B.A.S.S. Article, Invasive Carp

[WRB]

Being bass anglers we tend to consider the bass a superior fish, trout anglers in the Northwest consider bass a trash fish and invasive species no different then carp species.

I mentioned Alaska because it's the only State that doesn't have a bass population in the USA. 1 bass caught in Sand Hill lake started the all out campaign to eradicate it.

Asian Carp were intentionally introduced by fishery biologist to control aquatic plants, it's their responsibility to control the carp, if that is possible.

Gefilte fish is a recipe for carp that someone would have nearly unlimited supply of Asian carp to start up a business and ship the carp back to countries that eat them.

Tom

 

[Tennessee Boy]

There are a number of different asian carp.  In the 90s people were introducing grass carp into Guntersville in an attempt to get rid of the grass.  The fishermen (including me) were freaking out about it.  The carp have muliplied and the grass is still there.  The carp that are in Kentucky lake are not grass carp.  They are the ones that eat plankton and compete with shad for food.  I know the number of threadfin shad in the lake has plumited and this can't be good for the bass.  I think the fishing has been worse over the last few years and many people are blaming it on the carp.  I personally think the fishing is still better than it was twenty years ago and it's much better than most other area lakes.  I'm concerned about the carp but I'm not freaking out yet.

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

Being bass anglers we tend to consider the bass a superior fish, trout anglers in the Northwest consider bass a trash fish and invasive species no different then carp species.

I mentioned Alaska because it's the only State that doesn't have a bass population in the USA. 1 bass caught in Sand Hill lake started the all out campaign to eradicate it.

Asian Carp were intentionally introduced by fishery biologist to control aquatic plants, it's their responsibility to control the carp, if that is possible.

Gefilte fish is a recipe for carp that someone would have nearly unlimited supply of Asian carp to start up a business and ship the carp back to countries that eat them.

Tom

 

The Asian carp (bighead carp and silver carp) were not introduced on purpose. They were brought to US for food purposes in ponds. Floods in the early 90s washed them into the rivers and they boomed 

[greentrout]

30 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

The Asian carp (bighead carp and silver carp) were not introduced on purpose. They were brought to US for food purposes in ponds. Floods in the early 90s washed them into the rivers and they boomed 

believe the same scenario for the snakehead in Arkansas...my state MDWFP is really worried about 'em...

 

the carp is loved in japan...the lmb is seen as a trash fish and many want it eradicated...go figure...

[Choporoz]

15 minutes ago, greentrout said:

believe the same scenario for the snakehead in Arkansas...my state MDWFP is really worried about 'em...

 

hope they're worried unnecessarily .....really seems as though they've settled in here around the Potomac without hurting LMB's.

I was always somewhat upset when I hooked anything other than a bass, but I'm kinda enjoying the snakeheads -- same lures and environs, better fight.  And even better for those that keep to eat

[Koz]

6 hours ago, Big Rick said:

While this sounds like a good idea sadly it doesn't work.

 

I was just joking because of all of my gator run ins this summer. Some of our lagoons have grass carp in order to keep the invasive aquatic vegetation at bay.

 

The other day I was fishing in a small lake / big lagoon and I saw a big, dark shadow under the water that I first thought was a small alligator. Turns out it was a really, really big grass carp.

[greentrout]

10 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

hope they're worried unnecessarily .....really seems as though they've settled in here around the Potomac without hurting LMB's.

I was always somewhat upset when I hooked anything other than a bass, but I'm kinda enjoying the snakeheads -- same lures and environs, better fight.  And even better for those that keep to eat

have read, not fished, that bass fishing in the potomac not what it used to be...maybe the snakehead...maybe not...me...want nothing to do with the sh or carp...respectfully...

 

good fishing 

[Steveo-1969]

6 hours ago, TBAG said:

Where do you stay? I'm looking for new places to try out when I do my annual fishing trip to KY lake to kayak fish.

PM sent

[Logan S]

5 hours ago, Choporoz said:

hope they're worried unnecessarily .....really seems as though they've settled in here around the Potomac without hurting LMB's.

I was always somewhat upset when I hooked anything other than a bass, but I'm kinda enjoying the snakeheads -- same lures and environs, better fight.  And even better for those that keep to eat

Key here is Potomac.  The Potomac is a massive watershed what has had influxes of new predator and prey species from the bay/ocean for it's entire existence.  The point is, the Potomac is sort of used to this type of thing so if there is any bass fishery that could handle it, the Potomac is probably it.  Even so...It's still probably too early to tell whether they will have a long term effect.  

