Richard Cervantes

Featured as the Angler of the month for March on the homepage of the website is our very own Richard Cervantes! As the American Carp Society Events Coordinator for the West Coast, Richard is fully hands on with the tournaments and socials that he puts on for our California crew…Both a great angler and photographer, he is a key component on spreading the word of the attributes of this great fish on the West Coast. His socials are nothing short of spectacular…Thanks for all that you do bro and congratulations!

Awards

We wanted to take a moment to congratulate all of the anglers that have met some of their personal goals since we started the award program! Remember there’s a cool sticker in it for you to reach that next goal!

How to participate:

Participating anglers should complete the following to receive their Award Sticker:

Post a pic of you and the fish on social media (Facebook / Instagram) and use the following tags -
- #americancarpsociety
  #jointheguiltyones
Use the below post comment on your personal social media accounts - not the ACS Member group.
- “I just joined the ##-pound club with the American Carp Society” (Replace ## with the appropriate weight class.)
Send a notification of your post to info@americancarpsociety.com

We’ll verify you’ve met the above criteria for your achievement and send out your award!

20 lb. AWARD

30 lb. AWARD

50 lb. AWARD

Richard Cervantes

NOTABLE CAPTURES

We’re fortunate that we get to see the best Carp pictures from all over the USA from our members and friends. These photos below certainly caught our attention in the month of February. Congratulations to everyone on the success of their angling sessions this past month…We appreciate all of your tags and mentions, and can’t wait to see what you guys and gals catch this coming Spring season! Don’t forget to tag us #americancarpsociety #jointheguiltyones and tag american_carp_society in your stories!

By Don Low

It’s been twelve months since my first angler’s tips. I hope that some of them have been useful. It’s now time to hand the article over to another angler.

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been searching out open water which has become more and more abundant with the snaps of warmer weather.

My approach is usually single hook baits cast to these ares of warmer water, especially if I’m fishing a pond. In the rivers I will still use pack bait, but only just enough to cover the lead. The fish are still not overly active or hungry because the water temperature is still very cold.

My pack recipe will be as fine grained as possible. Just bread crumbs, grits, or perhaps a branded method mix. I don’t add any oats or larger bait items. It’s dampened down with the juice from a can of corn or plain river water, and I’ll add some liquid foods like multi-stem or corn steep liquor. I’m aiming to get smell and taste into the spot but as little actual food as possible. One ingredient I never leave out is a cup of calf milk replacer. This creates a cloud from the pack and adds a 100% soluble protein source. In addition, don’t ignore mineral salts like crushed horse licks or preferably a loose mineral salt that is sold as a hydration aid. The Carp will be looking for the mineral’s content at this time of year.

Tight lines everyone. I wish you all a successful 2022.

BAIT…. AVAILABLE THURSDAY 10th MARCH **

Desert Fruit & Mapex Specials - Sean Manning

Carp flavors and feeding stimulants are numerous in their make-up, background and actual ability to stimulate feeding in wild fish. Many times the flavor of the product can be more-so for the ‘angler’ than the fish itself. This can be seen with high quality non-flavored food source boilies that can catch large fish on a consistent basis as well as having some incredible smelling commercial baits that appear not to do as well. Ultimately the fish decide.

Carp, as humans, do have nutritional needs in their diet and will actively seek out these food sources in their daily forage, natural habitat and feeding patterns…there are naturally occurring triggers in nature that will stimulate feeding in the species.

Undertaking the task of creating a new Carp bait is not as straightforward as many might think. Having had numerous conversations with others in the past in what constitutes a high quality food source bait for the species, and both the positive and negative attributes of commercially rolled mass produced baits, we set about the task of combining a bait that would be recognizable instantly to the fish as a legitimate food source, that also included a balance of trace minerals, protein, fats and amino acids with a high level of attractant and a unique flavor.

The bait would have to be ‘all seasonal’ and viewed legitimately by the fish as a genuine ‘food source’ with a very high nutritional value in order for them to actively seek it out throughout the year.

Carp have no stomachs to digest food and so the food that they eat travels directly into the intestine. Now that’s something worth thinking about when considering the human stomach contains acid that can actually dissolve metal! We use our stomach to breakdown the food so that it can be used in our bodies and converted to energy, etc…that’s where most of the work is done. The Carp do not have this luxury.

