Now that I've finally passed the year mark for carp fishing and indeed fishing in general I thought I'd start a thread to look back on some of mine and others' significant captures throughout the past year. It's been a heck of a journey learning to pursue these golden (and silver, definitely can't forget about the buffalo!) beauties and they've treated me quite well! Can't wait to see what the future holds.



My first ever carp, this one took hours of research and roughly 15-20 hours on the bank to finally get in my net. It was only around 2lbs but it fought like an absolute champ and had me hooked right from the beginning!



I wish I could remember the exact weights of these! This was my first PB, was roughly 4lbs



While I was learning to carp fish I was still very interested (I still am today, carp are just too addicting!) in other species. One I was after for quite some time was a Freshwater Drum and sure enough my dad caught this nice one before I could nab one!



My first ever Koi! This was my PB carp at the time and is still my PB Koi to this day at 9lbs even.



Dad's first carp, after fishing with him as often as I have I've figured out he's pretty lucky. My PB was set this same day at 9lbs and he pulls up this 16.5lb fish as his first one!



So he's lucky but at least he (sort of) peaked early lol. This was his second carp and his PB to this day at 18.5lbs. He needs to get out with me a bit more to finally break it!



Jealous of my dad's captures 2 weeks prior I returned to net my first ever recapture! This beauty was still going strong and I imagine is to this very day. May need to catch him again just to be sure!



Not quite as big as my dad's but I was getting there. Nabbed a PB at 13lb 2oz.



First ever Smallmouth Buffalo! This tiddly buff came in at around 6lbs but I was ecstatic to finally get one as I'd been pursuing them for 2-3 months. Had some new toys to (sort of) play with as well. This buff had the pleasure to be one of the first few fish to be netted in my Euro style net and cradled in my carp mat.



Quite a jump but it happens sometimes! This beat my PB considerably coming in at 15lbs 4oz. This was just my third ever, I was still trying to figure 'em out.



Damon's first carp!



Damon's PB for quite some time, a solid 18lb fish. I may just need to revisit this place to see what else lurks in the water



Another PB for me! This one came in at 14lbs even, my dad and Damon were both smoking me at this point



Second Koi and my last one to date at 8lbs 4oz.



My cousin Jacob's first carp! He was in town from Hawaii and this was all I was able to put him on. Thankfully he came back just a few days ago for Christmas and I made up for it!



Not a fish but I just had to put this in, lol. We'd caught a lot of "tree pounders" that day as it was a snaggy area, then Jacob manages to reel in what he dubbed the "tree tonner." Still haven't bested this myself!



My mom's first ever Common Carp. This took quite a bit of convincing for her to hold and she was so scared she dropped it, I thankfully caught the fish but unfortunately the anal fin spine pierced my hand. The first and only time I've been injured by a carp.



My sister Brianna's first ever carp! She lost so many fish to snags that day it was ridiculous. Her friend Maddie also had a buff (at the time I'd only had 3 total!) that snapped the line right at the net.



Maddie's brother John's first carp! He was over the moon about this fish, it was his biggest ever and he couldn't wait to get on another. He just needs to get back in town already so I can take him!



Increasing the PB yet again! This was actually a double with John's fish above, and went 16lb 6oz.



Slowly increasing that buff PB! This one was just a bit bigger than the last at 15lb 10z. I caught more buffalo this day than I had in my entire fishing career at this point! I was definitely starting to figure 'em out!



Went out with my granddad and got what would be my PB for the next 5ish months. 20lb 6oz. Granddad had one that was certainly bigger but got snagged, I went in the water after it but couldn't get it untangled.



Bumping up the PB yet again! This one ran 16lb even.



Damon's first ever Smallmouth Buffalo! A bit bigger than my first at 6lb 2oz.



Not a significant capture but I just love this photo.



Damon's PB buff at the time, 18lbs even. At this point I'd put almost everyone on bigger fish than myself!



