Success! First Korean River Tarpon

[philr21]

During my tour in Korea I'm definitely trying to catch a couple species of fish that I hadn't ever caught before. I heard the Korean River Tarpon called gangjuchi in Korea, were in a river about 45 minutes from where am at. They are actually a predatory carp. Average size is probably about 14 inches. Not having a clue of where to start, I took an ultralight rod with 5lb floro, and some ultralight Shad Raps, and decided to troll from the kayak along the shorelines. After a couple of hours, I found some fish holed up.

I was quite surprised when I had snagged the bottom, and the bottom moved on me. I was sure I had snagged a carp in the side as the fish was too heavy to move. After about ten minutes I got the fish to the net, and it barely fit.

I was happy just to catch the smaller ones, and thought maybe at some point I'd catch a larger one. Had no idea I'd catch one this size on my first attempt. Was a good day on the water.... hope to get out and do it again soon. All fish were released.