Common Carp in Southern MD

Type: Nontidal
Region: Southern
Location: Lake Collusion

Growing up in Salisbury, MD, I would take a small push button Zebco reel and rod down to City Park and catch loads of bluegill and pumpkinseed. I could see carp swimming in the river, but I couldn�t ever catch one. Fast forward, 45 years or so, I�m living in Calvert County. Again I�ve seen carp rolling in the Patuxent but never caught one. But Friday, May 3rd, I was on my kayak on Lake Collusion, in the Chesapeake Ranch Estates, fishing for white perch and panfish. I was using a 1/16 oz jig with a small shad style soft plastic bait and hooked into this guy. Took me 16 minutes to get it to shore. My trough is 25 inches long and this guy�s tail looks like it is 3 or 4 inches beyond that. It was a real knot tester!