Look up the word minnow in the Webster’s New World Dictionary and it will tell you, “Any of a large number of usually small freshwater fishes used commonly as bait.” Also “Any small fish.”
And then I refer to a book I have on “Carp of North America” and it tells me that the common carp is a minnow, but they are the largest family of freshwater fishes in the world with over 1,500 named species including small shiners (bait) and chubs. Goldfish are also a member of the carp family. Oh, and the largest recorded carp was caught in 1963 and was taken in Mississippi’s Lake Pelahatchie. It tipped the scales at 74 pounds. Sure doesn’t sound like a minnow to me.
There was a time that carp in the U.S.A. were often considered ‘trash fish’ unwanted in any waters that held other more acceptable fish like trout, bass, perch and other edible species. There was also a time that the carp were thought to prefer polluted waters over fresh water and this led to disdain held for them by many anglers who came across them.
My references on carp say, “Carp occur in a wide range of habitats from clear mountain lakes to some of North America’s most degraded rivers. They are found in the Great Lakes, large reservoirs, shallow ponds, swamps and bogs, large slow-moving rivers, fast flowing streams and even some tidal waters and creeks.”
Carp generally prefer shallow, weedy habitat with sufficient structure to afford protection and cover. For the most part they seek quiet shallow waters with muddy or sandy bottoms over which they can browse for food.
If memory serves me right, I even remember a ‘cleansing’ at Lake Beseck a number of years ago to rid the lake of carp. My first introduction to carp came while fishing the Quinnipiac River where it enters Hanover Pond. This was long before the delta of construction silt in back of the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association (QRWA) was formed. Right where the river bends to enter Hanover Pond, there was a viaduct that dumped excess water into the river and in doing so it formed what we called the ‘sand bar.’ It was a neat place for young fishermen to fish from because it gave us plenty of room to cast our lines.
It was a great place to fish in the evening hours for bullheads and we would catch an occasional sucker there, also. Our main bait was always nightcrawlers and one day I got a bite, set the hook and received an unusually strong fight from the unseen fish on the other end of my line. My young imagination ran wild as I mentally pictured a huge trout or bullhead giving me the tussle of my young life while fishing.
When I got my first glimpse of the monster, I almost dropped the fishing rod, because at first it looked like an sucker on steroids. It was the largest fish I had ever encountered while fishing and after a short battle I beached it on the sand bar. It was unlike any fish I had ever caught before. A passerby happened to see me fighting the fish and stopped to watch and when it was landed the man told me it was a carp.
He also said it was a “trash fish” and was not worthy of anything including becoming a main course for a fish fry. This was at a time when practically no one carried a camera with them so the fish went back into the Quinnipiac River. Going by what I know about carp today I would venture a guess that the carp probably weighed about 15 pounds, but for this young fisherman it was the catch of a lifetime.
Since that memorable day, I have caught a number of carp while fishing that spot, both in my early years and later when I took our son George there one time to introduce him to carp fishing. We were using nightcrawlers for bait which the carp seemed to hit readily. We would bait our hooks, cast the line out and set the rod in a forked stick while waiting for a bite.
While we were fishing, an old friend Vinnie Rossetti stopped by to see how we were doing and while we were talking to him with our backs to the fishing rods, Vinnie suddenly shouted, “There goes your fishing rod!” I had to jump into the shallow water to grab my fishing rod that had already been dragged free of the forked stick that it was resting on. The carp on the other end of the line weighed about five pounds but it showed the strength these ‘minnows’ possess and over the years, while not being what you might call a ‘carp fisherman,’ I have fished for them on occasion.
And this brings us to carp fishing in the present day and the immense popularity it now receives. It appears that carp fishing in the United States has become a passion for many and some anglers hold fishing for them in a reverence higher than bass or trout fishing. Don’t laugh, I’m serious.
Believe it or not, at one time if not still, more carp were cultured for food than any other fish. Back in the late ’80s in Europe, carp were ranked third among all sport fisheries. European anglers who fished for carp preached and practiced the philosophy of catch and release. Their ideals and methods are very similar to those practiced by many trout and bass anglers.
This is also very true right here in Connecticut as fishing for carp has become a major sport, Carp fishermen go to extreme measures to make sure the fish are not injured or killed before going back into the water to fight again another day. There are even carp fishing competitions held that are a big-time draw, bringing in carp fishermen from all over the U.S. and even from abroad. In fact, carp fishing has opened up a whole new industry in the angling world and one has to see to believe the extremes some carp fishermen will go through for their craft.
While some fishermen simply use fishing tackle that will handle the rugged battle of a carp, others have gone to state-of-the-art tackle that includes special reels, rods, and even electronic devices that practically tell a carper if a carp is even close to their bait. Fishing line should be tough enough to handle a large fish like the carp. Carp make brutish runs when they are hooked and believe me when I tell you a large carp on the end of your line will get the adrenaline flowing.
In fact, in England carp fishing is not just a couple of hours on the water but could be a week-long excursion including staying overnight for a couple of days or even a week. For many English anglers, carp fishing is the ultimate vacation trip and they pull out all stops in preparation.
Nowadays, you cannot talk carp fishing without discussing a special bait. If you want to talk carp fishing some day, come over to the Village Barber Shop on the corner of Main and River Road in the Village of South Meriden and talk to the barber, Glenn Agnew, about his strategy. I’m putting my money on Glenn to catch the next record carp in Connecticut, which by the way is currently a 43 pounds, 12 ounces. (2012, Connecticut River, Michael Hudak).
When it comes to bait, it’s safe to say that you are only limited by your imagination (and pocket book). While there are a variety of carp baits available, from what I have seen canned corn, bread and half-boiled potatoes head the list. But that does not limit you by any means. I have seen bread being used slathered with peanut butter, honey, jelly or maple syrup.
Many carp fishermen like to create their own bait, like secret dough balls. They use a regular food store for their ingredients which might include cornmeal, flour, cottonseed meal, wheat germ, corn germ, cereals, crackers, eggs, corn syrup, honey, coffee, cocoa, Jell-O, sugar, molasses, potatoes, beer, bourbon, vanilla, anise oil or seeds.
Serious carpers will keep their hot spots secret. These are the anglers that will ‘sweeten’ up a spot they are going to fish in a couple of days with different kinds of chum. Canned corn mixed with various flavors is commonly used. The carp fishermen will use a long-handled ladle to toss chum out into the area they are going to fish and some even use special sling-shots to chum an area.
It is no secret that the Connecticut River holds some big carp, but one of the local favorites is Mirror Lake in Hubbard Park. A friend of mine Skip Sauer with his twin granddaughters, Emmy and Sydney, and grandson Matt have had some great fishing at Mirror Lake and one of the girls landed a carp that weighed over 30 pounds.
Recently, I have noticed and increase of carp fishermen there along with others fishing for bass and trout as well as some of the catfish the DEEP stocked.
As a reminder, the point of land in Mirror Lake where the ‘duck house’ is located is closed to all fishing. There are signs posting the area. It is a very small area so it shouldn’t be a problem. So many folks are enjoying the fishing at Mirror Lake, it would be a shame for them to lose the privilege because of the thoughtlessness of a few. Obey the signs!
See ya and God Bless America. Watch over our troops wherever they may be.
