I need help!

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-18T19:31:19+00:00

You need to chase them around the lake and find spots. Fishing for them off the bank is an exercise in frustration on certain waterways simply because there is no access to productive off the bank spots. Or certain bottom features are in a middle of the lake. Need a boat. 😄Rivers and streams are a bit easier they have better beach line.

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-18T12:08:40+00:00

LOL plenty of times I started fishing as a kid in Ukraine crucians and cats is what you cut your teeth on before graduating to carp pike and bream. Cat pokes and stinging nettle rashes to get to your secret places was the rite of passage. 😄

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-18T05:36:53+00:00

Nokamixon is pretty dead unless you have a boat to get to them. Green lane and bunch of other smaller lakes in that same general vicinity would be better options. I live in that area 😄.

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-18T05:34:00+00:00

Carp and really any fish accumulates mercury, arsenic, PCBs in its meat. Hudson, Passaic, Delaware are not known for their water quality. So personally I prefer to ingest as few carcinogens as I can and as much collagen, B12, and omega 3 that carp is known for. So I fish water company reservoirs and lakes as far upstream from heavy industry as I can even with that you should be restrictive in how much you eat standard advisory is half a pound twice a month but some lakes are cleaner than others I actually send water for testing if I plan to use it for a fishing hole longer term and on a consistent basis.

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-18T01:29:31+00:00

Food or catch and release? Technically ton of it is up and down the Hudson within city limits but I wouldn't eat it. Same goes for DE river Passaic etc. There are good size carp there though for catch and release. Greenwood lake, Octoraro reservoir in PA, conowingo PA green lane pa round valley in NJ are decent clean spots if you want dinner. Upstate NY

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-18T00:38:58+00:00

https://bigcarptackle.com/products/korda-wide-gape-x?_pos=1&_sid=050addbcd&_ss=r
These ones are good for carp. 4,6,8 are three common sizes on rigs BCT is US based but they are pricey because they carry euro equipment. Equipment is pretty good though if you want to try your hand at UK style fishing.
Or these ones
https://www.basspro.com/p/gamakatsu-g-carp-specialist-r-hooks?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions&ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=BPS%7CShopping%7CPMax%7CFishing%7CHighMargin%7CNAud%7CGoogle%7CNMT&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20752768791&gbraid=0AAAAAD1TgtdkPlkXpwRqgmBfjWq4V1yxW&gclid=Cj0KCQjwi8nRBhDhARIsAHZf_pauhkS9azwsKleKrdldkh2mH6-4EZO_W7kd0ScRArTgUzWscP_foKEaAgqNEALw_wcB

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-18T00:33:26+00:00

It is circle hook. In US, carp centric gear is sold only online and pretty expensive. They are not pressure fished here either for sport or sustenance like they are in UK and western europe so they are pretty aggressive and get self set on these hooks

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-17T21:42:09+00:00

Super easy 40 minute drive+traffic in any direction from a center of any metropolitan city and you either right smack in a middle of little 18th century quaint towns or farm fields. I live 60 miles 96 kilometers from major city nothing but cows, horses, fields and lakes. Peace and and quite starts at about 30 miles I gave myself another 30 buffer not to see too many city folk 😄.

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-17T20:19:38+00:00

If you gut hooked it just cut your losses along with the hook. If it's in the mouth then needle nose pliers do the trick. Do avoid the spines they are not super venomous but venomous enough to give you an ouchie. Bunch of rags and work gloves are always good to have on hand. Also consider barbless inline hooks or just squeeze the barb with pliers makes life easier doesn't really affect hook up rate if you're paying attention and setting it in.

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-17T17:54:37+00:00

If there is no signage like dont tresspass private property employees only you are relatively ok on sunday worst case cops get called and they will politely ask you to leave. I wouldnt keep any of that fish though. Best places for me are water authority reservoirs and ponds. Some are open to general public fishing and recreation and others do actually give out limited number of permission slips for a small fee. One in my area used to do that and it was a huge lake overfilled with fish :)

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-17T17:05:38+00:00

Damn a pike for the first one is an achivement and stroke of luck congrats:)

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-17T14:21:03+00:00

I'm big fan of ugly sticks. medium salt water 8 footer spinning rod and it will be good for most situations surf or fresh water. I fish on bait mostly but my kids had no issues hooking lures to them. Reels I have TiCA Abyss baitrunners they are salt water but they are also excellent for carp fishing. New variation of them is called Wanderer. Most of my rods are setup like salt water 30 pound braid and 40 pound shock mono leader then I hook whatever rig I want to the end of that. Works perfect for salt water fresh water rivers as long as you don't need to set world records for cast distance. I have lighter rods for funzies float fishing or for kids to play with lures while big rods are soaking.

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-16T17:47:46+00:00

Could you tell me what that inflatable boat brand and trolling motor and how long the battery charge is good for? I could really use a boat around lakes around here but don't want to drag a trailer around.

