17 lber on 4 lb line

[NJ219bands]

Made a miracle catch in 76 degree Gropps Lake yesterday evening with Aldi’s canned whole kernel corn on a #8 gold hook and 4 lb test line. Was fishing for bluegills with my brother John’s very old, worn out Shimano AX200 ultralight spinning reel that has missing parts and seizes up. After I hooked the carp, it swam into a downed tree in the lake. I was very lucky when it swam out of the snag without breaking my line. The reel froze up a few times but I managed to fix it each time. When I tried to beach the big one several times, it went wild, jumped, splashed, then soaked me. I was very surprised that my > 50 year old mono didn’t break. I may start using my new Mitchell reels soon. Caught and released a 5 lb channel catfish with my homemade corn meal bait on my last cast. Caught 137 fish on my last 4 cans of ShopRite corn, then only 33 on my first 4 cans of cheaper Aldi’s.