London Shore Fishing Noobie

[MuskieBait]

Carp fishing can be slow and unexciting at times, but if you hit them on the right day, that is furthest from the truth. I've had days where sightfishing for them results in more than 10 fish hooked. They are extremely intelligent and cautious, making the hunt for them all the more challenging. Perhaps the fishing for slow and unexciting was due the unrefined presentation that Carp can easily spot and avoid, leading to zero bites and no action.

The average size carp I catch are around 10lbs. I don't fish in big fish locations, nor do I put in time to hunt for a big Carp. But every year I would catch a few that are over 20lbs. Even hooking into a smaller 5-8lb Carp on medium gear and 8lb mono, the fish would put on an exciting struggle. Once you catch one, you'll get what all the fuss is about.

The Echelon combo should be good for the species you are after, except you probably wouldn't want to use it for big Pike or Muskie consistently as the rod will not allow you to land a big fish quick enough for a good release. However, saying that, I've used 7' medium action rods for years to catch Chinook Salmon in the creeks up to 25lbs. But it is a very different game when we talk about Pike and Muskie on an open lakeshore vs. Chinook Salmon in a small tributary no more than a couple car lanes in width.