90% of carp netted from Lake Susan

[SHAQ]

clean out the bowfin and the carp, and the chip sunnies and crappie.

[StillwaterAaron]

clean out the bowfin and the carp, and the chip sunnies and crappie.

It is unfortunate you do not understand the balance of a lake. Killing fish just to kill them is so wrong on many levels. Just because you do not like them does not mean they do not have their place. As Eric said the Bowfin helps create trophy panfish waters. Some of the best panfish areas I have also have many Bowfin. Next time you look at one take a while and see the true colors of them that are many times more colorful than aquarium fish!

Notice the red in the tail....the turquoise in th mouth.....the green on the fins.......too bad you see them as a "GARBAGE" fish

Aaron

I love all fish no matter their reputation!

[Ralph Wiggum]

SHAQ, you'd be well-served to take your ignorant views elsewhere. Those of us that can appreciate nature feel dumber for reading your posts.

[fishuhalik]

[SHAQ]

Thats a river bowfin

[SHAQ]

whatya talking about carp destroy lakes, there destroying the mn river.

[HuskerBen]

Carp are an invasive species. I have no problem with them being removed from lakes. The problem is that it's nearly impossible to remove them completely, and taking out 90% will only make the remaining 10% stronger. They will continue to spawn, and they will have to net the lake again. There's really not a very good way to deal with them.

As for bowfin, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Who's to say that they are uglier than a walleye? They are an incredible fish... one of the hardest fighting species I have ever encountered. They are vital to a lake's ecosystem, as a predator that keeps panfish populations in check and can lead to much bigger gills, perch and crappies. My favorite bowfin lake is home to some big crappies and bluegills. Walleyes eat panfish, too, you know, but nobody seems to suggest that they be tossed on the shore to die and rot.

All fish are important.

[mrklean]

wait till those silver carp get into MN then all he!! will break lose. That is one fish i hope to never ever see in MN waters

[StillwaterAaron]

As for bowfin, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Who's to say that they are uglier than a walleye? They are an incredible fish... one of the hardest fighting species I have ever encountered. They are vital to a lake's ecosystem, as a predator that keeps panfish populations in check and can lead to much bigger gills, perch and crappies. My favorite bowfin lake is home to some big crappies and bluegills. Walleyes eat panfish, too, you know, but nobody seems to suggest that they be tossed on the shore to die and rot.

All fish are important.

Thanks HB!

There are many people who enjoy all sorts of fishing. I personally enjoy trying every style of fishing at least once. I have caught many trophies of fish that others consider garbage and I am upset every time I see one laying on the bank dead because of a uneducated person. By uneducated I mean not knowing that all those fish are important to our ecosystem. I have pics of bowfin and buffalo tossed on shore because of this and it just makes me sick. The guys who fish with me on a regular basis know that if they disrespect any fish they will not fish with me long!

As HB said Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

I love catching carp and I am not against the netting of them as long as they are used! We are "invasive" too! Our Reletives and ancestors got here on a boat or foot so should all of us be eradicated too?

Shaq..........river or lake the bowfin has been here longer than any of us.....I hope you can have an open mind in the future.

Aaron

[StillwaterAaron]

I wanted to change my name here but not figured out how. I figured I am proud of my ethics so if anyone wants to find me it is easy. I signed up a long time ago and never posted till lately. I guess my thoughts are known....right Ryan!

[DTro]

Nice seeing you over here Aaron

For what it's worth I feel the same way you do. I love to fish and catch fish, species unimportant

[wildcatcreek]

Carp are one of my favorite fish to catch. Man do they fight!

[Maashkinoozhe]

Appreciating all fish makes fishing more fun - every fish you catch becomes enjoyable! The bowfin is one of the most ancient predators/survivors there is and is native to both lakes and rivers of this region. They can tolerate low oxygen levels due to a swimming bladder that can function as a primitive lung and if you ever get to see a bowfin skull, you'll appreciate it's healthy double set of teeth.

A great read is "Fishing for Buffalo" by Rob Buffler an Tom Dickson, which I'm sure many of you fellow anglers who post on Carp/Sturgeon/Real-Gamefish forum have read - it opened my mind up a little more.

Half the reason I like fishing is the mystery of what's tugging on the other side of the line - sometimes you get a shadowy teaser of what's to come, but then it breaks the water's surface and you're holding the "mystery" in your hand! That's just great! I'd rather catch 25 different species of fish than 25 walleyes! (Don't get me wrong - I'd also like the 25 walleyes, maybe 1-3 for eating, the rest C&R, of course)

[50inchpig]

Bowfin have been around since the beginning of time, to think we could ever eradicate them or that we should is as ignorant as believing we can control the climate of the planet we live on.

Carp are awesome gamefish, love catching them in the spring and would be thrilled to boat a 30-40#.

[fishnowworknever]

Bumping this old thread.

After removing the carp from Susan, the lake cleared so much that it enticed a HUGE algae bloom over the summer. My Dad and I hit it with the boat this fall and I have never seen a lake so green.

They are talking about introducing some aquatic plants into the lake to help bring back the stability.

[JimBuck]

Thanks for the bump on this one. I've been curious about Susan as I didn't get a chance to fish it during open water since the carp netting.

[Randyjr.]

I don't mean this in a sadistic way at all, but does anybody know if they are going to do any netting this new year? Or does anybody know ahead of time when they do this? I just plain think it would be fascinating to watch.

[broken_line]

they took 230,000 lbs out of my rougly 400 acre home lake this year and 80,000 last year!

[macgruber]

man, think of the amount on invertebrates and other aquatic life it takes to support a pop. of that size..... it'll be interesting to see the effect it has on the other fish populations in the various lakes they've been harvesting...

[Mudcatman]

whatya talking about carp destroy lakes, there destroying the mn river.

Are you referring to the water clarity when you say Carp are destroying the MN river? Sorry there dude, but thats called erosion of the riverbanks. Ever notice that the bank is composed of almost entirely silt and sand? Ever think thats why the waters so dirty???? Carp have nothing to do with the water clarity in the MN River whatsoever. As a matter a fact, its safer to eat fish out of the MN River than it is to eat fish out of most area lakes, and thats a proven fact....

Carp arn't exactly my favorite fish either, but their here to stay. You will never clear any body of water of Carp completely unless you poison the lake and kill everything in there. I too am sick of the senseless killing of fish in general, but mostly I stick up for our native fish. The fact that some folks just don't get the native food web just kills me. Its just common sense.

[roughfish29]

great post mudcatman. i completely agree

[onemore]

Can you imagine getting into a mess of these guys ice fishing!?

[mooneyes]

should be on dirty jobs for sure!

[Comit 2]

Quote:

whatya talking about carp destroy lakes, there destroying the mn river.

The Mn river was destroyed. It is getting better and better every year. Just because Carp can live in all the junk we have dumped into the Mn river we shouldn't think Carp caused it.

You should read the Book that da_chise31 talks about at thes link.

http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubb...alo#Post2131614

[onemore]

I Found this link to pictures taken of the netting of these carp. It looks crazy:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/insidiatorphotos/3197806086/in/set-72157612574506314/