Romantics in Carinthia
The Carinthian Lakes surrounded by mountains look so romantic. Just like all of Southern Austria. Many fishermen make stops here on their way to Italy; maybe because of the beautiful nature or the favorite spin fishing. However, most of them think that the lakes are cold and full of trout; lakes that do not provide to carp with as good conditions for growing compared with the lakes of Italy or France.
To be honest, I also thought that. But when I imagined blue and green crystal clear lake with sailboats and mountains visible in steam clouds, sunset, mountains and lake covered in pink reflection, I was convinced I want to give it a try. The first impulse that I received was from my austrian friend Martin Hatzl; he sent me photographs of Ossiacher See lake and basic information about it.And in cooperation with the district superintendent Markus Weber, he arranged fishing from a ship caisson for me. That was something I had always wanted to try: rocking safely on the waves, being close to the fish, being immediately mobile and most importantly, having maximum privacy. The only thing I had to manage was to explain to my girlfriend that we would spend our vacation on an area of approx. 4×3 meters. That wasn’t so difficult, because I am very good at that.
It is not always about huge fish. I am also happy when I catch carp that weigh less than 10 kilograms.
It was the end of August, and we saw the mountain lake Ossiacher See for the first time. All illusions went quickly aside. We arrived in very cold weather. When Markus and Martin took our ship caisson to the lake and cold wind caused our eyes to tear up, I was thinking about the world, mankind, catastrophes and our future. There was a snowstorm that had covered the mountains in white. Yes, it was the end of August, and I don’t know how abnormal this is for this region.
Life is hard. Anyway, I had absolutely different ideas, just like my frozen girlfriend Gabriela. Markus anchored our caisson by a dock at the mouth of the bay. It seemed to be good strategic place, even though I had no idea what waited under the surface. When the boys left, I started to think how I should start.
It is an exceptional moment to have two carp of a similar size.
The temperature of water was good. That gave me hope that carp would feed well. There was nothing to think about; I started as I usually do. First of all, I poured my fish-baits over with liquid food All Amino Nutric. This food informs fish that there is some easily available food. I threw food in two places. In the first one, I used 15 kg of Caviar&Fruits boilie that I threw in the water. I decided to spread approx. 0.5 kg of boilie after each catch in second place. I needed to understand the habits and behavior of local fish and what kinds of fish there were. And I was very surprised. There were approx. 20 catches at the place where I previously spread the food. But none of the fish was the one I came here for. There were catfish, bream, roach and trout. The second place remained unnoticed. A positive thing was that I learned to get the fish out from the fishing lines and anchored ropes. Coping from the caisson was a little more difficult. But I had to get used to it in case I caught a bigger carp.
A muscular and black body; the very fish I had dreamed of when I prepared for the Ossiacher See. However, I was absolutely shocked by the size of the local fish.
I was looking forward to the morning, to the sunset, when I would see the beautiful nature around me. It was really cold at night. The sun rose, but unfortunately we couldn’t enjoy it. We were trapped by the steam rising from the cold lake and forming a mist above us. I threw the rod randomly and kept catching only normal fish. The second day the mist was dispersed by wind, and we saw the lake in its full beauty. The first carp caught on boilie came with the beautiful weather. Forest Strawberry. It was from the place where I fed only with a cobra feeder. It was a really “big” carp! It had almost 30 cm! Yes, it was a small fish, but it improved my mood. Honestly, it really made my day. Smaller catfish and other fish were finally replaced by my favorite fish: carp, the fish I am thinking of every single day. Even 
though the situation did not seem ideal, I hung on to my tactic. I spread approx. 10 kg of Caviar&Fruits boilie in the feeding area and left the second place in peace. I hoped that the strong activity of the small fish at the feeding area would attract the attention of carp. It was about time. Two hours after feeding, just like when someone swings a magic wand, the unwanted fish were gone and I started to catch carp. Wow. Such a great feeling. They finally answered my call. I finally had something to build on. It was a chance to move further. I like when carp cooperate. They were about 40 – 70 cm. Not huge, but contact with them calmed me down. Until the third evening, I caught more than 20 carps from the feeding area and one from the “non-feeding” area. The difference was obvious. “It was about time,” I was saying to myself. I already had a tactic for the smaller fish. 
