Winter Carp Fishing at the Upper Cooper River! (01/22/18, Haddonfield, NJ)

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I just came back from my New York trip with Tim Galati Outdoors and First State Fishing! It is time to catch up on the Blog, as always. ;) 

Here is my fishing report for January 22nd, 2018. The 2018 Statistical Fishing Chart was updated as well.

Time: 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Fish caught:

- 2 Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio)

Video:

Below are the highlights for this fishing session:

My 6th outing of 2018: fishing the Upper Cooper River for Common Carp! Don't forget to watch it in HD quality (1080p60)! If you enjoy watching my YouTube videos, please support the YouTube Channel by subscribing to it! More likes & more subscribes = more time to make videos!

Summary & Photos:

My carping friends used to tell me that when it comes to winter Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) fishing, "preparation is key." And within that process, they always emphasized that the technique of chumming was crucial to attract those big beasts to bite your hooks during the colder months of the year. Thus, after finishing my previous fishing session at the Upper Cooper River in Haddonfield, NJ (last post), I walked a few steps upstream and chummed a whole can of corn in preparation for my next fishing session.  

I arrived at the same place the next day, around noon. With my Oakley polarized sunglasses, I quickly took a glance at the river. Immediately, I was able to see patches of mud around the area where I chummed. In other words, I knew at that point that there were some fish on my chum. 

The Upper portion of the Cooper River is always saturated. However, with a nice pair of polarized glasses, one can still see the bottom in its shallower spots.

I set up two Baitrunner reels for my carp session: a KastKing Pontus 4000 and a Sharky III 5000. For both reels, I used the Perigee II, 7'0", 2 pieces, medium-heavy with 20lbs Fortis braided line. Since this Species of fish is quite finicky, I used 8lbs Fluorokote (Fluorocarbon) leader on a slip-sinker setup -- a 1 oz. egg sinker with a size 1/0 Riptail rolling barrel swivel and a size #8 Gamakatsu octopus hook. I baited each hook with two-three pieces of canned corn. 

After casting both setups around the chummed area, it really didn't take me long to get my first bite of the day! Although, it wasn't quite the type of bite that I was expecting. Instead of bending the rod and peeling the drag on the baitrunner, the bite was very subtle. And after it, the line just went slack! Therefore, I slowly held the rod (without moving the sinker), flipped the drag switch, and finally set the hook after the slack on my line disappeared. 

After a short fight, the first Carp of the day finally surrendered: 

First Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) of the day: a ~4lbs fish. After a few shots, the fish swam away strongly.

The rest of the day was actually pretty slow. I ended up catching one other small Carp (same bite pattern), and that was pretty much it. 

On one hand, I was quite disappointed. After all, the biggest Carp that I ever landed in that particular spot was a 10lbs+ fish. In other words, I ended up catching only the small stuff for the day. On the other hand, I was quite pleased that I didn't end up getting skunked. I mean...fishing during the winter months of the year around PA & NJ is never an easy thing to do. 

Overall, it was definitely a productive day and a positive experience. 

Even so...I hope I land some giants next time!

Best of luck to all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights!

Sincerely,

Leo S. a.k.a. Extreme Philly Fishing

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