Cornacarpio's Cumulative Carp Culling Caper

[Cornacarpio]

A Christmas Carp. Finally some sense of normality has arrived in 2020. It may not have been the flat and barren plains surrounding Taylor's Lake in regional Victoria, but the soothing sounds of the Monash Fwy humming away in the background along the verdant banks of Gardiner's Creek in suburban Melbourne was just as good...in either case the result is the same - dead Carp!

Also avenged my lost rod from yesterday (kind of) - there was no way this guy was pulling in my 10ft 'general purpose' rod. Always good to be back on the home deck where I can bully the carp a bit more as I know the 'lay of the land'. Can't wait for the Shimano Eclipse telescopic rod to come back on the shelves at Aldi - it was the best cheap rod ever!

+1

2020/21: 15 (1778)

CC
Another 70cm model to add to the collection...

Carp, first introduced to Australia in 1876 by the Geelong and Western District Acclimatization Society, are a freshwater fish of still and slow-moving pools, billabongs and rivers. They feed on plants, insects and crustaceans, and are fish of extreme hardiness that can tolerate turbid conditions and high water temperatures that kill the native fish.

From Jack Pollard's Australian Fishing (1986), Angus & Robertson Publishers, Unit 4 Eden Park, 31 Waterloo Road, North Ryde, NSW, Australia, 2113, p.113

[Texas]

Saw the creek from the fwy & wondered if CC was there
Maybe
Gra

[Lightningx]

Another beauty mate!
Well done CC.
Cheers

[Cornacarpio]

Had a lukewarm outing at Taylor's Lake today, all be it it a few days behind schedule. It was good because well...it's just good to be out fishing, but bad because someone was in our spot - and someone beside them, and someone beside them...later found out the golden tag competition was on, so everyone was out trying to catch a $10,000 fish!

Despite the 'obstacles' we eventually found a spot, but it's never good as 'the' spot. Then my Dad got cranky and I had to drive into Horsham to get him his 'beer and smokes' (as is usually the case). We tried a different spot on our way back, but the wind was blowing in our face so we reverted back to our original spot. It was slow going at the start, but eventually a couple of bites came - first a Carp, and then a Cod - on cheese! (my first) and then another Carp. So, a little sub-par by Taylor's Lake standard, but not too shabby either...

+2

2020/21: 17 (1780)

CC

Maccullochella peeli: Ranks with the golden perch (callop) as Australia's most important inland fish. They are a gourmet's delight and the most delicious of Australia's edible inland fish. Although reduced by heavy professional fishing, by changing environment and the introduction of foreign species with which it has to duel for food, they are still present in rewarding sizes and numbers.

From Jack Pollard's Australian Fishing (1986), Angus & Robertson Publishers, Unit 4 Eden Park, 31 Waterloo Road, North Ryde, NSW, Australia, 2113, p.389

[Cornacarpio]

Headed back to Taylor's today - the spot was available, but the wind was blowing in our face. There's always a catch...

One Carp to start the new calendar year off...

+1

2020/21: 18 (1781)

CC

Inland fishing in Australia has known dramatic changes but in the 1980s remains a satisfying and rewarding medium for well-equipped sportsmen prepared to study the problems involved. The erection of new dams, prolonged drought, the influence of the Murray River irrigation scheme and the Snowy mountains development, are just a few of the factors that have revolutionized the freshwater fishing set-up enjoyed by our grandfathers.

From Jack Pollard's Australian Fishing (1986), Angus & Robertson Publishers, Unit 4 Eden Park, 31 Waterloo Road, North Ryde, NSW, Australia, 2113, p.249

[Cornacarpio]

Can't buy a Carp at the moment, so decided to rig up an old rod with some new braid and head out to Fyans for a spin. At first I lost a 2lb Reddy off the wall (haven't caught a decent Reddy for ages). 'That was my chance' I thought, but I didn't have to wait long before a reasonable Rainbow came along and devoured the trusty old green celta (I prefer catching Trout anyway). I even rang my Dad and told him he could have an 'edible' fish for tea. Eventually the wind picked up and I decided to home - now this must be the luckiest Trout ever, because when I went to retrieve my creel, it was washed up on the bank upside down (the wind was heavy) and the fish managed to escape somehow

Pics or it didn't happen right? Well it did happen - I've got the pics, just don't have the fish It didn't worry me too much, but my Dad was distraught, especially after showing him the pictographs...

Anyway, it was good to catch something different - kind of.

