What To Do With Carp

[Jason R.]

I got to agree, I don't shoot or catch anything I don't use. I will go Carp fishing a couple times a year but fry all I catch. But I come from a time when it was normal to see Carp in the Meat Case at the store.

oneshot

Aren't all carp invasive technically? Pretty sure the common carp isn't native- it just doesn't reproduce as fast as the asian ones..

[Wayne SW/MO]

Aren't all carp invasive technically? Pretty sure the common carp isn't native- it just doesn't reproduce as fast as the asian ones..

No they aren't invasive as the term is generally used. Just like Brown trout, they were stocked deliberately, only as a food fish as opposed to a sport fish.

[Jason R.]

No they aren't invasive as the term is generally used. Just like Brown trout, they were stocked deliberately, only as a food fish as opposed to a sport fish.

Fair enough.

[dmorgan66]

I have eaten carp prepared several ways and it has all been good. Canned makes great fish soup and fried patties, as good as salmon. Fried is great. I find it less fishy taste than a lot of fish. Marinate in a good salty brine and smoke them. Great jerky.

[Troutnut69]

Just don't throw them on the bank and leave em. As a guy who enjoys fly fishing for (and releasing) common carp there is nothing that gets under my skin more than going down to my favorite backwater flat and seeing fish with big holes through them laying up on the shore. If you shoot them legally and eat them...fine by me. If you're on my lake and I see you throwing them on the bank I'll be calling the warden and trying to get you a nice big ticket for wanton waste. Good on ya for at least trying...but if you can't find a valid use for them you probably shouldn't be shooting them.

[Haris122]

I find it to be some bs, whenever anyone just up and leaves a fish of any sort to rot on the shore. If you're not going to do something with it, don't kill it, cause I'd rather hook up and fight a gar/carp/whatever that someone considers a trash fish, than nothing at all.

[Norm M]

get in touch with a local food bank .

[ddhlakebound]

Common carp are not native, are prolific breeders, are predators of the spawning beds of other tasty gamefish, wipe out tons of aquatic vegetation (could be good or bad, depending...), and compete for the same food with many of the gamefish most people would rather be catching. Now I'm not saying it's ok to throw them on the bank to rot, (at least take them to your garden or compost pile so their decomposition provides a value), but shoot all you want, and come back soon. Carp don't need anyone's protection, they're here to stay, and they grow quickly. Thinning them out only leaves more food in the food chain for the fish that I (and most others) want to eat and catch.

[Norm M]

I like catching carp and they are ok to eat .

[oneshot]

Ok how long do Common Carp have to be here before they will be considered Native? They were imported here from Germany in 1875.

Here in Missouri in the '60's I remember as a Kid going to Pay Lakes with my Grandfather catching Common Carp. Bought so many Pound Tickets, if you caught over the weight on your Ticket you paid so much a pound. Back then you could find Carp in many Grocery Stores in the Meat Department.

Carp is one fish you can count on catching regular with right Bait and Rigging and will present a person with hours of fishing fun, you will not find a harder fighting fish you can catch on a Regular basis.

My Grandson with his first ever Carp and can't wait to catch more.

oneshot