 

In a closed off river or lake, especially a small one they could have a very different effect....And since our local DMV snakehead transporters seem hellbent on stuffing them in every lake/pond/river they can find, I'm sure we'll find out before long.  

 

I personally have no interest in snakeheads but I can see why many like them...Big and aggressive.  They need to just leave em in the Potomac though and quit moving em around.  

 

5 hours ago, greentrout said:

have read, not fished, that bass fishing in the potomac not what it used to be...maybe the snakehead...maybe not...me...want nothing to do with the sh or carp...respectfully...

 

good fishing 

The quality of bass fishing on the Potomac goes up and down with the grass.  More grass for longer time periods equates to great fishing...Declining grass leads to declining fishing.  For several years the grass was a fraction of it's normal levels and fishing got much tougher.  The last two years we saw excellent grass until the flooding this spring and summer ripped it all out.

 

I think blue cats around here are worse than snakeheads...But either way, invasive species suck...

[BoatSquirrel]

Kentucky Lake in the past 5 years have gone from a top 5 bass fishery to an eco-disaster.   The article in BASS is the sad truth.  A local tournament took 12 lbs to win last week.  2nd place was 8 lbs.

A warning to everyone upstream— catch every bass you can because they will not be there for long.  Every lake on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers is in deeeeep trouble.

[greentrout]

 

 

https://fw.ky.gov/Fish/Pages/Asian-Carp-Information.aspx

 

They have a big big challenge...hope they win...Charlie Brewer is turning over in his grave...

 

 

[everythingthatswims]

I am good friends with a fisheries professor here at WVU who has done extensive work with Asian carp. Unfortunately, commercial fishing doesn't have a strong enough impact on the carp, the phrase "kill one, 10 fill it's place" really applies here, they are prolific spawners.

 

The best shot we have at stopping Asian carp, is to figure out how to interfere with their spawning success. As far as I have heard, that is the only legitimate possibility. They are bad news

 

Though I know nothing about Asian carp and their spawning habits, I do know TVA is very good at manipulating water levels in whatever way they need to, so I wouldn't be surprised if we end up seeing a form of carp combat having to do with that.

[Spankey]

15 hours ago, Choporoz said:

hope they're worried unnecessarily .....really seems as though they've settled in here around the Potomac without hurting LMB's.

I was always somewhat upset when I hooked anything other than a bass, but I'm kinda enjoying the snakeheads -- same lures and environs, better fight.  And even better for those that keep to eat

I'm a bit north of you. I know they are in my area. I have not caught one. I'm not enthusiastic about the idea of them one bit. I hear they like bass lures. Just hope they like death. 

 

If if I catch one it will be killed and it will be posted at the PA fish and boat board down by the ramp. It will be nailed to a mounting post with a galvanized spike. 

[TBAG]

10 hours ago, BoatSquirrel said:

Kentucky Lake in the past 5 years have gone from a top 5 bass fishery to an eco-disaster.   The article in BASS is the sad truth.  A local tournament took 12 lbs to win last week.  2nd place was 8 lbs.

A warning to everyone upstream— catch every bass you can because they will not be there for long.  Every lake on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers is in deeeeep trouble.

This makes me sad.

[Tennessee Boy]

Let's keep the Kentucky Lake carp disaster in prospective.  Tournament results aren't the best way to judge the health of a fishery but the numbers are readily available.  Here are the winning weights of all FLW Tour events on Kentucky Lake.  *2018 and 2016 were the top weights of all tournaments for those years.

 

5/17/18 = 101-9 *

6/09/16 = 97-2 *

6/26/14 = 88-10

6/07/12 = 77-3

6/16/11 = 73-3

6/11/09 = 82-10

5/10/06 = 71-5

5/12/04 = 61-14

5/14/03 = 75-13

5/06/98 = 66-5

5/28/97 = 77-9

4/20/96 = 57-9

 

[TnRiver46]

Looks like the tournament weights are steadily increasing. Perhaps the sky isn't falling. If you want to help, gloom and doom won't do any good. There are dozens of locks and the fish HAVE to use the locks to get upriver. The locks are the only hope for halting migration . They can't jump over a 100 ft tall dam 

[YoTone]

Dont be fooled by the FLW weights. Big bass are still there but the real problem is the younger population of bass which has been dwindling down. the future generations are in jeopardy.

