Caught some monster carp

[john montana]

Legendary CO based fly rod carper Mctage made the journey to OR to join me for a few days of carping in the high, dirty, nasty Columbia waters. Yes, the water is high. It was a great trip highlighted by some fantastic takes, ninja style stealth, big fish, unique settings (I caught a 21 lb fish a few feet away from an overturned picnic table) and great company. I enjoyed fishing with Mctage and was thrilled when he stuck this massive 23 lb monster...from his knees after an extended stalk too!
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We caught some real monsters with the five biggest fish weighing 21, 22, 23, 23 and 31 lbs. I caught this 23 lber on the last day.
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The 31 brute was caught on a size 8 black and orange soft hackle...she took the fly by simply stopping over the top of it and hoovering it off the bottom like a vacuum cleaner.
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So many stories and images in my mind that I can't really keep things straight. Overall, it was just a fantastic couple of days. We brought roughly 100 carp to hand with a ton of solid 12-19 lb fish. The high water is difficult, but pretty interesting!
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Thanks again for coming out Mctage! Great fishing with you...

 

[steelhead1]

Freakin' awesome!PIGS!I dont care what some people say,carp are beautiful fish.Nice work and great pics!

 

[SwimbaitBassin]

The pic 2nd from bottom with the different scale pattern, what species is it?..Ive had fish half the size of those big ones run through 10lb flouro on my bass rod..What weight rod and tip are u using?..if you get get one of the 20lb plus fights on film it would be great to see

 

[Sinkline]

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[Sinkline]

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[TTFishon]

Sweet!!! Man, you're really getting into em this year!

 

[john montana]

yep, mirror carp. 1 out of about 20 fish that we catch are mirrors, but i target them specifically when i see them. very cool fish.

i use a 9 ft 6 inch 7 wt...gloomis native run GLX. relatively stout rod, but probably a tad undergunned for some of the monsters. i like it better than my 8 wt though. we caught 5 fish over 20 lbs on this trip...i'll get some more pics up later.

 

[sirsnagalot]

You must teach me the ways to become a Master of catching monster carp like you

 

[todd_brooks]

That's bad ass man if that doesn't change some folks image of carp nothing will. Your a jedi.

 

[christopherbeebe]

those are some beautiful fish, i love it, keep up the carp'age.

 

[Van]

That is awesome. I am gonna have to go do some exploring on Sauvis Island. It is far too close to home to not go take a few shots at those monsters.

 

[markasd]

Sweet pics! Looks like good times... I like all the stealth sight fishin.

 

[Drew9870]

A 7wt!!! :shock:

Nice Job John, I look forward to trying this out someday, I just have yet to find an area like yours.

So my noodle of a 5/6wt should do the trick for an 8-14lb pond Carp, would you think so? I'd probably run an 8lb Flourocarbon or Copolymer tippet, depends on whether I used a dry bread imitation or a wet/nymph.

 

[john montana]

A 14 lber would be anhandful on a 5/6. The 14-17 lb fish are the toughest...once they get over 20 in my experience they are a lot less energetic when hooked. I have an 8 wt but I much prefer my 7. Just a better rod and more fun to fish...also a little longer which is nice. We landed some sweet fish this time out.

Another view of the 31 lber. I carry a digital scale, it comes in handy on the big fish!


We measured her...36 inches long. Big girl.

 

[brandon4455]

A 7wt!!! :shock:

Nice Job John, I look forward to trying this out someday, I just have yet to find an area like yours.

So my noodle of a 5/6wt should do the trick for an 8-14lb pond Carp, would you think so? I'd probably run an 8lb Flourocarbon or Copolymer tippet, depends on whether I used a dry bread imitation or a wet/nymph.

ill let you take my 8wt for a spin on some carp as long as you can help put me on some fish too...

 

[Moosebonsai]

That's bad ass man ... Your a jedi.

Freakin' awesome!

Nice John! ... Sounds like you had one of the best trips every

Sweet!!! Man, you're really getting into em this year!

Master of catching monster carp

You are a Carp Catching God!

 

[Moosebonsai]

[video]http://youtu.be/IflkFD25nD4[/video]

 

[psguardian]

Is this on the island? I live near the St Johns Bridge, so a trip to the island is totally manageable.

I only have a 5/6wt trout setup, but I can work em if I can hook em.

~psguardian

 

[troutramp]

Love it, carp are a blast.

 

[Fisher.King]

That's bad ass man if that doesn't change some folks image of carp nothing will. Your a jedi.

They are beautiful fish, especially mirrors (I target them too when I see them) and all fish deserve to live somewhere, but carp are an invasive and destructive species in the USA. If I have space in the freezer for a carp when I catch it, it comes home with me for crab/catfish bait. Nothing will change this for me unless it becomes a law to catch and release invasive species .

Those ones in the pics are very good looking though, love seeing the monsters up close.