An Open Letter to all Fishermen

[PierBridge]

Great post. Can't believe how many times I hear people say "Yeah there are Carp and Bowfin in that lake...if you catch one you gotta throw it on shore".

I think it's been close to 20 years since I've seen or heard anybody do this.

I can't remember the last time I saw somebody catch a carp and be disgruntled or throw it on the shore.

Good topic!

[Down Deep]

I've got a 8 X 10 with a custom made frame of a 15 lb golden sucker I caught at Rainy Lake that is sitting on my desk at work. My good fishing buddy had that fish framed for me. There's a good memory that goes with it. Fish was released.

Can't tell you how many hundreds of eelpout I've seen laying on the ice especially on LOW. They are a great fish to eat and fun to catch.

[tacklejunkie]

Can't tell you how many hundreds of eelpout I've seen laying on the ice especially on LOW. They are a great fish to eat and fun to catch.

When I used to ice fish it was the same thing on Lake Superior.

Back in the 1970's, it was encouraged to leave eelpout on land

[MichaelSwan]

Fun thread.

[Hory]

I am curious as to what everyone's beliefs are on "the common carp." To me, I don't go out of my way to catch them, but if I do, and the timing/proximity to home is right... I will keep them for the flower garden or the produce garden in the Spring/Summer. Other times, they will be released in the same way I would any other fish.

Do must of you believe that the common carp has carved out its own niche in Minnesota waters in a way that doesn't harm the environment? Or do you think they are a threat to native species with their "stirring" of the bottom while feeding, high reproduction rates, consumption of game fish eggs, or encroaching on other species' spawning areas?

I do enjoy bowfishing a few times during the summer with friends...and have easily harvested in excess of 100 carp in a night. Most of these fish end up becoming fertilizer with a small portion being smoked. In the areas these fish have been harvested, I can honestly say that the population seems to still be higher than ever.

I encourage anyone to harvest or release fish anyway they desire as long as it is completely lawful. I tend to practice strictly catch and release on all game fish and native rough fish, but would never cast judgement on anyone who enjoys the outdoors respectfully.

[River Dan]

When I was a kid my buddies and I would spend weeks every spring and countless hours shooting carp with are bows down at the dam and stack them like cord wood, we shot hundreds and hundreds of them each and every spring and we were not the only ones doing it and it didn't even put a dent in the population, back then everyone I knew killed all rough fish caught, speared or netted, we were told to get them out of the lakes, still to this day many lakes specially out in western mn have carp traps and the DNR take the rough fish out and dump them in a hole or a farm field, they kill tens of thousands of them every spring and the population still grows strong. Things for me have changed, I still shoot carp but only if there not going to wasted, I give them to a guy that smokes them, there really good smoked! I do still kill a sheephead now and then to feed the eagles but for the most part if I'm not going to eat it I let it go, just my

[UncleKes]

The common carp is "NOT SO COMMON!!" In fact, it is the worlds most sought after game fish!! It was introduced to American waters in the 1870's by non other than President Ulysses S. Grant. At the time, many of the pristine Trout waters of the US were being destroyed by the industy that existed along the rivers and lakes of the US. and Grant thought that Carp would be a very good replacement for the Trout.

They are quite good table fare, but most Americans will not fish them because they simply do not know how to clean them. For one things the scales are extremely difficult to remove and most Americans vever learned the correct way to remove them.

The best way to do so, is to take the carp and let it sit in boiling water (like you would a duck before removing the feathers). Let the carp soak in the boiling water for a minute or two.

They have an oil that makes the scales difficult to remove with an ordinary fish scaper. Letting the "Flense" (boiling) for a minute or two softens the oil and makes the scales easier to remove.

Once you have removed the scales you still have a problem with the oil though. The oil taints the flesh and makes the meat very unpleasant tot he taste.

That is why they are usually smoked. The smoking draws the oil away from the meat and it drips off the fish.

However, most of the world, cooks the meat slowly over an open fire or a grill. You can use a rack and pan in the oven but once again the oil will accumulate in the pan and start to burn and if your wife is anything like most wives God help you if she comes home and finds her kitchen smelling of Eu de Carp.

My guess is that most of you have actually eaten carp but did not know you were eating it. It is found on the menus of many restaurants. (Chinese or Thai) They just don't call it carp!

The meat is delicious. Nice and white and firm and tastes very much like Cod.

The trick is to get the scales off by boiling them for a moment and then leaching the oil out of the fish and letting it drip down away from the meat. This may sound like a lot of work but actully is actualy just a few minutes in boiling water.

Then you can fillet the fish or gut iit and cook it whole. My favorite is to marinade the fish in teriyaki sauce for a few hours thenstuff the fish with chinese vegatables and ginger and bake it slowly on the grill. Score the fish on both sides then wrap it in aluminum foil and poke a few holes in the foil to allow the oil to run out. Then bake it slowly using the "Indirect Method of grilling"

Next time you catch one try try it.l I suspect most of you will be astonished at how good Carp can be!

[Ed Carlson]

Mmmmm..."Carpwich's"...Yummy!

[Finlander]

I'll pass on the "Carpwich" and eat some golden fried crappiea and sunfish!

Too many carcinagens in the carps flesh for me!

[PurpleFloyd]

You mean this part?

Quote:

Remove

visible aquatic plants' date=' zebra mussels, and other

prohibited invasive species before leaving any water

access. It is illegal to transport them on a public road[/quote']

How you gonna give it to the DNR if it is illegal to transport them on the road? Take the ditch?

The exact verbiage is to report and provide samples. Nothing about transporting them whole.

[cowdisciple]

As far as I'm concerned, carp on the fly is the best game going in the metro area. Tons of big, strong fish and no competition. Why kill them?

