Carp-Do people really throw the fish on shore as fertilizer

[livinisfishin]

I talk to many anglers from my area and they say when they catch a carp they throw it on shore to let it die. They say they make great fertilizer half truthful have jokingly. Can some people please comment on this to tell me why exactly we should throw them to shore and why we shouldnt.

[Marko]

I heard the same stories but i doubt they are true.

Imagine how bad it would start to stink after couple of days.....ugh

[huntervasili]

Fish belong in the water, Unless its a goby

[tdotfisherman]

When I used to fish for carp in the Erie Canal there were lots of anglers that would catch carp just to chop them up, and use them as fertilizer for their plants and gardens. The rest of the people would just let them go..

[irishfield]

Good question to send the botanical gardens in Hamilton! LOL

[Casey123]

My grandfather use to do this.

 

On a side note, Carp are not a native species, they destroy marshes and wetlands, if you think this is a false statement then visit Cootes Paridise in Dundas and look at the before and after the carp pictures.

[bassjnkie]

EDIT: Fantasy world if OFC. Carp is a sportfish, look up on the forum "Carp a sportfish?"

Edited February 23, 2008 by Ontariocarper

[fishing n autograph]

I used to when i fished the Conestoga with my dad...i was under 10 at the time...we'd catch a few channel cats and a few redfin suckers then bring 'em home to show my mom and then they'd get planted (buried) in her flower bed

[waterwolf]

carp have feelings too. fishinghurts says so.

[ccmtcanada]

I figure since the OFAH recognizes them as a valid species for their angler awards program, then they go back in the water.

[Rizzo]

if I ever caught a carp at our cottage (there are currently none) I would definitely remove it from the lake. As mentioned by others, they cause great damage to spawning habitat, not to mention they decrease water clarity and are ugly as sin

[waterwolf]

haven't hooked into one yet

 

intend to.

 

when i do , it will definitely be returned to H20 .

 

ones fertilizer is anothers trophy .

 

i have heard of this lack of affection on dalrymple. a local was apparently waging his own personal war on pike .

 

carp may not be considered prime tablefare but i'm sure they've broken a few misconceptions of what a sportfish is supposed to look like.

[irishfield]

Carphunter.. you said good bye but your lights still on !

 

Can't believe someone asking a simply question about what's gone on in the past makes a 50+ year old fold his hand ! You gonna join pe ta next? It's only words on a screen fella !

[OhioFisherman]

Back in the day carp and sheephead were removed from our hooks using a fish billy, a good whack and they don`t come back! I have gotten mellower though haven`t done that for a long time.

 

My PB sheephead, near 20 pounds, LOL no pictures plezze! went into a dumpster! That is why Lake Erie smallies grow big!

[GbayGiant]

Well it's not just carp that make a good fertilizer, technically any fish would work the same, but I agree that carp are more harmful than good in the fishing world, plus there numbers grow rapidly and they grown in size fast and don't have many predators, at some point they have to be controlled, specially if those huge Asian carp get into the great lakes.

[Daplumma]

I used to when i fished the Conestoga with my dad...i was under 10 at the time...we'd catch a few channel cats and a few redfin suckers then bring 'em home to show my mom and then they'd get planted (buried) in her flower bed

Careful planting them catfish.Them fins stay sharp for years after the cat is dead and will still stick you.

Joe

[fishing n autograph]

haha....neighbourhood cats got 'em a long long time ago

[Victor]

this issue comes up time to time and you would get different answers depending if a carp-hater or a carp-lover answer your question ... i for one is a carp angler ... won't try to stir pot here to argue whether carp is bad for the ecosystem and whatnot

 

IMHO, to be fair ... if you do hate carp so much that you have to kill every catch ... bring them home, and bury them in your backyard, keep the shoreline/banks clean ... each and everyone of us has our right to do whatever we want with our catch (given that it's not oos and within your limit), just not dumping it on the shore ... if you don't care, why not just dump it back and let them live? it is a living being after all.

 

just my 2 cents

[Photoz]

There's STILL a lot of 'ol' wive's tales' that abound out there concerning carp . . . . as for putting ANY fish in your garden / flower bed . . . . once it started to ripen, you'd have every stray cat, skunk, raccoon and in some areas, bear, for miles, diggin' up the garden for these tasty morsels. There are likely more people who prize carp for the table, than most other species combined. In the Kawarthas there are more carp-fishing enthusiasts who come here from the British Isles & all over Europe with a pocket fulla money to spend than all the bass, muskie & pickerel anglers combined! Next time you go to a store with a well stocked magazine rack, look for British carp-fishin' mags . . . . check out the ads for Canadian carp fishin' excursions . . . . and what they cost. Then compare to the ads for other species over here . . . almost non-existant by comparison! Put a medium-sized carp beside a whitefish the same size . . . same larger-type scales, same pattern, sucker mouth under the head, even the same basic shape (football?) nearly identical? As for those who kill them because they're ugly . . . . when was the last time you looked in the mirror? A few years ago I took a couple mediun-sized carp to an Eastern European gentleman on my mail route, he was kind enough to save a filet of barbecued carp for me . . . . although I'll admit to being a bit squeamish . . . . I tried it . . . .. meat was firm, good texture . . . . . tasted much like bass! But . . . . if you choose to kill carp, just because you believe them to be 'evil,' don't fish in carp spots, with bait carp are known to go for? As for them being 'invasive,' they've been in North America just as long as a lot of other prized 'game-fish that are also non-native?' Carp were brought here to be 'farmed' in the mid-1800's, and were highly prized! And for those of us who do not have the luxury of a boat, or cannot travel long distances, these guys are EVERYWHERE, you can get to a lot of spots on public transit . . . . . given the choice, wouldja rather have a half-pound perch or a 30+ pound carp on your line? By comparison, deer are highly prized too . . . . until their population gets outta hand . . . . then they too become pests, and cause a lotta damage to the ecosystem when the population gets too high?

