Carp, the other white meat ...

[Brian Halbleib]

Finally had a chance to check on my carp spots today. The first spot was real slow but I had two marginal opportunities and did not make good on either shot.

Checked out another spot and saw plenty of dark spots swimming around but no heavy spawning action. Afraid I may have missed the prime time since the weather has been so hot.

I did manage to connect on three of them and missed at least another half dozen or more. Just enough to keep me interested for a few hours. But it's always nice just to get out and shoot some arrows.

 

   

-Brian
 www.bowyersjournal.com

[fireman_3311]

Good shootin, Brian!!!

[Tim Kosteczko]

thats apretty good day if you ask me. unfortunatly i think you are rite i think they have already spawned for the most part this year.

[AnointedArcher]

Good job Brian  

[rabbitman]

Good Going Brian....and nice hat.  :eek:

[KodiakBob]

So how do you cook the "other white meat"?

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Tastey!!!

[Brian Halbleib]

Thanks guys. Dick, that's my lucky fishing hat   :cool:  

The best way to prepare carp is to use the Alder wood plank grilling method. Get yourself a plank of Alder wood, heat it up on the grill and add some spices to the top of the plank. Place the carp on the plank and grill for 25 minutes at 300 degrees. When finished, throw the carp away and eat the plank    

-Brian
 www.bowyersjournal.com

[DaleinOhio]

Brian,

Looks like you have that AMS strapped onto the bow with one of those brackets I've seen on 3 Rivers' site.  How do you like it?  Does it mount the reel pretty solidly?

Dale

[KodiakBob]

Hopefully those that shoot carp for fun, aren't those who talk about ethics went it comes to hunting.

[Rick McGowan]

Carp are an introduced pest and a nuciance and we would be better off without them except for being bowtargets! I did have a friend smoke up a batch of them and hand them out as "smoked brown trout" everyone was commenting on how good the "brown trout" was, until I pointed out that brown trout don't have scales the size of quarters!

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Originally posted by KodiakBob:
Hopefully those that shoot carp for fun, aren't those who talk about ethics went it comes to hunting.

Most state fishery departments want them gone. Some states spend tens of millions of dollars every year poisoning lakes, draining waterways and doing netting programs to try reducing carp numbers.

They're an introduced, non-native, invasive and destructive species. They reproduce at alarming rates, root up vegetation, eat game fish eggs, and basically destroy waterways when given a chance. Several studies have proven time and again how lakes and rivers are greatly improved by carp removal.

I'm all for the "don't kill what you won't eat" ethic...unless it comes to carp. They're basically the dandelion of the waterways -- a weed that needs to be pulled. Eat them...don't eat them....doesn't matter. Because at the end of the day you're doing a good deed for the environment by reducing their numbers, even if only by a few.

[Starkman]

Carp...gotta love'em, they don't get the respect they deserve.  Hardy, excellent fighters and the flesh is considered of good eating quality.  Used to be a large commercial fishery at the turn of the century.  I believe most were sold pickled.  Someone decided that they were nasty bottom garbage feeders and the rest is history.  Hate to say it, but they are here to stay.
Bob

[Brian Halbleib]

Dale, the strap on brackets work great, extremely solid. I'm constantly building and shooting new bows all the time so I like the flexibility of being able to use the reel on any bow without drilling into them.

-Brian
 www.bowyersjournal.com

[Stone Knife]

Would feeding them to your cat count as using them properly?

[KodiakBob]

Hey guys some cities consider deer pests and use tax dollars to have them killed. Carp from clean water taste good. When it comes to fly fishing they are called golden bonefish. Just my two cents.

[Doug Campbell]

Yep I've eaten my share of carp, buffalo, gar... but you can only eat so many.... Not much doubt in my mind that carp are a pretty much never ending "resource". And yes they do look like bonefish when they come cruising across the flats.

But.... where it's legal I'm not gonna be too concerned about feeding em to the coons, crawfish, buzzards... Just use your heads and not leave piles where the general public is gonna stumble over them. That is primarily what prompted the wanton waste laws in MO.

Walt Francis and I particapated in the MBA annual carp shoot on Canyon Ferry Lake up here yesterday and I was appalled at the carp numbers in the lake. There has to be literally tens of millions of em. We were just paddling around in one cove all day in my little cataraft and litterally shot till we were wore out. Didn't stay for the intire weigh-in but the leading team when we left had turned in 397 fish. Now that's alot of shooting for what was probably an 8 hour period.

More power to em....

Doug

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

All this bowfishing talk reminded me I hadn't been out chasing carp much lately, so I hit the water for a few hours. By the time I got back to the truck I had 63 carp brought to bag. Not a bad few hours.

I didn't take any pictures, but here's one of my favorites I found on the internet of Lake Wingra in Madison, WI. Anyone care to guess which side of the barrier they removed carp from, and which side they didn't?   :D  

 http://www.madisoncommons.org/article.php?storyid=572

 

[Coop]

Nice shooting Brian.

[Dan Chamberlain]

Smoked carp is a delicacy.  If you haven't tried it, you should.  If you think you're not missing anything, you're wrong.

Growing up, we let some of the local black folk use our dip net for carp and they'd take them home by the bushel basket.  When they were done smoking them up, they'd bring back a ten pound bucket and we'd have a fine time.  The meat is wonderful smoked close to dry.

Dan