Zach Hoffa shares his year in review 2014 with us. Zach is a multiple specie angler and carp being one of those primary targets a majority of the time. He is out there more than anyone and as you can see below the results from a lot of hard work and dedication always pay off for him
Having discovered many large specimen fish in a variety of waters or the casual walk down the stream fly fishing has lead to many unique and fun captures. Great job Zach! Good luck in 2015
Benefits of a longer carp session by Jozsef
Have you ever wondered about what would have happened if you had stayed for two more days instead of fishing for just one day? I often think about this especially if I am out there somewhere exploring new swims. The general rule of thumb here is that one has to stay at least 24 hours on a new swim to get a general idea. One day gives us enough time to test the water during daytime as well as at night. Sometimes fish only bite on a given swim at night and at other times during daytime only. If no fish is caught within one day and no fish is seen in the area then probably there is no reason the return there in that particular season. I would like to highlight “in that season” meaning the swim still can be a very good one at another time of the year!
Here is the next question: OK. We have seen fish on the swim or we might caught one. Should one stay for a few more days? The answer is yes. This is the ONLY WAY to find out what a swim can do. Unfortunately I could not go out fishing at this time but my friends did, and as a positive example I would like to bring up their success story. Tough guys. Nothing more proves this than the fact that they went out fishing just one day after a two weeks long cold front left the Dallas area. It was a very cold two weeks, the nights were regularly freezing and the daytime temperatures stayed just a bit above freezing, and as a result of this the water temperature went down to 34F-40F. This cold water sent the fish to shock in my opinion. Luckily once the cold front left the daytime temperatures went all the way up to 68F. Still, it was cold at nights, and again, Dallas area just got out of a two week long cold front.
On the first day they caught nothing. Rick has seen a couple of fish moving but that was it. Second day until 2pm there was no fish at all. At that time he had been fishing for 24 hours already without any fish and that is already a deal-barker for me. In this case the situation was a bit different because Rick know the swim usually holds fish at least a few fish; he has seen more and more fish surfacing and he had a couple of bites too. Therefore, he decided to stay, and, he managed to catch one buffalo by the end of the day. They had to make a decision again: The weather was getting better, the water was getting warmer, more bites, 2 days worth of bait was already in the water yet only one fish so far. Should they go for day three?
Yes, they did and it paid off. On the third day they caught 11 fish close to 206LB combined weight. The biggest buffalo was 36LB. This was not only a great achievement for Rick, his son Ricky and Joey but also an important lesson for everybody doing short, day sessions only. If you stay for one day only then all you can say about a swim is if the fish were biting on that they or not. That is it.
Conclusions. Cold water should not scare one. The water was still cold but the warm sunny days managed to quick start the fish quickly. If you can, try to go for longer sessions. If it is not an option ask somebody to pre-bait the swim for you. The other suggestion is fish in teams. Perhaps two teams with two guys in each team and explore new swims together: One team goes sooner than the other, once the first team is done (lets say after two days) then the second team takes the swim over. Obviously next time the later team goes first this way everybody will have the opportunity to enjoy the “fruits” of a longer session. It is worth it. Great job guys!
David Moore , owner of www.bigcarptackle.com shares his 2014 year in review. He has had some stunning fish this year and also some great tournament results to show for.
Even though he is extremely busy running Big Carp Tackle he still manages to get out and enjoy what he loves to do.
Gorgeous near 30lb mirror from Vermont.
Who says Florida does not have any carp? Awesome common from Florida from this year.
New York Six Pack Showdown results! Getting the job done.
Another Stunner from the New York Six Pack Throwdown that lead to the win!
New York Six Pack Throw down Winners.
Show me the money! Result of winning the Six Pack throw down
Beautiful Oklahoma sunset after a great day of fishing.
Lake Fork Texas sunset.
Very strange but unique carp. Never know what will be tugging at the end of the line.
As we step into 2015 it is time we show off some of the stunning captures from each Big Carp News Contributor over the past year. Our first contributor is John Finney of CarpQuesthttps://www.facebook.com/carpquest?fref=ts
Photo #1 June is TAKC “Take a Kid Carping” month. Each year John honors this event and in 2014 had the privilege to take Casey, Brittany and their 4 yr old son, Brayden, out carp fishing for their first time. Casey had written to John and asked if he would take his son out fishing so he could see a carp, up close and personal. Looks like John got the job done.
