Carp question

[justin1982]

Yesterday I was at a good bass lake I've been fishing. A guy and his wife were walking and asked me if I caught anything. I told him I've done well with bass and my buddy caught 2 carp. He asked me if I threw the carp back and I said yes. He told me the next time we catch carp to keep them because the town's environmental department doesn't want carp in this lake because they stir up the bottom and destroy habitat for the bass. Is this true? I've never heard of this before...

[AndyS]

Yes, it is true. The Raritan river would run a whole lot cleaner if it weren't for all the carp busting up the bottom.

[Jedhead]

All waterways would improve with the removal of carp, an invasive species that should be left in the woods for coons to eat or thrown in the garden for fertilizer!

[Eskimo]

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Euthanizing carp is always a controversial subject.
It's a decision that would be easier to make if they tasted good, but they don't. They taste awful.

Personally, I choose to throw them back. I don't want to encourage any nuisance bears by leaving piles of fish out in the woods for them to eat.

I don't have any use for them, so I'll leave them for some sportsman who does. I figure if I don't kill them, some bow-fisherman would like to shoot them or maybe some foreigner would like to catch them and eat them.


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[SteelCityWonder]

Hmmm, what about using the meat for catfish bait?
Anyone ever try that before? what are your guys' thoughts on that?

[Andrushkin33]

To be honest it all depends on location where carp was caught.

Cleaner location = better tasting fish.

But in general carps under 5 lbs are the best tasting ones when it comes to cooking them.

Anything over 5lbs my suggestion to smoke them if you want to eat them. They are not that bad when smoked.

Andre

[justin1982]

Originally Posted by SteelCityWonder

Hmmm, what about using the meat for catfish bait?
Anyone ever try that before? what are your guys' thoughts on that?

What about cutting them up as pike bait? I just wouldn't feel right just throwing a fish in the woods to die.

[Chrisper4694]

Well carp are not an invasive species first off... Before that stupid rumor starts spreading.

I've never tried carp but I know people eat them. I know I can make bluefish and you'll think it's crab meat yet plenty of people still won't keep them to eat haha. I'm sure with the right method carp tastes good, although I don't think I'd eat them from most places around here!

Maybe there are too many of them in certain places but they have their place in the ecosystem for sure you can research that and educate yourself.

Nothing wrong with keeping a small one to cut up for pike bait, I'm sure it would work.

This whack job guy once told me to kill every carp I caught in lake Hopatcong..then he went on to say "and kill any muskie you catch in there too, knee deep club says there are too many in there". Yeah...beware what people tell you, there are some real special people out there.

[slider]

Tough question when asked to kill a certain species of fish, but carp can be a nusiance especially if they gain numbers in a bass lake, being bottom feeders they damage bass redds and consume their eggs..That in itself could be a major problem...Common carp are not native to North American they have been introduced here from Asia, but so many years ago most people thing they have always been here...Bottom line large numbers of carp will be detremental to improving a bass fishery..But many bigger lakes have sizable populations of both, which satisfies 2 different types of angling..

[Jedhead]

Sorry there Christer don't want to start any stupid rumors. Let me change invasive to introduced, still does 'nt change the fact that they are a trash fish. Not saying hooking into any size carp is not a fun time, but the bad outways the good.