ANGLER OF THE MONTH
Our Angler of the Month for May is member Will Passeretti from Horsham, Pennsylvania. He’s seen here with an absolutely stunning new PB of 43lb … just look at the shape of that specimen!
This capture and the portrayal of all his captures, are everything that’s positive about US Carp Angling. Will is ultra dedicated and always willing to go the extra mile in targeting his fish. Massive congrats on this one bro, and big thanks to Yuriy for traveling the miles to get such great shots.
Check out Will’s Insta page for more great fish!
NOTABLE CAPTURES
ACS members were busy on the banks last month! Here are just a few we particularly wanted to single out. Yuriy Nesterov leads off with an absolute tank of a common … 50lb and a new PB. Congratulations Yuriy! We greatly appreciate all your tags and mentions, and can’t wait to see what everyone is catching in May. Don’t forget to tag us #americancarpsociety #jointheguiltyones and tag american_carp_society in your stories!
Some old poet said “April is the cruellest month” … he should have tried the Barnaby’s Revenge bait range, judging by some of the catch shots that came our way in April! A big shout out and thanks to everyone for tagging us in their captures. We look forward to a lot more catches and success for ACS members as summer comes on. Please remember to tag captures #americancarpsociety, #jointheguiltyones, and #barnabysrevenge to be featured.
NOW AVAILABLE ON THE STORE!
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NOW AVAILABLE ON THE STORE! 〰️
THE ACS SO CAL SOCIAL
While the fishing was hard, a great time was had by everyone at this year’s ACS SO CAL Social on Lake Perris CA. West Coast events director Richard Cervantes put on yet another great event. Fish were caught, fun was had, and good times were experienced! Thanks everyone for attending and making the event such a success.
JAMES KING YOUTUBE CHANNEL
ACS member and buffalo specialist, James King has launched his YouTube channel! No stranger to massive buffalo, Jame’s PB stands now at over 70lb. We encourage everyone to drop by, subscribe and support an angler who is dedicated to getting the word out about these incredible fish.
It takes a great deal of dedication and work to put together fishing films and documentaries, and we applaud every ACS member pushing forward the narrative that Carp and Buffalo are worthy sport fish.
Join James as he explains his approach, baiting, and tactics in the first episode.
MONTHLY CONTEST WINNER
This month's cap competition winner is Mark Gustin from Michigan, with this fat and healthy specimen. Mark will be receiving a complimentary Barnaby’s Revenge bait package for tagging us #americancarpsociety with his pictures on social media and wearing an ACS cap! Congrats Mark!
You know the drill by now, but just a little reminder - if you enter the BCT photography competition and win your section wearing an ACS Cap or Beanie with a visible logo, it means extra bait swag!
Some fantastic images again this month. Carp fishing and photography just seems to go hand in hand, and ACS members lead the way when it comes to promoting and sharing the message of this great fish to the rest of the USA. Keep doing what you’re doing.
Give these angler-photographers a look and a follow!
Ricky Carping USA
This month we will be introducing two new designs to the store for our members…Actually, one of them is an ‘Old Skool’ throwback from the very first ACS member T shirts printed in 2002.
The original Old Skool T shirt has been the sartorial choice of many a successful US carper over the years - just check these two galleries for a walk down memory lane.
But after 20 odd years, maybe time for a refresh?
‘Old Skool’ and the new ‘American Born and Bred’ designs are waiting for you in the store in multiple colors and sizes.
MEMBERS ONLY STORE
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MEMBERS ONLY STORE 〰️
SALE ITEMS LIMITED SUPPLY
The 17 Year Itch - Brandon Tourigny
2024 will be the best year of the decade to be a fly angler who enjoys chasing carp.
At this point, I am sure that you all have seen the articles in the news about the double emergence of cicadas coming this month and next, how this event hasn’t happened since Thomas Jefferson was president, and how anyone with a garden is about to have a really hard time. But for those of us who fish and who love to pursue carp on the fly, this rare event will be something spectacular.
When the insects emerge in their full force, which will be in the billions, carp and a whole manor of other fish species will feed on the fallen insects with reckless abandon.
To commemorate the cicada emergence boat builder and fly tyer Dave Zielinski shares his knowledge of fishing and tying with cicada flies in his new book, Cicada Madness. In the book he shares his insight into tying straightforward cicada flies that catch fish and that anyone can tie.
This is what brought his fly, The 17 Year Itch, to life. In this month’s instructional tying video I walk you through the steps to tying Dave’s cicada fly so that when the cicadas emerge in your neck of the woods, you’ll be prepared to capitalize on this extremely rare event.
