Been seeing a lot of carp

[waldo567]

There is a 1-2 acre pond near me that I fish a lot. Been fishing there for about 6 months. Lately I have been seeing a lot of carp in the shallows that I haven't seen before. Fishing has been slow there lately and I am wondering if the carp is a problem or if they can co-exist with the bass and panfish in the pond without worries. I would hate to lose this spot. It is a good place to take my kids.

[Hawkeye21]

17 minutes ago, waldo567 said:

There is a 1-2 acre pond near me that I fish a lot. Been fishing there for about 6 months. Lately I have been seeing a lot of carp in the shallows that I haven't seen before. Fishing has been slow there lately and I am wondering if the carp is a problem or if they can co-exist with the bass and panfish in the pond without worries. I would hate to lose this spot. It is a good place to take my kids.

 

I believe this is the time of year carp spawn.  When they do they make plenty of noise by splashing around in the shallows.  I would avoid bass fishing in those areas.

[Team9nine]

Agree with Hawkeye21 on the timing, probably starting to hang shallow for spawning. However, it can be a mixed bag on the fishing. They can definitely muddy and tear up bass bedding areas, but that's not always the case, and there are plenty of examples where anglers did good fishing in areas where carp were active, so don't automatically write off the pond or carp activity. Chances are good both have been living in the same pond together for a while.

[jr231]

I know of a 1 acre pond that has 3 grass carp in it. And has had bass, bluegill and the carp in there for over a decade. See em every year and catch bass every time I fish it. 

[Paul Roberts]

Shouldn't be too much to worry about.

 

You are now seeing them bc they are heat lovers. They will then spawn in those shallows.

 

The majority of young carp get eaten by the bass. Large numbers of surviving carp can muddy waters some from their rooting. Almost all my waters have carp in them but they never reach numbers that seriously impact the bass. Except in one pond in which the only cover was vegetation until the managers introduced too many grass carp, which decimated the vegetation. That was a bummer.

[waldo567]

All good advice. I didn't fish there last spring so don't know if this is normal. Maybe I will give carp fishing a shot if I can't catch any bass. They are pretty big. 

[OCdockskipper]

Last year I came across a bass bed with a small male and large female locked on it.  As I was getting ready to pitch to it, a 2 ft plus carp swam into view headed right towards the bed.  The male left the nest and bumped the carp, which quickly left the area.  I have also seen bass follow behind a single carp as if they are waiting for them to root up a small crayfish or spook a small baitfish for the bass to gobble up.

 

From what I have seen, carp are the Great Danes of the freshwater fish world.  Big, slow moving, and often bullied by smaller, more aggressive fish.  I think carp have self esteem issues...

 

[Hawkeye21]

I remember fishing in my first bass tourney last year on May 1st.  We were in a backwater area on the Mississippi and there were a lot of carp back there flopping around in the shallows and making the water a mess.  Because of that I will always remember that this is the time of year they start spawning.

 

Most people that are not aware of them mistake them for bass jumping out of the water and wonder why they don't catch any when they cast in their direction.  It's almost always carp.

[waldo567]

11 hours ago, Hawkeye21 said:

I remember fishing in my first bass tourney last year on May 1st.  We were in a backwater area on the Mississippi and there were a lot of carp back there flopping around in the shallows and making the water a mess.  Because of that I will always remember that this is the time of year they start spawning.

 

Most people that are not aware of them mistake them for bass jumping out of the water and wonder why they don't catch any when they cast in their direction.  It's almost always carp.

That is exactly what I thought for a little while. This particular pond is pretty dirty so until I got a good look I thought they were bass making all the noise.

 

[Quarry Man]

I fish a 1 acre pond loaded with a hundred dink bass, some big gills, and 6 50 lb carp, never knew they were there until yesterday.

[Bluebasser86]

Spawning carp are a kiss of death for bass fishing in our lakes. If you can't get away from them, might as well go home or break out the bowfishing rig. 

[The Bassman]

On 4/21/2017 at 10:53 AM, OCdockskipper said:

 

 

From what I have seen, carp are the Great Danes of the freshwater fish world.  Big, slow moving, and often bullied by smaller, more aggressive fish.    I think carp have self esteem issues...

 

 

I know the feeling being an overweight bottom feeder.

[scaleface]

This happened to me in the 70's or 80's .

 

   I was standing on a culvert overlooking backwater that once flowed into the Mississippi river. Now its blocked by a levee. There  were numerous large carp motionless just under the surface . I thought it would be a good idea to try and snag one . I tied   on a Bomber long A minnow made my longest cast  then started violently ripping it through them . As I reeled in the slack and gave another rip I set the hook on a big old bass that had hit it during the pause .One of the largest I ever landed  That bass was using the carp as cover .

[NCbassraider]

You are probably seeing them because they eat bass eggs.  The come into the shallow during the bass spawn to look for beds feed on.

[Hog Basser]

They were flopping all over my pond on Thursday.  Some huge ones.  Population seems mostly in check by the bass eating their young and they keep the plant level down for us (we have plenty of cover).  I may harvest a few with my bowfishing gear just to thin them out a bit, but overall they are good for most ponds as a natural means of weed control. 

[jr231]

20 hours ago, NCbassraider said:

You are probably seeing them because they eat bass eggs.  The come into the shallow during the bass spawn to look for beds feed on.

 

Which species of carp are we talking about when you say this ? The common? 

[frosty]

There is some kind of white looking carp in a strip pit I fish, the thing just glows in the clear water, and it looks like a freakin' whale just lazing around! 

[Yakalong]

Take the kids with some rods and put corn on the treble hooks. Always fun for kids and adults to catch them. I'm not for sure what you want to do with once you catch them but fun to reel them in.

[NCbassraider]

3 hours ago, Yeajray231 said:

 

Which species of carp are we talking about when you say this ? The common? 

 

Common carp are omnivorous and most carp are egg eaters.

[RoLo]

 

I don't view carp as a problem, I view carp as an excellent gauge of trophic status.

 

Waters that harbor a bounty of carp and catfish indicate a waterbody of advanced age,

a water that's past it peak production of bass, walleyes and pike.

 

Roger 

 

 

 

[Quarry Man]

1 hour ago, frosty said:

There is some kind of white looking carp in a strip pit I fish, the thing just glows in the clear water, and it looks like a freakin' whale just lazing around! 

 

probably a domestic carp...AKA... a Koi. they are the same species, but the koi are stocked. I have the same thing, a local quarry (hence the name) is stocked with a few big orange ones. the water is deep and gin clear, i can see them from all over the quarry!

[JustJames]

On 4/21/2017 at 10:19 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

Spawning carp are a kiss of death for bass fishing in our lakes. If you can't get away from them, might as well go home or break out the bowfishing rig. 

Same here for those days I couldn't  get a single bite. I even thought to use some of the lipless or jerkbait to snag them up (I snagged one last year and it was fun). Luckily it didn't last long but water look very bad along the shoreline for a few days.