What are your Favourite Fish to Catch?

[Phone]

Emma two,

 

No, that's what we have. Cyprinus carpio and in fact lots of them. I didn't mean to imply that ALL waters contain heavy metals. That's what it sort of looke like when I re-read my post. Just some. Usually those in industrial areas with heavy watershed runoff.

 

There are a couple ways to catch carp in the US. One, accidently when fishing "catch anything". Two, as a food fish. Three, you can fish for them "properly". Only the proper way (Euro) is considered sporting by many (ex-Pats). Still, I would challange any angler to catch a more sporting fish even if the angler is not a sportsman that can "show" for itself - carp rule. Not many 40 lb freshwater fish any stronger. In the US only the river salmon and the striped bass show better. Carp are hugely strong fish and because they are ubuqutious(sp) they are the "queen" of the common man's "specimen" as far as I'm concerned. If you're going to fish for specimen "bigger is better". I don't want to hear 2 lb bluegill (sunfish) stories.

 

Problem with carp here is they have addapted in NA WAY to well. It's hard to find specimen fish for all the 15 lbrs. It requires an abundance of predatory fish to keep carp populations in check. Unfortunately we "catch and eat" the predators (or kill in the C&R process). C&R is by no means failsafe. Then in some places carp have just "taken over". That's no fun and I'm sure the concern you, and others, are addressing. Certainly we must be good stewards.

 

I'd hate for Worms to read this but we are in the throws of addressing a real problem with "invasive" Asian Carp (1975). Silver and Bighead carp "got loose" from expermential ponds in the Mississippi River drainage. They have the potential for "taking over" all other species (probably 80% of our rivers and the Great Lakes). Personally, I don't think the biology is right but I cannot deny the potential.

 

I guess on the subject of eating fish. We'd better aquire a taste for Asian Carp. (Silver Carp are quite good - not eaten a Bighead - - - yet)

 

Phone

 

Eating one's own catch is a "thing of the past". We are far to affluent and lazy.

[Dales]

I guess on the subject of eating fish. We'd better aquire a taste for Asian Carp. (Silver Carp are quite good - not eaten a Bighead - - - yet)

 

Anyone gone down the route of netting for the Asian food market. (I guess there might be a problem there in some areas with the metals you described and the market favours buying live fish and I doubt moving them while alive would be a popular option)

 

I thought along with Snake Heads some of the Asian Carp problems were caused by smuggling them in live for the exotic food market where super fresh food is very important.

[AddictedToScopex]

I've seen common bream for sale for the table in fishmarkets - not sure which community they were being bought by, it was in Hyde in the 80's. I wonder, though, if your takeaway lady didn't realise that there is a difference between the bream you were catching and the sea bream which are delicious to eat?

No I definetly explained it to her that they were silver bream and bronze bream caught from lakes and she was still very much interested lol.

[Phone]

Dales,

 

The Asian Carp are going to be a tough nut to crack. First, let me say in this post Asian Carp will mean Silver Carp. The Bigheads don't seem to be the same cup of tea although they are thrown together as Asian Carp.

 

You need to multiply your vision of the problem. Netting for the Asian food market would only work if we could get the fish to Asia. I mean we have L O T S of Silver Carp already. Something like "feed China" would be a more appropriate statement. (tounge in cheek, only slightly).

 

They are really hard to net. They dwell in top to mid-water and these fish are very spooky and will jump 3 or 4 feet out of the water when challanged. Equally, they are filter feeders and not subject to longline commercial fishing, at least very successfully.

 

The most fun way to catch the Silver Carp is to run the boat up and down the river at high speed. The fish will jump into the boat. Being careful not to get hit and use a net to snag them whilst airborne. Like butterflys.

 

Phone

[Dales]

Phone

 

To be honest I think you are stuck with the Carp and doubt any solution would fully remove them. I guess you could up the predator ratio to control the small ones. Maybe if the Gar had not been so heavily fished they might have made a difference.

 

Might be time to import some Giant Snake Head to control the Asian Carp. I'm sure there are plenty of South American or Asian predatory fish that would adapt well to US conditions. Is is better to have one sort of invasive species then another? At least pred fish would provide some good angling sport

 

I was thinking along the idea of selling the Carp to Asian communities in the US as I saw a program a while back where they were claimed Silver Carp and Snake Heads and a whole host of other things with fins were still been smuggled in because the market for them was for live fish and there was no real desire to buy dead fish as they are considered an inferior product.

[gozzer]

Phone there are other ways of making use of them.

 

 

WARNING

This is a link that I've posted before, and it upset some people.

So if you are a carp lover, and easily upset, then please don't open the link.

You have been warned.

 

http://www.charliecarp.com/about.htm

 

John.

[Phone]

gozzer,

 

You fail to remember I had an annual 700 hook longline license and a 50,000 metric ton quota for freshwater "rough fish". For a couple years I was a part of every cat in America's life.

 

Sporting value and commercial value are as seperate as night and day for me and my carp. I love them on more than one front.

 

Phone

[Dales]

Phone there are other ways of making use of them.

 

 

WARNING

This is a link that I've posted before, and it upset some people.

So if you are a carp lover, and easily upset, then please don't open the link.

You have been warned.

 

http://www.charliecarp.com/about.htm

 

John.

 

 

You could be prosecuted for starting a riot after posting that , but as a whole we tend to be well rounded individuals on this site but imagine what would happen if that got posted on one of those other fishing forums that other people might frequent

[Phone]

gozzer,

 

BTW, the way you "catch" carp is a hair rig (circa 1950). You use a #2/0 hook with a loop of butchers string and hang a 2 inch square of cottonseed cake about 2 inches below the hook point. The string is tied in a loop, drill the cottonseed cake, half hitch it to the hook.

 

Phone

[gozzer]

gozzer,

 

BTW, the way you "catch" carp is a hair rig (circa 1950). You use a #2/0 hook with a loop of butchers string and hang a 2 inch square of cottonseed cake about 2 inches below the hook point. The string is tied in a loop, drill the cottonseed cake, half hitch it to the hook.

 

Phone

 

Thanks for the tip Phone, now be really helpful and tell me how to avoid catching them.

 

John.