6 pulled off and the spool was almost empty was peeling off of it ! Grabbing the tip up out of the hole I picked up the line to a fighting fish that had a lot of line out . This bite was was different than the channel cats caught earlier , so was the fight . Pulling line in for what felt like forever as it struggled to get away . It didn ’ t feel like a big fish but I was certain a carp was going to pop up in my hole . Then the unthinkable happened ! The hook pulled free a few feet from the hole ! I could have almost reached out and touched my first ice carp . Disappointed but left with plenty of imagination to replay back over and over again until another chance to get on the ice again the following winter . Spending most warm weather season thinking about that day , just could not seem to get it out of my head . As beautiful as the weather was I couldn ’ t wait for winter icing to get another shot at a carp ice fishing . As the following winter started setting in I had found a better spot to try and accomplish my goal of an ice carp . Trying not to think about what was lost on the last ice fishing trip to keep everything active . The new spot would test my skill and be much tougher than last year . This time I was going to fish a portion of the river that freezes thick enough to safely go out on . Now adding current to the scenario that was already tough . Seeing and hearing open water close to where my position was on the ice made me pretty nervous but after drilling a few holes in the ice calmed me right down . This being the very first trip out for the winter , turned out to be a day of carp fishing that I will never forget . Setting up this time was routine and the weather that day was excellent being in the 30s partly cloudy with some sun mixed in . It takes about thirty minutes to get all the lines out , so I ’ m always hoping for a bite during that time . Experience tells me that ice fishing for other species it wasn ’ t uncommon to get a bite during set up . Sure enough that ’ s exactly what happened ! My ultra light rod was bent over with the tip down in the hole , line peeling just like it was summer time . Ran over grabbing hold of the rod and feeling the power of this fish visions of losing the carp last year rushed through my head . Playing the fish and feeling the weight I was certain this time this was a carp ! I have one ! A better than expected fight being so careful not to pull the hook finally pulled a carp out of my ice hole . A small but welcome bar of gold ! Catching a few more that day , nothing huge but they were my targeted fish , carp , and that ’ s all that mattered ! I got to get out a few more times that year with my biggest on the ice being fifteen pounds . One thing that I found hard to believe was after finding a good place to fish that my regular rigs