CTFishTalk.com: Batterson Park Pond 10/01 - Connecticut Lake Reports ( CT Lake Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Fishface (aka Tim) wasn't able to get out to fish until this evening, so we arranged to meet at Batterson Park Pond. I pedaled The Other Woman (aka my Hobie Pro Angler) and Tim paddled El Tortuga (aka his Future Beach Trophy 126). The weather forecast was for air temperatures just under 60 degrees and winds of less than 10 miles per hour. When we launched at 7:40 pm, the air was chilly, but there was very little wind. Tim trolled a couple of stickbaits from the boat launch ramp to the northwest corner of the pond, while I threw a black buzzbait toward the exposed rocks on the west shore. My fishfinder showed that the water temperature was 64 degrees and the depth was only 2-1/2 feet about 50 feet away from the shore. I worked my way halfway up the west shore without a hit. When I got past the spot on the shore where the nudist hung out last Summer, Rolling Eyes

I finally got a hit, but the fish missed the hook. I threw the buzzbait past the area where I got the hit and retrieved it a little bit slower. I heard a slurping sound as the fish hit it twice more without getting the hook. A short while later, I actually got a bite, but the fish spit the buzzbait about three feet from the boat. I could tell, though, that it was just a small fish. By this time, it was almost 8:30 pm. I could see that Tim was past the beach and had turned back toward me. I called him on his cell phone to let him know that I had gotten a couple of hits when he said, "I've got a fish on! A BIG fish! I gotta go!" I quickly pedaled toward him and asked whether he still had the fish on. He said, "I don't know. My line is wrapped around a buoy." Now, when I was on Batterson Park Pond a couple of days ago, I saw that the lowered water had exposed more than a dozen old buoys that are normally underwater:

Tim's line was wrapped around a buoy near the beach in about 2-1/2 feet of water. Luckily, the fish was on his setup with 15 pound braid, instead of the one with 6 pound mono. Tim managed to get his line unwrapped from the buoy and the fish started pulling El Tortuga around. I couldn't believe how fast Tim was moving. He flew past me. I started pedaling The Other Woman and clocked him on my fishfinder at almost three miles per hour! Shocked

Every once in a while, I'd hear the click of his drag, but the fish mostly just towed him around. Tim fought the fish for 10 minutes before we finally saw that it was a big carp and that Tim's silver Rapala Shallow Shad Rap SSR5 had snag hooked it in front of its dorsal fin. I got my net out and manuvered around Tim for a couple of minutes before I was finally able to get the net over the carp's head. When I tried to lift the net, it started to break, so I grabbed the netting with both hands and hauled it aboard The Other Woman:

It was hard to believe how big it was! Shocked

Tim handed me some pliers and I got the hooks out of it. Then I took it out of the net. After Tim took a photo, I handed it over to him. Tim was worried that the carp might roll him over in El Tortuga, but I managed to get a bad photo of him with it before he released it:

We didn't weigh the carp, but it had to have weighed more than 25 pounds. It had towed Tim around for 12 minutes and more than 25 yards. I think that both of us appreciate carping a lot more now than we did before. Very Happy

After Tim released the carp, he continued to troll around the pond, while I threw the buzzbait and a frog over the weeds in the shallows to the north of the island. I also threw a black spinnerbait to the edges of the weeds. While I spooked a few fish when my boat drifted over the shallows, I didn't get any hits. It didn't help that the wind rose out of the north until it was blowing between 10 and 15 miles per hour. After an hour or so, I got too cold to continue casting, so I tied on a silver Rapala Original Floater F09, and trolled it and the black spinnerbait around the pond. Tim and I met up again by the spillway in the northeast corner of the pond, when we decided to call it quits and head back to the ramp. We trolled our lures down the east shore and back to the ramp at 1.8 to 2.8 miles per hour, but neither of us got another hit. By the time that we got off of the water at 10:40 pm, the wind had whipped up foam along the south shore. Although we had managed to boat only one fish, it was one heck of a fish!
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TurtleKiss · Joined: 09 Mar 2010 Posts: 1200 Location: central CT

That's an awesome carp. Congrats Tim.
I'm really surprised that carping isn't more popular here, especially since us bass people are constantly seeing these monsters cruising the shorelines. They're a lot of fun to catch. Difficult to hook "legally" from a boat (I snagged a small one this year too) but when I know I'll be fishing from shore, I'll bring an extra rod and throw some dough or a boilie on a hair rig out, and just let it sit there. I've never been pissed at a carp for not being a bass.
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Kira

*~ "Not everything about fishing is noble, reasonable and sane..." -Henry Middleton ~*

watthe555 · Joined: 11 Jun 2011 Posts: 120

WOW!! thats a nice catch. that was a real good fight, i bet you this morning his arms are dead.

CatDaddy · Joined: 06 Sep 2011 Posts: 62 Location: New Britain

what are they doing at batterson? i went down there today and the water is atleast 10 feet out from shore at the ramp. the water is so low that you can see the submerged island from shore. i went around to the spillway and noticed that there draining the pond. anybody know why? how much more water will be let out? hopefully whatever they are doing will improve fishing there.
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CatDaddy

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

My guess is that they're preparing the dam for an inspection by the DEEP:

pikePERSUADER1 · Joined: 07 Dec 2010 Posts: 521

so does anybody actually catch any walleye there? it sucks you cant icefish it!

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

I've gotten only a couple of shorts this year. Tim got a nice keeper not too long ago.
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pikePERSUADER1 · Joined: 07 Dec 2010 Posts: 521

hey you guys fish from a yak right? i need a fishfinder for my 11 foot inflatable boat, i saw the suction cup mounts but i dont really have any flat surface to stick it to, what do any of you guys use? humminbird fish buddies? anyone have one of these? do they work good? thanks in advance! Smile

watthe555 · Joined: 11 Jun 2011 Posts: 120

hey pike, i dont have one of those but i do use a hummingbird fish finder and i like it A LOT. if i were you i would try cabelas. there's this one old guy thats short that knows quite a few things on them. he really helped me when i had to fix my fish finder and you could tell he knew what he was talking about.

SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Hi pP1,

Since your inflatable has no flat side, you can hang your transducer, finder of your choice, over the side thru a piece of styrefoam.

Not sure if you can mount a transducer and shoot thru the inflatable bottom.
Phil may know how.

Seadog1

SAP284 · Joined: 07 Jun 2011 Posts: 655 Location: Central, CT

Dan,

Just put a trolling motor transducer on your motor. Since you are trolling with the inflatable they sell transducers that tie to the trolling motor. I have an extra one if you want to buy it cheap. I have not even used it once. I bought it with the intention of buying another fish finder but I decided not to.

-Steve

pikePERSUADER1 · Joined: 07 Dec 2010 Posts: 521

yeah i was looking at the lowrance mark 5x portable dsi, so i can just use a trolling motor mount? i was wondering if they worked ok or not, i guess they probably do, yeah that one has downscanning and i can use it thru the ice! Very Happy

alright thanks for the info guys, steve i will let you know if i need the mount, thanks

SAP284 · Joined: 07 Jun 2011 Posts: 655 Location: Central, CT

Np the one I have is for piranha max fish finders which is humminbird.

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

WOW that is one heck of a carp, congrats!! makes me want to go carping this week, i think i will!
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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...

DirtyDawg10 · Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 2238 Location: Granby, CT

Nice carp, Tim! Congrats!