holding carp

[dean in devon]

We all think that fish are great looking creatures Dean its just that like anything they can become a problem if natures balance is upset. The carp are not been killed primarily for use as fertilizer but being killed because there are simply far to many of them and they are seriously (due to the massive numbers of them and them being "unnatural" in that system) damaging the aquatic environment and threatening the native species survival. Man is now (unfortunately for the poor old carp) just trying to repair the damage to the natural balance he has caused. As I said the use of them for fertilizer or anything is just a by line.

 

Because you "know" carp your sympathies are with them but maybe if you knew Murry Cod etc and had watched them decline as a direct result of the introduction and massive growth of the carp your sympathies would lay else where?

 

These new lakes you speak of,why do you feel its carp we should stock them with and not a mixture of species? Also regardless of the rights or wrongs of how we perceive it who are we to tell people in another country under different circumstances what to do or pass judgement?

 

I thought you could understand this now? You said in an earlier post that killing them shouldn't be an option but as I tried to point out by asking those questions what other option is there realistically? If you could come up with one I'm sure the Aussies would love to hear it.

true i agree but killing them is not the answer bud but i suppose it's man made fault and we as a man can't fix what we have made,

 

reply to green: used the carp as an example, but it's what we could put into our lake's how many carp do they go through a day? and once they suck them out dry where are the carp going to come from after that, a i can ay they won't top if it makes a lot of money. just wish i could help take them off the auzzies and put them into fun and enjoyment love. fishing..

i do apoligie for going over and over it' jut me speaking my opinion and how i feel, sorry

Edited February 22, 2011 by dean in devon

[Dick Dastardly]

No need to apologise Dean I can understand your frustration.Lets hope it never gets that bad here and we have to do the same (unlikely due to our climate) But as Johm says the warnings are quite clear here all ready.

[kirisute]

Odd but I always thought you held carp with your thumb in their mouths! Figured it was common knowledge, strange to hear it's an "old" way of things! Least I do something right! Lol!

Reminds me I've had people ask about my photos and why the carp are sucking my thumb! Now I know lol!

As for holding I tend to lay my left arm along the underside of the body, almost as if your cradling a baby, tail to elbow, hand supporting directly under the pec fins...then my right hand can support the head and also supply the thumb for sucking!

Works well for me and you are almost " hugging the fish" close to your body for protection and support:

This shows what I mean fairly clearly

[poledark]

Re the time out of water for carp. if you had videoed as many carp weighing/photographing sessions as I have, you would soon be aware that 3 mins is very short. 4 minutes about normal, and never seen any harm after 6mins. And I have been doing it for over 20 years.

 

Needless to say, the soomer they go back the better.

 

Den

[Vagabond]

Odd but I always thought you held carp with your thumb in their mouths! Figured it was common knowledge, strange to hear it's an "old" way of things!

 

Most of my pictures are taken "on the mat" with rod and reel for size comparison. That's because I often fish alone "far from the madding crowd"

 

However, when I do have company and a fish to hold, a thumb in the fish's mouth certainly helps control it. Have been doing that for 50 yeras or more......

 

I don't use that method for tiger fish tho'..............

 

,,,and BTW Aussie anglers don't throw carp up the bank to rot. They kill them and then return them to the aquatic ecosystem. The crayfish (yabbies) in Australian rivers are wall to wall - makes our problems with signals seem puny. The population explosion of yabbies is partly due to the lack of the Australian native fish which lived on them. Yabbies love dead carp!

 

Unfortunately the Australian carp are well out of hand - they breed much faster than Aussie anglers can catch them.

[Sharkbyte]

Re the time out of water for carp. if you had videoed as many carp weighing/photographing sessions as I have, you would soon be aware that 3 mins is very short. 4 minutes about normal, and never seen any harm after 6mins. And I have been doing it for over 20 years.

 

Needless to say, the soomer they go back the better.

 

Den

 

 

I'd suggest that any angler into keeping 'revered' fish out of the water for anywhere near to six minutes should be spending four of those ringing around getting quotes from local taxidermists.

 

If you intent on releasing them, at least do it efficiently. Likewise, if it's going to be hanging on the wall, or going into a pan, swiftly bat it over the head so as not to spook the swim with all that unnecessary thrashing and flailing.