[TigerBlood]

According to the DNR:

"Common carp are one of the most damaging aquatic invasive species due to its wide distribution and severe impacts in shallow lakes and wetlands

Their feeding disrupts shallowly rooted plants muddying the water

They release phosphorus that increases algae abundance

Carp induced declines in water quality causes declines of aquatic plants needed by waterfowl and fish"

I guess it just depends on what you like. Generally a lake overloaded with Carp/Bullheads/sheephead isn't a good thing which is why they have either no limit or liberal (100) limits you can take out.

[mainbutter]

I don't understand the hate for bullheads/sheephead, they are native and an important part of the ecosystem.

Bullheads in particular are important prey for many species. Walleye, northerns, bass, and muskies all love to chow down on bullheads.

Common carp are invasive, and the quote that TigerBlood is true for them, but it is FAR from true for bullheads and freshwater drum.

[TigerBlood]

Those type of fish are prolific and will take over a lake with time. Go to the DNR HSOforum and read about their Fisheries Managment work - Specifically the Mink and Somers lake restoration.

I'm not trying to offend anyone. I'm just saying those type of fish are in no danger of being over harvested based on what I can read. People should not leave them on shore. But take home all you want - they'll make more!

[PurpleFloyd]

Bullheads also eat tremendous amounts of the fry of game fish so it isn't like they have no negatives and those top line predators are not opposed to eating a sunny in place of the bullhead.

[TigerBlood]

From the DNR:

Lake rehabilitation

Fish habitat in many shallow lakes has been destroyed by carp and black bullheads. These fish root in the silty lake bottoms and stir up nutrient-laden sediment. The murky water blocks sunlight from reaching aquatic plants that stabilize the lake bottom and provide oxygen and habitat for game fish and water insects. Bluegills and bass numbers drop, while the seemingly indestructible bullheads and carp thrive in the gray-green soup.

The only way to begin restoring the ecological balance in these damaged lakes is to first remove all the offending fish. And the only proven method of doing that is to kill the entire fish population and restock the lake with game fish. This process is called lake rehabilitation.

The fish are killed by applying rotenone, a natural chemical derived from a South American tree. Rotenone kills gilled animals by preventing them from using dissolved oxygen. In the concentrations used by the DNR, it is harmless to humans or any wildlife that eat fish killed by the substance. Rotenone breaks down into carbon dioxide and water within a few weeks, rendering it completely harmless.

Lake rehabilitations aren't long-term solutions, however. Because the carp and bullheads eventually return to lakes through connected waters, many rehabilitated lakes return to their sorry state within 10 years.

The sediment that carp and bullheads stir up is loaded with nutrients from surrounding farm fields. And nutrients and other contaminated runoff flow into lakes from distant farms, parking lots, streets, and lawns. The nutrients fuel blooms of algae, which, when they die, consume oxygen needed by fish and underwater insects.

That's why fisheries managers increasingly focus on reducing the influx of this non-point-source pollution as part of a long-term solution to improving fishing in these lakes.

[BronzeBrother]

Even as a kid fishing the Miss I didn't understand the point of throwing fish up on the banks, it went against what I was taught to enjoy whatever bites your bait. Everything I caught I released even when bring preached at by other people fishing the river to throw them on the bank because I was breaking so called outdated laws. Needless to say I made some folks mad when I would slide that carp back into the water. If you choose to keep fish to consume or to use as fertilizer that is fine, as long as it is used and not wasted along a river bank.

Smoked carp is awesome BTW! Never had it other ways but probably because they have a trillion bones in the meat. Sheephead stink but they still get released anyways. Some of the best times I had fishing was on the river, there is something to be said about not knowing what is going to bite next. Its just plain fun!

Silver and Bighead Carp on the otherhand need to be dealt with now before they become the dominate species in the river systems.

[traveler]

Dear rough fish;

If ya don't want to end up as fertilizer, QUIT stealing my bait!!!

[reinhard1]

do you use the fish for the garden and how deep are you putting them? i'm keeping some this year to put in the hole for a couple of new apple trees i'm planting. i usualy realease all rough fish. but i love to fish for carp on a lazy afternoon if i got a couple of hours just to relax here near the big river. good luck.

[traveler]

I was mostly joking...although years ago a few carp and assorted other rough fish made it to the garden. Nowadays I usually have enough guts from "real" fish to suffice my fertilizer needs:)

[Slabasaurus]

I'd like to thank you, golden sucker, (some kind of) redhorse, and sheepshead for making me look really cool in front of some kids last night who thought I was the MAN at fishing.

hahaha.

Fooled them. Thanks again!

[Grum]

Dear Rough Fishies,

I would just like to thank you for all those times we played tug-of-war. I hope you have enjoyed it too, as you always looked happy when you swam away.

To a certain Bowfin, we have meet several times over the last few years, I apologize if I have upset you somehow, but please don't bite me this year, I am only trying to get my lure out. (you have ruined 3)

[NICjockey]

A couple years ago, my eldest tied into a bowfin that had to be 5-6 pounds. Huge thing. Fought it for a few seconds, pulled too hard and SNAP. We retied, he went back and got him again, fought it for several minutes, in weeds, diving hard, all around the boat. Finally got it up to the boat and I scooped it. Twisted his little jig into a corkscrew.

The next spring he hooked a 27" 'eye on opening morning, worked it right into the net like a pro.

Would he have landed that walleye without the experience of that big, nasty bowfin? Maybe. But, please leave us a few big bowfins out there--I have a daughter coming up. ;-)

[traveler]

rough fish = walleye practice? Good point! I have to admit, most of my best fights in my younger years were from big Mississippi river roughsters:)

[reinhard1]

what a proud moment for your son and you as well. great stuff. good luck.