JACOB AYOTTE
Our Angler of the Month for June is Jacob Ayotte, from Rhode Island! With a historic capture this month of a 56 lb. 08 oz. USA Mirror, he has consistently targeted the larger of the species with success over the last few years. This is a stunning achievement for carp angling in the USA, with no doubt left in the minds of us all that those large wild river specimens are here. It takes a great deal of commitment, work and time to target these specimens and we all congratulate Jacob on this historic achievement for the sport!
A note from Jacob:
‘Well here she is! My new PB at 56 pounds 8 ounces falling to a single 24mm #carpmaxxbaits PBMussel boilie, fished over a few pounds of mixed 24mm carpmaxx boilies! For the past several years it’s been a dream of mine to catch a 50lb plus mirror and this fish absolutely shattered that mark. My friends and I have had some history with this fish over the past few years and I couldn’t have been happier to slide her over my net cord. The sheer size of this fish in the cradle was mind blowing, assuming this fish was an upper 40 I was ecstatic to land it while my friends slept, however once I lifted it I knew I had something special and multiple witnesses and multiple scales proved this out. I am completely humbled by this incredible fish, one of the largest mirror carp ever landed in the USA and the largest carp ever landed from the river. ‘
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 catch this coming Summer season! Don’t forget to tag us #americancarpsociety #jointheguiltyones and mention @american_carp_society in your stories!
• Rick
•. Marty Sipe
THE LAKE HOUSE CT:
This new venue in the USA has been producing some stunning fish lately! With two pending records on the books, a State Record and IGFA Small Fry World Record Common Carp, the fishing has been spectacular so far this year.
Young Tyler Kross and his mum and dad visited the venue in may and were rewarded with this beautiful common:
Robert Jagiello also spent some time at the venue to land this stunning 45lb 05oz specimen!
The 2023 ACS Wild Carp Classic
We wanted also to extend our sincerest thanks to everyone that participated in the 2023 ACS Wild Carp Classic event in New York!
Every angler, marshal, volunteer and helper gave their all to make this a truly successful event from every aspect of the tournament. Some of the top Carp Anglers in the USA, who travelled from 13 different states across the country to compete in the 76 hour endurance event, were blessed with some incredible weather and an abundance of fish throughout the week.
It was kicked off with a new Social day and Trade-Show bringing together Angler’s, of all backgrounds from across the country, who share a passion and love for this great fish. Adding this additional day to the tournament gave everyone a chance to meet each other in a social environment , share some incredible food and stories and come together as a community before the competition aspect of the tournament started. All angler’s also got the chance to visit with all of the US Carp Vendors who were present for the trade show: Carp Bait USA, Proline Baits, Carpmaxx Baits, NECC, Connecticut Custom tackle, Carp Commando and The Gone Fishin’ Store.
TRAILER
A huge thanks to the vendors for supporting the event and being part of something truly special in US Carp Angling.
The news coverage of the event, both in print and through social media, Radio and Television was also taken to a new level of exposure and we can’t thank the local news media enough for their cooperation and help in all of this. The American Carp Society had the entire event professionally filmed and the resulting footage is looking spectacular! We will be releasing a film of the event once post production has been completed.
The cities, chambers, governing bodies and surrounding community really pulled together, along with our incredible sponsors to produce something extra special this year. A big congratulations to all of the anglers that attended and for those that won!
A big thanks to the ACS East Coast Tournament Directors: Paul and Ginny Russell that have dedicated their time to both this event and the NY tournaments of the past!
Please click HERE to visit the gallery on the ACS Website where you can download any of the professional pictures taken for your personal use. Please share them across your social media pages to share the love!