[OhioFisherman]

LOL given a choice of a 1/2 pound perch or 30 pound carp? I might stay home! Neither is a trigger for me. To each his own though.

[Casey123]

Photoz,

 

I guess we could say the same aboutLamprey Eels, Goby, Spiny Scalpins, etc., etc., etc.....

 

RBG has spent millions to rid Cootes paridise of carp, seeing as they have destroyed a once productive Pike hatchery for the entire Western Basin of Lake Ontario.

 

Also if you visit Jordan Harbour they have completely destroyed Jordan Bay, beside the train tressel. Granted any 25 lb fish will put up a hell of a fight, and in Asia where they are a native species, I am sure that they are highly prized, however that does not mean that having had them realesed here makes them a good choice for a sports fish.

 

This is not just about Carp, look at the problems SmallMouth have caused when being realsed in many of the traditional Lake Trout Lakes in and around Algonquin Park.

 

All of this being said, Carp are not our only, or biggest problem, other invasive species, pollution, over fishing etc., all create stresses on our fishiers. I don't think we should promote any of these things.

 

In addition to the problems with Carp in Cootes, Stelco, Doffasco and other heavy industry have completely destroyed the White Fish and Lake Trout Hatchery that was once world renowned(turn of the century) in Hamilton Harbour. The clean up estimate for Hamilton Harbour is estimated at over $750 Million Dollars, in additon the cost to industry to switch to clean none polluting manufacturing is in the Billions.

 

The reality is carp are here to stay, that being said I think we should do what we can to mitigate their damages, and remove as many as we can from our water ways. We have been so sucessful over fishing Walleye and Trout in many regionsof the province, to the point that without restocking they would be wiped out in local areas, wouldn't it be nice to do the same to carp; minus the restocking!

 

JUst my thoughts(and I am entiled to them, so don't start with the hate posts)

[e-z-out]

Well i've fished in Rice lake most of my life with my dad and we know a few guys that catch them and eat them.

But never have a seem someone just just kill them for fun.

Like other memebers have said fish belong in water not land unless you plan on eating it.

[Spiel]

Put a medium-sized carp beside a whitefish the same size . . . same larger-type scales, same pattern, sucker mouth under the head, even the same basic shape (football?) nearly identical?

 

....Well on this point I must disagree. Whitefish (freshwater whitefish are fish of the subfamily Coregoninae in the family Salmonidae which includes the freshwater and anadromous trout and salmon species) are a native species and in no way are comparable to carp (large member of the minnow family). They prefer cold or cool waters and are not destructive to the enviroment. They do not have "sucker mouths" but rather a small under slung mouth below a rounded snout.

I can also attest to them being active top water feeders (great on the dryfly) and suspending, not always the bottom sucking type fish they are often perceived to be. The bodies are elongated and latererally compressed and they also sport an adipose fin common to the salmonidae family. Suffice to say other than moderately large scales they in no way are comparable to carp.

 

 

As for leaving them on the ground to rot, it will solve nothing.

[Photoz]

Carp also take flies & other insects from the surface, and pick off snails & other molusks from the weed beds, well above bottom. Also they eat zebra mussels. Yes . . . . they DO root around in the mud, but usually the reason when the carp move into an area, it gets so you see less & less of other fish, is because the water quality has gotten so bad, other fish just can't survice. A few example of carp co-existing with other fish . . . . Bowmanville Creek . . . . pike still come into the adjacent marshland, along with bass . . . rainbows and browns abound in the spring & fall . . . and once the salmon start comin' into Oshawa Creek, Bowmanville Creek & the Ganaraska . . . . (in late summer) the CARP disappear! It will be interesting just how OTHER fish species repopulate Cootes with the carp gone? The water quality is so bad, it just might be that carp, catfish and other 'garbage fish' are the only ones that can survive cesspools like that. I fished carp in a marshy area just east of Liverpool Road in Pickering where the water was the colour of old antifreeze, and the entire area had an oil-like slick on the surpace, these fish were just as fiesty as the ones in Lake Simcoe & the Kawartha Lakes, and looked just as healthy. I highly doubt ANY other fish could survive in there! True . . . . there MAY be SOME area where carp do dig the plants out, and do damage . . . but, considering the THOUSANDS of square miles of waterways in this province where they attract torrists in droves, with their money, and do no harm, I'd say the areas where they might be detrimental, is miniscule, by comparison. Then . . . . . who's to say if the water quality in many of these areas would support ANY other species except carp, if the carp were gone? I too used to detest carp and stuck my nose in the air when the subject of carp fishing arose . . . "KILL 'EM ALL, POISON 'EM, SHOOT 'EM, DYNAMITE 'EM, STOMP 'EM, AND LEAVE 'EM TO ROT, were some of the ideas I had . . . . then I opened my mind . . . . .

[Riparian]

If they were tasty, people would eat them. If people harvested them like other fish they wouldnt be so destructive.

 

There is a reason people dont eat them.

 

Granted this species was farmed in asia for food for thousands of years. But no carp angler can deny that carp are an invasive and destructive species.

 

Throwing them on the shore wont solve anything, its just a drop in the bucket in our changing ecosystem.