carpe diem (sieze the carp!)

[kneedownnate]

Ok, I really don't know how to spell carpe diem, so you'll hafta let that one slide.  Anyway............as some of you may know I work at a lake in northern california.  If you didn't know, well, now you do!  A few years ago a non fisherman coworker called me on our little radios and started freekin out about this huge prehistoric fish he just saw swim by.  I had him describe it and said "you just saw a carp!".  He's worked the last few summers, and every spring he asks about when the carp are coming back again, which is hilarious since he has no desire to catch them, but just likes seeing such big fish.  Well, he's been back to work for almost 2 weeks now, and several times has asked me when they're coming back, and just today called me excitedly again to tell me they were staring at several large carp by the shoreline.  I figured, ok, there's gonna be a couple early birds lookin around, but checked it out on the next parts run I made and saw atleast 15 in maybe an 80 foot span.  They're still pretty dark, but should turn pretty yellow the closer they get to spawning, but either way they're just plain neat to see.  It's enough of a rarity to see a bass or even catfish around pushing 5 pounds, so when you are viewing 5 fish that weigh between 8 and 15 pounds it's kinda cool.  A couple of them were just plain FAT, and I could see the belly on one so fat with eggs it looked like it was gonna pop!  He said there were a whole bunch near the front of another dock we were working on later, so first chance I got to break away I ran up and peeked around a small dock building, only to see atleast 15 of em in about a 20 foot circle, and he said there were maybe 50 or so there when he looked.  I don't know if I can take any pics and get em to come out, but if I get a chance to tomorrow I will.  It's just plain neat, that is if you're a nature junky like this guy 

[Kurlee Daddee]

 

Speaking about Carp. About 10 years ago, a couple friends and I went fishing up at a resevoir in Morgan Hill. One of the guys I went with was from Taiwan. We go out to the resevoir and he brings out this 10 foot bamboo stick with fishing line attached to the end. I come out of my car with this $100 fishing pole. I started laughing at him, saying "What the hell are you going to catch with that thing?"  We were fishing for Carp that day. So he busts out the can of kernel corn and we put them on the hooks.

I throw out my line probably a good 50-60 feet. He grabs his bamboo stick with about 2-3 feet of line attached to the end and plops it into the water. I laugh. Not more than 10 minutes later, he pulls out his first Carp. I was like. He put the fish in the cooler, loaded up his hook and plopped it out in the water again. Another 10 minutes go by, and boom, he pulls out another Carp. To make a long story short, he caught about 5 Carp that day, and I didn't even get 1 bite on my pole. The moral of ths story is, its not the size of the pole that matters, its who's at the end of that pole. (true story though)

[kneedownnate]

How the heck do you cook em?  I've heard that the meat is good, but they're so boney that most people just dont eat them.  I've never actually caught a carp, but whenever I go fishing for them in the coves I always catch catfish.  I use that sweet corn carp dough bait from wally world, can't remember the brand.

[Kurlee Daddee]

How the heck do you cook em?  I've heard that the meat is good, but they're so boney that most people just dont eat them.  I've never actually caught a carp, but whenever I go fishing for them in the coves I always catch catfish.  I use that sweet corn carp dough bait from wally world, can't remember the brand.

I think they boil it and put it in soup.

We bought canned corn. You can buy it at any supermarket. Bring a can opener. Open it. Get a few kernels and put it on a hook. Wallla. Carp fishing.

[Ramrod]

what lake do you work at?  just curious.  my latest carp experience was last monday in the delta in some harbor there were a bunch that would easily push 20 pounds just sitting on the surface sleeping it was pretty cool.  I'm gonna start bowfishing for them in clearlake hopefully this year

[kyle_22r]

up here in WA we can shoot em with a bow and arrow.  they really encourage that, especially in eastern WA where they're overly common and stir up a lot of silt in the lakes over there.  they aren't native to north america, they're just trash fish.  takes a fair bit of skill to hit them if they're under the water, have to compensate for the refraction.

[Ramrod]

yeah they have lots of bowfishing tournaments in clearlake for carp.  Carp really are not as much of trash fish as most people think.  They are actually one of the harder fish to catch around and will put up more of a fight than any other in most fresh water and they do a great job helping out with weed overgrowth but they too can become overpopulated and ruin things just like everything else.  if you didn't know it already the only fish in the lakes your talking about that are native are probably rainbow trout and maybe not even that so you shouldn't worry about that

[Duffil]

They are actually one of the harder fish to catch around and will put up more of a fight than any other in most fresh water and they do a great job helping out with weed overgrowth but they too can become overpopulated and ruin things just like everything else. 

Yeah, definitely.  Where I lived when i was 8-12, the canals and rivers had plenty of em, big bastards, and they would fight like hell!!


SB: " I came up with a great name for us! You're Arkot Ramathorn, I'm Rod Farva. Team RamRod, Get it??"

sorry, I couldn't help myself...