I was trying to work out how to get to those bigger ones and keep the place attractive. I could do a lot from the caisson as I could fish in all points of the compass. That was ideal for my possibilities and another tactic that proved good in terms of big carp. I call it “leaving my places empty.” The place where I put a lot of food from the beginning and where I got regular activity was cut out for it. It was time to start. On the fourth day, I stopped feeding and catching there. In the meantime, I spread food on the other place, approx. 100 meters far away. I wanted them to “eat up” the first place and then to go away or to the new feeding place. Who knew if my ideas were right. If so, then at least partially. Trophy carp that live in small groups or alone don’t like too much excitement. On the other hand, they are often close to places with food, and they are aware of the food. That is my experience. The new feeding place was working well not even in one day and I saw new types of fish. After some time, I tried to put attractive bait to the original and now an “empty” place to find out whether the small “piranhas” are still there. In these cases, I use the most attractive 
Fluoro Pop-Up Compot NHDC. Within 30 minutes, I caught smaller carp. The place didn’t seem empty yet, this not suitable yet for my intention. However, it didn’t take long, and this attractive bait lay in the water a longer time without notice. Therefore, I baited one ball of Caviar&Fruits. That was my tactic. And I was catching 5 – 10 kg carp in the new feeding place; the old “empty” place was calm – that is, until the next morning, when it came. It was slow. The reel turned very slowly. Usually, I cannot determine the size of a fish in this situation, but now I was sure there was something on the other side that I hadn’t seen here before. The carp went around the caisson in circles and stayed at the bottom. I left him. I wanted him to get tired at a sufficient distance from the caisson for a simple reason: the water under us was 5 meters deep, and there were several ropes and fishing rods. But my plan didn’t work.
When the trip ended, I packed the rods last, one by one. Before I packed the last one, I caught this beautiful carp.
The carp swam in our direction and directly under the caisson. It was time to get him out. How should I have known if I could pull more or not? When would it burst? It was terrible. The carp felt safe under us, and so I weaved the rod under the anchorage ropes. I somehow managed, but when I saw the carp’s body, I got nervous. I had the same feeling as when I caught my first carp. It happens sometimes, and I wished it were over and that I could raise the landing net with a tired carp. I really didn’t expect such a fish. It was it. A huge, black carp. Exactly the one I had imagined in finding in a mountain lake. I don’t know how long we fought over the last meters of the fishing line, but one thing was for sure: I won! I gathered the carp and left it in the net. Gabina guarded it. For those moments, I had a second rod prepared. I threw it in the “empty” place. This paid off many times. I hoped the carp wasn’t there alone and hadn’t frightened its friends. “It might be OK; the water is about 5 meters deep,” I thought. I set the detector and went to review my strike. Hook No. 8 looked quite funny in the carp’s jaw. But he sat there quietly.
It is there. I love catching carp.....
I took it out. A huge, black carp: what a beauty. We were all happy, even our dog Miky; she was running around the carp happily. As we prepared to take some pictures, the swinger on the other rod went off. I placed the carp in the base and lowered it from the caisson. And then something caught on the other rod. Wow…it was there! The rod bent, the fish went slowly into the deep water, and we started laughing. I enjoyed the second fight in absolute ease. I knew there was one huge beast waiting for me under the caisson. And it could have been even better now. But as the fight went on and on, I started to feel uncertain. My heart was beating and my knees were buckling. I didn’t want to lose it. Not even the previous experience of coping with a similar royal fish removed the adrenaline, the trembling, the restlessness and excitement. At that moment, I experienced two “fights of my life” in sequence, and I also wanted to win the second one. I didn’t want to lose that feeling of directing the carp into the landing net, placing it on the base and looking at it eye to eye. Each carp has an individual expression, is differently aggressive, and each one tries to gain back its freedom. They are similar, but also very different. And I won again! We were resting after the fight…. the carp and I. I was thinking about what must go through their heads. Do they realize what happened? When I saw those two giants lying on the base, I was happy. Those cold nights, convincing Gabina, wet clothes and getting Miky out the lake paid off. It might seem that everything repeats; but for me, it is always a new story. Even when the main heroes are identical. Every year, I travel to different waters and try to overcome new and new obstructions, think of new tactics, getting used to different water biotopes and outwitting them.
Lukas Krasa
