nishikigoi

With the dog days of summer here, fish become less active in the lakes and ponds in New York City. It is best not to fish during this period because just like humans, fish become stressed from the heat. This is the time to watch some of the fish .

I was surprised to discover the number of koi that are in urban lakes. No one seems to know how they arrived. I suspect that they are the result of people moving and relocating their pets to the nearest lake. But no matter how or why, the result is that multi colored fish now live happily in urban ponds and lakes.

Carp have been a source of food for Asians for for many centuries. First in China, later in Japan, carp were also bred based on their coloring. In China this led to producing goldfish. In the rice fields of Japan this breeding of carp for their coloring produced "brocaded carp". The Japanese word Nishikigoi means brocaded carp. Koi can live for a long time, longer than humans. In Japan the oldest documented koi lived more than two hundred years!


Prospect Park lake has many koi, some more than a meter in length. Some almost snow white, some with different combinations of orange, black or red. Due to their unique coloring koi are extremely cautious. They can not hide in their surroundings like common carp and other fish. However they can be observed in the spring as water temperature warms. To watch koi and other fish wear polarized sunglasses, they allow the wearing to see through the light reflected by the lake's surface. There are common carp that weigh nearly fifty pounds in the lake too.

Koi oh boy!

Thunder storms were in the forecast a few days
ago. I was fishing in Babylon, New York; when
I saw a bolt of lightning far off to the north of
the lake. I counted the seconds until I heard
the sound of thunder. Based on the sound of
thunder and the fact that the clouds were moving
away from where I stood, I felt it was safe to remain
and fish for carp.



I noticed that this koi was feeding on the surface
near the very center of the lake. She was out
of casting range. Koi have a unique swim or
search pattern they follow while they forage.
It is different from the carp.



Looking north on Southard Lake.



My first carp of the day.



By the time the koi was within casting distance,
it had started to rain heavily. As it continued to pour,
I stood under a tree for some shelter from the rain.
My line started to move. I saw the koi as it accelerated
toward the center of the lake. I let her rip. There was
nothing to do at this point but to hang on and wait.

After about 10 minutes of experiencing koi anger,
I brought the fish in to shore.

Piker

I favor fishing for Northern pike during the
new moon phase. Over the years I have found
this to be the time that pike are looking for a
meal.



So Dennis & I got to the Passaic river for some
toothy fish fishing. Dennis had never caught
a pike on a fly. My experience has shown
that big salt water flies work best on the Passaic.
Although, Last year I caught a pike with a big
black gurgler, a surface fly.



We arrived about three hours before low tide.
Since Dennis had never fished for pike before
I gave him one of my favorite flies. I tied on my
gurgler fly hoping to repeat my previous success.
Within a quarter of an hour, Dennis had a pike
on line.



By the end of out time there He had caught
four pike each one bigger than the last. He was
thrilled with catching these water wolves.
He especially enjoyed watching them jump
out of the water and appear to stand on their tails.




I decided I would allow Dennis to fish alone this
day as it was his first time. Besides my floating
gurgler had stopped floating and there was another
fly fisher fishing for pike. Two's company, three's
a crowd as everybody knows and the space we fish
is limited. Pictured above is my equipment for
pike fishing: An 8wt March Brown Fly Rod, Franco
Vivarelli Goldstar semi automatic fly reel, Boca Grip,
box of big flies and tippets.

Sunday afternoon

I got a call from Dennis, Sunday morning.
He called because it was raining. Many times
carp feed during showers. So we decided to fish
in Central Park. The lake is quiet with almost
no visitors while it rains.



By the time we met, it had stopped raining
We tried to fish but there were no carp feeding
at 1:00pm in the afternoon. I decide to leave
the state of New York for the more accommodating
waters of New Jersey. We arrived there just before
4:00 o'clock.



First Dennis, then myself hooked fish. The
water was murky and I had not bought my
sunglasses; so sighting fish was nearly impossible.
But fish were feeding on the surface so fishing
was productive.



By night fall, between the two of us we had caught
more than 20 carp; not bad for plan B.

12 hours

I was up and out early this morning. I took
this photo before 7:00am. Not much to see
the lake was like glass, no wind. No sign of
feeding carp.



Twelve hours later same spot. This time I
can see crappie. I think they are being chased
by larger predators. fish are clearing the lake
surface here and there but still no sign of
feeding carp. I threw some chum in the water
and waited. At this time of year, daylight lasts
until almost 9:00pm. I expect that if there are
carp in the area they will come close to shore
after dark.

When I was 20 I stood a number of watches,
topside on the USS Tusk, a submarine, at night.
One of the things you learn to do in the dark is
see things by not looking at them. Using my
peripheral vision I spotted a large white koi
moving east, about 10 feet from the shoreline.
Just as suddenly, the white shadow disappeared.

Watching a carp swim at night is like watching
smoke. It takes awhile to recognize what it is.
It takes more time to figure what it is doing.
The big koi reappeared at 9:40pm but this time
moving west. She stopped to eat the chum I had
used. The water level was less than 3 feet where
she had stopped to hover.

As a couple leaving the park walked by me. I pointed
at the large white koi no more than 5 feet from
the edge of the lake. Initially, they thought something
had died in the water but when they stopped and
took a good look they could see the fins moving
slowly. With the park light helping, we were
able to watch this rare koi go about eating it's
dinner. Many people don't realize that while
the lake is man made, it is a healthy, living lake.

Prospect Park lake is well known for it's population
of Large Mouth Bass. While it is not easy, one can
catch a five pound bass here. The lake is also home
to Bluegills, Carp, Channel Catfish, Crappie, Golden
Shiner, Yellow Perch and Pickerel.

There are seven species of turtles in the lake including
man hole size snapping turtle!

After dark

Went to the park last night. Put some chum
in the water for the carp. I saw no evidence
of carp feeding.



I watched the lake surface until 10:00pm
then packed up and walked home.