Of all his captures during the past year, John considers this one to be the most memorable and important, it was not a huge specimen, instead, it was simply, for Brayden!
#1 – Take a Kid Carping, June
(Panko/oats packbait, sweet corn, plastic corn pop-up)
June is TAKC “Take a Kid Carping” month. Each year John honors this event and in 2014 had the privilege to take Casey, Brittany and their 4 yr old son, Brayden, out carp fishing for their first time. Casey had written to John and asked if he would take his son out fishing so he could see a carp, up close and personal. Looks like John got the job done.
Of all his captures during the past year, John considers this one to be the most memorable and important, it was not a huge specimen, instead, it was simply, for Brayden!
#2 – 28 lb 12 oz common carp from Adams County Fairgrounds
(CC Moore Live System 15 mm boilies, LS pellets, PVA bag)
#3 – 16 lb 8 oz common carp from Adams County Fairgrounds
(CC Moore Live System 24+15mm boilies, LS pellets, PVA bag)
#4 – 24 lb 8 oz common carp from Chatfield Reservoir
(NGT 15mm white chocolate boilie, CC Moore Hellraiser Acid Pear pop-up)
#5 – 13 lb mirror carp from Pueblo Reservoir
(Panko/oats packbait, sweetcorn, plastic corn pop-up)
#6 – 11 lb grass carp from Southern Colorado
(Panko/Oats packbait, giant tutti-fruiti maize, plastic corn pop-up)
#7 – 18 lb 8 oz common carp from Pikeview Reservoir
(Panko/Oats packbait, GLM infused sweetcorn)
The full moon has always been exciting for fishing. It seems to send the carp into a feeding frenzy and the harder to catch fish come out. This full moon was no exception with this really short and fat common. She came in on some CC Moore Live System glugged in Feedstim XP. I was also using the new Korda Krank Hooks and nailed it!
The CC Moore products and also the Korda Krank hooks that were mentioned can be found at Big Carp Tackle!
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AUwZu_yRtA[/youtube]
It is with great pleasure that we can share the most recent news in the United States. It has been announced on the Team Korda USA page that Brian Wingard is now on Team Korda! All of us at the Big Carp News Team congratulates him on not only this exciting news but also his achievements in promoting carp fishing world wide. It just goes to show as well that big companies are watching the US market and of course Big Carp News. Big Carp News members have a track record for attracting attention from not only their amazing catches but also their professionalism both on the banks and when they are not out fishing.
Brian also will be helping with the Team Korda USA webpage and also ensuring all the latest products are available and giving demonstrations of them and their uses.
The Official Korda Release states the following:
Brian loves to promote carp fishing not only in the U.S. but on a global level. He loves to teach and share with others and has a genuine passion for being out on the banks. Even though he takes his fishing very serious he is a down to earth guy who just loves fishing, meeting new anglers in his travels and having a fun time while out on the banks wherever he may be.
Brian will also be helping us from this point forward on our page here so if you have any questions please feel free to ask him and also if you see any new products that you are interested in he will help to make sure those are in stock for you to try.Just send us a message on here and put “attention Brian”
You will see his angling throughout the year coming soon but please feel free to check out his Facebook page found here Brian Wingard Carp Anglerand also his YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/bwingy for a sample of what is to come from Brian.
Team Korda USA
If you would like to follow Brian you can check out his facebook here https://www.facebook.com/BrianWingardCarpAngler and of course his YouTube Channel found here. https://www.youtube.com/user/bwingy
Big Carp News Team
I just received my Spod Bucket Adaptor Kit from Cygnet and decided to do an instructional video on installing the legs and getting it all set up. It only takes about 10 minutes to achieve and figured I would do a step by step with video to show how to do so. I added a video also if you want to follow along that way as well. I will later show it in action.
[youtube]RzRf7S73NhU[/youtube]
First step is to get your tools ready for the job. Below you can see a photo of everything you will need to get the job done.
1. Drill
2. 5/16″ drill bit
3.tape of some sort (I used drywall tape)
4. drywall screw
5.pencil,pen,marker
6.tape measuer
7 phillips screwdriver wider head
After you get your tools sorted you will then begin the process of adding the first bracket onto the bucket. Simply place some tape on the side and align the bracket past the handles. This will reduce the chances of the plastic cracking while you drill.
