marty sipe
For the month of July we were compelled to recognize Marty Sipe, who has been an avid Carp angler and multi-species angler now for a number of years. A quick look back through Marty’s Instagram history reveals one of his very first shots with a Euro Tackle set up and approach….which progresses through now, to his fly fishing. Always taking some wonderful shots of his captures, we love to see how every Carp, no matter the size, is treated with both love and respect.
Congrats Marty…Keep up the great work and representation of the sport bro!
Check out his insta page HERE!
NOTABLE CAPTURES
June was a banner month for many of our members across the USA. With the summer now officially upon us, we are seeing some glorious fish being captured. These photos below certainly caught our attention in the month of June. 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 everyone is catching over this next month!! Don’t forget to tag us #americancarpsociety #jointheguiltyones and mention @american_carp_society in your stories!
ORNAMENTAL HEAVEN
Loren Walters and Kevin Zirjacks struck gold with the ornamentals at a local lake recently….the colors on these are amazing! Big congrats guys!
Marcel Panne
We just had to bring this fella to everyone’s attention here in the USA! With a big thanks to Gaz Fareham and SUBSURFACE JOURNAL for doing a feature that caught our eye, we witnessed what has to be some of the very best underwater photography on the subject matter that we have ever laid eyes upon, anywhere on the Globe!
Marcel Panne, from Cologne Germany, has an incredible eye and talent for capturing art in its purest form. His pictures come to life and all tell a story of the incredible world that is ‘SUBSURFACE’. We hope that you appreciate the beauty in these shots as Marcel was kind enough to share them with us.
To read the SUBSURFACE blog, which we highly recommend, check out this link:
And for more pics and info on Marcel check out his website and insta pages as well:
When inspiration like this is found, we have to share it…regardless of Global location. A big thanks to Marcel for sharing this with us!
SUPPORT FOR OUR U.S BASED COMPANIES
We wanted to take a moment to give a shout out to all of the companies in the USA that support this great sport of Carp Angling! The more that we can all do to support our fellow vendors and associates within the industry here in America, the better. We have always been of the belief that the U.S. Carp Angling fraternity is a growing number of like-minded individuals that love and care passionately about this incredible species and we should all do what we can to support each other… there’s no room for anything else!
When new businesses open or individuals put themselves out there to promote the sport in any way, let’s do all we can to ‘like’ , ‘subscribe’ and support them.
We will happily help and promote any US Vendor, with the same values and outlook to Carp angling in the USA, that we at The American Carp Society believe in…and anyone that 'puts themselves out there’ on the ‘front lines’ in this industry deserves either a medal or a straight jacket, from our experience!
Here’s to all of the U.S Carp vendors, associations, clubs and organizations that champion this great fish!
This month we feature Brandon Kim and his new ‘Carpy Commando’ brand. With a new store and YouTube channel, his official launch was at the American Carp Society’s East Coast Wild Carp Classic Tournament where he was both a participant and a sponsor….He is also a great angler and along with teammate Alexi Perculeac, placed third in his section!
It is not publicly known but Brandon donated 100% of his Tournament winnings to a local charity. A gesture that defines his character and heart…and as a Marine we can honestly say this is deserving of a well deserved:
‘Oorah’
If you haven’t done so already, swing by his YouTube channel, like and subscribe and check it out his store. Congrats Brandon on the launch!
Click HERE to visit Carpy Commando on YouTube!
Click HERE to visit the Carpy Commando website!
Just what I needed
By: Luke Wilson
After a while of misconnections and busy weekends, I was finally able to meet with my brother and do our big carp walk into the deep of what's known as “the swamps.” Every year we manage to track ourselves deep into the swamps and search for the golden ghost. It's a lot of work for fish we can find pretty much anywhere, but we make stories about the biggest fish that live in the deepest part of the swamps. That’s the essence of our swamp walks, to explore the unexplored, and capture the next monster. Things that make you feel like a kid again, pretending to be Indiana Jones searching for the crystal skull. It's definitely not for the faint of heart and that's why my brother is always my top choice for these all day excursions. I need someone who won't want to turn back after a stagnant hour, and push through the obstacles that hinder our trip. I've been fishing with him longer than anyone else, and he shares the same extremeness for this passion. You have to put in a lot of yourself to get to the deepest parts of your swamp, but it is always rewarded well. Each trip reveals more and more about the lost fishery of the upper Oak, known as the swamps.
Our trip was premeditated, it had to be. As we all grow up we lose our free time and with two different schedules to manage it’s hard to make our times converge on the same day. Like so many other planned fishing trips, rain was in the forecast and there wasn’t much we could do except to bring a rain jacket and hope for the best. Luckily it was just a low percentage. Instead of the rain we got the humidity and the heat, and clouds covering much of the sky. It felt like it was always just about to rain and once it did the humidity and heat would just go with the rain, but it held out and we had the humidity, the heat and the clouds instead for the day. There was also a lack of wind in such a dense part of foliage, before we hit the creek. It was only 9 when we were out deep and the heat and humidity could be felt. The lack of wind also aided the mosquitoes. I swear I was swatting some that just flew away after colliding with my hands. This initial walk to our starting section of creek took a bit of time, dodging unfriendly plants, and spiderwebs that hung across the deer trail exactly at face level. You can’t help but to ask yourself when the last person had ever been out this far and if they were in their right mind doing so. The feeling of disconnection to roads and cellphones was immediately replaced with a stronger connection to the natural world. Birds sang, deer ran, and tracks of many various animals led us to our destination of flowing water. Right before the opening of the creek was a side pocket of stagnant swamp water we had to cross. Many pools in the swamp have an unpleasant sulfur smell, and this one was no exception. Without thinking twice I walked through it and the bottom was all muck. There was a small snapper I saw dip his head under, rushing me to the other side.
