In a public pond somewhere in Carrollton, TX, under the unrelenting honk of way too many ducks and geese, Bret and Denise took a swing at the only climbing system that matters:
The Carp Ladder.
Armed with spinning rods and 3000 series KastKing baitfeeder reels, they slung bait into water so bird-slick it practically quacked. Denise kept it old-school and effective—corn for Rung 1, bread for Rung 2—and stuck two common carp (Cyprinus carpio) like it was a backyard clinic.
Bret landed his two as well (rungs logged, fish confirmed, style intact), then added bonus bycatch to the mix:
- A channel catfish so small it looked like it swam out of a bait tank
- And a black bullhead (Ameiurus melas) with a gut so full of chum it probably shouldn’t have floated
It was hot, in that classic April-in-Texas kind of way—baking sun, but not full hellfire yet. A good day to sling bait and sweat while geese yell at you for trespassing on their suburban sludge kingdom.
They wrapped it up the only way you should after a day spent chucking bait in bird water:
cold beers at 3 Nations Brewing.
Because if your hands don’t smell like chum and your face doesn’t feel a little sunburnt, did you even go fishing?