What do you do with your caught carp?

[wuchikubo]

Hi All,

 

I have heard that many lakes have cottage owners that don't like carp in them as they aren't necessarily native to the lake. I've heard of some anglers eating them, some make them into fertilizer, obviously some or many release the carp. What do you or would you do to your catch?

 

If you eat them, how do you prepare them? I recall carp used to be the most eaten fish (globally) until the tilapia was noticed and took that title.

 

I haven't targeted carp ever but have caught the odd one here and there. (Ah the memories, I still remember that 9.5 lb carp that was just under a 3rd of my weight when I caught it at 4 years old, was my biggest fish until I grew up and caught river salmon which still holds my biggest PB at 36.25 lbs).

 

HearingFish

[trapshooter]

I don't fish carp much anymore but I C&R'd every one I ever landed.

[GbayGiant]

I know Chinese men like them, I caught a few one night and I was like a god because I was giving them away to the Chinese dudes that were watching us fish in Collingwood. They were very grateful to say the least, it was like watching kids on Christmas morning.

 

I've never ate them, you might have to clean them with a chainsaw to get through their armor.

Edited April 2, 2007 by GbayGiant

[Mike the Pike]

I don't target them but when I do catch one I just let one go.Last one I caught was 10lbs I was surprised how much of a battle they can turn on.

[MJL]

I grew up fishing with the English carpers so my views on the subject would probably be biased. I release all the carp I catch. They are sport-fish in my opinion.

 

A fish of this size may take 20-30+ years to grow to this size considering Canada's relatively short growing season.

 

A fish too valuable to catch only once

[icedude]

good question--CPR-Catch Picture Release--can't imagine eating one--sure some folks do--Photoz intoduced me to the sport of it all thru the message boards--lot of fun-good way to get a young angler hooked--one can spend a lot of money on that CARP gear-they BOW Hunt them in upstate New York i hear

 

probably BOW hunt them in Lake Simcoe

 

 

Yours in Fishing,

 

ID1

[Rizzo]

I practice my smooching with them

[Daplumma]

If I accidently catch them I scream like a little girl and cut the line.The only thing worse than catching an eel is a carp.They are just too gross to touch.Just my opinion though.Now Catfish are a different story.

Joe

[Golfisher]

I practice my smooching with them

Any progress so far?

 

Most people I know release all the carp they catch, but I also know some people who eat them, and those who do insist that they are great. As for me, I have never tried, and I have no intention to try either, but then again I had never eaten any freshwater fish until last year, so who knows what might happen. If you do decide to try them, you should stay away from larger ones, given the level of accumulated toxins.

[glirw]

I treat them like I treat gobies.

[Bob]

An East Indian friend of mine did some up in fishcakes and they were just fine. Since they're mostly vegetarian, they don't accumulate toxins at the same rate as the predator fish. They were introduced to this continent as a food fish because they were easy to raise in ponds and they grow fairly quickly.

[Crazyhook]

[motv8tr]

Let 'em go...or I would if I ever managed to land one

 

Maureen

[Beans]

Maybe this year Maureen...

 

I usually catch and release but lately I've been thinking I'd like to try eating one about five pounds...

 

As a kid on the farm during the summer I caught one around ten pounds and gave it to the Jewish couple that rented the front two rooms of our farmhouse...they invited me for dinner...the lady dressed and baked it like you would a turkey...tasted like fish to me...

[bigcreekdad]

When I was kid, some folks I knew used to spear them, and smoke them. As I remember, they indicated that they were oily and thus were quite good smoked. Never tried it, but these people were far from riff-raff, so there must have been something to it. If I had access to a smoker I'd give it a go, but like another respondent< I'd let the big guys go.

[ch312]

Have you ever eaten a carp?

They are practically inedible, unless you are starving to death.

If I caught one, I would release it.

 

and you are getting this idea out of your...

 

ive eaten carp (2lbs or smaller) and it was awesome. it takes more care than normal fish to prepare but its worth it. just because they are bottom feeders doesnt mean they are full of toxins. get your facts straight before making statements like this.

[oldschool]

Carp are very good to eat. They do have a large amount of bones comparatively, and can be difficult that way, but the flesh is very good. As I live in Iowa we have access to both the Missouri and Mississippi rivers where carp are caught in great numbers. Many of the restaurants along the rivers serve them, usually breaded and fried. Most of these are commmercially deboned via slices perpendicular to the backbone. Still they require care when eating. The larger carp are easier, of course, because the bones are farther apart, larger and easier to spot, so they can be removed more easily.

