Carp Madness hits the Mississippi River as anglers compete for fantastic prizes

        The annual Mississippi River Carp Festival took place on this beautiful seventh day of June, and my father and I decided to compete. We arrived at 6:15 AM , and waited in line behind 50 or 60 people until registration began at 7. Once registered, all of the contestants piled up at the starting gate and awaited the 8 AM start. At least 500 people milled about. Tension mounted as anglers sized up the competition and took the time to rig up their rods. In the middle of the crowd, I met an old gentleman that flew in from Latvia to fish the event with his son. He spoke no English, but was intrigued by the bank sticks and bite alarms sticking out of my fishing bag. His son translated for him, and he told me about the gigantic Carp he pursues in his homeland. This gent had a battered old fiberglass carp rod, and a glint in his eye as he mimed the dimensions of the last carp he landed overseas. He had a satchel full of various Boilies, and right then and there I realized the degree of competition we were facing.

       At 8 AM the Signal was given and competitors began running for their chosen fishing areas. I was traveling light, with only a small bag containing hooks, weights, swivels, and a huge supply of soaked field corn as well as four cans of Jolly Green Giant and a loaf of bread. I also carried my medium baitrunner combo, bank sticks and a bite alarm. Many competitors had burdens of coolers and chairs strapped to their backs, and I ran past them with ease. I wanted to claim the very tip of the island as my fishing spot, about a half a mile trip. There were trails along either side of the island. I chose the left trail and chased about a dozen anglers as they scrambled through the underbrush. I passed most of the pack within 50 yards, running through the woods alongside the trail and leaping over logs. The angler in the lead suddenly tripped and fell, his gear flying everywhere. “Nice Yard Sale”, I said as I passed him. He was frantically trying to pick up the tackle, bait, sandwiches and soda that had fallen out of his pack and cooler. I had only one angler to overtake, and after a short chase he stopped running and had to catch his breath. I passed him, and headed to the spot I had pre-fished two days ago.
When I got to the tip of the island, 6 or 8 guys were already there staking out their territory. They had all taken the other trail , which apparently was a quicker route. With anglers claiming my preferred spot, I set up as near as possible and saved a spot for Dad. A can of corn was opened, and I sent my bait out into the river before anyone else wet a line. After everybody was in their spots fishing and everything calmed down, it was very still. Twenty minutes went by and no one in the area had caught anything. A light rain fell, and suddenly my bite alarm sounded. A good run, high expectations, and the hookset…..missed it’s mark. Little did I know that it would be 5 hours before I got another bite. Action was just plain slow. 6 or 8 smallish Carp were caught in our area, which held about 20 anglers, over the first four hours.
       Lacking much action in the Carp department, competitors kicked back. The hot sun reddened pale Minnesotan torsos, beers were drunk, and various baits were tried. The fellows next to me were Sturgeon fishermen from Oregon, and rigged up with hair rigs baited with pizza dough, honey, licorice, spam and oatmeal. Neither of them got a bite during the competition, but their enthusiasm over trying new baits was great and their MP3 player spouted Primus and Willie Nelson. I couldn’t ask for better neighbors. With so many anglers around, moving to a new spot really wasn’t an option. It was decided that the Carp should slip out of the main river and come up onto our flat at the mouth of the lagoon in the early afternoon, and once there they would graze on the chum spread that we had deployed.
Our hopes remained high as noon came and only two hours remained in the competition. My new friends from Oregon ate their sandwiches, then baited their hooks with lunch meat, mayo and pickles drizzled with honey. My father baited up with some hard feed corn that he had boiled until tender, then dyed with green food coloring…the secret weapon. We were constantly updated with the current leading fish, and a 14.46 pounder was caught which took the lead. Occasionally a mighty cheer would erupt upriver as a big carp was landed, and anglers rushed to the weigh-in. Any carp caught in our area garnered a round of raucus applause, and a Bass, Walleye or other trash fish was met with a chorus of boos.
      Still, no Carp found my hook. A crazy, glistening dancing Carp mascot made an appearance on the beach, and competitors threw corn, spam and doughballs at him. At 1 PM, with only an hour left in the contest, my Oregonian neighbors left to fish an area of strong current halfway up the island. My father and I took over their spot, and I was confident that we would be able to catch some Carp from their swim so we shifted over 20 feet. After all, it only takes one good fish. At this point, two serious Carpers showed up and cast into the area that I had been fishing for 5 hours. They had buckets of groundbait, an assortment of boilies, bite alarms and professional-grade Carp tackle. Within a minute of fishing in the spot I had been pounding all morning, one of them who was named Josef(couldn’t place his accent, Eastern Europe) caught a strong 8-pounder on his 13-foot Specimen rod. It took what appeared to be a strawberry boilie.
      

        Suddenly, Carp started biting on everybody’s baits. An Asian gentleman next to my father battled and landed a brute on his light rod, and a fellow angler netted it. Weighed on Josef’s scale, it went over 13 pounds and the happy angler took the fish to the official weigh-in. It went on the board at 13.22 pounds, making it the second largest carp registered. Many small Carp were caught and a few fish broke the lines of the Budweiser Bunch, then a good fish was hooked by an angler fishing the fast water. He battled it in strong current for a long time before a net was slipped under the big Carp. The fish was obviously a top 3 contender, so it was brought to the scales. With only 30 minutes to go, this fish took over as the second largest fish!
       The Carp were feeding now in our area, and every competitor watched their lines intently. I was chatting with the two hardcore Carpers about their trade, when suddenly my bait alarm sounded. I picked up the rod and set the hook, and the fish went on a fast, drag-peeling run. Running to my right, the fish crossed about a dozen lines and I weaved my way over, around, under and through the crowd before finally beaching my fish. Many lines were tangled, but I had killed the skunk and caught a Carp! Everyone cheered, my frustration subsided and I released the 5- pounder. With only 20 minutes left in the contest, massive amounts of chum was deployed by everyone in a desperate attempt to lure in a lunker. Competitors who had fish on the leader board watched the clock in nervous anticipation.

      Finally, 2 o’clock came and we all accepted the results of our efforts. I had met a lot of great folks and some serious Carp anglers, and spread the Roughfishing spirit to whoever would listen. At the award ceremony, lucky competitors who I had met and chatted with were given fantastic prizes for their catches and everybody cheered. Prizes were given for the top 5 heaviest and top 5 smallest Carp in both youth and adult divisions. Top prizes included a nice 16 foot Lund boat, the Carpmobile(a 1998 Dodge Dakota with custom Carp graphics), a Rogue River canoe, multiple bikes, camping gear and various other prizes.
      

Second place finisher Shane  Flannagan poses with hs new vehicle, the infamous Carpmobile.

    Tim Milne's 14.46 pound Carp took the Grand Prize - a boat, motor and trailer.   

      The Carp Festival proved to be a wacky experience, full of unbridled enthhusiasm and dreams of big, fat fish with fleshy barbels. It is a great event for kids of all ages and abilities, where any angler with a baited hook in the water has a chance at winning a great prize.  Walleye anglers need not apply....... I can’t wait till next year!  

This is your Gonzo Roughfishing reporter from the front lines of CarpFest, signing off…………..keep it Rough!

~Andrew Geving, Roughfisher at Large