Sam Hicks

Our Angler of the Month for June is Sam Hicks from Billings, Montana! Both Sam and his wife Melissa, are American Carp Society Members, and love to spend time on the bank! This shot is taken from a recent trip…a stunning 40lb.+ Mirror from a session in Idaho. Sam loves his Mirrors and spends as much time as he can in pursuit of them….Congrats on a great year so far!

NOTABLE CAPTURES

Last month was a banner month for many of our members across the USA. With temperatures now warming up pretty much everywhere, we are starting to see the bigger fish coming to shore. With some lovely scaly mirrors coming out across the country, we had a few to choose from! These photos below certainly caught our attention in the month of May. Congratulations to everyone on the success of their angling sessions this past month…We appreciate all your tags and mentions, and can’t wait to see what you guys and gals catch this coming Summer season! Don’t forget to tag us #americancarpsociety #jointheguiltyones and tag american_carp_society in your stories!

winter & spring campaign
BY: James King

It’s probably no surprise from social media posts that Martin and I fish together relatively often and each year we usually plan on sharing a swim for a few months, to see if we can bag a few decent fish. The spring of 2022 was no different.

We had plotted and planned a couple of options for ladybird lake, during the summer and around early January I went to scout out an area which traditionally held a number of carp, but often holds some bigger residents.

Much to my dismay when arriving on that chilly January morning, there were around 50 (fifty) tents, of Austin’s ever growing homeless community. The plan was a bust effective immediately, mainly because of not wanting to be bothered every five minutes while fishing, but also the added element of danger when trying to bait at 4am and when fishing alone.

After some thought, we opted for our back up plan on the center of the lake, even though we knew it may be several weeks before fish started showing up. The swim has always seemed to be more of a pass through spot, rather than a hangout.

It was obvious no other carp anglers had been near the swim for months, but we made short order of making it comfortable and tidy, with a little yard work and gardening…

We started with our general practice of sonar scanning the area for snags and drop offs and then a couple of weeks of pre-baiting before putting a rig out. It started with several buckets of particle every few days (usually meeting around 4-5am) after Martin drove 90 mins from San Antonio. This helped clean off any weed to create a nice clear spot. It also puts the swim on the fishes radar and if they come by at the right time, and will hold them in the area long enough for them to be there when we were fishing.

As we all know by now, the “Town Lake” glory days are well and truly behind us, but low 30’s are not uncommon during the right time. In an 8-10 hour day session and with a pre-bait, 3-4 bites and a couple of fish is always a good result.

My personal goal was a PB common of 35+ and Martin was definitely eyeing one of the rare 40+ carp. From late January to mid April we fished it at least twice a week between us and bait was going in between 4-6 times a week, lots of bait. We lost track of it, but on boilies alone we probably spent upwards of $500. Was it worth it? From an achieving our goals, no, but in every other aspect, most definitely!

Between us we had a ton of 25-28lb commons and several 31-33lb specimens. The highlights would certainly be Martins 36lb 14 oz beauty and just shy of his PB, and I smashed my White Amur record, by several pounds and bagged a monster 49lb fish.

More than the results, we had a really great time over the few months and made lots of memories and met some very interesting characters

Urban fishing at its finest, with bacon butties and food truck lunches, and Martin only shouted at the rowers a handful of times!

Tight lines and wet nets everyone.

With the quality of photography rising amongst our members, we thought it only right to acknowledge some of the cool shots coming across our feed! Keep tagging us with the great lens work, everyone! We love to see this from our members…Always leading the way in the US Carp World by pushing the boundaries of creativity and excellence!

NEW RELEASES

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NEW RELEASES 〰️

THE GROUNDBAIT

We are continuously searching to innovate and design products for the Barnaby’s Revenge range of bait products for the US Carp Angler.

We are happy to announce the release of our new ‘one stop shop’ ACS groundbait on THURSDAY JUNE 9TH!

Perfectly formulated to use straight out of the bag with just water. No messy cans of corn or other products to bind!

We all know how the perfect pack bait or method mix can add to your catch rate on the bank here in the USA. Float anglers in the UK rely on a perfectly proportioned groundbait that will both cloud, break down and pull fish into their swim over a period of time, traditional Euro Anglers look for a great dry stick mix or sloppy cloudy spod mix to add to their boilie targeting approach for that extra edge.

The ACS Groundbait will do it all …straight out of the bag. You just add water.

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO BELOW:

Custom formulated with highly nutritious ingredients this product is the most versatile baiting product that we know of. Most groundbaits / method and pack mixes usually require the addition of a binder to be used effectively…ours is already built into the dry formula. Just increase the water for a sloppier spod mix or decrease it for a harder pack or method mix that will stick directly to a lead. You can also use it straight out of the bag as a dry stick mix.

Packed full of nutritional goodness for the carp, high in both proteins, oils and amino acids with both sinking and floating particles, this groundbait will pull fish in from all sections of the water column. It has a 10 minute breakdown time frame, which is perfect for both pack and method mixes when packed hard. If you are wanting to try your hand at float fishing…there is no better clouding groundbait available.