Lake Fyans

Rainbow trout to 1.5kg are most predominate in the late summer and autumn, while brown trout to 2kg are taken in winter and spring months. Popular bank areas for the trout anglers are on the main bank while the boat anglers prefer to fish in the timbered south east corner. The most successful trout lures are silver wobblers, small flat fish and green Celta's, while the best baits are live mudeyes, woodgrubs and earthworms.

From Fishing Wimmera Waters by Gary Knight (1989), Sportfish Australia Publications, Pty Ltd, Glenormiston Road, Noorat, Vic, 3265, p.17

[Kimtown]

24th December 2020:

Many moons ago (OK, about 2 years ago) I got a message from poppy62 telling me of HUGE 'trophy sized' Carp that reside in the Yarra at Warrandyte, with very specific directions on where they are and how to catch them. I never acted on this information until now - some 2 years later - when I just happened to be in the area coming back from a work do. I spent the best part of the day at Sugarloaf without so much as a bite (but did see a huge Carp cruising around). As I was driving home, passing through Warrandyte, I thought 'why not give it a crack'. I found the approximate location poppy62 was talking about and waited and waited and waited...this guy's having me on I thought. I was getting restless and about to pack up when I took about 20 paces back from my rod. It was then I heard, and then saw my rod being dragged along the ground and straight into the water. I rushed over like 4 seconds later, put a leg and arm in the water trying to feel around for it, but it was no use, the rod was gone in a blink of an eye, as if an Olympic javelin thrower was trying to catapult it to the other side of the river. As it had rained heavily in the morning and the water looked a bit 'pooey', I didn't feel like being any more enthusiastic about retrieving my rod than that. I think I was also in a bit of shock as I was trying to process what just happened.

I've come close a couple of times, but have never actually lost a rod before. I guess it's a right of passage in a way, but I am DYING to know what was on the end of it! Fear not that I have lost a rod - it was an old beat up telescopic that had two breaks in it and was held together with gaffer tape, but that I may have lost a PB Carp!

The Yarramundi continues to elude me...



+0

CC
Donated his first rod to the Yarra River...

BIG Eel?

Do carp possess the power to pull a rod and reel in the river? Lol

[Charles7]

24th December 2020:

Many moons ago (OK, about 2 years ago) I got a message from poppy62 telling me of HUGE 'trophy sized' Carp that reside in the Yarra at Warrandyte, with very specific directions on where they are and how to catch them. I never acted on this information until now - some 2 years later - when I just happened to be in the area coming back from a work do. I spent the best part of the day at Sugarloaf without so much as a bite (but did see a huge Carp cruising around). As I was driving home, passing through Warrandyte, I thought 'why not give it a crack'. I found the approximate location poppy62 was talking about and waited and waited and waited...this guy's having me on I thought. I was getting restless and about to pack up when I took about 20 paces back from my rod. It was then I heard, and then saw my rod being dragged along the ground and straight into the water. I rushed over like 4 seconds later, put a leg and arm in the water trying to feel around for it, but it was no use, the rod was gone in a blink of an eye, as if an Olympic javelin thrower was trying to catapult it to the other side of the river. As it had rained heavily in the morning and the water looked a bit 'pooey', I didn't feel like being any more enthusiastic about retrieving my rod than that. I think I was also in a bit of shock as I was trying to process what just happened.

I've come close a couple of times, but have never actually lost a rod before. I guess it's a right of passage in a way, but I am DYING to know what was on the end of it! Fear not that I have lost a rod - it was an old beat up telescopic that had two breaks in it and was held together with gaffer tape, but that I may have lost a PB Carp!

The Yarramundi continues to elude me...



+0

CC
Donated his first rod to the Yarra River...

I had this happen to me just upstream of Fitzsimons Lane. We hadn't had a bite for 3 hours and I went to recline in the shade of some trees a little way back from the river's edge and bang, there went my rod. Gone but not forgotten.

[Cornacarpio]

Got my first couple of Carp out of the Plenty River last Monday (1st Feb), should have got a couple of more, but had a bit of bad luck with trying to net one, and one got snagged. Also missed a heap of bites - what can I say, other than I'm horribly out of form. Went back a couple of days later and never got a bite which was just as well, as I did see a big Tiger Snake swim across the river after splashing about perilously close to my fishing rod...


+2

2020/21: 20 (1783)

CC

P.S. I have been out fishing, just not catching anything. A Yarramundi is on the 'to-do' list this summer, but continues to elude me...

[Cornacarpio]

Follow-up session on the Plenty (on the 9th Feb, 2021) yielded one small fish, possibly a wild Goldfish as it had no barbels...

Saw another tiger snake go for a swim again...

+1

2020/21: 21 (1784)

CC