First Fish from Manly Dam

[Fletch04]

Went Fishing today at manly Dam aiming to get my first fish out of there. We were targeting carp using Corn on a weighted rig. Were waiting for about an hour when my rod took off with the fish. Put up a good fight on my 1000 reel and 2-4kg rod. Took a while to get it in but it ended up going about 45cm. Very happy with this catch. I know its not a very impressive fish to catch although it is one I have always wanted to catch.  If anyone knows any ways to get any bigger ones let me know.

If anyone has any other tips of good carp fishing rigs or bait, ect. would love to know because I will definitely be out there trying to catch another one soon. We were using a mixture of corn and breadcrumbs as bait.

[jordy]

  Well done mate, the bigger ones will come just keep persisting. Youll have your work cut out for you on the 2-4kg gear though not sure how big they get in Manly dam, where i fish ive tangled with them up to a metre long. Berley with the corn sporadically use the minimum weight sinker, the bite can be very subtle even from the biggest fish so be on your toes and never leave your rod unattended i learnt that lesson the hard way losing a brand new baitcast outfit to a hungry carp. Lately ive been using circle hooks i reckon there the go. Good luck on the big one.

[big Neil]

Hi Fletch. Jordy has provided you with some good info re berleying the area where you're fishing and you definitely will need sturdier gear to tackle the larger Carp. Big fish up to a metre are not rare and they pull pretty well. Another good way to fish for them is with a bunch of earthworms or a big lump of bread on a 2/0 hook suspended below a float. Put a split shot about 20 cms above the hook. A simple rig that allows you to fish just above the bottom (Carp are bottom feeders) it is very visual as you can see everything the fish is doing reflected in your float. Strike when the float starts to go under or run along the surface. I use a 3-6 kg rod, 4000 spin reel and 12 lb monofilament line.

If fishing a weedy or rocky bottom I use a single or double paternoster rig with the lower hook sitting about a foot above the sinker. The double paternoster rig can be particularly good because you can use 2 different baits at the same time, to see what the fish are biting on. I often use bread on one hook and corn kernels on the other.

Bread is an excellent bait. It is cheap and easy to prepare. This is how I do it. Take 4 slices of any bread (you can even mix them). Wet 2 of them. Blend 1 dry and 1 wet together squeezing out all excess water until you have a fairly solid bait that you can hide the hook inside of. You can use the corn kernels on this same rig, just fill the hook up with the corn kernels.

Good luck, bn

[masterfisho7]

Fished there years ago used to get bass redfin and crap using spin rods and also fly gear. Hard body and soft plastics plus flys where the go then the crap on corn  there was good fish back then you just had to watch out for snakes and the ducks would take your corn some times before the crap could but all up top place to fish.

[Fletch04]

4 hours ago, big Neil said:

Hi Fletch. Jordy has provided you with some good info re berleying the area where you're fishing and you definitely will need sturdier gear to tackle the larger Carp. Big fish up to a metre are not rare and they pull pretty well. Another good way to fish for them is with a bunch of earthworms or a big lump of bread on a 2/0 hook suspended below a float. Put a split shot about 20 cms above the hook. A simple rig that allows you to fish just above the bottom (Carp are bottom feeders) it is very visual as you can see everything the fish is doing reflected in your float. Strike when the float starts to go under or run along the surface. I use a 3-6 kg rod, 4000 spin reel and 12 lb monofilament line.

If fishing a weedy or rocky bottom I use a single or double paternoster rig with the lower hook sitting about a foot above the sinker. The double paternoster rig can be particularly good because you can use 2 different baits at the same time, to see what the fish are biting on. I often use bread on one hook and corn kernels on the other.

Bread is an excellent bait. It is cheap and easy to prepare. This is how I do it. Take 4 slices of any bread (you can even mix them). Wet 2 of them. Blend 1 dry and 1 wet together squeezing out all excess water until you have a fairly solid bait that you can hide the hook inside of. You can use the corn kernels on this same rig, just fill the hook up with the corn kernels.