My first Ghost Carp and my PB ghostie to this day! 13lb 9oz.



Damon was so proud of his big buff I almost felt bad for smashing his PB so soon. Called him up right after to brag, lol! 23lb 1oz.



This was a day of PB's! 28lb 12oz buff, this one would be my biggest for about 5ish months as well.



A nice buff! 25lb 3oz, wish I could still fish this spot, there's plenty of giants about for sure.

My sister's first ever buffalo! The fish at this spot were very slimy and we left covered in the snot of victory.



Dad's first ever buff! This was my first time catching nothing but buffalo. Rarely do I catch just one species in a day's fishing



Mom's first ever buffalo! Part of a double as well.



Dad's PB buff to this day, 24lb 3oz. If I recall, this was the only buffalo we landed the whole day. We tried to net it with my rubber net and it tore right through! Thankfully it didn't get away and we had another net on hand. This was also the first time I busted out my full Euro setup!



Juan's first carp, small but he loved how hard it fought!



Andres' first carp, he made a bet with me that day that he wouldn't get a fish over 15lbs...



Then we got this double! His ran 19lb 1oz which is still his PB and mine went 18lb 15oz. He had to pony up to his bet and jump in the cold water.



A solid carp while night fishing.19lb 5oz. Couldn't quite get a clear photo on this guy unfortunately



My cousin Johnnie's first Smallmouth Buffalo, a really solid fish at 23lb 4oz!



His first carp came right after, he was much more excited during the fight as his first buff didn't fight at all.



Solid buff I caught that day, 27lb 3oz. This one is one of my favorites, it's just gorgeous!



Johnnie with a double - his PB buff of 27lb 1oz and another smaller buff.



Another double! We did pretty well that day. He's holding his PB Carp of 18lbs and it's a Ghost Carp to boot! Biggest one I've personally seen out of that lake to this day.



My first river buff. I don't fish rivers at all really, I need to work on that this coming year. Some big fish to be had!



Dad's first ever Ghost Carp



The first time I'd ever tripled up with buffalo! At the time this was the most weight we'd had on the mat at once



Mom's PB Smallmouth Buffalo to this very day, 16lb 6oz. She doesn't get out with me too often so she has an excuse, lol. She wants to get a bigger one and I'm hoping to get her on a giant pretty soon!



My first ever Alligator Gar! This one's still my PB, landed a few others just a hair smaller than him.



Nice buff from a pond! 26lb 1oz. Been meaning to revisit this place. This is when my carp rods broke and I took that time to do a bit of multi-species angling.



My first ever Flathead! Not really, I "noodled" this one out of a creek. Picked him right up! Can't wait to get one on rod and reel.



PB Freshwater Drum, 5lb 9oz. Dad's still got me beat on this species!



PB Longnose Gar, 36in. Gar are next on my list, in between carp fishing I plan to learn to catch the big boys!



Juan's first Spotted Gar



Brianna's first Spotted Gar, she doesn't look too comfortable lol



Still haven't caught one on rod and reel but I wrangled this one by hand! Solid Spotted Gar, just don't feel right counting it as it wasn't on R&R



My dad's luck returns with this gorgeous Fantail! The only one I've seen in person to date



My first Grass Carp! Tiddler at 11lb 8oz



Damon's PB Carp of 18.5lbs, part of a triple!



Juan's gorgeous PB Common, 20lbs even



Damon's chunk of a PB, 22lb 8oz. What a fatty!

'nother nice carp for me! 16lb 8oz



Damon's first ever ghostie, definitely a beauty!



Exploring a new pond and found some solid fish! This one ran 20lbs on the nose.



Got his girlfriend shortly after, she went 19.5lbs.



Another good'n! This was my first fish from this lake at 27lbs even



Donovan got a chunky one that same day



Got this heavy fish during an event with a lot of experienced carp fishermen. She was the second biggest the whole trip! 37lbs, my PB to this day. Since then I've been practicing holding heavy things in the carpy pose so I can get a proper photo on my next biggun!