[Lady Di]

Ok, I really don't know how to spell carpe diem, so you'll hafta let that one slide.  Anyway............as some of you may know I work at a lake in northern california.  If you didn't know, well, now you do!  A few years ago a non fisherman coworker called me on our little radios and started freekin out about this huge prehistoric fish he just saw swim by.  I had him describe it and said "you just saw a carp!".  He's worked the last few summers, and every spring he asks about when the carp are coming back again, which is hilarious since he has no desire to catch them, but just likes seeing such big fish.  Well, he's been back to work for almost 2 weeks now, and several times has asked me when they're coming back, and just today called me excitedly again to tell me they were staring at several large carp by the shoreline.  I figured, ok, there's gonna be a couple early birds lookin around, but checked it out on the next parts run I made and saw atleast 15 in maybe an 80 foot span.  They're still pretty dark, but should turn pretty yellow the closer they get to spawning, but either way they're just plain neat to see.  It's enough of a rarity to see a bass or even catfish around pushing 5 pounds, so when you are viewing 5 fish that weigh between 8 and 15 pounds it's kinda cool.  A couple of them were just plain FAT, and I could see the belly on one so fat with eggs it looked like it was gonna pop!  He said there were a whole bunch near the front of another dock we were working on later, so first chance I got to break away I ran up and peeked around a small dock building, only to see atleast 15 of em in about a 20 foot circle, and he said there were maybe 50 or so there when he looked.  I don't know if I can take any pics and get em to come out, but if I get a chance to tomorrow I will.  It's just plain neat, that is if you're a nature junky like this guy 

Hey Nate... perfect example of a run on thought with no paragraphs!!
MY GAWD MAN!! you were just on the other thread! What were you thinking!
Make it readable!

[kneedownnate]

Notice when I posted, and how many days in a row I've been working sans breaks.  But yea, I knew that posting it, but did it anyway. 

I work at shasta, and they're not terribly over-populated, but f&g still encourages their removal.  Bow fishing is allowed here as well, and a friend of mine is gonna soil himself as soon as I tell him they're back.  I've tried the corn thing, but all I ever catch are catfish!  Best way for me to catch a cat is carp fishing.  No pics tonight, but they were THICK. 

[IronClad]

hey nate is the dam still closed to get into chappie (sp?)  or is it open now days ? i remember hearing there was wheelin back there.. went up on quads a few years back but  didnt look like you could get much but a old flattie through some of them trails

[kneedownnate]

The few I've been on were fairly tight, even on my motorcycle.  Yes, technically the dam is closed, but you can file for a permit to cross, wait the 2 weeks while they do a background check and get across any time during the day I believe.  No guns though, so I never bothered filing for mine.  You can go through down by keswick lake to get in, but it takes a while, something like 8 miles of choppy dirt road.  I had an electrical problem coming out that way once, and a guy stopped to help on his way back from riding his cr500 back there and his tire was toast.  Said it was new earlier that day, but the rocks just tore it up.  I've just never cared a whole lot for that area either.

Forgot to snap pics again today, but saw a bunch more.  I'm a little guy, but I do have decent sized legs, and some of those turds are bigger around than my thigh!  Gonna try and remember again tomorrow, but as hectic as it's been I barely get one break the whole day, and don't even take a full half hour lunch right now.

[lowgeared]

I was in a carp competition a few years ago.  They have an annual shoot over fathers day weekend here in moses lake.  My buddy and I got sixth place.  We must of got 50 or more in two days of shooting.  The orientals were there taking the fish after we had weighed them.  I guess its better than wasting them.

[*FFC*]

There's a lake where I used to camp and fish on a regular basis.  Camp Far West is big on Carp. They have a cove out at the far end of the lake and in that cove it's like Carp heaven.  Literally hundreds of Carp stacked up in this tiny cove.  You can look and see their backs sticking out of the water inches from each other, just solid carp.  Looks kinda like a salmon run at the spillway.
I'd be standing there bass fishin and this 15 lb carp just moseys on by right in front of me lazy 's.  They never bite either... what boring fish. They're ugly and I wouldn't eat one, but I'd love to fight one that's not foul hooked

[Ramrod]

the best way to catch them when you can see them is find one thats grubbing around on the bottom and then carefully and quietly drop a small piece of worm or bread on an even smaller hook right in its path with out it knowing and they usually will suck it up unknowingly

[DTB]

We used to fish fer carp in cow ponds. I've seen some that were as big as I am! (I know you're prolly thinking "fisherman's tale") Usually the ponds arent more than a few feet deep and their fins will pop up making them look like jaws. kinda freaky if you're wading out in the pond. Anyways, never had any luck with bait. Usually just snag one with a sinking hook and get ready for a big fight. I usually use junk poles cuz I've had so many ripped right out of my hands! Good times! hehehe 

[6.72:1]

Those are some huge fishes!

