Carp-o-rama 2008

[goose h8r]

First year I shot in it I was pretty intimidated. I swear we were the only boat that didnt have a elevated platform. Sure didnt take long to get one after that.

[Maze]

All you can do is try, and work with what ya got.......it couldn't hurt!
Who knows you might win something cool.

[Pokerwilly21]

Mojo, really dont have preference of lake or river. Ive never had my boat in the river before, but am going to get on the mo soon to test it out and see how things go. I'll post up and tell you how it went then we can decide if you still want to. My boat is 16'7'' and of course has fishing deck and elevated fishing seats so I think it would work well since you have to be elevated somewhat to see the fish and shoot. Its a modified v hull so can go very shallow when needed. Would be fun lake or river I'm sure!!

[Pokerwilly21]

How high do you really need to be? Im picturing in my mind a freakin ladder stand on a boat and how do two shooters get shots from one platform. Someone please send me a pic of a boat with one of these so I can see it. Very curious!

[goose h8r]

Here is a pic of mine without the rail. Will probably redo it this year and go another 10 inches higher but I want to move the console forward first so I can see over it better when I drive.



You can kinda see the platform with the rail in the background.



Rail height is right at the top of my knee caps which is perfect for me. Real nice to brace yourself in wave action or when your gonna smack something with the boat when drifting the river.

[Pokerwilly21]

That looks pretty sweet. I wonder if I could just use a heavy sturdy wood box to fit up on my deck of my bass boat and put some sort of railing on it. Dont know how I would use my foot guided trolling motor though. not enough cord! Guess I'll go to the wood shop and see what I can do!!

[Mojo]

Sounds good Poker,

I was thinking most of the Pro's would probably be on the river since the payout is bigger. Maybe we should shoot for the lake. I am camping up there at Wilson Island the weekend before the tourney, so I should be able to scout out the lake with my boat. I don't want to take my boat on the MO since it is so little.

[Maze]

You would think that, but there are good shooters in both divisions.

[goose h8r]

Actually, payout on the lake is usually more than the river. There are usually more than double the teams on the lake. Both have thier ups and downs.

On the lake...

The Commons are small and spooky, hitting em can be tough. There are quite afew Buffs in the lake but the boat traffic on the day of the shoot usually keeps them down. Most guys go to the lake because they dont want to deal with the current. There are some nice Grass Carp in the lake but they are a needle in a haystack. Since the lake is total Weight, one team could shoot 20 2 pound Commons, then another team could luck out and get 3 nice Buffs and win it.

On the river...

You hafta deal with current, takes more boat control, and alittle more "know how" just to find fish. But on the other hand you have miles and miles of river to run with your choice in boat ramps to launch from. Some days on the river you can "shoot til your fingers bleed". Not to mention the fish on average will be alot bigger and you can get a wider variety of species. The river is a "numbers shoot" though, get into "one of those days" and you might hafta run back to the ramp early before you overload your boat.

[Maze]

If you get the big fish you win pretty good money. The more people the more money. Thats another good thing about the lake.

[Mojo]

Wow, thanks for all the detailed info. It sounds like the river might be the way to go. Now I don't know what to do. What do you think Poker?

I noticed on the map that there is a small lake at the Wilson Island Campground. I am thinking that this is NOT the lake that the tourney is on. Does anyone know if there are any carp at this lake?

[Pokerwilly21]

They both sound good! The current doesnt sound fun, but you would have a lot more water to yourself it sounds like. Thats a lot of boats on one lake. How big is the lake we shoot on? Do you have boats on top of each other fighting for fish? If that is the case I would rather run the river and be on our own. We might not shoot ****, But I just want to do it for the experience! I'm sure there are nice holes on the river with less current and lots of carpos!!!

[Maze]

Its a big no wake Oxbow. 7 miles in length I believe.

[Pokerwilly21]

Wow thats actually really big for a lake around here. Should be plenty of water for everyone

[Force Feed]

Hi everyone this is Rich the guy who runs the Carp-O-Rama and I'm glad those of you who have shot in this have had a good time. Once again this year there will be donuts for breakfast and a fish fry at the end of the tourney. Tons of prizes have been coming in and it should be a great give away at the end of the event. The 2 divisions make it nice for the guys who want different options. This is the 19th year of the Carp-O-Rama and I'm excited to see how many teams come out. I like to mix things up that is why it's on Sunday this year. If you have questions please don't hesitate to ask and I'm looking forward to seeing you all there.

Good Shootin
Rich

ps .I went out the other night and had 10 shots only stuck 1 fish. I guess winter was to long and my aim was way off..