http://www.wintercarpleague.com

EXTREME 2nd SESION GROUP B

Sunday’s leg of the tournament was extreme winter fishing. Gear that was not somehow secured to the ground or behind structure was victim to the 50mph gale force winds. The wind-chill factor sent temperatures into the sub-zero degrees, no surprise, these extremes were expected. The anglers had spent Saturday discussing alternatives but after some prodding by the tournament organizers, all committed to the challenge and were drawing pegs at 6am Sunday morning. Collapsed shelters, blown buckets, flying chairs began the event before the usual routine of setting up pegs was quickly abandoned; minimization of gear was the key. Nonetheless, focus was on getting lines and ground bait in the water. Game on! Water temperature was 42 degrees surface and 43.9 degrees at depth. The sky was delivering snow with occasional white out conditions, but the wind was at our backs and pushing the surface water across the channel. The channel itself was filled with ducks and seagulls that were busy catching shad and bumping into lines. Amazing that carp can be caught in these conditions! Fish began answering the breakfast bell around 10am but most were under the 8lb limit. Drop backs were difficult to see so if the fish didn’t set off the alarm it was probably never noticed. The line would belly heavily on long casts and picking up the slack without moving the feeder proved difficult; this was a day for heavier leads although the current wasn’t a factor. Peg 1 by the bridge was the most active for the day with most fish coming from protected areas and around the pylons. Fish were easiest to catch near shore but the opposite bank also produced. For the second week in a row, peg five known for high catch rate was limited to a few fish with only one above the 8 lb mark. Peg two once again scored in the top three. The points went to peg one, peg five and peg two respectively.This winter tournament is proving to be challenging in many ways and its anglers are real hardcore, or as my wife put it, “nuts”! Best wishes to group C next Sunday. Happy Holidays to all. See you next year!

Dan (Slimy) Ramir