 

I grew up with my dad smoking the larger ones (above 5 pounds usually). They are very good this way and very much like any other fish with a white flaky flesh (not in the category of the walleye). There can be a layer of darker meat near the belly that can be scraped away with the knife, or it can be left. It is just not the same firmness as the rest. But all in all very good.

 

Some of the smaller carp can be cut up and left for a few days in a closed jar and used for a very nice catfish bait. Done correctly (for the correct amount of time and the right temperature) they stay very well on the hook as the flesh is quite firm.

 

It takes only an open mind and a small sense of adventure to conquer this particular bias. I can only imagine that any of these caught north of Iowa are only better quality. Our waters have much agricultural runoff and have a great deal of sediment usually. We can have fish eating alerts here, but the carp do no worse on that front than any other species.

 

Good luck, and good eating.

 

Roy

[Steelcat]

I remember there was a fishing show(forgot if it's Bob Izumi or another show) last year saying it taste good after you only use the white part of the flesh (cut off everything darker than white under the skin) and fried them. I'm not sure if the host is pretending or not, but he seems to be enjoying them. Chinese people do like them, you can see carp sold in Chinese supermarket.

[mepps]

I just let them go, they are great fun to catch, although I rarely target them.

[love2fishhave2work]

Carp Gefilte Fish

 

4 pounds carp, ground

2 carrots, or 1 medium raw beet, peeled and grated

1 onion, ground

2 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons horseradish, white or red

1 cooked egg, mashed

1 teaspoon salt

Basic Fish Sauce.

 

In blender whip up onion, eggs, and vegetables. Combine with ground fish and all seasonings. Mix well and set aside.

 

Prepare Basic Fish Sauce, (water, onions, carrots, celery, and seasonings to taste) and heat to boiling. Form fish mixture into balls (wet hands with cold water), and drop carefully into 8 quart pot one at a time. When broth returns to a boil, lower flame, cover and simmer for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, depending on size of balls.

 

Remove balls from liquid, arrange on a large serving platter with a slice of carrot on each, and pour on a bit of the sauce if you want an aspic. Chill. Yields 12-18 portions.

[OhioFisherman]

They are incidental catches for me, my biggest has been around 35 pounds, on 8# test line early in April on a tube fishing for smallies. I have mellowed a bit over the years, we used to remove carp and sheephead from the line with a fish billyclub. Some people like to catch them and or eat them so I release them now, but I don`t like them.

[Photoz]

About 6 years ago I was bored between the trout run & the salmon coming back, no boat for bass or pickerel . . . . so a pal suggested I go after carp with him. EW W W W W W? Carp? Hell, I heard it's just like hooking an old sunken piece of driftwood! He just grinned and said if I went, I was in for a real treat. We pulled up at Lakeview (the former generating plant) and walked over to the boardwalk, where there was a couple dozen people set up. All of a sudden I heard a shrill 'beeping' sound then a high pitched scream . . . . and a guy makes a dive for his rod! He sets the hook, and line is peeling out so fast it almost smoked the reel up. WOW! This guy must have a big salmon on? After about 10 minutes, in comes about a 12 - 15 pound 'whistling salmon,' a k a carp! We had pretty primitine gear for carp . . . I had a 10.5' Fenwick and a 2000 Stradic, with 8 pound line . . . . I loaded my hook up with canned (DelMonte Summer Crisp) corn, cast it out, and laid my rod on the boardwalk, but was cauitioned I should hang onto it! About 15 minutes later I found out why . . . no tap, or little poke, all of a sudden my rod nearly got yanked outta my hand. About 20 minutes later, a carp just under 20 pounds was netted for me! I WAS TOTALLY HOOKED! I now have several carp rods & reels, buzzers & pod, and the rest of the toys that go with it.

Although I never keep carp, if someone asks me for one I've caught, I'll ask what he plans to do with it . . . if it's 'for the rose bushes,' not a chance . . . . if it's for the table . . . . no problem. I had an Estonian gentleman on my route cook a piece for me a couple years ago, after I gave him a couple. Barbecued over charcoal, with some herbs & spices . . . . deeeeeelicious . . . firm flesh, much like bass! I use barbless hooks, and if I can 'beach' my carp, I will, and just pull the hook . . . and away he goes. The one shown in my avatar was caught at the mouth of the Credit last April, just under 35 pounds . . . sure made my reel sing. I call carp 'the poor man's muskie,' for under $100.00, a TTC ticket & the price of a can of corn, ANYBODY gets a chance at hauling in a 40+ pound fish! At risk of boring those of you who have already read this article, I'll post it again in case there might be SOMEONE who is interested.This is taken from a board that listed the World Championship Of Carp Fishing,' held on the St. Lawrence River between Ogdensberg & Mesina, New York in 2005 . . . first ever tournament held in North America.