Align the adapter with the lip that is around 1 inch below the top of the bucket. Simply hold the adapter and trace into the holes so you have a marked spot to drill.
Now that you have the holes traced take a screw and start a pilot hole. I used a drywall screw since they have a nice point and will puncture the plastic very easily.
Now that you have a pilot hole started simply take your drill bit and slowly drill into the bucket. Going slow will ensure you do not crack the bucket and of course use a sharp drill bit.
Once you are done drilling your two holes simple peel off the tape and clean any edges you may have. Next take your two screws and press them through the holes from the inside of the bucket coming out to the outside. Place your bracket on the bucket and push the screws through the hole. Final step is to place the nuts on the end of the screws and tighten down evenly. Take a phillips screwdriver to do the final tighten from the inside of the bucket.
Now that the first major step is done the rest is basically the same. You will want to take place tape around the bucket. I used drywall tape that I had laying around. Peel the tape off and get a tape measure to determine how long it is. I measured mine and it was 36 inches around the top. Next step is to divide by 3 since we are using 3 legs. This will give you the distance between each adapter as seen below.
Now that we divided by 3 we can mark our tape like the above images. The starting point around the bucket will be the first adapter that we had placed on the bucket already and start the beginning of the tape from the center of the adapter.
Now that you have your marks going around the bucket simply repeat the adapter process as we spoke about above and remember that each adapter needs to be centered to the line on the tape. Once you are done you are ready to screw on your legs!
Now that you have your Cygnet Spod Bucket Adaptor Kit all installed head out to the banks and make spodding a ton easier on your back and body!
You can buy this at Big Carp Tackle found here http://www.bigcarptackle.com/cygnet-spod-bucket-adaptor-kit
Also Check out http://www.cygnettackle.co.uk/ for other great items.
You can follow me on facebook found here. https://www.facebook.com/BrianWingardCarpAngler
[youtube]3PVcFq4zOqI[/youtube]
The 2014 season is flying by fast and with part of any fishing the use of gear and how it functions is extremely important. Once in a while I do an initial review and give a quick run down of how I like something or what I think of it but again this review is more long term in more ways than one. I have been a fan of Trakker products for many years mainly because they are top notch quality and they last. One thing that is always scary over time is when you decide to upgrade you hope that the company still produces the same quality you expect.
It was around 6-7 years ago that after many holdalls I finally tried out my first piece of Trakker luggage which was a Trakker Jackal Series 8 Rod Holdall. Back then my initial impressions were that it was massive, well made and a nice piece of gear. Fast forward to 2014 and I wanted to get another holdall for my new rod setup. The old one was still in mint condition but as all tackle addicts soon find out they have more gear than they really need so I wanted to get a holdall for my second rod setup.
My expectations were high because I wanted something that would last just as long if not longer than my original holdall from Trakker. Fresh out of the package the build quality was even better than my original with a lot more padding and comfort features. This is an eight rod holdall and you can have four made up rods and four unmade rods in this holdall. I can fit four big pit reels very comfortably in this holdall. I have used quite a few brands through the years that claimed they could fit big pits and they can not hold them. One popular name brand could barely fit two big pits and they also claimed they could fit “eight” rods also. In the pic below you can see my holdall with three made up rods.
On another note you can see the pouch for the reel area is massive! Check out the photo below.
In this holdall you can fit many key items for a session. Not only can you fit 8 rods but you can fit your net, weigh sling, retention sling and other items. I can even fit my brolly in the long pocket if I wanted to. There is tons of storage space which a lot of other companies can not offer. Now with such a huge load being able to fit in this holdall you have to wonder how is the heavier weight on the shoulder or even hands if you carry it this way. Well the answer is simply awesome! The padding makes for a very comfortable trip and you can see the padding in the picture below.
I did want to include some more photos so you can see the outside and the above mentioned room.
Finally lets show the inside and how well padded the holdall is for your rods. You can see everything is extremely well protected. A good amount of padding ensures your rods will not get scratched or bent in transport.
After looking at all of the padding one very simple yet important thing is the zippers on this Trakker holdall are heavy duty. All of the other brands I have used and also my friends have always broken zippers over time. My other Trakker zippers are still perfect and I am confident that these will be the same quality. There is nothing worse than breaking a zipper and not having your gear work the way you want it to.
