on purpose before, but I've had carp try to nail my maribou jig on the little red while trout fishing. I figured they'd do it up here in the warm water too. It was 100% sight fishing. I never made a blind cast. Standing up in the canoe, I would spook most of the fish, but those I managed to sneak up on and make a good cast to would eat my jig 100% of the time. I didn't catch any of the monsters I've seen, but I did land this guy who was 14'8". On 6lb mono, it was a long fight and he drug my canoe down several riffles before I could finally beach to land him. Probably fought him for 1/4 of a mile of the creek.

I think I'm converted. It's going to be tough for me to smallmouth fish these creeks when I know I can tangle with these brutes. Wonder what the line class record for 2lb line is on carp? May have to look into that this summer.

I have been wanting to get into some carp action myself. Thanks for sharing.

Since he pulled you so far down stream its a good thing you didn't start on the carp earlier or it might have turned a two day into a one day float.

[Geoff]

oh yeah man, carp are where its at!! Just wait tl you get one on a fly rod.

[Guest]

Nice fish,

I've been wanting to convert over to carp myself.

The bass haven't been biting on the little creek lately.

I know this, because I waded right past a 2# brownie after fishing this spot for an hour.

Man, I sure would like to know a little more about the marabou jig.

I tie my own jigs in my spare time.

Does color make a big difference? loud and bright or natural colors?

I've built some rods in the past and there's nothing like using your own creation to catch trophy fish.

Good job

[hoglaw]

It was a brown maribou jig in 3/32 oz. I think it was one of the PJ's that Mr. Hall's company makes. It's just a straightforward trout jig - brown jighead, brown thread, bronze hook, and brown maribou. I suspect olive would work too.

I don't know about the bright colors. I've been told that carp are primarily herbivores during their young life, but as they grow bigger they'll eat insects, crayfish, and little minnows. Don't know if that's true or not. I have heard of folks catching them on dry flies that imitate cottonseeds and mulberries. I know they'll eat a crayfish pattern too. On the few occasions that I was able to make a good cast in the field of vision without spooking the fish, they locked onto the jig and ate it 100% of the time. I didn't see any sniff it and pass on it, but they would not change directions or go too far for it. It had to be a good cast in front of their face. When I did, it was game on.

Man it was fun, and I absolutely love that rod. The MHX blanks are sweet for the money, and I'd put this up against any G Loomis or St. Croix off the shelf that you could find. It still struggles just a bit with such a small jig, but I was pretty accurate out to about 30 feet or so. It can toss a fluke a mile with just a flip of the wrist. I thought those microguides might hinder the casting ability, but I swear by them now. My next build is going to be a crankbait baitcasting rod with micros. The only decision is whether to do a spiral wrap or not.

[hoglaw]

Trophy, if I recall, the little creek you're talking about is right by my house. If you want to hook up and give the carp a shot some time, let me know. It's about a 3 minute drive for me. I didn't realize there were any carp in there.

[Guest]

Trophy, if I recall, the little creek you're talking about is right by my house. If you want to hook up and give the carp a shot some time, let me know. It's about a 3 minute drive for me. I didn't realize there were any carp in there.

Yep,

there's some 20 pounders in there.

I haven't seen them lately, but I know where they go when its high and muddy.

Those fish are spooky as hell, I'm very surprised you snuck up within casting distance.

[RSBreth]

I've been eyeballing one of those MHX blanks for a similar task - throwing 1/8th or 3/16th hair jigs into the next time zone. Do you know which exact model you built that off of?

It would be most appreciated.

[dtrs5kprs]

Neat deal, and good info on the MHX. I'm waiting for them to get the "coming soon" off some of the light action spin blanks for building a swim grub rod.

[hoglaw]

Yep, it was the SJ9000.