 

HISTORY OF CARP IN THE UNITED STATES

 

Prior to 1900, most native fish were viewed as vital food resources. Fish designated as sport fish today were harvested commercially and shipped by rail to the cities. The results were gravely declining stocks of river and lake fish at a time the U.S. population was greatly expanding. In 1871, Ulysses S. Grant and Congress ordered the formation of the U.S. Fish Commission to oversee the nation's fisheries interests. By 1877 the studies of European fish farming techniques indicated the carp would contribute to the strength of the nation.

 

By 1874, the commission after long study issued a report entitled, "Fishes Especially worthy of Cultivation." It went on to say that no other species except the carp promises so great a return in limited waters. Cited were advantages over such fish as black bass, trout, grayling and others "because it is a vegetable feeder, and although not disdaining animal matters can live on vegetation alone and can attain large weight kept in small ponds and tanks."

 

In 1876, the commission enumerated other good qualities such as high fecundity (a count of ripe eggs in the female fish), adaptability to artificial propagation, hardiness of growth, adaptability to environmental conditions unfavorable to equally palatable species, rapid growth, harmlessness in relation to fish of other species, ability to populate waters to it's greatest extent and fine table qualities. By 1877, citing the above reasons and adding, 'there is no reason why time should be lost with less proved fishes," the commission, convinced of the value of carp, imported 345 fishes of scaled, mirror and leather carp from German aqua culturists. On May 26th, they were placed in the Druid Hill Park ponds in Baltimore, Maryland. The ponds proved inadequate and some were transferred to the Babcock lakes on the monument lot in Washington, D.C. the following year.

 

So did they somehow escape from these confines to populate nearly everywhere? No. Now state governments get involved. Records indicate about 6,203 fingerlings were produced in the Babcock lakes in 1879. These were shipped to 273 applicants in 24 states. About 6,000 fingerlings were produced in the Druid Hill ponds that year and were stocked primarily in Maryland. One year later, 31,332 carp were shipped to 1,374 applicants. In 1882, carp production increased to 143,696 fish and distributed in small lots to 7,000 applicants. In 1883, about 260,000 carp were sent to 9,872 applicants in 298 of 301 congressional districts and to 1,478 counties. During the years 1879 to 1896, the U.S. Fish Commission distributed 2.4 million carp, some of which were sent to Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Mexico. By 1897, the Commission discontinued the stocking because carp had been distributed nearly everywhere and many states assumed the task of propagation and stocking of carp.

[wolfville]

Carp fishing is bigger than most of us know. In Texas Carp Challenge 2006, the payout to the Texas record breaker was $250,000. That's a lot of money invovled. Also, in the southern states pay lakes are a big thing where you pay to fish some stocked pond with chance to win some money. Sort of like horse racing but you catch fish to win.

 

For me, I just like the power of the fight and the tactics to fool these fish. And unlink a lot of other carpers I don't think keeping carp is that bad although I have not kept any. I really don't mind if you don't care to try it, just more fish for me.

 

PS: the pod in my background is Photoz's, that picture was taken on the day he gave me the first carp tutor. I believe a lot of carpers on this site have been helped by him directly or indirectly. Hats off to Steve!

Edited April 3, 2007 by wolfville

[pikehunter]

Carp, the new game fish. Think I'm nuts? Just look at how the worlds fish stocks have been depleted and you will see. I have only caught them by accident and never kept any for the table or the garden.

 

When I was growing up we had a European born neighbour who fished Bronte Creek every Sunday. He always came home with a carp or 2 that were destined for the strawberry crop. He had the most amazing garden on the block.

[Big Cliff]

I don't know why any cottagers wouldn't want carp around, all they do is eat weeds and help to keep your waterfront clean. I even feed them from ice out until late into the fall.

 

From time to time the grandkids will come and fish for them and I have a few friends that like to sit on my dock and spend a few hours trying to hook into one. If someone wanted to keep one for the table that would be fine with me but to date most have just been released to fight another day. Biggest one landed so far, 27 lbs but I have seen bigger ones crusing just off the dock.

 

As for eating them.... can't comment much on that, I did smoke one many years ago and it wasn't too bad.