For more information regarding cicadas and how to fish their emergences, grab a copy of Cicada Madness for yourself!
Fly Materials:
Hook: #6-2 Gamakatsu B10S
Thread: Orange 140-denier UTC
Underbody: 2mm Black craft foam
Upper Body & Head: 2mm Black craft foam
Underwing: Krystal Flash
Wing: Elk hair
Legs: Barred orange sili legs
Eyes: Red 2mm craft foam or hairlines epoxy crab eyes
Indicator: 2mm orange craft foam
Adhesive: UV Epoxy or Zap-A-Gap
GALLERY
Lots of ACS fly members were active on the banks, tying new flies, and taking great pictures last month. Give these guys some love on their Instas!
TAKING NoTES - DAGUR GUOMUNDSSON
I’ve never been to a therapist, but I’m sure they tell you that journaling is a good way to unravel some emotional trauma or whatever people go to a therapist for. The key takeaway however, is not the trauma, but the act of journaling. I’m a big advocate for using a journal to track your fishing, mostly by noting some details like the weather, wind, water temperature, moon phase, barometric pressure, and some notes on the fishing.
The key is to have it simple enough that you will actually do it, but enough information that it’ll help you see the patterns in the fishing. For fisheries where I am trying to “crack the code” on, so to speak, I aim to keep a journal on them for at least a year. I don’t think it’s necessary to keep notes for multiple years in a row except for your home waters, but a year will tell you the ups and downs with the seasons, how the fish react to different weather conditions at different times of the year, and can help you spot the patterns in how the fish react to certain moon phases or pressure changes.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked back at a journal to help piece together the pattern of fish behavior to dictate how and where I will focus my energy for upcoming fishing days. Carp are an ideal journaling target, since even when you don’t catch them, you often see them and what they’re doing, and if you don’t, that also tells you something.
Try keeping a journal for one fishery, for one year, and see if it helps your success on the water. It may help heal some of that carp-trauma from tough days in the past, and how you can have more success in the future, and thus, leading to better mental health. Or so I’m told.
NEW CARP GUIDE FOR WESTERN COLORADO - JACOB CARPENTER
We would like to welcome Jacob Carpenter as a new ACS Fly Guide for Western Colorado. Great to have you on board Jacob.
Colorado West Slope Fly Fishing sold him his first carp fly long ago, and is now his pro outfitter. CWSFF has embraced Jacob’s love of chasing the Golden Bones, and acquired numerous permits for area lakes that are famous for large carp.
But a truly unique experience is drifting the Colorado River through the heart of Grand Junction with him. In his drift boat he can offer unique access to carp along the whole river system; from little-known sloughs, to site casting, to casting to feeding carp on the rocky bends of the river. Walk wading, drifting the river, site casting on lakes - clients will appreciate his exuberance and love of sharing his carp spots with them.
OATI THE CARPIN’ DOG - LUKE WILSON
The first time getting the boat out is an exciting event. This year we were able to get it out a bit earlier than normal due to a break in typical WNY spring weather, and an urge to push our normal excursions out sooner. More time on the water means more chances of landing fish of course. It was a spur of the moment idea.
As I came home for lunch that warm April day, I knew I had wanted to go fishing for carp, but I wanted to try taking the boat out because it was a rare warm and calm day with little wind. Before I even made lunch I plugged my battery for the trolling motor in to charge. I did a quick run through for all my bags and gear and made sure I had it all placed out for my return later that afternoon.
My excitement had blinded me to time and I realized I had about 5 minutes to eat and head back to work. But what the lack of food couldn’t sustain, my eagerness to take the boat out did. I called my brother and told him the deal. He said he would meet me at the lake after work so we didn’t have to spare any daylight. The rest of the work day teetered between flying by and dragging along. But as soon as the buzzer rang I clocked out and sped home.
When I got home I went straight to business, getting the boat out and ready, cleaning what was really only necessary, and loading it up. I strung up my rod preemptively so all we had to do was unload and go to the lake. I still had to take my dog, Oati, out. Instead of our normal bike ride I had decided to bring him along. He gets so worked up and excited when he tags along.
I would say going fishing with us may be his favorite thing to do, even more so than a long bike ride through the trails. Although Josh and I don’t always think he’s the greatest ally in sealthily landing carp, we both enjoy his company and the energy he brings. He joined us on several occasions and he is surprisingly an excellent set of eyes.