Hand-blended here in the USA from all locally sourced ingredients, it is sure to be a favorite with Carp Anglers on the bank. Conveniently offered in 4 KG quantities in a resealable bag, it goes a long way and will last you a while.

• MADE IN THE USA

• LIMITED QUANTITIES AVAILABLE

• SOLD IN 4KG RESEALABLE BAGS

We have a limited amount made up for our members and will be available on our store for release on THURSDAY JUNE 9th…Mark your Calendars.

THE JUICE

THE JUICE

Searching for that extra edge in our hook-baits and baiting campaigns, to attract those big carp into the swim, is an ongoing quest. Understanding their feeding patterns and having a high quality food source is always the best baseline to start. If we can add an extra element of attraction to our hookbaits by introducing a visual stimulant, amino acids and a special flavor to stimulate the carp’s olfactory senses… then we are ahead of the game.

Carp have a highly sensitive sense of smell, through their olfactory rosette located at the front area of their head. It is far superior to our human sense of smell and can detect low levels of chemicals within the water from a great distance…it is able to distinguish between sweet, savory and salty substances.

Amino acids are well known feeding triggers for Carp, given off by crustaceans, bloodworms, mollusks and other food items contained within their diet. Their highly sensitive olfactory organs can detect minute traces of amino acids within the water from a great distance. This allows them to search out the food source that they have detected targeting the origin of the stimulant.

We wanted to add something special to the Barnaby’s Revenge Range of bait products and have been working, over this past year, on something that would ‘tick all of the boxes’. It wasn’t easy and a lot of experimentation ensued, searching for the right combination of quality ingredients here in the USA that would allow the delivery that we wanted.

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO BELOW:

‘The Juice’ is an attractant carrier and feeding stimulant for your hookbaits…available in all three of the Barnaby’s Revenge range of flavors - Asterbury Creme, Mandala Gold and Desert Fruit, it contains amino acids, vitamins, enzymes, minerals, sugars, lignin, saponins and salicylic acids with an added visual element as well.

It will start to disperse the flavor and stimulants around your hook bait within a few minutes of introduction. It can be used on your hookbait, lead, pack bait or method mix for delivery into the swim. It can also be injected into a PVA bag if the bag contains oil or salt as it will break down a regular PVA bag within about 15 seconds.

Hand Crafted here in the USA from local ingredients and available in 6oz (177ml) bottles.

• MADE IN THE USA

• LIMITED QUANTITIES AVAILABLE

• SOLD IN 6oz (177ml)

We have a limited amount made up for our members and will be available on our store for release on THURSDAY JUNE 23rd…Mark your Calendars.

bushwhacking
BY: luke wilson

I grew up on the upper part of the Oak Orchard, particularly where the swamps drain and the water has not yet earned its prestigious title of river yet. The water is slow moving, and the channel is somewhat deeper than expected with it only being a stones-throw in width. It is incredibly murky, and even in its most clear times there is a brown tinge to whatever lies beneath the surface. With nostalgia, I thought about a spot that I’ve fished since I was young. It was only a short distance from where I lived on the creek. In this location, the slow moving water coming from the swamp starts to pick up its incredibly slow pace and begins the transformation to river, although it's still a creek at this point. The water comes over the falls, bottlenecked by the narrowness, and continues its path in a different manner than before. The water is pushed wide and there is no particular channel to stay true to. The still murky water washes over rocks, and trees, then pools again and again before it can continue heading North to the lake. As children, my father would take me and my siblings to this spot in mid to late summer.

We would spend our time here stick-netting whatever we could corral into a pool. Sometimes we’d catch a net full of splashing fish. Other times our nets would be empty as we pulled them up. Flipping rocks to catch crayfish and challenge ourselves to a spectacle of bravery was yet another way to spend time beneath the falls. The crayfish would fight back, and although we meant them no harm they still fought back like their lives depended on it. We have all had our fair share of being nipped by more than a few of these craws. On the edges of the creek, we would also flip rocks, but instead of crayfish we would find beautiful salamanders. Amazingly gorgeous, and extremely tender they were. There were some with blue spots, or blue sparkles. Then there were others with a rusty red over their wet backs. We handled them with the utmost respect, they felt like such fragile creatures. The water snakes that were down there we usually left alone. With such a beautiful, untouched landscape, there is a catch. It's only safe to get to if the water lets you. The only way to access beneath the falls was to climb down the side of the falls. The falls are only about ten feet tall and there are plenty of rocks that make little steps for you, but since all the water bottlenecks through the falls it can be extremely dangerous when the water is too high. That is why we usually have to wait so long to get down there. But even as a kid I would recognize how much life would be down here, and especially now, realize how many carp would sit in the pools right underneath the falls.

