MASSIVE CARP ON THE MOUNTAIN
Last Mountain Lake is a south-central Saskatchewan natural glacier cut lake that is 93 kilometers long, varies from two to three kilometers wide and has depths up to 30 meters. Last Mountain’s rocky shorelines, rocky points, shallow bays and shallow ends of the lake are all great natural spawning grounds for a number of species of fish such as Walleye, Northern Pike, Perch, Burbot, White Fish and even Carp.
Last Mountain’s warm fertile waters have become known as a one of the top trophy fisheries in North America for a variety of species. This includes walleye, northern pike and yes CARP. The natural shallow bays and shallow ends of the lake with lots of reed and weed growth are a fantastic spawn factory for Carp.
THE INTRODUCTION OF CARP
Carp is not a natural species to Last Mountain Lake. They were introduced into the United States in the 1800s to help feed the people building the Rail Roads. Carp were put into small ponds along the rail roads and over the years have found their way into the Northern United States river systems and have continued spreading into the rivers and lakes in southern Canada including Last Mountain Lake. Carp are now considered a more naturalized species and reside in some of the best multi species fisheries that Canada has to offer.
The trophy fish growing water of Last Mountain Lake is producing giant Carp into the 40-pound range. These giant Carp in my opinion are by far the strongest fighting fish Last Mountain has to offer. Carp over the past many years were considered a trash fish, but now to us and many others are a targeted species.
CARP ARE A MAJOR PLAYER FOR ANGLERS
We have been targeting and guiding for Carp since 1995 and have played a major role in developing the sport of Carp fishing in Saskatchewan. Our guests have enjoyed their guided Carp fishing experience with most of them catching the biggest and strongest fighting fish of their life. Many have continued fishing these great fighting fish and gained a new respect for Carp. To help promote the Carp fishing on Last Mountain Lake we have hosted Carp Fishing Tournaments and also hosted TV fishing shows The Complete Angler, The In-Fisherman, Fishing Saskatchewan and Fishing the Wild West.
THE BEGINNINGS!
In 1995 we hosted a group of Professional Carp fisherman from England, set up through Saskatchewan Tourism. I knew where to find the Carp on Last Mountain Lake and they knew how to catch them. This was a perfect combination as we successfully caught good numbers of Carp in the 20-to-35-pound range. After catching just a few of these Carp myself, I was hooked! I could not believe the incredible power of these fish. They quickly became my favorite species to fish.
Carp fishing can be very simple and inexpensive. You can fish from shore and all you need is a spinning rod and reel combo with lots of line, bell weights and J hooks with some corn for bait. Find a spot along the Lake shore you see Carp moving, cast out and wait for a bite then get ready for an incredible fight.
The style of Carp fishing we use is more sophisticated with specialized equipment developed in Europe. We fish from shore and use specially designed 12’ rods. These rods can cast extremely far distances and also have more control from shore over a giant Carp. The reels we use are large capacity bait runner reels. They hold about 250 yards of 12-pound test mono line. You can disengage the gears so a fish can pick up your bait and run with it without feeling resistance.
We use a 2-ounce bell weight on a quick change clevis that will slide freely up the line when a fish picks up and runs with the bait. We set our rods on a rod holder pushed into the ground with an electronic bite indicator on top that the line sits in. Once a fish picks up the bait and the line moves through the indicator an electronic chirp signals letting us know there is a fish on. We quickly pick up the rod and once you crank the reel the gears re-engage, and the fight is on.
THE MIGHTY HAIR RIG!
The hook rig we use is called a Hair Rig. It consists of a 16” piece of braided line with a swivel tied to one end that hooks to the main line. On the other end of the rig is a #2 Salmon Egg hook tied on with a 1½” piece of line continuing past the hook with a small loop on the end. On this short tag of line which we call the “Hair” is where we put the bait on rather than on the hook.
The “Hair” holds much more bait than the hook and with just bait on the Hair the hook has a much higher hook-up percentage. To get the bait onto the Hair the bait is put onto a special bait needle. The bait needle hooks onto the loop on the end of the Hair and then we pull the bait off the needle onto the Hair. Put a small piece of grass through the loop to hold the bait on the Hair.
Our most common bait is boiled whole kernel field corn which we also use to pre bait the area we plan on fishing. To increase the effectiveness of this bait on the Hair Rig we re-boil a small amount of corn in a sugar water solution or sweet flavoured syrup like strawberry or chocolate. Carp seem to prefer sweet baits. We also use commercially manufactured dough balls which are called “Boilies”. They are available in several sweet flavours and available in both sinking and floating formulas.
Another technique we use to help make your bait on the Hair Rig easier for a Carp to find is called “Popping Up”.
This technique suspends your bait on the Hair Rig slightly off the bottom which makes it easier for a Carp to find and eat. This is achieved by putting a small ¼” square piece of floating foam or cork on the Hair with the corn and then pinch a small spit shot weight 1” below the Hair Rig so it will only suspend slightly off the bottom. You can play with the distance between the split shot and the Hair Rig to suspend your bait more or less as Carp can be fussy sometimes as to how far off the bottom, they like the bait to be.
THE MOST IMPORTANT PART
The most important step to successfully catching numbers of Carp is a consistent baiting program. Once you find an area where you have seen Carp, which is almost anywhere on Last Mountain Lake, pre bait this area multiple times prior to you fishing this spot. The more you bait an area the more Carp will stay in this area and can result in big numbers of Carp caught in a day. We consistently catch 10 to 20 Carp in a day and catches up to 40 have been produced.
Carp fishing is becoming a much more popular species to fish and is an untapped resource in most of our southern Saskatchewan waters. If you are looking for a new challenge and like catching giant powerful fish, book a Carp fishing trip with G&S Marina Outfitters. Once you have landed your first Carp you will be hooked on this great new sport fish!
For more information on fishing Carp on Last Mountain Lake or to book a Carp fishing trip with us contact Robert Schulz, Guide and owner of G&S Marina Outfitters.
Robert Schulz
G&S Marina Outfitters
306-725-4466
www.gsmarina.com