OVERALL WINNERS
Overall Winners of the Tournament - $12,000 - 290 lbs, 9 ozs; Ioan Iacob, Pacsa Radu Daniel - Chicago, IL
Big Mirror: 25 lbs, 3oz - Keith Cisney and Daniel Fowler - South Carolina
Big Common: 35 lbs, 4oz - Hunter Byars, Tyler Byars, Brad Byars - South Carolina
SECTION A WINNERS
1st - $5000 - 265 lbs 9 oz - Keith Cisney and Daniel Fowler - South Carolina
2nd - $3000 - 261 lbs 13 ozs - Bogdan Bucur and Mihai Aciu; both from Chicago, IL (also on Team USA)
3rd - $2000 - 257 lb 14 oz - Henryk Burza and Marcin Szydlowski - from Chicago, IL
SECTION B WINNERS
1st - $5000 - 272 lbs 9 ozs - David Redman, Brandon Shores and Luke Davidson - North Carolina
2nd - $3000 - 256 lbs 8 ozs - Frankie Flippin, Keira Flippin and Brandon Cisney - South Carolina
3rd - $2000 - 237 lbs 9 ozs - Brandon Kim, Alexi Perciuleac - Chicago, IL
SECTION C WINNERS
1st - $5000 - 263 lbs 3 ozs - Hunter Byars, Tyler Byars, Brad Byars - South Carolina
2nd - $3000 - 259 lbs 11 ozs - Gary Chapman, Zach Hodge - TN
3rd - $2000 - 228 lbs 11 ozs - Rafal Ryncarz, Wojchiech Ryncarz, Judy Grabowski - NYC
We wanted to recognize Yuriy Nesterov this month for his incredible dedication and craftsmanship behind the lens. Yuriy joined us at the 2023 ACS Wild Carp Championships in NY and took some wonderful shots at the social event for us.
His eye for detail and composition was not lost on us all and so we wanted to give an extra shout out to him for both his dedication and professionalism that helps to project the US carp scene in the light in which it is deserved. Take a look at his insta page when you get the chance…we could all learn a lot from his photography!
After the fish is captured and released back to the depths all we have are the memories from behind the lens that can be shared with others…the importance of this aspect of US Carp Angling to help promote the fish in the most favorable light cannot be overstated.
Keep up the great work Yuriy!
Along the banks
BY: LUKE WILSON
Fishing is a healing process for me. It's a way to heal what can’t be seen. Some days are more helpful than others. The healing done isn’t always measured by how many fish I net, or how many flies get taken. On the contrary, it is measured by how I come to the water with a thought in my brain and leave with that thought resolved or by solutions imagined. There are times when they’re 1 million thoughts racing around in my head. More often than not, I go to the water to solve those problems. There’s no better way to do that than taking a trip around the banks, like I have been doing since I could go out on my own. The water has always washed away the metaphorical dirt. The sounds of the lake carry me away from my problems and I am left only living in the moment. This is something any fisherman can tell you, despite how differently we all may approach angling.
Pre-spawn smallmouth fishing is some of the best fishing offered locally during the spring months. It is the time to catch the behemoths of the river that all seem to disappear once the spawn has ended. There is a relatively small window to fish this occurrence, meaning limited days and chances to hit the creek. So, while this window is open I try to go out as much as I can. Life has a tendency to toss a pebble in your shoe every once in a while, and it's up to you to shake them out.
My girlfriend's car had just hit the hay, so we were sharing one car for quite a while. Fishing the creek was something on my mind, but during the time was towards the bottom of the list of importance sadly. Both getting to work on one car was quite difficult and always left one of us stranded. It can become quite the stressful experience when you struggle to get to places, and all the savings you thought were safe are suddenly tossed out the window. I needed a reset. While I was home, and my girlfriend had my truck, I decided that I would try my hand at fishing to soothe the soul. I pulled out my bike, made sure the tires were pumped up, and I knew that if I wanted to get anywhere on my own this was my only option. Getting to the river was a long bike ride, but not one that I wouldn’t do as a kid several times a week. Although, as a kid I didn’t care about the cold water so I never brought my waders, and as a kid I didn’t care about the rugged trail towards the bottom. I did pack my waders this time which made the trip a little more difficult because of the bulkiness strapped to my back. Once I made it to the lake I'd have to bike down the trail to the creek. It felt like it had become all hills. I knew it would be tiring, and it was, so when I first hit the creek I took my time getting ready and catching my breath. The sound of the water rejuvenated me as I sat on a log tying my wading boots up. I think I sat on the log for at least ten minutes before I strung my rod up. I watched the water push downstream, and looked for carp along the edge and in the shallows because its habit I picked up and I doubt I can break. The water seemed to be moving a bit fast still, but not enough to be considered really high. As I made my first steps out I casted around and around, not seeing any holes that piqued my interest or made me think that there was a big bass in hiding. But, as I slowly walked to a place with better angles I walked right upon a massive carp. I had failed to keep my eyes on the bottom because I was hoping to fish for bass. “What do I do now?” I asked myself. We were in a standoff. If he didn’t see me maybe I could drop my fly right on his face. But if I move he will for sure, and he’ll just take off. My inner dialogue had taken over my mind and it didn't take long to realize that there really wasn't a chance to get him with the clouser minnow I had tied on. As I looked closer, not only was it a huge carp, it was a huge mirror carp. Salt in the wound. It doesn’t happen very much, but seeing a massive mirror right at my feet had me shaking like I was ill with buck fever. I have only seen about 4 mirror carp and that’s after spending most of my time dedicated to carp fishing now. But fate wasn’t on my side as I must have done something to make him bolt away, like blurt out a foul word with excitement. The rest of my walk ended fairly well for smallmouth, but as I do so often I left the bass to see if I could find more carp. I failed to land any. With wet waders on my back it was a hell of a pedal back. When I got home, I was too tired to think about anything else besides the mirror I had no chance of getting and how badly I missed having a car to get there.