Knowing how many carp there are in this section of creek, I was determined to try my hand despite the falls' usual route being inaccessible. I tried exploring a new route to take, starting at a lower point and going upstream. I wasn’t familiar with this route but I figured any chance was a chance worth taking. There was a park just a bit further down the road. A drainage ditch runs through farmland, passes through the park and under the road in a huge pipe, then the small stream empties into the creek. Walking through the pipe that lay under the road was like walking through a doorway to a foreign land. Immediately after passing through this tunnel and coming out the other side, the earth drops off. I saw a lush green landscape, and massive steep hills, creating a valley-like passageway to my destination. I never would have thought this is how it looked behind the park. The trickle from the pipe passed over several huge rocks, dropping and pooling, then dropping again. The rocks were slick, and covered in moss. It was like a section lost in time. Encouraging that notion was the garbage scattered along the way. It was disappointing to see but it must have been from years of collection. There were items from multiple different decades. Old glass bottles, tires, TV’s, and even a stop sign. There were numerous balls that must have been lost from kids that played at the park.

The trickle began turning into a stream. I noticed its path was directed by rock walls. On these rock walls I saw my first living encounter. There was a snake on one of the walls sunbathing, and it dived into the shallow stream stirring up silt. Then I saw more and more until I noticed one every time I looked down along the rocks. The water began to revert back to its swampiness, spreading its clutches as wide as it can, creating many false side creeks that only lead to more side creeks. The water forms marshes and back pockets in places where it would seem unlikely to be, and somehow there is life within these waters. The closer I got to the main creek the more animals I saw. It was crazy to see just how many there were, almost unbelievable. Along with snakes, turtles were everywhere. The painted turtles lay on rocks and logs and have probably not been in contact with a wandering human in their lives, and since that is the case are frightened as I walk by and quickly dive into whatever water is underneath them. Snapping turtles are also common in the swamps. But the numbers I encountered on this trip will never be outdone. I’ve never had any problems with snappers, and I hope to keep it that way so I kept my distance, but it got to a point where there were so many that I contemplated leaving right then and there. They would be on the banks or crawling along the bottom as I wearily waded as far away as I could, still trying to be as stealthy as possible in case there were any carp lying about in the flooded side creeks.

I was standing on the edge of a hole that I had seen two rather small carp roaming around a rock and a downed sapling. They were my first carp I had encountered. My eyes were focused on the fish. As I grappled with the seemingly impossible task of how I should present my fly to them, face down in the rock and protected by the sapling, I caught a slight movement out of my peripherals. The rock I had been standing by had shifted on one end and to my surprise it was the ass end of a snapper. I was maybe an inch away from stepping on its tail. I told myself these two carp are going to have to wait and I continued my journey without any hesitation. The deeper into the unexplored I traveled the more satisfied with my idea of scouting a new place I became. I walked through dense brush, swarms of gnats and mosquitos, over rocks and through mud. I found pools where dozens of carp gathered, eating all of the crayfish that had scattered about the creek. After a few more trips to the same section, this trip had granted me a new favorite spot, where fish were plentiful, of grand size and beauty, and it was absolutely untouched by mankind. There was only one negative trait, and I can't even say that it was entirely negative. I really had to bushwhack my way through the land and vegetation with a 9ft, 6wt rod. But the feeling of being the only one that's ever been out there beat out the annoyingness of dodging obstacles with a 9ft rod. To think, if I hadn't just packed my gear up one day and decided to try something new, I probably would have never crossed its path.

One of my favorite characteristics of carp, they can be found almost anywhere. They can be found in lakes, canals, and rivers. They can be in your local park, or in the middle of nowhere. I often find them in the most outlandish places for fish to be. Nestled way back in a downward tree or a flooded flat that is grass, weeds, mud, and logs. It’s often quite hard to get good angles on them because of the overhanging trees or dense vegetation, but all these obstacles only encourage my devotion and make the fish that much more rewarding. Fishing isn’t always about staying in your comfort zone although it’s a great way to be. It is also a great way to push the boundaries of our comfort zone. Like picking up a fly rod and targeting carp. It was something I never would have thought I would be into and here I am. There’s an aspect of fishing that captivates our wanderlust, our thirst for exploration. And we all crave a new secret spot that we believe only we have the knowledge of. The secret spot that’s gonna hold giants and massive numbers of untouched fish. Fishing gives us the opportunity to explore the unknown, to see the unseen, and to net the uncatchable. Whether your next trip is bushwhacking through the woods, or just taking a stroll through the local park, we all have the ability to make what we can out of it. Make it an adventure worthy of memories, and tales worth sharing. I usually find the next honey hole when one day I walk just a little bit too far.

NOTABLE CAPTURES

Our Carp on the Fly members and friends have been anxious for the weather to get a bit warmer! 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 Summer season! Don’t forget to tag us: #americancarpsociety #jointheguiltyones and tag us in your stories: @american_carp_society

Coming up in June we have a wonderful interview with Tim Marshall on The American Carper Podcast.

An all around great angler, advocate of the sport and friend and member of the American Carp Society, Tim has been angling for Carp for many years, specializing in targeting his beloved species from a boat. We take a look at his approach now and compare it to when he first started fishing for the species. An incredibly insightful Angler…don’t miss this episode!