cjbs2003
Posts: 97
Joined: 1/29/2008
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Carphead, from your name it is obvious you love to fish for carp. There is nothing wrong with that! I do too! What dam construction, sedimentation, logging, acid rain, acid mine drainage, pollution from paper mills, people dumping used car oil into a sewer drain, over fertilization or any other form of man made habitat destruction has to do with this argument I have no clue… I am as against pollution as anyone on here. Pollution and water fouling carp are two different things! Before you jump to insults and accusations, quote “People like you don't deserve to fish. Aww is the carp ruining your pellethead fishing?” Or, “Who are you to decide what fish is or isn't spared your almighty wrath. Grow a pair.” Perhaps you should question a person, have a mature intellectual exchange... I find it rather rude that some of you would be so quick to insult when they do not know a person! I am not some uninformed redneck who throws every white sucker, fallfish or common shiner up on a bank because I am ticked that I can't catch trout. I am not a “pellethead” fisherman. If you read my past posts you will see I fish for a large variety or truly wild fish. I am the person to decide what I do with my fish because I outsmarted that fish and caught it, a simple predator prey relationship. By the way, my pair is well formed and works just fine. These insults are childish and inappropriate. Where the idea came from that I bank carp I don’ know. I actually eat them out of the cleaner bodies of water. Surprisingly the Europeans and Asians who love to eat them actually got something right and they taste great, especially when they come out of cleaner bodies of water. The ones I catch or shoot with my bow out of polluted bodies of water get turned into catfish bait or my personal favorite crab bait for my dad's crab pots on the Chesapeake Bay.
What we are talking about on this thread is the effects carp have on a fishery. I have a minor in wildlife and fisheries science from Penn State. I have studied fisheries biology and am quite knowledgeable about fish. I love fish, not just fishing for them but learning about them as well! I keep native fish in aquariums and work to with NANFA and am a member of the IGFA and Trout Unlimited. I help out every year with clean ups on local bodies of water. I am also one of the first to be VERY ANGRY when companies aren't following environmental laws that affect the habitats my beloved fish live in. I also get mad when people introduce fish into new bodies of water without thinking what their impact could be...
Brown trout, rainbow trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, rockbass, bluegills, black and white crappies, channel catfish, northern pike, musky, walleyes, the list goes on and on are not native to the eastern drainages of Pennsylvania. However, their introductions have added to the fishing opportunities these bodies of water provide. Before the introduction of these species there was much less fishing opportunity... Imagine fishing the Juniata River and the only species available were chain pickerel, yellow perch, pumpkinseed sunfish and redbreast sunfish, along with a few species of suckers and minnows. Not many guys here would vote for that kinda fishing! Sadly, due to habitat destruction I previously mentioned some of the fish such as American Shad and Striped Bass that once were available for fishing in the Juniata are not available anymore. I am not talking about striped bass in Raystown Lake; I am talking about migratory striped bass that ran from the Atlantic Ocean up the Susquehanna River to spawn each spring.
Carp fishing is no doubt fun and they put up a great fight. But unlike all the other species I mentioned carp cause a much larger amount of detriment to the aquatic habitat! The previous mentioned game fish all only affected aquatic habitats as predators, in other words they eat other fish and organisms. So their effect tends to be they eat smaller fish and to some extent competition with other game fish. However, the introduction of all those previously mentioned fish has led to the extirpation of no fish species in Pennsylvania. They have caused a few smaller fish species, a couple of darter species and trout-perch to become extremely rare in Pennsylvania. But most of the general public has never even herd of a trout-perch and certainly cannot even name one species of darter found in eastern Pennsylvania. It does appear that the introduction of brown trout has led to brook trout being forced into smaller streams where competition from brown trout is not so high. However as a whole, the introduction of the previously mentioned fish is a success if you ask the average fisherman.
Carp on the other hand are rather unique. Carp have the ability to reproduce at a much higher rate than any of these species, with a 20 lb female producing in excess of 2 million eggs in the spring! Carp grow EXTREMELY fast in most conditions meaning they quickly grow past the size where they could be preyed on. So unless you believe in the Lake Monster called Raystown Ray, any carp over 18” inches or so is free from being eaten by all but the absolute biggest musky or striped bass and even osprey and bald eagles would struggle to capture a fish of that size. Carp mostly feed by rooting in soft bottoms. This causes the turbidity of a body of water to increase dramatically. This also dislodges aquatic plants which are so important for fish habitat and waterfowl food. The increased turbidity kills the remaining aquatic plants, settles on the nests of other game fish reducing their reproductive success, affects the ability of sight feeding fish to feed, and affects many fish species who cannot handle the increased turbidity. Carp also prey heavily upon bottom organisms such as nymphs and freshwater bivalves. Food that is so important for many other game fish. I can only imagine how much better the fishing would be if it weren't for the damage carp do. Unfortunately, carp are here to stay. As far as the idea that if everyone banked certain fish they felt weren’t worthy we would be fishing in a fishless creek. Well, we have fish laws… First, I doubt people are going to start tossing trout up on a bank, but who knows! I honestly don’t know if the Fish and Boat Commission has a law like the Game Commission’s which is something to the effect that if you shoot game you must make due diligence to recover it. I personally hate the idea of banking fish and believe that if you catch a fish, you should either release it or you should do something useful with it. Whether that is eat it, use it for bait or like the Native Americans, use it to fertilize your garden! Best of luck in your carp fishing, my personal best for carp is 37.5” and 32 lbs caught in the Potomac River. I bet my dad caught a whole bushel of crabs just of that fish alone! Beats him having to pay for menhaden to bait his traps with and I think the carp works even better…
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What ever floats your boat, just keep it on your side of the lake...
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Banking Suckers!!!! - 
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