Carp eat hard shell muscles, crayfish and a number of other mollusks as well as live fish…with no stomach to digest it, and so the enzymes within the intestine have to break down the food in order for it to be absorbed into a Carp’s body. There is no doubt that they are attracted to amino acids (there have been multiple scientific studies on this) and so the right balance of fat, protein, minerals and amino acids in a bait has a direct correlation to both its long-term effectiveness as well as its attractiveness to the fish.

There are some flavors and bait combinations that will catch pretty much anywhere initially…and there are others that will not. Coming up with something ‘new’ in this realm is not for the faint of heart. We have been lucky (‘lucky’ actually means countless hours of research, failure and hard work!) with all of our baits in the Barnaby’s Revenge Range as they ‘tick all of the boxes for us’…The new ‘DESERT FRUIT’™ range fits well into that category and will be equally as effective in both the Summer and Winter months.

Remember that Carp are a cold water species and their metabolizing and ability to digest certain types of foods during the colder months is not the same as it is in the Summer. Too much protein during the Winter months in a bait can be simply too much work for them to bother with, given a choice. On the other hand, a filler bait with little nutritional value won’t hold their interest for long during the late Summer/Autumn, if they have options. This is what happens when you hear about a bait ‘blowing’…It was initially very effective on the water…and then just dies. You have to have something that will get their attention…and hold it.

I know Wayne has experienced this phenomenon fishing a lake where there was so much natural food present…the fish wouldn’t even look at anything on a hook..including corn, proving that their efforts were not going to be wasted looking at a boilie or a piece of corn when there was a fresh snail bed to munch on.

I recommend doing your research on this subject as there are a number of scientific studies (that all correlate with the bait experts in the field) that edify the above points made here. John Baker is a master on what constitutes a high quality flavor and so I would recommend that anyone with a serious interest in bait check out anything he has written on the subject…remember that the fish’s perception of a high quality flavor may differentiate from your human nose telling you what is!

Scientific studies that have been conducted on the species are the best unbiased and honest resource for understanding their diet requirements and what they are really attracted to. This will help with understanding also the difference between a high quality bait and one that may not be as effective over the long run.

Simple corn and tigers are of course always a solid ‘go-to’ bait for Carp bait…but when you are able to turn them onto a high quality bait that they are actively looking for, you do have a higher chance of getting one of the really big girls…your average size will also increase. Hope this helps!

Barnaby’s Revenge - Desert fruit

Desert Fruit™ is an all seasonal bait containing a highly flavorful citrus Ester blend, that has enabled us to combine a unique mix of citrus notes and overtones. The bait is full of trace minerals, protein, fats, amino acids, and naturally occurring stimulants for the fish’s daily nutritional requirement. Handmade here in the USA.

The Barnaby’s Mapex Special’s

The Mapex™ specials are a ‘one off’ custom roll with a very high quality protein based mix…This is a ‘one off’ roll of just 12KG with our new unreleased flavor MAPEX™ and the highest quality ingredients available on the market today that have been packed into each boilie.

All products are handmade here in the USA.

american carp society & fly fisher magazine

We are proud to announce that we have been approached by Fly Fishers International to be featured in one of their upcoming issues of Fly Fisher Magazine specifically on the subject of Carp on the Fly. The piece will be published in a full color hard copy publication, featuring some of our members on the subject. We will be sure to update everyone when the issue is released.

Fly Fishers International is an international non-profit organization that is an organized voice for fly fishers around the world. Founded in 1964 and formalized a year later in 1965, they represent all aspects of fly fishing, including the art of fly tying, casting and protection of the natural systems that support healthy fisheries and their habitats. With a motto of “All Fish, All Waters”, the organization's mission is to ensure the legacy of fly fishing for all fish in the world with a focus on conservation, education, and a sense of community.

For More Information, click HERE to visit their website.

THE CALIFORNIA SOCIAL

The American Carp Society California had an excellent turnout at the 2022 Lake Skinner Fishing Social. It was nice to see a lot of new and familiar faces, who we had a good time sharing stories with. Close to forty anglers attended, making this the biggest ACS California event so far and we’re not stopping here! Although the fishing was tough, some anglers were able to capture a few fish and walked away with prizes while other lucky winners walked away with raffle prizes.

Congratulations to all of the winners and thank you to all who attended! See you all next time!

We are happy to announce the return of The American Carper Podcast later this month. With schedules being very busy for everyone over the past few months, we are excited to get back into some good conversations with some of the top anglers in the USA on our favorite subject! Keep watch for more news as we get it on ‘The American Carper Podcast’!