Carp

acm95301 · Post by **acm95301** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 11:44 am

I've never fished for carp before. I went bass fishing at Lake Mcclure today, and Mcclure point was packed, almost shoulder to shoulder with carp....and I mean the entire 5 mph zone.. not just the bank.

SO do they sell carp guards for trolling motors?

What are the rules for fishing carp...the DFG mentions grass carp are off limits or restricted, but I'm not sure how that relates to these carp...are they grass carp or some other breed?
I've seen bow fishermen at Mcclure before.

Is there a Predator/ prey relationship with Bass..or is there a relationship other than that?

I once heard that bass hate carp...and that you wont catch bass in an area with carp...is that true?

Maybe we need to thin these guys out a bit.

KenG · Post by **KenG** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 9:47 pm

I know a lot of people say that high carp populations cause bass to move out. Im not sure thats so true especially this time of year. Carp mainly eat vegetation and insects, not small bass. The carp are spawning this time of year and I know for a fact that small carp are great prey for bass. Perhaps bass dont like being around huge populations of carp but I don't think they are a problem. That said, if you want to stick a few with a bow, have at it.

Jeff C. · Post by **Jeff C.** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 6:44 am

Folsom lake is the same way right now, the carp are as thick as weeds in the back of every cove.

After seeing this I got the idea of doing some carp hunting with a bow. It's legal according to DFG regulations, but after further checking I found out that it's not legal in Folsom due to state park regs. So if you want to bow hunt for carp I would check with the lake officials first to make sure it's legal.

jazzwannabe · Post by **jazzwannabe** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 7:07 am

On San Antonio last weekend, we were seeing tons of big fish on the locator, but couldn't get them to bite. Later in the day when we could see into the water, we realized they were all big carp.

some guy · Post by **some guy** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 7:13 am

think about it. If you are a bass trying to catch your prey do you want to hang out around a 1000 carp? Those carp are going to scare off any bait fish in the area if they are that thick. So if your fishing an area with carp flopping around spawning, chances are they spooked the forage away in that area.

And carp eat more than just vegetation. I just caught a 15+lb carp that sucked down my mini shell cracker. I thought I snagged it in the head until I got it close and the carp had it half way down his throat.

DaLa · Post by **DaLa** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 7:21 am

[quote
And carp eat more than just vegetation. I just caught a 15+lb carp that sucked down my mini shell cracker. I thought I snagged it in the head until I got it close and the carp had it half way down his throat.

[/quote]

Was it the CORN colored shell cracker?

Dave

acm95301 · Post by **acm95301** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 7:43 am

I've read about bow fishing and dough baits commonly. I do remember an article about lures for carp , but I can't remember the details, these guys all seem pretty skittish once you hit them in the head with a lure....they let you get about 6' away though...I swear I could knife one.

Anyway, I'm just amazed that they are not food for the bass. I thought bass eat everything.....granted the big 20lb+ guys might give a bass pause, but there are plenty of 3-4lb guys.

some guy · Post by **some guy** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 8:28 am

DaLa wrote:[quote
And carp eat more than just vegetation. I just caught a 15+lb carp that sucked down my mini shell cracker. I thought I snagged it in the head until I got it close and the carp had it half way down his throat.

Was it the CORN colored shell cracker?

Dave[/quote]

actually it was the ghost blue gill.. that color gets mowed by everything. very realistic looking in the water.

mcsanders · Post by **mcsanders** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 9:01 am

"I swear I could knife one"

Now that is funny. Shankin' a carp

some guy · Post by **some guy** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 9:23 am

should have had on commando pro.

KenG · Post by **KenG** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 11:26 am

I work for a commercial fish farm. We raise carp and bass and can not let the bass anywhere near the smaller carp. They love to eat them.

acm95301 · Post by **acm95301** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 12:26 pm

wow...ok...I wonder how the carp are doing so well then...seems like the bass would be fat and happy on baby carp...and the population would be more under control.

ASD · Post by **ASD** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 12:30 pm

Carp live a REAL REAL long time!!! Once they are to big to be eaten by other fish they are here to stay and they are almost inposable to get rid of

Ray Vanacore · Post by **Ray Vanacore** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 3:05 pm

The carp were tearing up the parking lot at the flooded hobie cove parking lot ,they were all over the place half out of the water almost swimming onto the dry black top. The Russians love them but I haven't seen any fishing so far this year.
Ray Vanacore

kylebass91 · Post by **kylebass91** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 6:20 pm

caught a 16.7 last week on clear lake in the mouth on a darterhead worm thought i had the new lake record till we saw it was a goldfish, really fun on 6# test. and for the record I started to fish for them on my fly gear cause they are such great fighters and there are tons of them

longshot · Post by **longshot** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 6:45 pm

I have found in clearlake that if the carp are active so are the bass. If there arent that many going crazy then usually the bass swim right along with them. I have also fished an area that had both and I was catching big bass. Then come back the next day (usually tourny day) and they are going crazy and turn the water muddy

So IMHO I think active carp are a good sign and lots of carp will destroy any chance at bass.
I have caught carp on both a senko and a jig so they def like to eat meat at times. I have also fished with bread at C.L. and would say I catch catfish 10 to 1 carp. Light line kids and carp (using corn) is a BLAST.
LS

wccjanel · Post by **wccjanel** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 7:05 pm

They make really good fish and chips. And, if you don't tell anybody what kind of fish is in the batter, they will never know. Please eat them up.
In the winter, up in the rivers, carp are great bass locators. Find the carp, and you'll find the bass.
Really, if you eat fish, eat the carp. They look ugly, but they have nice thick flakey white meat. Save the bass, eat the carp.
just sayin'...

DaLa · Post by **DaLa** » Fri Apr 23, 2010 8:18 am

are you serious about eating carp?

acm95301 · Post by **acm95301** » Fri Apr 23, 2010 9:21 am

The asians sure like carp, or so I'm told..they sell it at fish markets. And the Europeans fish for carp , like we do trout.

acm95301 · Post by **acm95301** » Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:24 pm

So after the Mike Van Guilder Sr tournament, I had to go over to the Mcclure Point ramp, and while there I saw the Warden. He confirms that there is no limit on carp. He also said Mcclure is up for its 50 year use/review, and that some environmental studies are underway.