[Lady Di]

I was in a carp competition a few years ago.  They have an annual shoot over fathers day weekend here in moses lake.  My buddy and I got sixth place.  We must of got 50 or more in two days of shooting.  The orientals were there taking the fish after we had weighed them.  I guess its better than wasting them.

Its not bad enough you're just shooting fish, over 50 of them, for the hell of it, but to think you would shoot fish just for a competition never to use it for anything more then to kill fish is unfathomable. Thank goodness someone saw fit to do something with the fish.
Hunting/fishing for food is one thing, catch and release, for the thrill of fishing while still not humane if you ask me, is better then the idea of hunting/fishing for nothing more then the thrill of killing something and having no intention to use what you've killed for any good purpose.

I knew I shouldn't have looked at this thread.

[DTB]

That does sound rather inhumane but to speak up in lowgeared's defense, many people consider these "trash" or "nuisance" fish with no real purpose. You can't eat the damned things. Diane is right though too and I think 50 does sound like an excessive number of things to kill. 

[IronClad]

theres more to it than just killing them.. theres reasons why you can still hunt and fish.. you get to many animals in one place there can be huge problems.. and with a fish like carp.. get to many and it will kill the habitat for other fish. basicly its also desiease controll.  theres people that just go out and kill things..  then theres hunters that go out for not only food but other reasons such as that.

[DTB]

yer right IC, I have seen carp completely take over a lake and kill everything else in it. They are also do carry alot of diseases (I think) like other algae grazer and bottom-feeders

[DTB]

  diane, read this article http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=231358

[IronClad]

like stated earlier.. carp are a trash fish.

[DTB]

  basically the article states that carp stir up sediment in lakes killing all the game fish. they even have to be disposed of in a special way because their bodies contain chemicals that can cause cancer to other animals. Doesn't sound as bad now does it?

[6.72:1]

I hate a dirty fish.

[kneedownnate]

I'll try to use an analogy that might help put it into perspective Dianne. 

You know how they say if you see one mouse/cockroach, there are a whole crapload you don't see(that's the technical lingo)?  Well, when you can drive past several coves and see 50-100 fish in each, and know that there are many more coves like this on a lake with 365 miles of shoreline, and that there are many many fish you don't see below them, then you know there's a problem.  If you were to go to shasta, kill 50 carp per week for a whole year, it may only take you a few hundred years to knock out the population.  That's assuming they don't breed in that period of time. 

I'm not saying I advocate the killing of these fish, but knowing how strict california fish and game is on game take, and knowing that they encourage you to remove as many of these fish as possible, I have to think they have a good reason.  Another reason not mentioned, these fish also eat the eggs of other fish quite frequently, as they're scavengers, which couple with other contributing factors has actually added to the decline in game fish numbers.  Not all species, but a few of the less hearty fish (crappie, smallmouth bass). 

I also think somebody brought up the issue of carp and other fish not being native to these areas.  This is partially true, but there are only a few fish there that are not native (atleast the ones I know of).  Spotted bass, definately not native, and actually have added to the declining numbers of the afforementioned species.  Dunno about catfish, but they're pretty much everywhere.  Sturgeon, native, run in the rivers.  Salmon, native.  Trout, native, albeit not all the species we have are considered native.  Bluegill and pumpkinseed.....dunno, but they're in many local creeks and ponds, so who knows.  Bass, once again, can't be sure on that one either.  Squawfish :rolleyes: , yup, pretty sure they're native, since they're sac river squaws.  They too can get pretty big, are a trash fish, and are encouraged to be removed from the waters.  These are a super agressive fish that will give smallmouths a run for their money on the end of a line, and breed in high numbers.  So far these are the ONLY fish I've willingly hucked in the bushes while fishing, but I do prefer to cut em first.  Drawing a blank on any others, but it'll come to me.

[kneedownnate]

Anybody have any pictures of some?  The only time I was able to sneak away and try snapping a few, the gm was standing in the parking lot, so I had to make it look like I was going to check on a boat.  Plus it's been super windy the last 2 days.

[Lady Di]

I google imaged carp:



That's a giant siamese carp

[Lady Di]

Alright, I understand what you are saying about trying to control an out of control population of a non-native species and in that case I would have to say I would find shooting the fish dead outright to be more humane then ripping them out of the water by their lip. Especially with nothing more in mind then to rip the hook back out of thier lip and put them back again so someone else can do the very same thing to them. You'd think they'd learn but I guess no one ever said fish are smart.
Thanks Nate, you are always a plethora of information

[kneedownnate]

A plethora of phenomination?!  And like myself, fish have a one day memory span, so when I used to go fishing at the same pond every day and catch the same fish, I can only imagine them thinking "dang man, didn't this happen to me once before?"

Also, if you catch them near the edge of the lip it really doesn't hurt them.  There's no feeling right there.  If you happen to catch em in the throat, and don't intend to keep em, you just cut the line rather than trying to remove it.  It'll corrode away in 7-10 days, that's what they're designed for.  If you hook em in the tail......yea, that one probably smarts.