Good luck, bn

Wow thanks mate so many options to try ill be sure to give it another go soon

thanks

[kingie chaser]

11 hours ago, Fletch04 said:

If anyone knows any ways to get any bigger ones let me know.

Its no secret, keep persisting 😉

 

Well done, looks like you took on board the info from your other thread 👌

[DerekD]

Hi Fletch,

Good to see the information came together. We have caught some bigger specimens at Manly dam so they are there. Unless you can find a place that consistently holds big carp it will be a numbers game. The more carp you catch the better your chance of having a few bigger ones in among them.

I've seen some streams with bigger carp and to a degree we could target them by sight fishing to them but in Manly dam it will be a struggle.

Looking forward to your next report. Did you try at all for bass with the Celta spinners and light gear as I suggested in your last post?

Regards,

Derek

 

[Rebel]

Great report.

[Fletch04]

On 5/8/2020 at 12:45 PM, DerekD said:

Hi Fletch,

Good to see the information came together. We have caught some bigger specimens at Manly dam so they are there. Unless you can find a place that consistently holds big carp it will be a numbers game. The more carp you catch the better your chance of having a few bigger ones in among them.

I've seen some streams with bigger carp and to a degree we could target them by sight fishing to them but in Manly dam it will be a struggle.

Looking forward to your next report. Did you try at all for bass with the Celta spinners and light gear as I suggested in your last post?

Regards,

Derek

 

Yeah i had a spinner bait and flicked it around some lilipads for the best part of an hour but no success. I think ill get down there again and try a different part of the dam for some bass

[DerekD]

8 hours ago, Fletch04 said:

Yeah i had a spinner bait and flicked it around some lilipads for the best part of an hour but no success. I think ill get down there again and try a different part of the dam for some bass

Too many weeds there. Start between the memorial stone and undercover picnic table at the beginning of the dam wall. Then work your way to the left towards the boat ramp. Pretty flat and not too many snags but don't let it hit the bottom.

Edited May 15, 2020 by DerekD

[DerekD]

21 minutes ago, motiondave said:

question about the carp, do you throw them back into the water? 

Ive heard you are supposed to dispose of them out of the water.

Hi MD.

In NSW it is not compulsory to dispose them out of the water but it is encouraged. See:

https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/pests-diseases/freshwater-pests/species/carp/groups/recreational-fishers

In the case of Manly Dam seeing someone killing and then disposing of the carp could have a traumatic effect on some of the many families there on the day.

In other states the rules are different. In Queensland it is an offence to release dead or alive carp back into the water systems:

https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/plants-animals/animals/pests-diseases/invasive-fish/legal-obligations

https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/1238075/IPA-Carp-Fact-Sheet.pdf

In Queensland there used to be a fine of up to $220,000 for people caught releasing carp into the wild.

http://www.fishingworld.com.au/news/noxious-fish-net-big-fines

 

Regards,

Derek

[rickmarlin62]

Slip them in your esky then dispose of them later  the damage they do in inland waterways is shocking  kill em all

[Fletch04]

On 5/15/2020 at 10:14 PM, motiondave said:

question about the carp, do you throw them back into the water? 

Ive heard you are supposed to dispose of them out of the water.

Yeah had to kill the fish because they are invasive and eat the aussie bass spawn

[kingie chaser]

On 5/15/2020 at 10:44 PM, DerekD said:

In the case of Manly Dam seeing someone killing and then disposing of the carp could have a traumatic effect on some of the many families there on the day.

@DerekD these are the families that if you were to ask their children where food comes from they would most likely reply "the supermarket" 

Most kids these days are mollycoddled & aren't being taught about how food gets on their plate as it might "frighten" them let alone showing them how you can humanly raise a animal & kill it with respect for the table.

Which is not there fault of course, the parents are the ones that need a swift kick  

My old Italian neighbours where I grew up had there own chooks & every Sunday morning for lunch their father would get the hatchet out, grab a chook, put it on a log & lop its head off while we watched.

3 hours later it was surrounded by roast potatoes, pumpkin, beans(all which they also grew) & gravy.

 

As we all know, life now has just become to politically correct!!

 

 

 

 

Edited May 18, 2020 by kingie chaser