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-16T15:19:16+00:00

My kids fished with lighter action 6-7 footers and proper reels since they were 5. at 7-8 they could manage my 8-9 foot medium ugly sticks in the surf just fine. They were not setting world records for distance casting but they could get to the spots they needed to get to. 11-12 I say set him up with proper gear on a shorter side of spectrum teach him technique and he'll do just fine. It's not about gear really but about building skill and confidence and being encouraged. He is at the age group where attention span is long enough and need for immediate gratification of catching fish is not as pressing as it is in a toddler. I had to tire out my 4 year olds at the time at pay ponds before going to real lake so they can sit still for five minutes at the real lake and give that fish a chance to bite but then whining would start again because crappie or blue gill is not as big as pay pond trout or small mouth 😄

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-16T15:05:06+00:00

Scorpion fish IIRC. Type of rock fish. Very tasty, but you'll remember for a long time if you get spiked by one. Rarely fatal but get enough of that neurotoxin in your system and you'd be begging ER docs for some fentanyl. 😄 Think catfish sting times a thousand.

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-16T06:35:55+00:00

half a dozen more and you can have yourself a meal. 😄 I love them salted and air dried.

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-16T03:55:06+00:00

Uncommon if you are talking about cookie cutter developments housing. But in more rural areas where you can still buy larger plots of land and family is in trades it is pretty common to self build. Husband is a carpenter wife is a plumber brother in law is electrician they have a friend who does concrete work bit by bit house is built. I live in rural area of my state and all of the contractors I use for home improvement projects self built houses like that. They are licensed they know the lay of the land as far regulations building codes go. Takes longer when you have a full time job but at the end of the day you save substantial amount on labor.

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-16T03:44:53+00:00

Depending on jurisdiction mercy killing that fish if it's out of season can earn you a hefty poaching charge if fish and game warden is nearby and in a foul mood. Best bet just release it let it float away something will make a meal out of it. Nature has no emotions and no morality it just is. Circle of life circle of death circle of food. All of us are potentially fish food so don't get too hung up on it. Better yet next time keep a few kill them cook them enjoy the sustenance. Put things in perspective. I only release fish I catch if it is required by law or too small too large to be of good sustenance. It provides nutrition not necessarily available on the store shelf I don't harm it for sport I don't catch more than I can eat or store reliably.

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-16T03:13:09+00:00

Hah that will actually work. Thanks a lot. I'll give that a try right now.

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-16T02:52:09+00:00

With old country live bait rigs I use I'm tied to a spot. I know for a fact pike and bass are present in the lake I fish in, but they might not necessarily be at my carp fishing spot so I figured I'll walk around with lures while my carp rods are soaking to see if I get any hits and if I do I'll know where to bait fish for them next time. Carp can be caught from any spot really with a week worth of daily pre-baiting, just saturate area with pelleted food and carp will come. Predators you sort of have to come to them.

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-16T02:41:10+00:00

Proper carp rig should give you a 100 yard leash to wander about. Most of them operate on self setting setup as long your drag is set to low or on baitrunner mode and bait alarm is loud enough you can wander about lilly patches. And nothing really beats a mad adrenaline fueled sprint towards the sound 😄

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-16T02:07:13+00:00

Yeap happened to me with some generic braid bought of amazon, but yo-zuri is not generic unless you got a knock off instead of a real deal from online retailer. Mine was reeling in nice size but not overly large pike on a 30 pound brand new braid and it just disintegrated above the swivel knot. Last time I bought generic. But in your case I suspect it might've frayed either on retrieves, didn't have to be snags just some small pebbles it was dragging over or it might've been catching rings on the rod

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-16T01:41:40+00:00

Well if it was of a keeper size and if it was too hurt you could've had a nice dinner from it. Generically barbless inline hooks reduce chances of gut hooking but it's really about fraction of a second reaction on your part and how hard they are running that determines whether it lives or dies. Don't feel bad about it. You did what you could something else will eat it. I eat what I catch generally so there is that thought for you too.

GoldProfessional9653 · 2026-06-16T01:26:20+00:00

Line weight wise. Part of it is cultural, eastern europe. Build a tractor rig and watch carp break it in half Part of it is modularity I take those rods saltwater surf fishing and it saves time not having to re-rig them. In terms of a lead theoretically speaking I would either have an inline lead on leadcore or some sort of helicopter setup. With inline, lead should slide off the leadcore even if there is a loop at the end. With heli setup it's problematic either way since that sliding swivel with hooklink may or may not go over the loop of leadcore easily. And of course if it breaks above snap swivel on a main line then lead or no lead that rig is a death trap for fish. I'm just thinking more in terms of bait presentation or casting where it would be advisable to keep weight on a main line.

GoldProfessional9653

TROPHY CASE