Carp Fishing Ray Hubbard + Some Creeks

Feel like I've got so much time to fish now that school's over, but I'm certainly not complaining! I've been taking every opportunity to get out and try to get myself and my loved ones some nice fish, and what follows are the results. All fish were released to fight another day (unless otherwise specified), and were caught on a hair rig and packbait (bait varies).

Short, windy session @Ray Hubbard:

Had a bit of time to fish and decided to make the drive out to Ray Hubbard as I've had some really good luck there lately. Set up at a nice looking spot after I saw a couple fish crashing in the distance, but went about two hours without as much as a nibble. The wind was really picking up, the waves were crashing up against the small cliff I was on and shooting several feet into the air, so I decided to move to a different location. I drove to another part of the lake and set up shop at a public park fishing into a marina to try my luck. All fish here were caught on corn and an oats and chili pack, and were released safely to fight again.



First fish of the day, not what I'm after but I'll take him!



Second little cat of the day, but a tug on the line is never a bad one



Took a bit but got this little carp on the bank, he was a scrapper!



This was quite an experience, my first ever triple by myself. It was a doozy balancing three rods with feisty fish on the ends!



Second fish of the triple, when I saw this fish in the water I thought he'd be a mirror but it turned out he just had some weird scale patterns. The mirror carp continue to elude me, for now!



Last carp of the triple



Took about an hour but then got this double of two more small carp, no big ones today but fun nevertheless!

First night session at the creek:

I hadn't had a big carp in a while so I thought I'd give a visit to a creek that I know holds some giants. It was mother's day, and I wasn't able to get on the bank until about 6 so I figured I'd go ahead and make this my first time fishing at night. All fish were caught on corn and an oats and chili pack, and were released to fight another day.



First fish of the day, and my biggest in some time at 13lbs even.



They're getting bigger! This beauty came in at 16lb 1oz.



Got myself a Yellow Bullhead, been a bit since I've caught one of these. Actually caught two that night, but the other picture was pitch black.



The big one for the night @19lb 5oz. Nothing quite like the fight of a nice sized carp.

Taking my cousin carping @ Ray Hubbard:

As always, I've been bothering my family and friends with tales and pictures of the fish I catch, and telling them that they need to take some time to get out on the bank with me. Finally convinced my cousin Johnny to tag along. So far, everyone that's been has had an absolute blast, showing off their catches to their friends and family and asking me when I'm going fishing so they can go again! This was no exception. Even though I was under pressure to catch with someone new with me, I decided I'd try and experiment with some new techniques. We tried a new packbait base and flavoring, some new hookbaits, and an entirely new rig. All fish were caught on boilies or tiger nuts with a fruity grits pack, and were released to fight another day*.

*Two of the smaller fish were given to some other fisherman to eat.



His first fish of the day, and his first ever Smallmouth Buffalo @23lb 4oz! This beat his biggest previous fish by 15lbs. He had seen pictures of me with big fish but didn't believe he'd catch one this big. Unfortunately, this one didn't put up a fight at all and was just dead weight on his line. Sometimes buffs will do that, though!



His second fish of the day and another first! His first ever Common Carp at a solid 8lb 10z. This one fought a lot better, he was surprised at the strength of these beautiful fish.



Just a baby catfish, he'd been playing with my bait for quite some time. Finally nabbed him so I could get my rod back out for some carp!



His carp are getting a little bigger! This one came in at 13lb 8oz. Just 1oz shy of my biggest out of this lake. Not too bad!



My first buff of the day, a beautiful 27lb 3oz fish. Had to work with her for some time at the release, she just didn't want to swim away. After about 3 minutes of reviving, she swam off just fine.



Just a little guy, ended up giving this one to some Hispanic folks to eat.



'nother little one, his fate was the same as the one before him. As an aside, while I do normally practice catch and release, I'm a firm advocate of taking home the smaller fish for the table or bait and releasing the big ones if you want to take any fish at all. Helps the big fish get bigger, maintains fish populations, and you're not eating meat filled with heavy metals!



His first ever double, and a new PB as well! This oddly colored Smallmouth Buffalo ran 27lb 1oz.



Second fish of the double, the smallest buff I've ever seen out of this lake!



Got myself another nice one, 19lb 2oz of fun!



Doubled up! His fish is the biggest carp I've seen out of Ray Hubbard and a ghostie to boot! 18lb, his new PB. My buff weighed 19lb on the nose.



Was showing my cousin how to identify the fish as a Ghost Carp. He beat my biggest ghost by a bit over 4lb!

Last fish of the day and the smallest buffalo I've personally caught out of this lake at 17lb 14oz. Still a fantastic size!

One Awesome post. Good job.

Goodness you are hammering em

Thanks Wildman and Banker! That last day was definitely my most productive day for big fish so far, but I'm not sure what exactly made the difference as everything I was trying was new. I'll keep at it and figure it out more over time.

And a super post. Great job.

Excellent trip + perfect post! Thank you

and great post, thanks for sharing

Thanks Laker, MinMirny, and Pot Licker! Always happy to share.

Great post and nice fish. You are a "catching machine"! Good job.