Born to Run | Carp Fishing in the USA
The US carp scene captured through photography
Carp have been quietly flourishing in the US for 150 years and have spread to just about every lake, reservoir, and river in all states other than Alaska. While it’s still true that only a tiny percentage of US anglers fish for carp, the ones that do have really started to unlock the potential of many fisheries and to capture that experience through photography.
Sean Manning and Wayne Boon, two English guys who came to the US to pursue music careers and founded The American Carp Society (ACS) in 2002, deserve a lot of credit for raising the profile of the sport, and encouraging a generation of US carpers to elevate their game. Here’s a look into the world of American carp fishing through the lens of their members and friends.
World’s Most Valuable Carp?
In 2006 the ACS persuaded an insurance company to underwrite a $250,000 prize for anyone breaking the Texas state carp record during a competition they organized on Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. That got the attention of a gifted 24-year old carper named Al St. Cyr who often fished Lady Bird and knew how to target its big fish. After mass baiting with Solar Club Mix, he landed a 43lb 2oz common during the competition, broke the record, and walked away with likely the biggest single payday ever in worldwide carp fishing.
The Record
Establishing accurate carp records is uniquely challenging in the US. If they keep them at all, records listed by state fishery agencies are usually outdated or unreliable. A lot of big carp specialists keep their catches secret because they don’t want to draw the attention of bow hunters or commercial interests. Unofficially, and all on the honour system, the US record is this stunning 2017 common captured by Luis Montes of California. It weighed 62lb 4oz and was caught after a month-long baiting campaign on his own boilie mix.
Mirrors
Because there’s no such thing as stocking carp here, mirrors are much rarer and always highly prized. When you do connect with one it hits that much harder. Austin Pass with a banger.
Idaho
When rumors began circulating that there was a huge lake in southeast Idaho that seemed to contain nothing but mirrors, the ACS’ Wayne Boon was one of the first to explore. Blackfoot Reservoir has since become a place of pilgrimage for US carp anglers. It’s remote and barren looking, and deep in some wild country. But It’s also stuffed with some of the best looking carp in the USA.
Buffs
Smallmouth Buffalo or “buffs” are widely distributed, but Texas is the place for the really huge fish. While they aren’t technically carp (they’re suckers), the approach and experience is very similar. Even though they’re native fish not much is known about their lifecycle: itt was only just discovered, for example, that they routinely live to be 100! James King and Martin Rich feel the love.
Dale Hollow
Dale Hollow Reservoir on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee is sort of like a hillbilly Lac de St. Cassien, except about 20 x bigger. One very un-hillbilly-like feature is the opportunity to hire a luxurious liveaboard houseboat and cruise around for a week, carp fishing as you go. If that wasn’t enough, Dale Hollow is known for a high concentration of fully scaled mirrors. Chris Matthews with a superb resident.
City Life
There are 30 lb + carp living out secret lives in the heart of Philadelphia, Washington DC, Chicago, Portland, LA, Austin … in city parks and urban rivers all over the country. It comes with unique challenges, but there’s something to be said for walking to a Dunkin Donuts between runs. Pennsylvania’s Jake Jellison with a river 30.
The Kids Are Alright
Despite great improvements in how carp are perceived, they’re still very much regarded as second class citizens in US fishing circles, so it takes a really independent streak to stick with the sport as a youth. Membership groups like the ACS and the Carp Anglers Group play a crucial role in supporting young American carpers. Teenager Jace Alford does park life Arizona style.
Fly Fishing
Many US fly anglers have embraced carp as a worthy quarry. On clear water lakes or rivers with extensive shallows, fly anglers replicate for nothing the (very expensive) experience of stalking big bonefish or permit in the Caribbean or Central America. When not chasing salmon in Iceland, Dagur Arni Gudmundsson guides for carp in central California.
American Born in a Lake Near You
The ACS has produced four coffee table books about carp fishing in the US. One of the best stories in the set of ‘American Carper’ titles is about a secretive carp breeding facility somewhere in the Southern states. Cheap land and a long growing season has led to an impressive hatchery operation that sends most of its young carp straight back to the UK.
Tournaments
The ACS organized and hosted The World Carp Championship in 2005 on the St Lawrence River in New York. It remains probably the highest profile carp tournament ever staged in the US - even NY Senator Hilary Clinton took notice of the carpy goings-on. A certain T. Paisley and S. Briggs took home the glory for England. ACS founders Sean Manning and Wayne Boon toast the winners.
Northeast and New England
Which area of the US has the best carp fishing? It’s impossible to say really because so much hasn’t been explored, but a strong case could be made for the bit in the upper right hand corner. The St Lawrence River, the Seneca River, the Connecticut River, and countless barely-fished large reservoirs and lakes make this area a magnet. Daniel Krull from Massachusetts with a classic mirror.
Carping in the Desert
Drive through many Northeastern states and the landscapes aren’t that different from the UK. Pack your carp rods for Arizona in the opposite corner of the country and you might be looking past your rod tips at mesas and cactus. Zack Voelker enjoys an AZ sunrise.
Great Lakes Area
Carp in unfathomable numbers are in each of the five Great Lakes and the bordering states are top areas for US carp fishing, especially Michigan. Pioneering angler David Oliver boats his gear into remote lakes in Northern Michigan in search of big pristine commons.
Rivers
All the huge river systems in the US contain hundreds and hundreds of miles of carp fishing potential. A few that have been explored to some extent include the St. Lawrence, the Seneca, the Connecticut, the Delaware, the Ohio, the Colorado … but in practical terms, US carp anglers haven’t even begun to touch 1% of the potential. Olivier Gandzadi specializes in carp and sturgeon fishing on the huge Columbia River system in the Pacific Northwest.