This one was a breeze to hold compared to the other one. I blame myself being tired, lol. 28lbs, solid solid fish.



Met up with an experienced carp fishermen and got this triple (I promise there's a fish just out of shot in the mat below us!). The one I'm holding was too pristine a Ghost Carp to leave out!



'nother double with Rob. My buff was the biggest of that day for us, but we had plenty!



Fitz with his PB carp that put up an epic battle



I nabbed a PB that day as well with this 10lb 4oz Channel Catfish!



Chris with his PB buff of 26lbs. This was yet another epic battle, Chris was very unprepared for a fish this big!



Dad with a gorgeous buff! He almost broke his PB that day but not quite. Hopefully we can absolutely smash it in the near future!



Roger on the right with his first buffalo, part of a triple take!



FWCarper with his first and PB Smallmouth Buffalo, tied with Chris at 26lbs!



FWCarper again with the first Mirror Carp I've ever seen on the bank (the other one we don't speak of, Donovan lost it at the net). 14lb 8oz, his Mirror Carp and Carp PB!



Texas PB Buffalo for myself as my other one was out of state. 34lbs even



One of my favorite photos! My PB Carp at 22lb 12oz.



Dad with a nice Blue Cat, 20lbs, caught while carp fishing! On a size 10 hook no less!



Sadly I forgot my scale and my mom dropped it off long after I released this fish but it had some shoulders! Was close if not my biggest from this lake but I'll have another.



Way up the thread I mentioned that I had to redeem myself for just putting Jacob on one carp and this was the redemption! He finally made it to Texas from Hawaii and I got him on this gorgeous 30lb brute! This one gave him the biggest fish in the family outside of myself!



Also nabbed his PB Carp, a beautiful 11lb 2oz fish. Next time he comes we gotta get this one up!



This was another day with plenty of big fish, Jacob had quite a few of 'em as well! 27lb 12oz, even this one would've been the biggest outside of me but the lake felt generous!



My cousin Hayleigh with her first ever Smallmouth Buffalo of 22lbs. Beat her biggest fish by a mile! She could barely hold it!


Of course there were lots of other fish that didn't quite make the cut but put up a fantastic tussle nonetheless. If 2019 is half as good to me as 2018 has been then I'll be a very happy man. Tight lines and wet nets everyone!

Those are awesome TX! I don't want to hijack your thread but here's some I caught back in NJ in the spring when the bite is best there. Once summer hit I did a lot of surf fishing and prepping to move to Texas so was strapped for time to do much more carp'ing. It's so cool to see buffalo, I'm excited to target them here, something I never came across in NJ. I'm in the Frisco area, if anyone wants to meet up to target carp/buffalo shoot me a PM - I'm still in "research" mode here finding bodies of water to fish. Mostly have just been bass fishing local ponds and trying for stocked trout now, but my passion is carp.

Those are some solid fish Miggy! We could definitely meet up and fish sometime, I'm swamped this month but February looks promising.

Great post looks like you had a busy year! Thanks for sharing.

Totally AWESOME!

Thanks Pot Licker and Laker!

You and your friends have had one GREAT year! You TXMulti-Species are on a roll! Keep up the GREAT fishing in 2019! Looking forward to reading more of your post and seeing your catches!

Thanks Banker! I'll be fishing as much as I can this year and can't wait to see what I can pull up!

I think TxMulti will be picking his college depending on How many Carp Ponds or Lakes are Near by........... ( some Good Carping down in Austin....Just Sayin.....)
There's Collegiate Bassin.....maybe he can get Collegiate Carpin Started........
Or maybe Join the Military to get a Free Ride across the Pond to do some Real Euro Fishing..........

LOL BigPoppa
If I find a decent job or can manage somehow I may just find me a college near some bigguns. If not it'll have to be a college round here. Military is out though - I already applied and was rejected because of my asthma.

Thanks BSanders!