Carp are a nuisance up here during spring, though we probably have the next world record swimming around one of the Great Lakes.  There is a growing group of anglers using advanced European techniques to catch them.  They are interesting to watch.  I've caught a few, and it's a bit annoying.

I've never targeted carp. They aren't in the small rivers and reservoirs I usually fish.  But I'd like to catch one just to shorten my "fish I've never caught" list.

 

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

Do you think they are gulping air ? I always thought they were feeding on plankton , algae or something .

They are capable of gulping air like a gar 

Kentucky and Barkley Lakes have a rampant Asian Carp problem, that has wreaked havoc on both the lakes eco-system and fishery due primarily their reproduction rate, over 1 million eggs per adult female, per year.  A problem that will never be completely eradicated.  Their jumping is also a safety concern for boaters.  12 to 15 million have been removed from both lakes since 2018. 

 

https://www.fieldandstream.com/conservation/millions-of-carp-removed-from-kentucky-lake/

59 minutes ago, Carpenater said:

Kentucky and Barkley Lakes have a rampant Asian Carp problem, that has wreaked havoc on both the lakes eco-system and fishery due primarily their reproduction rate, over 1 million eggs per adult female, per year.  A problem that will never be completely eradicated.  Their jumping is also a safety concern for boaters.  12 to 15 million have been removed from both lakes since 2018. 

 

https://www.fieldandstream.com/conservation/millions-of-carp-removed-from-kentucky-lake/

You may be correct on the “never be completely eradicated” part but only time will tell. Lots of exotic species run their course then are gone forever. They just did some heavy sampling of the dams upstream and found zero (0) big head or silver carp. I’m also fairly sure they have never found a juvenile anywhere, all the fish are reproducing somewhere else and just swimming up to KY and Barkley dams 

12 hours ago, Carpenater said:

https://www.fieldandstream.com/conservation/millions-of-carp-removed-from-kentucky-lake/

How anyone can get anything from this (and most other "news" sites) is beyond me, with all the pop ups, overlays, and inline advertisements.  Field and Stream is garbage, bent only on retail profits and sensationalistic headlines meant to garner clicks. They have no interest in truth or serving the readership.  

11 hours ago, J Francho said:

How anyone can get anything from this (and most other "news" sites) is beyond me, with all the pop ups, overlays, and inline advertisements.  Field and Stream is garbage, bent only on retail profits and sensationalistic headlines meant to garner clicks. They have no interest in truth or serving the readership.  

No disagreement on pop up ads and etc of being annoying.  In today's online media is not uncommon for even the smallest media companies having some sort of ads/ advertisement...and this even includes bass fishing information forums.  Some just find it more annoying than others, myself included to a certain extent.  That being said it is reach and rather shortsighted in stating that a magazine, Field and Stream in this case, in its entirety (staff and content) has no interest in truth or serving the readership.  

Business people control our lives.  Sure glad I live now .  And not in1905.

 

 

Buy a small can of Jolly Green Giant Extra crispy corn.  Slide kernels to cover ALL of metal hook . ! or 2 past the hook eye is best..  DO NOT leave rod out of your hands.  If you do leave it ?  BACK THE DRAG .....Completely to LOOSE.  Then tighten drag adjustment before yanking to set the hook. 

Caught my first Carp this year. I have seen them swimming in the local canal many times. Tried worms, corn, Lima beans with no luck.

 

I had a small 1” swimbait on a light action rod and 6# mono. Tossed it past the roaming pack and twitched it while laying on the bottom as they passed. One of them sucked it up. What a fight! Peeling drag and a few good runs before it tired out enough to get it close to the canal wall. No net would have meant hand lining it up and possibly damaging its mouth. I was able to shake it loose. Definitely want to try catching another one someday.

 

Maybe we need to have one of those AA like first name only meetings where we admit that we really love these fish.

  I love fishing for carp . I had a camper on Mississippi river backwater that was protected by a levee . I use to feed them with floating fish pellets , so there were always carp hanging around  . Kids would come over to feed the carp .

I & other people enjoy them cruising by for some snacks. They & catfish are the only pollution survivors. We are losing the entire food chain close to shore. 

 

"  Should have been here 30 years ago !!  "

2 minutes ago, cyclops2 said:

I & other people enjoy them cruising by for some snacks. They & catfish are the only pollution survivors. We are losing the entire food chain close to shore. 

 

"  Should have been here 30 years ago !!  "

All waters in my region were far nastier 30 years ago than they are today. In fact, the lake I live near is called fort loudoun. 30 years ago it was referred to as fort nasty 

All love for the carp from me too. Asian Carp are a different story and while even the common carp is technically an invasive species, it has been here so long (hundreds of years) that the ecosystems have adapted to it. They’re fun to target. 

Weren't they brought in from Germany way back ?  

28 minutes ago, cyclops2 said:

Weren't they brought in from Germany way back ?  

Yes, but originally from Asia.

On 12/23/2021 at 1:39 PM, cheezyridr said:

a buddy of mine had a little 10' boat he used to throw in the back of the truck so we could fish a couple of private ponds he had access to.  we were out there one morning and he foul hooked a massive carp.  in the boat is 2 men and a coleman cooler full of ice with drinks and bait.  that's over 400lbs in the boat. that carp pulled us all the way across that pond, probably a few hundred feet

 

i just remembered my buddy got a $250 fine that morning for not having life jackets on the boat.  when he pointed out that the entire pond had a max depth of  3' or less, the  fish and game guy acknowledged  it was unnecessary, but wrote the ticket anyway.

13 minutes ago, cheezyridr said:

 

i just remembered my buddy got a $250 fine that morning for not having life jackets on the boat.  when he pointed out that the entire pond had a max depth of  3' or less, the  fish and game guy acknowledged  it was unnecessary, but wrote the ticket anyway.

You can easily drown in three feet or less of water. Likely? No----but if the rules state you must be wearing a life jacket while in a boat, then the fish and game guy was just doing his job.

 

8 minutes ago, Kirt Howe said:

You can easily drown in three feet or less of water. Likely? No----but if the rules state you must be wearing a life jacket while in a boat, then the fish and game guy was just doing his job.

 

You can drown in 6" of water. Conk your head, go face-first in a puddle unconscious and it's lights out forever.

 

MN: If you're on the water in a boat (canoe/kayak), you MUST have a PFD on board and handy...not locked away.

 

Personally, I wear my PFD whenever I'm on the water...not just when the main engine is running...always done it that way.

Smallest carp about 8lb I ever caught on bass lure. I thought I was on something good, it pull drag and stop unlike those 20lb carp that never stop. Took me about a couple minutes if it were bass I would have land in 30 second.

 

Ran across this pic while looking for something else. 13.5# on a TRD Bug and 6# XT. Took about 35 minutes to land, and the fight ended about 300yds from where it started.

A ANGRY male carp can blister the thumb brake........EASILY in some current.

 

 Thumb  brake smells just like cooking bacon.  Another reason NOT to use a simple bait caster on bigger carp.