In closing just like my other Trakker holdall this does everything I want it to do. It has the proper quality I am looking for. It can hold all of your much needed gear for a proper session and then some. You can expect your hard earned dollars to go a long way with this as it will last you years upon years and stand the test of time. I feel I can highly recommend this to anyone in the market for one and know years later they will still be happy with their purchase. Please ask me any questions you may have about this product. You can see my Youtube video above or you can write to me on my facebook page found here. https://www.facebook.com/BrianWingardCarpAngler
The above Trakker Holdall can be found here at Big Carp Tackle http://www.bigcarptackle.com/trakker-8-rod-padded-holdall
Great Common Carp caught while filming my Sonik SK4 review video and she checked in at a little over 26lbs! You can see the video below on the Sonik Rod review plus the stunning fish above from start to finish on my Sonik SK4’s.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N4LnEgZ7wQ[/youtube]
The time has finally come for my review of the Sonik Sports SK4XTR carp rods. Usually when I write a review I like to go over the product before I even use it and give some initial thoughts on the product and then come back later over a period of time and let you know how it did long term. When I first got my rods they had so many nice features I didn’t want to do one right away because I really loved the feel of the rod and decided to give it a good workout before doing any type of review for it.
I received my rods back in april and have been using them ever since. I definitely do not take it easy on my rods and have cast heavy leads, pva and other larger than normal items just to make sure they can handle anything you can cast. The one thing that stood out while getting into some big fish is the ability to control the fish better with these rods. Every company has a test curve rating on the rod and from company to company they can feel a lot different. When I had my fish on the rod no matter the size the back section was powerful and allowed me to pull quite a few fish out from the snags or away from them. We have a lot of heavy rocks and limbs in the water and the worst fear I have is always breaking off a fish into these snags. Every time the fish would lunge I was able to pull it away from these objects and bring it to a safer area and took away the pressure of possibly losing the fish. The cool part with all of that backbone in the rod is the tip section is extremely forgiving. A lot of times the heavier the pound test a rod is the stiffer the whole rod is and doesn’t always have the best action. Not the Sonik rods because a majority of my fishing is done alone so trying to net a fish by yourself is very tough. Having a nice flexible tip section is essential in getting these fish in the net without the fishing shaking the hook free or worse yet tearing the hook through the lips.
The above photo you can see the rod description and also some of the finer detailing of the rod near the butt section. They are a very well designed and beautiful rod. Expect many photos in my posts on facebook and other social media in the near future!
The butt section above is nice and long which allows you to get a nice pendulum motion on casts. The blank is very nice and thin allowing you to get a nice grip at the end and getting a very powerful cast. Also you can see these rods are a little dirty because I am out using them day in and day out. Even though they are a very nice rod I am out there putting them through their paces! The grip on the butt has a great grip. Even when you play a fish and the rods are all wet or if you happen to get some fish slime on them they remain the same amount of grip. This is so important on the cast because one little slip and you may send the lead into a tree or worse yet.
You can see the very nice Sonik logo on the butt end of the rod in the above photo.
One great feature on the SK4 rod is the addition of a line clip. These can be used for so many things. The main thing they can be used for is on the cast to hit the same mark over and over again. Other times I may pop in the line to get a little stiffness to the line to get better detection from your alarms.
One thing that was really a nice feature for me was the reel seat area is wide than most rods. All of my other rods have had a slim reel seat and this can make for some tougher casting. The little bit wider reel seat on these rods allow you to get more of a grip which turns into more power on the cast. They have a great grip that enables you to muscle more power on a hard cast.
The back half of the SK4 rod has this beautiful 1k carbon weave and adds a lot of strength to the rod. The front section is a matte black carbon.
You can see I got the SK4 rods with the 50mm butt ring. This makes for some great casting and even further distances since it cuts down the amount of friction on the cast. You can get 40mm or 50mm ringing on most Sonik rods so the choice is up to you which route you choose.
Here are some of my biggest of the year including my new PB of 38lb 8oz caught on my Sonik rods. The backbone of the rod allowed me to play out these fish and also keep them from getting into the snags. I had a tough time with my PB because it just kept peeling line out and going after snag after snag but the rod allowed me to prevail. You can see the video of this insane session below and you can see all of the amazing captures caught on my SK4 rods. I had 15 total fish including three 30lb fish!
