channel catfish pic

[saxmatt]

NJ fish and game is making a big mistake by treating carp the way they do. I know a bunch of carp anglers who refuse to buy licenses because of it. Carp fishing is a multi billion dollar industry in Europe and there are $50,000 tournaments in NY and CT. CT fish and game is going to make some trophy carp waters with a maximum size limit and no bowfishing to protect trophy carp. Between the tournament, trophy waters, and tackle shops carrying carp tackle the state and local shops in CT are making a lot of money annually from carp fisherman. Connecticut also allows you to catch and release state records if you have a certified scale. Maybe someday NJ fish and game will smarten up but for now not many carp fisherman spend money in the state. They are missing out.

[thmyorke1]

Originally Posted by saxmatt

NJ fish and game is making a big mistake by treating carp the way they do. I know a bunch of carp anglers who refuse to buy licenses because of it. Carp fishing is a multi billion dollar industry in Europe and there are $50,000 tournaments in NY and CT. CT fish and game is going to make some trophy carp waters with a maximum size limit and no bowfishing to protect trophy carp. Between the tournament, trophy waters, and tackle shops carrying carp tackle the state and local shops in CT are making a lot of money annually from carp fisherman. Connecticut also allows you to catch and release state records if you have a certified scale. Maybe someday NJ fish and game will smarten up but for now not many carp fisherman spend money in the state. They are missing out.

The fact that NJ doesn't list carp as a kill-on-catch fish and not invasive is tolerant enough. Reasonable to believe that they don't list them as invasive because people target them.

What can nj do to make their carp fishery better? It seems like youre upset that there aren't as many giant sized carp as there should be. Wouldn't a creel limit not fix that problem since the giant carp will be the ones only harvestable?

[saxmatt]

I'd like a 32" length maximum and reduce the limit to 6. I can't see even a big family needing more than 6 5-20lb carp for a good meal. The big carp bully out the small carp when food is around. When you take them out you see a boom in pupulation. With no competition from big fish a place can become over run with small fish. I've seen this happen with bass, carp, panfish, pike...you name it. When you protect the bigger fish and cull the smaller ones you tend to have less fish but a bigger average size. Just look at park ponds vs bigger harder to fish lakes. The park ponds have tons of small fish, but the bigger lakes like Hopatcong are ruled by predators, and everything in there is big. When you have more big carp there is a better balance, plus baby carp are an excellent forage fish for bass, trout, walley, pike etc.

[thmyorke1]

Originally Posted by saxmatt

I'd like a 32" length maximum and reduce the limit to 6. I can't see even a big family needing more than 6 5-20lb carp for a good meal. The big carp bully out the small carp when food is around. When you take them out you see a boom in pupulation. With no competition from big fish a place can become over run with small fish. I've seen this happen with bass, carp, panfish, pike...you name it. When you protect the bigger fish and cull the smaller ones you tend to have less fish but a bigger average size. Just look at park ponds vs bigger harder to fish lakes. The park ponds have tons of small fish, but the bigger lakes like Hopatcong are ruled by predators, and everything in there is big. When you have more big carp there is a better balance, plus baby carp are an excellent forage fish for bass, trout, walley, pike etc.

A maximum length wouldn't be a bad idea but so could it be in every fish species. Is there a reason why nj in freshwater doesn't utilize the rule? My guess is that it's less fair to not let people keep trophy fish.

[Heronimo42]

There are tons of carp, big and small, still in Carnegie. I don't think NJBands is decimating the carp population in that lake. I can't comment on his fishing ability, but I have seen him catch some nice sized carp.

[saxmatt]

He's the one complaining the fishing at Carnegie has gone down hill. I know people who have put in some time there and I've never heard of a big carp come out of there, as he biggest I've seen was 23lbs. Most are around 10lbs. All I'm saying is don't blame the bad fishing on the fish getting too smart to catch when you are keeping hundreds a year.

[Heronimo42]

I think the major fishkill a couple of years ago along with a ton of runoff chemicals flowing into Carnegie is hurting the fish population. They also need to dredge it again soon as it's getting too shallow.

[NJ219bands]

Originally Posted by saxmatt

He's the one complaining the fishing at Carnegie has gone down hill. I know people who have put in some time there and I've never heard of a big carp come out of there, as he biggest I've seen was 23lbs. Most are around 10lbs. All I'm saying is don't blame the bad fishing on the fish getting too smart to catch when you are keeping hundreds a year.

Almost all of your statements about me are untrue. I only caught 58 common carp this year. I never saw anybody catch more than one carp in Carnegie Lake while I was there. Check the bowfishing section of //www.njhunter.com. 4 guys kill 100 carp per night in my Delaware River fishing spot. I only caught one carp there the past 3 years because the bowfishermen killed and removed thousands of carp from there the past few years. I only have 3 carp fishing spots and 2 of them were no good this year. You should take up bowfishing for carp.