Nothing to Carp About

Several times over the Memorial Day weekend, I have hauled in some nice-sized carp: two here in the DeWitt area and one over in the Macatawa Channel at Holland State Park on  Lake Michigan. 

 

I saw several carp jumping at the Macatawa Channel, but I had been mostly catching white perch and I was surprised when my pole doubled over.  The carp, which is pictured below, probably weighed about 10 pounds, and I caught it on dropper rig with a base three-ounce sinker.  I did not have my net with me, and as I was fishing from the pier, and it would have been difficult to land the fish, given its size, so I released it in the water.  I was the only person on the pier that caught a carp while I was there, although other people were catching catfish and sheepshead.

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, back in DeWitt, I was catching carp locally on gulp worms.  These carp put up a really good fight!  I'm still a pike fisherman and a bass fisherman first and foremost, but I really enjoyed the battles I had with these carp!