When we emerged from the bush the air immediately felt cooler, although hot and humid still. It felt like the cool of the creek sucked up the humidity and carried it away over the current. We made our way out and immediately saw a few fish scurrying along the banks. We didn’t get any and I'm guessing it's because of all the noise we made crashing through the bushes. Because of the dark clouds overhead the glare was terrible, but it was still a little too dark to wear polarized sunglasses. It was a strange lighting that did not help us in any way. It was a slow start to the day. Creek chubs grabbed our flies before they could hit the bottom, and just spotting the carp before they had spooked away had become even more difficult than usual. But, the further down we went the better it became. The creek was wider and slower instead of the pools and runs we had seen when we entered. It started to look like prime carp water, and the little voice inside my head was eager to keep going.
The shallow wide waters of the swamps are perfect for carp. In fact, carp pretty much control these waters. Besides the creek chubs, pike were about the only other fish that can be caught regularly this deep in, although we did land a few largemouth which was a first. Food was abundant and it was obvious. There were crawfish, berries hanging over the edge, larvae from all sorts of bugs all just a reach away from where we were standing. On top of prime feeding and preferable water characteristics, cover was another thing that made this a carp oasis. Overhangs, bushes, reeds and weeds, and lots of sticks and rocks scattered all over the water. This is where we encountered some true swamp monsters. And in astounding abundance. In the local lake carp were abundant, but they averaged under ten pounds. Here, we had already caught a handful. And most of them were over ten pounds, and when we targeted them in some groups they seemed much smaller compared to the fish swimming with them! The carp here just seemed bigger on average, and by quite a bit. Both Josh and I lost massive fish that snapped us off, right off the rip at the new spot. Josh had his fly in water and was tooling around with his line that had wrapped up when he had climbed over a dead tree. It felt like a scene from Jaws as I watched a behemoth of a carp come from underneath the fly and gobble it up. It took only seconds before it shook its head and had snapped the line. How frustrating. Josh was certain that if he had been paying attention it would have been landed. Although I lost a massive carp under the tree and I was paying attention. The big fish I did manage to catch also took me under a tree, but by the grace of the carp gods, I was able to free my line from underneath the dead branch and the battle ensued. One thing about carp is that they fight like Mack trucks. They take off and they keep going. The runs are super tough and they dig deep to keep running. They aren’t acrobatic but make up for it with pure strength. They head for the nearest cover, or a deep hole and they don’t stop. It was difficult fishing here with all the snags and cover that you could get caught up on, but it was what the carp wanted and we had to deal with that. Josh was quick with the net when he came back down and snagged him before he could hit the limbs again.
What surprised me most about this trip was the aggressiveness and the size of these fish. Even the cruisers were quite aggressive. Turning around and chasing flies when a cast landed several feet short. Flies were being sucked down before they could hit bottom. It felt like at times it was constantly one after another. Having a carp chase your fly is the peak of fly fishing for these fish. Many think of them as lazy bottom feeders, but when you can get one to chase 2 to 3 feet and take a fly without hesitation, it completely destroys that narrative. Here it felt amplified even more. We even started calling these fish jungle drum for their aggressive feeding style. There was no hesitation towards the fly. Perhaps it was because of the lack of human interaction. They weren’t scared of anything, unless we really spooked them by crashing over tree limbs or splashing about. Another interesting note about these fish is what they were eating. I don't know if it is because there is a lack of intermediate predatory fish or just a slight adaptation that these carp have made because of the abundance of food but they were exceptional feeders, even taking minnow flies! I remember catching carp in the swamps on rapalas and spoons before as a child. But to land a few this trip on big chunky flies solidified that it wasn't an odditie among these fish. One of my favorite carp flies is a miniature clouser minnow, and it works really well, especially if the carp are from the swamps or the great lakes.
On the way out we saw an osprey and a red tail hawk across the creek from one another. It was a great spot for them to catch their next meal. We made our way back through the menacing plants, only getting stung by nettle a few times along the way. We got out along a stretch of road leading into town. I wish I could have seen us pop out of the woods like the cars did driving by. Two guys emerging from the trees like an urban legend. We just popped out of the bushes and walked along the road. It was a great day, and really fueled my passion even more. It threw gasoline on the fire. After spending so much time just trying to make a day of fishing happen it was just what I needed.
WE ARE MAKING SPACE FOR OUR NEW FALL INVENTORY! WE HAVE 12 ACS PRODUCTS ON SALE THIS MONTH RANGING FROM BAIT PRODUCTS TO BALL-CAPS - ONLY WHILE STOCKS LAST!
Click HERE to visit the ACS Store!
