I read allot about luck in fishing, I feel most luck is location.

Location is not luck it's watercraft.

Their is an equation of checking weather fronts, comparing it to other sessions and making a decision on where the fish should be!

Also spending time driving around a lake looking at what the wind is doing as it hits the bank tells a million stories.

A simple plumbing float will tell you the features and where the drops and slopes start and finish.
Fish rolling and crashing will also help you find them, I hear so many people ask what swim are we fishing this weekend.
My response will always be; "let the fish tell us!"

The last session on White Rock was a clear example of this.
Scott and I drove all around the lake looking for the correct wind and also looking for fish, we picked a swim based on the weather and took a gamble in an area we were told was no good.
The gamble paid off and we had a good trip! Was this down to luck or spending an hour driving around the lake?

Last winter we searched out 2 new lakes, we spent time fishing and caught several very nice fish, was this luck?
We all drove hundreds of miles, spent hundreds of dollars on bait, drove 200 mile round trips just to bait up in the middle of the week after work. LUCK? I'd say WORK!

Just the pure effort you put in can make you lucky in other peoples minds.

I'd say the only time that luck plays a part, is when swims are picked for comfort and you have a great session. In all reality this doesn't happen very often to me and I call this camping.

What do you all think about luck and being consistently lucky?

I agree 100%. It takes some research, scouting, and hard work to find a good swim and get it producing. Sometimes it takes constant moving to try and track the fish down.

This is the reason I don't like peg draw for serious competitions. The reasearch and scouting is taken away from you and decided by a drawing.

Watercraft...location of the carp swim is more importand then bait and fishing skills altogether
Why?..because no matter how good your bait is ..or how good your fishing skills are
You are never going to catch that big fish ...IF they are not there!..its that easy!
And just showing up with a big group of people with a fish inn or a tournament is ofcours a lot of FUN!...but it does effect on the feeding habits of the carp...and that is why I would never fish a tournament FOR CARP
Because I feel like it aint carpfishing

Good Post - I agree 100 percent

Very good post Richard. It is all about the preparation.

Great post! You sure are lucky!

guess im just lucky . i just showed up with a 1/4 bucket of my usuall method, made some up and put it on my feeder with a old tiger nut from 2 weeks ago lmao. that was the only fish i got other than a nice kitty.

I agree 100% with Richard ,but then again we are on the same page (he is just on another chapter)

if it wasnt luck both of you should have caught fish richard . scott was right next to you and as far as i know didnt catch a carp near what you caught and as far as i know he blanked on a common ? after all it was the same well thought out location .. if luck was not a factor in fishing one could virtually go out and catch all on each and every session . even if all the conditions were perfect there isnt anyone here who hasnt blanked .. there is nothing wrong with having good luck

Ask Richard about two weeks ago what happened when we fished next to each other. Who caught what? (plus my big 3 were bigger than both of Richards at WR)
While Richard is a great angler, I am no slouch myself. We both were in the right spot with bait that was catching. The luck part is who gets which side, left or right when fishing a bank together. If I was on the left, I would have probably caught those fish too but I was on the right. I don't know anyone who can tell me which way the fish will come thru the swim. I did catch a common that night too Jesse btw.

i know you guys are great carp anglers scott and hope to join ya again so i can learn a few things .its all good

Chris, you admit to blanking....

I never blank! So I must be luckier!!!!!!

You sure are watercrafty!

richard quit lieing to yourself lol youve blanked, and yea iv blanked too. big deal its apart of fishing.

I can think of something that rhymes with luck, and it describes my feelings towards it. Use your imagination, it has 4 letters.

Really Chris, I don't! Can't remember the last total blank.

No runs at all! You're wrong I never blank!

The last time I totally blanked was..... Hmmmmm don't remember!

I've had a few sessions I lost the only chance, but that's not blanking!!!!!!!!

I'm as good as Dutch Leo, but a lot prettier!

Just for the record I dont mind blanking at all..its a part of fishing
At the moment I have been blanking for more then 5 weeks..but I am not worried at all..because I dont catch carp under 20pounds
And I am just sure its only a matter of time before the big ones come
Last year was the worst year ever for me...but I still have 4 30pound plus carp on a total of 19 carp..thats not TO bad
And the year aint over yet..

here is the way i look at it, if you dont land the fish in the net and get it on the mat thats a blank, we all get false runs or lose fish, but if you never saw the fish to me thats blanking. iv sat at a swim here by my house for 10 hours and got a few beeps and a false run, but thats it, to me i blanked.

Rub it in a little more please

What I mean is that if you look at the hours I spend this year making baits..go to the lake a few times a week just to bait up and try to find carp ( learn about the carp feeding habits because thats watercraft)
Might look stupid to a lot of people..even I have doubts some times
But I am sure its going to pay off in the end...it always does
I did not mean to rub any salt because its so much different down here

Leo, Its time to come to the USA, you will not blank for five weeks here. At least I don't think so. I guess you could if you were fishing buffalo bayou though.

Yep it is time dawson but those dang economics down here..you just cant get a job nowadays
But If I come I wont fish for carp...but for other fish like the big buffs or those great flatheads..or gars
If I am going to fish texas I want to catch a REAL texas fish..and not one of those imported ones

GOOD! But those imported ones are good bait!

Wolfman, you are indeed hardcore. If you only caught 19 carp in a year and are still good with that, my hats off to you. Catching only quality fish in the 20 plus pound range would indeed go a long way towards a good year. Congrats.

We have so many 5 to 15 pound carp around here, it is hard to get to the 20 plus pounders. Plus, you have to be on the right waters. I appreciate what it must be like to catch a 20 plus pound carp, as I have yet to manage that. Still trying.

I hardly ever catch any carp under 20 lbs either! (and I've never caught one over!)

I blank more often than I don't. The major part of it, I'm sure, is watercraft. I do tend to set up where it is comfortable as well as where I _think_ the carp will be. I generally don't have the luxury of prebaiting, time constraints, so unless I can get the carp to bite in 2 - 4 hours I go fishless.