28 replies to this topic

[BassAssassin726]

Ive been exploring lots of ponds around my way. Some of them really nice and extremely bassy looking. Huge trees laying on the bank that go out like 50 feet into the water, tons of structure. But in all these ponds I have yet to see or catch a bass but i constantly see HUGE Carp. Not sure which kind but theyre giangantic. Do these Carp have an effect on the bass population? It insane how much of a bass haven some of these ponds are but i cant find bass. Help! Tips on fishing pond would be appreciated as well!

[WookieeJedi]

I have been told they deplete oxygen in ponds. I know this, whenever I see a pond with a bunch of big carp, it is rarely a good bass pond.

[Ima Bass Ninja]

Yes they can. I have a pond u fish that has big ole carp and big ole bass both. The biggest problem that I see is the carp eat the vegetation which can lead to a lack of cover and oxygen content. But I have heard that once a carp gets a certain age they don't eat. Not sure if it's true or not though.

[Nitrofreak]

Yes also, the carp are most likely grass carp that were put there to help control the vegetation, they may have overpopulated the pond.

If you know the owner of the pond you may be able to delete a few and help restore the balance.

[00 mod]

Unfortunately they can. Most grass carp are put into ponds to control weeds and they are sterile. Around here, we have a bad asian carp problem. They eat a lot of vegetation, that affects the entire food chain. Which in sense affects the bass population.

Jeff

[slonezp]

But I have heard that once a carp gets a certain age they don't eat.

Do they just survive on love?

[tomustang]

It depends on who maintains the pond

[Ima Bass Ninja]

Do they just survive on love?

Never really cared if it's true or not hence my disclaimer that" I'm not sure if it's true"

Seems after 5-7 years there effectiveness for Vegitation control and growth slows even though they continue to live for many more years which is why they continually need restocking. Thanks for bein a smarty pants so I could learn something. Here's a link incase you wanna read it. https://srac.tamu.ed...hfactsheet/160/

[Marty]

I don't know how carp interact with or affect bass, but I do know that there is good bass fishing in numerous waters around here that have a lot of carp, both common and grass carp.

[stanlje2]

I grass carp, bluegill, catfish and bass in my pond and they all live happily together.

[Avalonjohn44]

There is just no harmony between the species. The carp think that the bass get all the media attention, the bass think the carp are freeloaders dropped into the pond to eat them out of house and home. Meanwhile the bream and crappie are busy reproducing at breakneck speeds, insuring that they will be the dominant population of the pond. Soon enough the fish version of jesse jackson will come along and jump in the middle of it and really screw things up. It's all just fish racism. Why can't they all just get along?

[Tlaz]

There is just no harmony between the species. The carp think that the bass get all the media attention, the bass think the carp are freeloaders dropped into the pond to eat them out of house and home. Meanwhile the bream and crappie are busy reproducing at breakneck speeds, insuring that they will be the dominant population of the pond. Soon enough the fish version of jesse jackson will come along and jump in the middle of it and really screw things up. It's all just fish racism. Why can't they all just get along?

NICE

[justin apfel]

Is it illegal to kill carp when caught? Or is it up to the person who owns the pond? I fish in a few ponds that are city owned and sometimes I get bored and throw some corn and catch some monster carp. It's pretty fun but I have always wondered if I should kill some or not.

[Edgy]

Not all carp are invasive i believe. One of the lakes i fish have 3 huge koi fish, which i think are carp, i might be wrong and bass living in there. One of my best ponds has shiners, bass, like 1 or 2 carp, catfish, bluegill, and some sort of sun fish.

[BassAssassin726]

Thanks for the info guys. I just dont get it. These pond Ive been checking out look bassalicious, basstastic, THEY LOOK LIKE A BASS HAVEN! But nothing, just a few moster carp. I fished the crap out of the with everything. Plastics, spinnerbaits, in line spinners, cranks, lipless cranks, wacky worm, texas rig, carolina rig, shaky heads, everything in my tackle bag. Its frustrating and mysterious. Could it be because i live in Pennsylvania?