Big 4 Tournament 2009
Carp Anglers Group is holding a Big 4 Tournament during the month of May 2009. Fishing started on May 1st at midnight and ends May 31st at midnight. During the month, participants can fish anywhere in the country and record multiple fish, however only the top 4 count for total weight. All the CAG heavy hitters are vying for top honors.
Good Luck and Tight Lines to All
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Clockwise from top left 28 lbs, 25 lbs, 24lbs 4 oz, and 22 lbs 8 oz.
Wild Whiskey Maize caught them all!
Elmer is holding in about 10th spot with 99 pounds 12 ounces. We will see where he stands when the leader board is updated.
When I entered the Big 4 tournament, the first thing I asked Mar-e was where do you think our best bet will be to catch some big fish? Ogdensburg was her immediate answer. "There are plenty of big fish in the St. Lawrence. " she said. How could I disagree. The weather was windy and wet on Saturday, so we looked around the area of the Oswegatche River and we found a nice spot to "heater" fish. We noticed a nice back eddy right in front of us, so we set up some gear and gave it a try. Soon it was lightning and heavy rains and we hunkered down in the nice heated truck to await the call of the alarm. We waited about an hour had some runs, but were cut off by structure. So some slight adjustments were being made when I got a "screamer". This baby was heading for Canada. Right away he had me in the structure and I figured this one was going the same way as the others. But I was able to gain line a few feet at a time and slowly the fish was coming in. Twice it was snagged solid but by letting out some line, I allowed the fish to pull the line free. It worked! Finally it was free and the fish let me know it wasn't over yet. When it surfaced Mar-e was right there with the net and had my fish secured in an instant. It turned out to be my biggest fish of the weekend at 28 pounds. So we baited up the area and went back to the hotel to await the morning.
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Dave holds a nice 16 pound fish. Mar-e and Elmer ham it up. Elmer shows a rare feline carp. And it's CAG to the rescue.
Next morning we were at the peg when Marius called (MA Co-Chair CAG) to see how we were faring. He told me that some of the CAG members were just returning from the Baldwinsville , NY Carp Tournament and would like to come down and meet us. Soon we had new friends. Jay, Dave and many others came to lend a hand and support the CAG. What a great group. It wasn't long before we were back to Jay's not so secret Sunday morning retreat, swapping tales and phone numbers. Dave is a police officer in town and gave me one free GET OUT OF JAIL card, just in case.
Another new friend, Tom, was amazed when I returned his new walleye lure to him. It came to me attached to my line as I hauled in a 15 pound fish. "I knew it was a big fish that broke my line." said Tom. "But I never thought I'd see that lure again." "Thanks to Elmer But I couldn't figure out how he knew it was mine." When I found it I just figured I would give it to the old gent fishing for walleye upstream and he just got lucky. See you again Tom!
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Though we didn't get any over 30 pounds, we still caught a lot of fish, with a total weight of almost 300 pounds. Not bad for an amateur. These fish are big and strong and know how to make use of all the cutoffs in their area. I also saw some nice big muskies, or pike leaping out of the current across from where we stood. Walleye season is also underway and there were plenty of people fishing for them along the river.
Ogdensburg, New York, the Real Carp Capital
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Summer will soon be here and we hope to return during the Junior Tournament this August.
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Some of the many nice fish I caught this weekend!
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Thanks to Jay and the local carp fishing community. And a special thanks to Dave for getting up in the middle of the night so I could squeeze in a few more hours of fishing. And I must include Mar-e for netting all those fish, picking out the spot , and supporting my fishing obsession.
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