Carp

[lutra]

Not from where I am sitting, but it all depends on your outlook. They still challenge me, and madden me, but I suppose they are conveniant...a bit like roach...and rudd....and pike.......and perch and all the other fish that share the water with them.

 

Den

How would you feel Den if your club decided all them lovely big carp, roach, rudd, pike and perch weren't to their taste and stock all your lakes with loads of pasties?

[Tigger]

loads of pasties?

 

 

 

I'll have meat n potatoe please, arrr give us a cornish n'all

[tincatinca]

A very interesting subject and one that I can only comment on from a personal perspective. I spent many years fishing for Carp beginning in the early sixties when a 20 was a notable fish, wildies could be found and when specialised tackle was virtually non existant. I really enjoyed it for many years and whilst not fishing the big circuit waters of the time still managed to have a bit of success on some nice unspoiled and picturesque venues. Unfortunately once the word got round that a few fish had been caught then the crowds started to appear which even back in those days unfortunately contained some of the undesirable brigade. I really enjoyed my Carp fishing but eventually got fed up with what was becoming a circus and started to go to France which continued for many years where you could still find a totally unspoilt and beautiful venue without all the associated crap that was beginning to become the norm in the UK. I certainly would not have changed anything and certainly not all Carp fishermen fall into the same mould however I can certainly equate with what Richard Capper stated in a an earlier post in that fishing is not just about the size of the fish. Whilst I rarely fish for Carp these days I occassionally have a dabble on some quiet farm pools where they do not grow large but are fun on the right tackle. Unfortunately in the incessant quest for Carp I have like I am sure many others have seen many what were excellent mixed fisheries totally ruined through bad and selfish stocking policies

[lutra]

I'll have meat n potatoe please, arrr give us a cornish n'all

Bloody Wiganer's, your all pie mad.

 

[Anderoo]

I like carp, despite my frequent and predictable rants. But like Tinca says, it's the bad and selfish stocking policies that have given them such a bad name. In balanced waters with a healthy mix of fish present at sensible levels, I think they are great to fish for.

 

But stocking them so densely is not good for the fish themselves, the environment (the floods of 2007 showed what happens when overstocked lakes tip their fish into other balanced waters, including the river systems) or, in my opinion at least, anglers themselves. If any species is overstocked, catching them ceases to be angling and starts to become pretty questionable.

 

I would feel the same if these stocking practices involved perch, chub, tench, pike, roach, or any other species. It just happens to be carp.

[Dales]

Well I like Carp and enjoy fishing for them and so I will stick my head up above the parapet Carp are Good . I often read the rants on AN about waters been over stocked with them and some times I just wonder where every one is fishing? I live in London and so I have plenty of waters to choose from with in a 2 hour drive. I guess lots of waters in my area might be Carp puddles but I don't go to them so its not an issue for me. The waters that I do fish for Carp all seem to have good stocks of other species but often no one bothers to target them and so the idea that all they contain is Carp starts to grow.

 

I guess I may be lucky that the waters I fish are not packed with F1's and small pasties, but I do sometimes wonder do some AN members go out of there way to find waters with high stocks of them so they can have a good moan about. I still believe there are plenty of waters out there with mixed species and a sensable amount of Carp, they may take some effort to find but Carp are here to stay whether some anglers like it or not. If the waters you currently fish are over stocked with them in your view then you should vote with your feet and find another water. I know this is a pain and it may mean giving up waters you have fond memories of before the Carp moved in but that's progress of sorts I also know its not good if you are in an area that does not give you a good choice of venues, but at the end of the day fishing is a business for many land owners and they run it the way they see fit and like any product you buy, you pays your money and makes your choice.

 

Like it or lump it, the Carp are not going away any time soon.

Edited June 30, 2010 by Dales

[Anderoo]

The trouble is, fishing for other species in pretty much any lake now (that I know of, anyway) is an unpleasant experience because carp fishing en masse is pretty unsociable - what with all the 'socials'.

 

Ever seen a bunch of yobs waggler fishing for tench?

[Dales]

Ever seen a bunch of yobs waggler fishing for tench?

 

No, because they are to busy camping out prentending to fish for Carp

 

But if the waters were not stocked with Carp, I think they would still be doing the same sort of fishing with alarms and multiple rods but just fishing for other species. We can not go back and uninvent this style of fishing that makes camping and drinking etc so easy and so I think the Carp are no longer that important, even if they were taken out of waters like zombies anglers would return to the same waters to set up there 3 rods and alarms and crack open a few beers and shout across to there mate on the other side of the lake they would just be targeting other species.

 

Yob culture is now part of fishing Maybe Carp fishing attracted them to it and while heavy stocked Carp waters exist it's like an open prison keeping most of them rounded up in the same places. Take away the Carp puddles and they will be unleashed on mass into all walks of fishing including many of the rivers that others hold dear.

 

We need more Carp puddles with beer vending machines to keep these anglers on mass in the same places Only be keeping them force fed a diet of easy Carp and cheap beer can we contain the problem and if that means sacrificing club waters and other mixed fisheries so be it.

[watatoad]

I have no idea how many anglers on here are members of clubs.

 

I do have a possible solution for all those who dislike the current 'Carp' situation. Get a few like minded members of your angling club together and insist on only 50% of matches are fished at 'Carp' fisheries and of the remaining 50% of matches half are fished at lakes but 'Carp' will not be weighed in and half are fished on rivers and canals.

 

Surely such a division will make angling in the United Kingdom much fairer and such action may even change the overall angling scene.

 

I think it's up to each angler to decide what he or she is fishing for and how they are going to fish for it, rather than having a blanket definition of what we should fish for and how we should fish for it being forced down our throats by those writers in the angling media. Who have become the fashion Guru's of angling.

 

We have the power to vote with our wallets and the power to influence those who are organising our clubs and matches, so lets stop moaning and try to sort something out by our individual effort.

 

EDIT:

Failing that what is the option vigilante groups of anti 'Carp' anglers acclimatising Piranha shoals or alligators and crocodiles and dumping them in 'Carp' lakes

 

... :bigemo_harabe_net-163:

 

END EDIT:

Edited June 30, 2010 by watatoad

[Worms]

Yob culture is now part of fishing Maybe Carp fishing attracted them to it and while heavy stocked Carp waters exist it's like an open prison keeping most of them rounded up in the same places. Take away the Carp puddles and they will be unleashed on mass into all walks of fishing including many of the rivers that others hold dear.

 

We need more Carp puddles with beer vending machines to keep these anglers on mass in the same places Only be keeping them force fed a diet of easy Carp and cheap beer can we contain the problem and if that means sacrificing club waters and other mixed fisheries so be it.

It is starting to creep onto rivers (the attitude) with the Adolf Hitler "barbel are the new carp" view . Generally though I agree strongly with the above Dales.........even if it was largely tongue in cheek!

 

I for one am aching to catch a nice 'wild' common from a little estate lake I know but, I still get put off the whole idea everytime I go to a certain stretch of river and have to park in the same car park as the users of a stocked pond. This pond used to be lovely and stocked with brownies and rainbows. Now it's an eyesore, full of rubbish and bloody noisy. Oh well, can't blame the farmer I suppose but what a shame.....At least it keeps them off the river!