Spinner Bait>>>Monster

[lupanfreitag]

I worked most of the weekend but decided to swing by Portland Lake on the way to Food Lion. I already had on a Chartruese Terminator spinner bait. I threw about three times and retrieved only balls of moss. The fourth cast I threw to the middle of the lake, let it sink 5 seconds and cranked about twice when the bait stopped.

I you have every hooked a log too heavy dislodge but free enough to give just a little? My medium baitcasting rod was at its limit. I was about to give it slack when it moved. Slow hard pull. My rod was at the breaking point so I loosened the drag and tried to leverage IT.
It moved again and started coming towards the bank but slowly. Glacier slow.

Portland Lake does not have musky or large catfish or goliath grouper- I was at a loss. I fought it for about 5 minutes, no sign of it coming close enough to see. A log with propulsion? Turtle? Diver?

Finally it was close enough to see a flash. It was white. Not a turtle. It was massive. Later quick measurement taped it at around 50 inches.
Suddenly it rolled on its back and slid in. It was a massive grass carp, hooked in the mouth! I pulled it into the shallows, dropped my rod (big mistake) and tried to pick it up by the gill plate. It decided no doing and sprayed two bystanders and me with moss, mud and water.
I grabbed the rod to begin the battle again but the bait had fallen out when I dropped the rod. It was at least 25+ if not bigger. We measured the bank were it had temporarily come to rest.

An old man down the bank asked me if it had been a bass. A 50 inch bass? Now there is a story.

I didn't think grass carp hit lures. Note to self, if you hook a fifty inch fish, don't think the battle is over in 5 minutes. If it is a bass, ask the old man down the way to help you net it.

[RiverShoes]

Man, wish you had a picture! Good story! I hate it when they get almost out, and then go back in! Jerks! =)

[bd-]

Awesome! I'd rather have a 50-inch grass carp than a little bass any day! :)

bd

[lupanfreitag]

I had a picture too.
Inches, inches from dragging it on shore!
Oh, well. For 15 minutes of fishing I nearly had 30 lbs of fish.

[bd-]

Does Portland Lake have any long shallow mud flats where the grass carp come up to feed in shallow enough water where you can see them? I have wanted to target grass carp that size on a flyrod for a long time, but fly fishing for carp is pretty much all sight fishing, and it's hard to find places where they are vulnerable.

bd

[clean air]

Over the weekend I fished the duck and saw lots of BIG carp on the sand bars. The water is clear and sight fishing would be easy.There was a half sunken tree that had atleast 20 around it but I saw them in shallow everywhere I fished.I thought about going back with a bow and walking the bank and bowfishing it.

[txnative]

BD

Portland City Lake isn't great for carpin'. There are really only 2 areas where you could sight-fish, and the carp population isn't high enough to dedicate a trip for carp only. Also, i have only seen grass carp, no commons. Sportsman Lake has a better flat, and grass carp feed on it with decent consistency, but it's a members-only lake. There is a "super-secret" carp hole nearby, and so far i'm the only person who fishes it. Not sure how it's fishing yet, but i can let you know when it fires up. Lot of bonus smallies, largemouth, and other gamefish, too. They're great when the "trash fish" aren't feeding. PM me if ypu want to early-scout it and i'll give you details.


Chris

[TNtransplant08]

BD,

I've seen GIANT grass carp in Marrowbone Lake. If you go left from the ramp and head into the first creek on the left side of the lake, I usually seen them every time I head into there. The water is only 2-3 feet deep and pretty clear there. First time I went in there, I was paddling a john boat I had rented. I was going past what I thought was a log in the water. Than it moved and my jaw just about dropped. That was the first time I've ever seen one since I moved down here. The old fella that runs the bait shop told me that the state record came out of there.