What's the deal with carp not cool to fish?

"Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers.com" wrote in
news

"unix" wrote in message
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I pretty much stick to bass fishing. On the radio this morning some
guys were talking about the Great Lakes carp scare and said that carp
fishing was frowned upon. Why so? I never fished for carp but did
hear that they are not so easy to catch. They also said that one guy
caught a carp while fly fishing and his friends would not stop
teasing the guy. Just wondering where this "stereotype" comes from...

Thanks
Ron

Well, here you're dealing with two issues. One is the carp scare
about them getting into Lake Michigan. It isn't the common carp that
they're worried about, it's the Asian Grass Carp that has everyone
running scared.

These are primarily plant/vegetation eaters and they have voracious
appetites. They grow to extremely large size, (30 lbs. plus) and can
spawn up to three times per year. With this tremendous breeding
capability, it doesn't take them long to overpopulate an area and push
out the native species and with their rapid growth, they quickly grow
too large for most predatory gamefish to eat! I've talked to an
Illinois biologist that estimates that 90% of the biomass in the
Illinois River, from St. Louis to the electronic gate near Lake
Michigan is comprised of the Asian Grass Carp. So that means if you
could catch 10 fish, 9 of them would be grass carp!

With the threat of these fish getting into the Great Lakes, it is
indeed a huge matter of concern for all.

Now with the common carp, the reason your buddy caught heck was that
they're thought of as a trash species. While I won't say they're on
par with most gamefish, they are hard fighters and it can be
challenging to get the larger members of the species. In Europe
(England especially), they are considered to be a prized gamefish and
they even have catch & release tournaments for carp. There is a lot
of specialized gear designed specifically for carp fishing and it's
quite interesting to talk with a carp specialist to hear all the
gyrations they go through to get the big ones to bite.


An FYI for you Steve, and everyone else on this subject.

http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/silverfin/

I have tasted this fish, properly prepaired, and it is absolutely
delicious.

I just stumbled across this page and couldn't resist responding to the
CARP post.

I live in western North Carolina. There are many local carp lakes where
they hold tournaments every week. Around here it's a big deal. There is
a carp tourny somewhere, within driving distance, every day, though they
are now held at night due to the hot weather.

These are "pay to fish" lakes and ponds. People pay to fish and weigh in
the fish they catch. Cash prizes are awarded every hour for the biggest
fish caught.

There are also "JUGs" . If you put your money, 25¢-$1.00, in the jug
for a 20 lb. carp and you are the first one to catch a 20 lb. carp, you
win what ever is in the jug. Same goes for the 25-30-35-40+ jugs. Some
of these jugs normally have several hundred dollars in them.

I prefer to fish for catfish, but have recently caught a carp that
weighed 38 lb. 14 oz, and another that weighed 37 lb. 12 oz. They
"stretched my string" and I thoroughly enjoyed the fight. I released
them, so I could catch'em again someday.

As long as you enjoy fishing, it doesn't matter what fish you catch.

Nick