He is quick to notify us of any disturbances by jumping to whatever side of the boat he sees movement. So quick, in fact, that it nearly takes one of us overboard when the boat starts rocking. But he doesn’t miss much. And when it’s time to head to another section of the lake when the fishing is slow, he lets us know by whining. He tells us when we aren’t getting any action.
I arrived at the lake about a half hour before Josh, so I backed down to the shore and started unloading. Oati was so excited to get out of the truck he was just about shaking with excitement. He wasn’t too happy being stuck in the truck while I unloaded, barking away at me like that would magically take him out of the vehicle he felt imprisoned in. He stuck his head out of the open window and watched intently all the while.
When it was all done, Oati came out with me and as I sat on shore he frolicked on the waters edge. The water was far too cold for me to wade in yet, but any type of water couldn’t keep him from jumping in. I took note of the day, and the lake. Skies were blue, some clouds here and there, and filled with birds that had been lost to winter.
There was now a slight breeze that carried over the lake and came to shore cooler than the air over land. The lake was about 2-3 feet higher than summer shorelines and very darkly stained. It had been raining, it had felt like, for a week straight before this day. I had noticed Josh arriving when Oati lifted his head and began wagging his tail, though it was more like shaking his back half. We were ready to go and set off into the water.
Despite it being rather early in the month of April, the excellent weather that day had called upon many to hit the water. Kayakers mostly, and a few folks on some Jon boats puttered around. I thought the water was still too cold for kayaking, but I always end up getting wet. If one could stay dry it was a great day for it.
It didn’t take us long to spot carp. There were several along the first shore we had come by. They seemed a bit sluggish still, most of them suspended above the summer shoreline. We casted at these fish and they all slowly sank away and out of sight. It wasn’t until we had spotted a bright golden flash of an eater's side, tossing around in the sunlight, that we landed a fish. Josh made an accurate cast about 8 inches past the nose and let it sink. The illuminated side quickly turned and in a second or two the line was tight as Josh set the hook.
Oati had quickly taken notice of the situation and began barking with excitement and made sure we knew what was happening. For the first 10 seconds of the fight, the fish was easily dragged along the top of the water towards the boat. Oati leaned over the side and stuck his head out. We thought it was over like that, but when I reached out with the net it quickly escalated and the real power of the carp turned on. The fish got his head back under the surface and began digging with all its might unlike the seconds before. After this sudden burst of energy we managed to land our first carp of the day.
We managed to land one other carp during this stretch. We kept looking over the edges, but time was moving fast and we were running low on it. The sun was sinking lower and began kissing the tops of the hills and trees on the western bank, casting a shadow over those banks and stretching out about a quarter to the center of the inlet we were in. We decided to make one last run across the eastern side of the lake, where there still was an abundance of light.
Even though the day was warm the water was still colder, so the sun makes a big difference in keeping the fish active. The glare on the western back was hard to see through as the shadow on the water allowed light skies to reflect easily along the top.
Across the lake the sun still let us see clearly along the edges. We hightailed across the water and began inching closer to the shoreline. Shortly after cruising down the eastern bank I had realized that I had made a simple mistake. But it had cost us a good stretch of fishing. Without thinking twice about it, I had begun to travel south along the eastern bank. I could see more clearly into the water because the sun was on our backs, but it cast our extended shadows along the bank ever so slightly in front of us.
We managed to see a lot of carp but couldn’t figure out why they all spooked away before we managed to get a good cast at them. Then we figured it out: it was because our shadows covered the fish before we could get a cast off. A shadow of an osprey going over the carp would very likely do the same, and the carp have no way of distinguishing between the two, so out of safety each shadow is treated the same.
Oati kept his eyes peeled on the front of the boat. His head lifted up and his nose went into the wind. Something had caught his attention that had bypassed each of us. Oati kept sniffing and we didn’t register what it was until we were almost ron top of it. A mother goose was laying frightfully still on her nest. So still that Oati never did see the mother goose, but he could smell her.
Before we could land a fish on that side, supper was calling and we had to pack up. Although production was low, it was a great evening that all three of us enjoyed after a long day. We loaded up the boat, Oati again upset that he had to remain in the truck and out of the way. He always wants to be involved, and I’m sure there are many people, or animals, that wish to do the same with you. Life’s a little better when you’ve got someone to share it with.
Be aware of the shadow you cast. Something that simple could spook a few good catches away. We came home hungry and ready to eat. Oati walked back inside and plopped on the floor, fulfilled and tired from the long day of carping.
