WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER - Jimmy Ayala

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WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER - Jimmy Ayala

As I begin to write, this the year is quickly moving by. We are just about to hit November and my October carp fishing was extremely satisfying to say the least. Growing up I always watched the A-Team television show and I think Hannibal sums it up by saying “I love it when a plan comes together”

So, to start off my first Cygnet blog I have been fishing for carp 10 years now. I am from the United States and the amount of anglers getting into the sport is increasing every day. Even though we all fish for ourselves, I often find myself mentoring others and hopefully getting them into the sport. I love to make YouTube videos and that is how I reach so many new anglers on a regular basis. With the size of the US, being able to reach and help people through video is essential in seeing them take their angling to the next level. Sometimes something as simple as sharing a few moments of their time can lead them on the right path in improving what they may have needed help with. Just the other day I hit 1.4 Million views on my channel and it is a good feeling knowing you can effect someone’s life in a positive way that they enjoy themselves on the bank.

I often spend the spring months fishing by myself and meeting up with a few anglers occasionally. As we roll into the summer months I begin to target lakes that I have not fished before or lakes I revisit after many years of skipping over. Also, in those months I try to have socials to get new anglers into the sport and also for some good talks, food and comradery on the banks. My friend has been helping me organize them, so it helps with the work load that they bring with them. This is a great way to get new anglers into the sport, but also allows the public, especially in America, the chance to see carp fishing first hand. They can see some of the techniques they may have never heard of or seen before. It is great for public relations for the most part and little by little the public perception changes as over here a lot of people look down on carp fishing.

I just wanted to give a very brief intro into the year so far. Fast forward to the present and the fall (autumn) foliage is past peak now with the leaves falling in a hurry to the ground and lake. Winter is knocking on the door as I write this and some of my friends up north have had their first snowfall. I am trying to get those last crucial sessions in before the lakes freeze over and the anticipation for spring begins.

Driving down the road is a constant reminder of how fast the seasons change from one into the next. The leaves are gathering on the side of the road as a heavy rain storm the day before knocks them to the ground effortlessly before the wind sweeps them away.

In fall (autumn), as the nights turn colder the fish are often triggered by this to start feeding a little heavier, getting ready for the more dormant times of winter. Combine that with a full moon and you have what should be, a really excellent opportunity to catch some fish at above average weights. Also throughout summer fish feed a lot on the naturals in the lake and again, as the cold temperatures start to occur they become less abundant, in turn making your baits appeal even more to an opportunistic fish patrolling through your baited area.

Having prepped everything before I started my session I approached the lake and in a hurry tried to get everything set up before dark. In the fall those minutes are crucial, as the days become shorter and the nights longer. By the time I cast my first rod into the water it was already getting dark and by the time I had finished placing all my rods, the night was upon me. I could see the full moon coming over the mountains and the fish were already active around me. I had put a little bait out the day before, consisting of CC Moore Live System and Equinox. I found that these two baits do really well all-year-round, but in the fall and cold water months they really do the trick. Often during the full moon all fish are active on the lake, not just the carp. I could see bass and pike chasing the smaller, what we call ‘bait fish’ into the shore. There would be no calm water tonight with the amount of fish activity on the lake.

I have always loved the full moon and the clouds above and this night was exactly as I had hoped. A memory can be captured many ways and photography allows you to share it with the world but nothing can compare to all of the elements you gather on the bank as you experience it for yourself.

I try to keep things simple unless I feel the fish are getting away with it. My left rod consisted of a snowman rig of Equinox and an Elite Dairy Supreme pop-up. I often using matching pellets soaked in liquid. After that is covered and sets for 10-20 minutes I add a stick mix of my choice to coat the pellets and then use it in a PVA bag or PVA mesh. Even though the baits do well on their own, I am always looking to add more attraction, aiming to draw the fish in as quickly as possible. The middle and right hand rods were combinations of Live System and matching pellets. Since I have fished this area before I knew the sweet spots to hit and so I made good use of the Cygnet catapult. I fire out a pouch of boilies over each rod as this is enough to get the fish feeding confidently over the spots pretty quickly. Also, in some past underwater videos I have recorded you can see that baiting an area also attracts many other species of fish. Not long after all the rods were positioned and baited I was in to my first fish of the night, which gave me a really good feeling that the night was going to progress into something special.

The first fish actually came before the moon had risen above the mountain. It was a solid common which gave me a real work-out. The area was full of weed, which I didn’t really expect and even though it was very weedy, the fish were rooting hard to find the baits and the rigs were working, so I was in business. Soon after this one I had another knock on one of the rods and I felt like it was about to go off at any moment, which it did, resulting in another common, soon followed by a third. I was on fire so far!

As soon as the moon came up over the silhouetted mountain it was like a light switch had been turned on. All of the fish in the general area started to go nuts and I was landing a good amount of fish in comparison to normal on this lake. Even the bass and pike were going insane crashing the banks after their prey. On a side note I had a chance to try out my new Multi Pod and really enjoyed how stable it was. On the hardest of takes, the pod stayed firm in place with no movement at all. I am sure I will be enjoy using it, so you’ll see it in more photos and articles soon.

Even though I was having the time of my life bankside I still had work in the morning. We all dread going back to work and especially when the fish are biting like this. It was already midnight and I knew I did not have much time to go before I would have to pack down the gear and begin to head home. I started to gather the non-essentials slowly and just as I got 10 minutes into a slow pack-down, the craziness began. I had a screaming run that was a really hard fighting fish. Just as I had netted the fish the other rod went screamed off! I was trying to hurry to get the first fish secured while the Delkim was screaming. I ran to the rod and lifted in to a very solid fish. As I battled the fish I could not help but to think how epic this night was. Luckily since I fish alone a lot I carry two nets with me. Finally, the fish was netted, so I let them both rest in the edge while I got everything sorted. I put one fish in a retainer while I weighed and photographed the first one.

By the time I released both fish it was getting very late and I still had to start breaking down my gear. You guessed it though, I had another run! By this point I knew I was going to be in for a rough day at work after this session as it was well past 1am and I was into another one! She finally graced my net and I knew this had to be the end of the session or I would never make it home. I grabbed the rods after she was released and reflected back on what was a very hectic night fishing and a new memory to add to the collection of fantastic nights on the bank with fish to 29lb. I finally made it home around 2:30am and set my alarm for work at 7am. It was well worth it though.

I hope you enjoyed a small sample of my October carping and my first Cygnet Blog. There will be many more to come in the future!