The Fine Art Of Stalking the Wild Carp

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Carp and all other fish, you see, have a sixth sense known as the lateral line . . . a system of nerves that runs the length of the body and registers the slightest changes in water pressure. The fish can "read" the nature of these signals and tell what's happening in the surrounding area.

If a hunter starts his stalking at the inland tip of a cove, the first prospect he spooks will be likely to scare away most of the others in the whole bay. This happens because a frightened fish seeks depth and open water as fast as possible . . . and a large, panic-stricken carp makes a shock wave that can be detected by its companions for a considerable distance. These react likewise, to create a domino effect that dissipates only after about 500 feet in a still, enclosed inlet.

If, on the other hand, a cove is hunted from its mouth, only those fish at the open end will be scared off by the first shot. Because the shock wave made by any aroused fugitive now spreads in a "V" from its nose, back along its sides, and then dissipates behind it in deeper water, very little warning is passed on to the easily hunted, shallow-water fish ahead.

Refer now to Fig. 3, which illustrates the most efficient order for two people to hunt a wide cove. In this case the current through the reservoir runs from east to west . . . and as you enter the water on the east side you may bag a prize immediately without bothering any of its neighbors closer to shore. If the two hunters now stand 12 to 20 feet apart and turn to look shoreward parallel to the east side of the bay, they may—if many fish are present—be able to remain station ary and wait for cruising carp to swim up to them.

If waiting tactics don't result in enough action, the person who stands deepest in the water should begin an advance (leading his partner by 12 to 20 feet). The lines of small circle in Fig. 3 represent the course followed on this hypothetical hunt.

When the point of the cove is reached, the pair leave the water and move quietly away from the shoreline (X's marks their path on land). If the catch bags are too full to carry easily, this is the time to empty the sacks and dispatch the fish by hitting them between the eyes with a club or rock.

The partners then circle around to the west, well away from the shoreline to avoid scaring the fish. On the other side of the cove's mouth they re-enter the water and proceed as befort . . . usually with less luck than they met with on the first pass. In a very large bay it might then be worthwhile to start over again on the east side. Normally, though, my neighbor and I hunt three or four inlets per trip and bag two or three fish apiece from each cove. This kind of "day" is usually about four hours long.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print