So it was such a nice day today, wanted to go fishing, but didn't want to drive that far. So I took my rubber raft to green lake with the dog, Jack Bauer. I've had a beef with this giant carp that lives in the lily pads on the west shore, he's a sneaking wily big guy. But I hadn't had this boat, I just got it.

Of course carp fishing takes a LOT of patience, but I had all day. I paddled out into the thick of the lily pads and tied off onto the branch of an overhanging willow. I was about tewnty feet from shore in about 5 feet of water. The wind blew me gently and sneakily to and fro in the lilly pads, but not too far. So I used my two pole endorsement and had a slip float out with "Magic Carp Bait" That I'd got at cabelas, and the other pole I had in my hand. Took a break and ate lunch and waited for the carp to catch the scent and start eating.

I had my Polarized glasses on, which is a must have for this particular brand of carp fishing, because carp will only take the bait for a split second and then spit it out if they think something is fishy. So I stood there and ate my bologne sandwich and watch as the carp slowly started to school closer and closer. The average ones were maybe five pounds and a foot and a half long, but I wanted the bastard that's kept getting away. This time I had come prepared with my hefty salmon rod after last months fiasco. And then he showed up. He swam by at least five times before he went in for a nibble, and as I had been edging away from the smaller carps in wait for the giant one they hadn't been scared away yet. And then he took it, for a split second, but enough for me to see it and set the hook. And WOW.

This guy was about three to four feet long. His scales looked the size of half dollars. And he PULLED. So hard that he pulled the boat off it's tether, and started trolling me around the lilly pads. He jumped and freaked out and everything, I swear he has to be at least 35 pounds. He rushed the boat and I manage to turn the raft around in time, then I lost a paddle over the side, Jack Bauer was freaking out and barking and then He snapped my pole. My big salmon rod. I had the drag set proper, I'm not sure why it broke, I think it's gotta be bad manufacturing. But anyways the line went loose enough for the barbless hooks to fall out (I release them back into the wild, I guess you're not supposed to eat them because of the pollution in Green Lake) and he got away. AGAIN. But I was drenched and happy, and had to scramble with one paddle to get to my other paddle, the dog fell in the water and I managed to get the other half of my rod out from under a lily pad. It was exciting. Anyways...

I'm going back with my Ling Cod pole, one day I'll get a picture of him.

I was fishing for carp until the trout bite started to heat up anyways, so I trolled my ghetto homemade troller rig tipped with a spoon (from the kitchen) with a nightcrawler. I painted the spoon neon yellow with lure paint, and thought I'd try it. It worked AMAZING. I don't think that any of the other boats were getting as many hits and fish on as I was with the thing. The difficult thing though is trolling by yourself in a rubber raft without a rod holder and setting the hook poperly without losing your paddle on account of the fiasco with the carp lost the ring thingy that's supposed to keep the oar in the oarlock. It was difficult to troll upwind, but on the downwind drift is when I could relax. I was trolling FAST. On account of being by myself and not having anyone to paddle, I let the wind push me down the lake. But it worked, because they hit really aggressively and it was fun. I caught five rainbows between 13 and 16 inches, between the hours of 6:30 and 7:30.

But the most surpising thing was that I hooked into a trout that was REALLY big. I didn't bring a net, but he was pulling the rubber around a lot and jumping like a wild steelhead. I think he must have been over twenty inches, I had him along side the boat. But he was darker then a rainbow I heard they planted browns in there, but I've never caught one. I think he might have been one. But he slipped off the hook when I tried to get him in the boat. I think the whole lake must have heard my expletive, and for that I apologize to the rowers. Annoying thing was you could only fish the west side of the lake because of the rowing match. Anyways, a lot of fun at Green Lake today, urban rubber raft fishing.

swayner23

6/6/2010 10:26:00 AM

Sounds like a great day out there, nice report!

The Quadfather

6/6/2010 11:58:00 AM

Yes, there are some AMAZINGLY LARGE carp in G. lake. To someone who hasn't witnessed it, your description of the size of the carp might seem like you were sniffing the dough bait. But I can completely vouch for that fish. I have fished G. lake many many times. 5lb carp in greenlake are a dime a dozen. Last year I was sitting in my float tube, within the lilly pads. (Westside) sort of just zoned out relaxing in the sun.... suddenly something caught my attention no more than 4' off to the side of the tube. I would describe it as a carp as big as my leg. It scared the //// out of me! I actually just wanted to paddle out of the area. I have never really targeted these things, but maybe I can get me some of that Cabelas carp bait and go for it.
Great report! Thanks.

natetreat

6/6/2010 1:41:00 PM

Yes, it is quite peculiar that they are so huge. They swim right up to you, and then if you spook them, all of the carp jump out of the water. The magic carp bait works well after they get a taste for it. Like I said, it takes a lot of patience, they are very line shy. A hair rig with very thin braided line is what you need, because they will snap your line by pulling it through the lily pads. The cool thing about carp is that although they are huge and have very few predators, they fight really hard, pound for pound, more like a giant catfish than a trout. Plus they're crazy looking, like a dinosaur! I'm a fan of carping. Also, boilies work REALLY well, and they're a lot easier to get because you make them at home, with corn and flour and stuff. There are a bunch of recipes online from the UK. I didn't make any because it was an impulse trip, but I think next time I'm going to try some.

returnofthefish

6/6/2010 1:54:00 PM

Very fun report to read. I have seen many huge ones jump there as well. What king of salmon pole were you using ? Good luck catching that carp. Theres some people still fishing from the shore, but I have never seen them catch any carp.

natetreat

6/6/2010 2:20:00 PM

It was an Okuma guide series I think. The japanese manufactured poles are really cheap but I think the quality control is a little lax. Carp are hard to catch in general because they're so line shy and are vegetarian. the trick is being able to see when they take the bait for a taste, other wise it's really difficult to catch them.

knotabassturd

6/6/2010 6:27:00 PM

Ahh, that report made my night. A classic story of gettin' after the big one and in the end still trying to figure out whom got the best of whom. With a broken rod, dog overboard, and temporarily lost oar, I'd say you got the better of the carp since you played him awhile. Just make sure it doesn't figure out a way to deflate the raft in the middle of the lily pads next time. Those big fish are sneaky...
Sounds like more of a monster though than just another big fish.

MotoBoat

6/6/2010 10:07:00 PM

I have to say, a very entertaining fishing adventure, equally as any huck finn novel. Well written. Surprisingly, and most entertaining of all is this encounter happened at Green lake of all places. Not just a rumble in the lilly pads with a monster carp, but tangling with a trophy trout as both large fish towed you (at separate times) in your rubber raft, zig zagging across the lake. While Jack Bauer swam for the safety of shore and to return to your side with a barrowed net and missing oar. In the end the mighty fish got away. Your tackle taken to beyond the engineered limit and Jack Bauer wondering what happened and when can we do it again. I am not kiddin, you had a peach of a day!.

natetreat

6/14/2010 9:43:00 PM

LOL! It's true, a lot of my fishing trips read like Twain stories. But it's true! Big fish on rubber rafts= awesome fun.

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