The next morning, the bike took me back, and I let it lead me like a horse that knew its way home. This time it was taking me to a childhood favorite spot. I would come here and walk the banks catching all sorts of fish. It was also a spot where I had caught one of my few mirrors, as that was still fresh on my mind. The bike knew best because I immediately saw 6 or so carp. I strung up much faster this time despite still being as tired as before. As I was casting to them I saw a snake swimming nearly right over their protruding backs. I landed two fish before I spooked the rest away. One carp, and a big sucker. I continued my stroll along the banks, and began to see too many snakes. It was out of hand. I was thankful I didn’t live somewhere where the snakes are venomous. These are just common water snakes. Sometimes they'd hop out of the trees into the water as I walked past. I saw quite a few basking on logs and rocks. Some of the big ones didn’t seem to care about me and didn't even bother to move as I walked past.
As I kept walking along the banks, dodging the snakes as they came, I made sure to be weary of the sun on my back. The warmth felt amazing and was dearly missed, but one time too many had my shadow slipped over an unsuspecting carp and sent them flying out of the shallows leaving a cloud of sediment stirred up. On the point I approached, I saw two huge figures close to shore. I spent a couple minutes casting at one, and after nothing, began casting at the other. I couldn't tell at the time but as I moved closer I saw that they were smallmouth and not carp. They were massive fish, protecting their beds. They showed no interest in my carp fly when I casted at them from afar, and I didn’t wish to disturb them on their beds so I just admired them. I sat down to eat a snack and jot down a few notes. Periodically, the bait fish wandered a little too close and the woosh of bass chasing them broke the sound of the birds around me. Once my break had ended I rounded the corner of the point and saw there were deer and tried not to spook them. There were three and they were walking across the shallow water that would be my next spot I was going to fish. I wasn’t mad. It was actually pretty interesting to see the deer wading through the water. Fishing for carp has given me an amazing gift, that being the power of observation. I studied the deer, but a kingfisher suddenly caught my eye as it noisily flew overhead. It landed across the channel and began to call. I watched him for a while as he sat by the white cherry blossoms. The petals slowly were falling, and spread out underneath the tree on top of the water. Every now and again a strong breeze would carry some cherry blossoms and the flower petals danced and fluttered like snow falling to the ground. When I looked back at the deer, they were gone and as quickly as I saw them. They had vanished without a trace. The water was hardly disturbed. On my way down along the far side of the point I was able to land one more golden ghost. The deer must have spooked the hole that they were in. I didn't see any carp in a normally active spot. I turned around and looked back along the banks I had just walked, watching the small waves roll onto the brown shore. I took a deep breath and had felt something that it seemed I had not felt in a while. That was the feeling of relief. As if the burdens of the world were not allowed to follow. I find my peace along the banks.
Barnaby’s Revenge Baits are now back in stock! Click HERE to find them on the store! NOW OFFERING 5KG BAGS FOR MAPEX & ASTERBURY CREME.