[Anderoo]

I have to agree with Sharkebyte. I can't see any reason to keep a fish out of water for that long. Even if it's a really special fish and you want decent photos and very accurate weighing, if you leave the fish in the net while you get your sling, scales and camera ready, why should it take any longer than a minute? I've seen youtube videos of big carp being weighed and photographed and it makes me wince how long it's kept on the mat! A dozen people all firing off cameras for ages - then turn the fish around and do it again.

 

Dean, to get a better idea of what the problem actually is, forget about fish and think about the mink problem we have here in the UK. These are a non-native species that is very destructive to the environment. Accordingly, they are trapped and killed. Very unpleasant for all involved (not least the poor old mink, who doesn't know he is doing anything wrong) but unfortunately necessary.

 

Gozzer is right too, talking in terms of profit is opening a huge can of worms. Also think about what lives the carp themselves have in these little fishing pools. Overcrowded, not enough natural food, an unnatural environment, and caught and released constantly, often by people who actually damage them (we've all seen torn mouths and other evidence of bad fishing or poor handling). If we cared that much for them, we'd be shutting these places down, not importing carp and creating more of them.

[poledark]

I'd suggest that any angler into keeping 'revered' fish out of the water for anywhere near to six minutes should be spending four of those ringing around getting quotes from local taxidermists.

 

If you intent on releasing them, at least do it efficiently. Likewise, if it's going to be hanging on the wall, or going into a pan, swiftly bat it over the head so as not to spook the swim with all that unnecessary thrashing and flailing.

 

 

You seem to have missed the point Sharkbyte. I fished one famous lake, with some really special fish in it, for 6 years. I was there most days/evenings and whenever anyone caught a fish, the cry would go up for me to video it. Top anglers, many household names in the fishing world, all of them in the forefront of modern carp angling practises and care.

 

When I got home and before I edited out the rubbish, I realised how long some of the photo/weighing sessions actually were, and I have to tell you that 6 mins weighing and photoing was fairly common. No fish ever died, they simply got bigger each year some are nudging 50lbs now

 

Two years ago I had a dispute with an angler who said the same as you re the time taken. I later videoed him from the other side of the lake with a fish...and guess what? 6mins and 20 secs! I consider that IS a long time.

 

Den

[kirisute]

You seem to have missed the point Sharkbyte. I fished one famous lake, with some really special fish in it, for 6 years. I was there most days/evenings and whenever anyone caught a fish, the cry would go up for me to video it. Top anglers, many household names in the fishing world, all of them in the forefront of modern carp angling practises and care.

 

When I got home and before I edited out the rubbish, I realised how long some of the photo/weighing sessions actually were, and I have to tell you that 6 mins weighing and photoing was fairly common. No fish ever died, they simply got bigger each year some are nudging 50lbs now

 

Two years ago I had a dispute with an angler who said the same as you re the time taken. I later videoed him from the other side of the lake with a fish...and guess what? 6mins and 20 secs! I consider that IS a long time.

 

Den

 

i think time flies alot faster than people tend to think....

i wouldnt even guess at how long i keep a fish out of water if im photographing it..some of the time im fishing alone..i land the fish...keep it in the landing net rested on the un-hooking mat, pull my camera out, take the photo and then return the fish....all without it leaving the net.....if i weight it then i have my scales adjusted for the net or i weight the net seperrately afterwards....so what? maybe 2 or 3 mins maximum??

if its a bigger fish i someone is there to take the picture for me....then maybe a minute or so more.....

in all honesty i would think the average for any angler with a PB fish or a decent enough fish to "pose" for a piccy would be 4 or 5 mins.....

i think the important thing is how the fish is handled, the care taken with it, and the time given for recovery once it goes back into the lake....a fish thats overly stressed for 5 mins is alot different to one thats looked after and calmed down, and on a wet mat, in wet weigh sling and given chance to recover calmly one returned to the water after 5 minutes.

[im back]

whats the best way to pick up a carp for photographs and how long is it recommended to safely keep a carp out of water before returning it to the water

im back

 

many thanks to all for your answers.i have never caught a carp yet but 10 years back i caught lots of tench plenty of bream.

i think tench a lovely fish

cheers all im back