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDzzkqugnT8[/youtube]
One HUGE advantage about Sonik rods compared to any other manufacturer out there is Sonik backs their products with a lifetime warranty. If you break your rod they will replace your section that that broke free of charge. You are responsible for the shipping but no one else out there is as confident that they offer such a warranty. This is a great feature and reassurance to have when buying a new carp rod. These rods and the rest of the Sonik lineup can be found at http://www.bigcarptackle.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=sonik
In closing I will be doing a long term review one year from now so stay tuned for that! Overall in the months that I have tested them I have not found anything noticeable that I did not like about these rods. They do everything they claim they can do and then some. They handle the fish superbly and cast like a dream. I let some of my friends use them and they were quite surprised the rods did not cost more than they do. All of them were getting farther casts than normal and were very confident in the rods ability. Until next time good luck out on the banks! Brian Wingard
Well it is that time of the year again when we are out hammering the fish left and right. So many companies and so many options for equipment to buy it can boggle the mind sometimes. I am a huge fan of using catapults for my everyday fishing. I do love a Spomb but I find myself using the catapult for when I want to get bait out insanely fast and accurate. As soon as I get to my chosen swim I pull it out of my bucket and fire around 8-10 boilies over the spots I plan to cast to. While I am getting all of my gear sorted I am drawing in fish with the few free offerings. I have had a decent amount of quick bites from this technique because as soon as I cast in my rods I had a bite within 5 minutes or so.
In the above picture you can see the Cygnet Wide Frame Catapult. First impression it looks similar to all of the other catapults on t he market. Like mentioned above since I use catapults all of the time I know what breaks on them the most. The band is the first thing to wear out usually on most. I have had around 5-6 catapults now from all companies so I have experience in what to watch for. This catapult comes with a standard pouch which is great for all around usage. I have used some companies and the pouch is so tiny that you wonder why they even made that small of a pouch unless you plan to only put out 2 boilies of course. They also make a large pouch which you can buy seperate.
The frame itself has a little give to it and that actually helps in getting maximum distance when firing out. It almost adds an extra spring effect to the elastic and long distances are a breeze. The biggest thing I loved about this catapult is the band. I am notorious for breaking bands right away due to heavy usage. This band from Cygnet is heavy duty and you only have to pull back a little ways to get the bait out. Of course if you are shooting for 60 yards plus you will have to pull back a little farther to achieve those distances.
In the video below I show the Cygnet catapult and also show it in action so you can see its performance.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjdjSssOUJo[/youtube]
Again as mentioned above the catapult comes with the standard pouch. This will hold roughly 15+ 18mm boilies. You can use larger particles, ground bait balls, method mix or anything else you can think of. The large the object the farther it will fly and the smaller items such as particles will only go about 20 yards if that. They also make a large size as well that will fit even more.
One other key thing that I must mention is a few companies make replacement parts such as bands and pouches for your catapult but many are somewhere pricey. The Cygnet lineup has very reasonable priced replacements which is another added bonus. They sell the bands and also both size pouches that you can keep as spares that way if you plan a trip far away you will have peace of mind in knowing if something happens you have a replacement and also those replacements didn’t break the bank to have.
In the above photo you can see how the bands are held into place. There will be a small plastic piece that goes inside of the band and what this does is puts a lot less stress on the band when you go to fire. This means the band will last a lot longer than normal. You can also see the part of the frame where the band goes through is rounded and smoothed nicely so ensure no matter what angle you fire from there is no edges that will prematurely wear out the band as well.
In closing I will say I have loved my Cygnet Catapult from the moment I used it. I am going on close to 3 months now and it is going strong. I have done a ton of sessions and fired kilos and kilos of bait out during those sessions and this still is holding up. I even baited 5-8 kilos with this for a prebait and that is usually a catapult killer and no wear at all! I am highly impressed with this and I am sure you will be as well. The other thing is the price is really great for a catapult of this caliber. Brian Wingard
Big Carp Tackle is the sole supplier of Cygnet Products in the United States and they can be found at the links listed below. You can see the catapult plus the spare pouches and bands.
http://www.bigcarptackle.com/cygnet-wide-frame-catapult-4516
