CTFishTalk.com: French River, Thompson – 10/23 (Carp) - Connecticut River Reports ( CT River Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

therieldeal · Joined: 20 Oct 2010 Posts: 245 Location: Thompson, CT

Well I had a couple of hours free yesterday, and I’m still Subaru-less (thus, boat-less), so I decided to try some carp fishing again. I targeted carp a bunch this spring, but the bite seemed to slow way down when the water got warm. Glad I tried again! I started out with my normal carp rig… 6.5 foot M/H rod, baitcaster spooled with 15 lb mono, hair rig with a bread ball, slip sinker, etc. I also made some “ground bait” out of cream corn, instant oatmeal, and crushed raisin bran, which I pack around my sinker. Wasn’t getting any takes at all! I saw some swirls close to shore, so I grabbed my light spinning rod w/ 6 lb line and free lined a couple kernels of corn on a #8 hook. I was expecting perhaps a panfish or something, since the carp didn’t seem to be biting… just then a 6 pound carp grabbed it on the drop! WOW, they are so much fun on light gear! It took several minutes to land, and netting him by myself was definitely a challenge. I continued free lining corn with my light gear (couldn’t cast it with anything else), and landed a 5 pounder and a 3 pounder. No breakoffs, but probably 2-3 missed runs. I am going to have to try this from my kayak sometime! Unfortunately my favorite (different) spot for carp has a lot of underwater snags, so using light gear there would be impossible.
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PB's:
LMB - 4 pounds - Stump Pond, Thompson
Carp - 11 pounds - W. Thompson Lake, Thompson

Still searching for some toothy critters big enough to be worth weighing...