 

opening up and trying to artificially create a market for the carp to be used as food will do little to help.

there arent that many jews in this world to be eating that much gefilte fish.

 

like swim says the real solution is interfering with the carps ability to spawn. we need bill nye to step in to create a carp aids or change their spawning areas.  

 

[Tennessee Boy]

1 hour ago, YoTone said:

Dont be fooled by the FLW weights. Big bass are still there but the real problem is the younger population of bass which has been dwindling down. the future generations are in jeopardy.

I can say for sure that I'm still catching small bass on KY lake.  In the areas that I fish,  the bass are still spawning.  Most of the carp horror stories seem to come from the northern part of the lake so maybe I haven't seen the worst of it.  

 

I am certainly not suggesting that it's not a big deal.  It's a big concern for me and I encourage authorities to do what they can to fight the problem.  I do think a lot of people are overreacting.  These fish have been in some public waters for over 20 years.  Can anyone name a body of water that used to have bass but doesn't anymore because of asian carp?  I'm no expert and I welcome any new information that can help me better understand the problem but I'm seeking facts not myths.

[everythingthatswims]

9 hours ago, YoTone said:

Dont be fooled by the FLW weights. Big bass are still there but the real problem is the younger population of bass which has been dwindling down. the future generations are in jeopardy.

 

opening up and trying to artificially create a market for the carp to be used as food will do little to help.

there arent that many jews in this world to be eating that much gefilte fish.

 

like swim says the real solution is interfering with the carps ability to spawn. we need bill nye to step in to create a carp aids or change their spawning areas.  

 

Fishing isn't an accurate measurement, but when I was there this year in march, I was catching 5-10 under 15" for every 1 over 15", and most were under 12". That was on a 1/2oz weight with a beaver, which usually discourages smaller fish!

[YoTone]

36 minutes ago, everythingthatswims said:

Fishing isn't an accurate measurement, but when I was there this year in march, I was catching 5-10 under 15" for every 1 over 15", and most were under 12". That was on a 1/2oz weight with a beaver, which usually discourages smaller fish!

oh okay, i was only going by what Mark Menendez was saying about his experience during an B.A.S.S event there.

[BoatSquirrel]

Agreed, YoTone.  Mark Menedez says he will give $1000 for anyone who brings him a bucket of threadfin shad.  Nobody has taken his money yet.  I have not seen schooling bass jumping this year.  Instead, the carp come up in schools the size of football fields.  It is bad and not getting any better anytime soon.

[Tennessee Boy]

I hope someone can find a silver bullet that will get rid of the carp for good but I think that's a longshot.  If we have to learn to live with them, I think commerical fishing can make a big difference.  They are being caught and shipped frozen to China.  They say the chinese prefer the wild caught from the US to their local ones that are farm raised.  Apparently,  they are endangered in their native habitat...go figure.  Everything I've read says they are delicious.  If they catch on here in the US,  there could be considerable demand for them.

[Maggiesmaster]

A friend recently cleaned and ate silver carp. Said they were excellent tasting fish. Only problem is that they are extremely hard to clean; they’ve got a lot of small bones. 

[TnRiver46]

So there was recently a big meeting or 3 concerning new regulations for transporting live bait from one lake to the next in West Tennessee . The concern is that a small silver or bighead carp could be mistaken for a small shad and taken from one side of a dam to the other, for instance a striper catfish or bass fisherman netting shad below pickwick dam in Kentucky lake and then fishing with them upstream somewhere in pickwick lake or elsewhere. In TN there are several people that transport live shad, mainly striper and catfishermen that have nice bait tanks capable of keeping shad alive for days even weeks . These fishermen were obviously concerned about not being able to continue thier practices so they went to all the meeting and reported all that was said and presented , etc. One interesting thing that I read was that TWRA chief of fisheries Frank Fiss says that the agency has been unable to identify and reproduction of Asian carp in Tennessee waters. A few in this thread have suggested interrupting thier spawning habits as a means of population control. So far they don't even know if or where they spawn so I guess there is more to learn or they are being transported from lake to lake by humans 

[Tennessee Boy]

Interesting info @TnRiver46.  This is an informative video by the TWRA staring Bill Dance.  It shows a gizzard shad and a young silver carp side by side.  They look a lot alike as you can see.