My arms feel longer the wife and I went out for carp after lunch. I have a chest freezer to fill so 70 in the last week or so. Another 30 should do it. They are still running on the bigger side fat and sassy it takes a lot of cranking to land the bigger beasts. You dare not touch the line when they make a run that thinner fire line cuts like a knife just resting on your finger.

Right on Jerry, some good bait right there

It doesn't like you have caught any of the mirror or leather carp this year, like your wife and you often got last year.

Keith

Getting a few here and there since you brought them to my attention I look for them now I just wrote them off as mutants before. LOL Definitely less this year compared to last year. Bigger fish now with the deeper water and warmer winters less winter kill issues don’t know if that’s related to the mirror shortage.

Don't say you caught 30... Tell everyone a trailer load. Nice haul and fun.

I could use one for crawdad bait.

Honestly, I've never caught one in my life. Where is your preferred area in a lake to fish for them and what do you use for bait

Just off shore in shallow water about knee deep we can see them in the waves most days. It’s always been a shallow mostly carp type of lake it’s about 7 square miles overall but not very deep most years. Recent flooding has kept the lake over the last several years above the high water mark so wither kill has not been a problem.

We use crawlers 1/2 at a time that’s all we ever use a guy could bow fish them or spear them sometimes. A good fighting fish if you ever catch one you will remember it.

In high school we had a big hole in a creek that ran off from a couple of lakes. We used corn. Could cast across the hole. Amazing how many it held. We always released them as we wanted to keep fishing. Those big carp are fun and fight. Caught a big buffalo (15-20 lbs.). We used light gear and it took awhile to get that one in.

I noticed with my ugly stick rod the hole where the rod fits into the handle is getting egg shaped from working the carp so much.

Used to target them.
Different habitat here, seasonal migratory.
In Spring low flow, the bow hunters got after them.
That improved the smallmouth fishing,
And tomato plants lol.
Freshwater tarpon.

14 more today we should hit 100 tomorrow these bigger fish are a real workout they are not coming in quickly they like to run and run some more. LOL

I wish we still had carp like that around here.

I know you don’t like me… but that’s a nice haul nonetheless

It's been years since I intentionally fished for carp. I used primarily carp when I turtle trapped.

I only cooked carp twice and it was okay. I am a much more experienced cook now. I have some ideas I would like to try on them. I should try to find a decent pond or clean small lake with them. I don't want to eat any out of the rivers, I normally caught them out of.

Keith

A lot of good fight and they are good table fare even though most will disagree

How are you preparing them ? Only thing I ever cooked regarding carp was fried roe. If you like fried roe ,then you know. I'd caution against eating too much, though. Learned that lesson.