Bret and Justin hit Lake Grapevine on a mission: add rungs, claim glory, and maybe land something weird in the process.
What actually happened?
- Bret brought the KastKing baitfeeder setup, same as always
- Rigged up with parmesan cheese on a hair rig (yes, really—yes, intentionally)
- And proceeded to fail gloriously, catching two channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) instead of carp.
(Still counts as fishing. Definitely not progress.)
Meanwhile, Justin hooked into two smallmouth buffalo (Ictiobus bubalus)—both just shy of what he needed to hit Rung 1 on the Carp Ladder. Close, but buffalo don’t give out easy wins.
No new rungs. No new glory. But plenty of bait shame and lessons learned.
Because that’s how it goes when you chase carp in public lakes with cheese products and hope. One day you’re climbing. The next, you’re explaining to a stranger why your tackle smells like an Italian deli.
The Carp Ladder doesn’t hand out victories.
You earn them—with stubbornness, sunburn, and the occasional dairy-based disaster.