Carp Angler Magazine CAM, Carpoholic Anonymous Issue 35, March 2017 | Page 5

Braving

5 the Ice

Ritchie Eldridge My favorite fish to catch has always been put on hold for 3 to 4 months every year because winter in Ohio normally is cold with ice fishing being what I do to pass the time . I hated putting my rods up because bass and channel catfish caught ice fishing were the only fish of size but still far from the thrill of a big carp ! One thing that always kept my interest in the fishery for carp is that anglers are still learning new methods to catch them . Fishing the last four years with now new knowledge it was then that a decision to target carp on the ice came to life . Now I am very glad for that decision because you can not beat the rush ! The first year of targeting carp on the ice there were changes made to my tip ups and ultra light rods , changing everything over to small fixed leads with a swivel and monofilament hair rigs . The thought was scaling down my standard rigs would work . I targeted small shallow water where carp were before cold weather set in . In Ohio we are allowed to use 8 lines so taking advantage of being able to cover a big area . I got out a handful of times that year with no success but do remember getting my first bite leading to a channel cat on the other end ! Last time out that year there was at least one carp on . That day nothing was happening so I moved a few lines around to different locations deciding on 3 new holes . With two baits back out and in the process of drilling the third hole I noticed there had been a take already on one of the first two holes . A short run full of anticipation of my first carp ! Figuring it was just the wind that triggered the flag to pop up but looking down into the hole I could see the line was being