Anyone here besides me fish for carp on purpose?

[lakota]

I love carp fishing. My dad turned me onto it when I was just a kid. I still remember my first carp

I got my first one of the season a few days ago. It had to go 20 pounds. I fought it for almost ten minutes. The hook broke as I was beaching the fish and it flopped back into the water.(he was on land for a minute so I count that as a fish landed! )

These fish are tremendous fighters and smart too. Plus they are easily available to the shore bound angler. No fancy boats or expensive tackle needed.

Anyone else like to catch these brutes?

[blind ear]

I read an article many years ago about a guy that said carp are harder to catch on a fly than smart trout. The article said Europeans come to the US to carp fish because the fish are bigger and not as educated. I'm from Mississippi, "can you eat it?" I have heard that cooked right they are good. They have to come from "on flavor" water just like catfish. Don't know how to cook them though. People here bow fish for them a lot. eddie

[lakota]

I'm gonna try a little night action tonight.

Hopefully I will have some pictures in the morning.

[Graybeard]

Carp recipe.

Take your carp and lay them out on a pine board to soak in the sunshine for a few days. Toss the carp and eat the board.

Seriously they are fun to catch but I have seldom actually targeted them and have most often caught them fishing for catfish or bream. But then I mostly fish for catfish and bream.

[burntmuch]

When my kids are with me. I take them to a place where you can usually catch a big ole carp with some shredded wheat on a hook. Its a ball watching them carp on my girls Disney princess fishing pole

[torpedoman]

 properly cleaned and prepaired they are pretty good eating. The big trick is in the cleaning dont cut the mud vein. but i usually toss them back, they are a real fighter and a lot of fun to catch.

[Empty Quiver]

Carp fishing is a blast. I'll mix up some doughballs out of corn meal and strawberry Jello (use 1/2 the called for water) and some flour to hold it together better let it cool well to set up. Make a ball about the size of a 1oz slip sinker and bury a good strong hook in there. I don't like trebles cause the dough will not fall off easy enough for good hook sets. You won't soon forget a 10 lb Carp let alone a real monster.

[DDZ]

Carp recipe.

Take your carp and lay them out on a pine board to soak in the sunshine for a few days. Toss the carp and eat the board.

Seriously they are fun to catch but I have seldom actually targeted them and have most often caught them fishing for catfish or bream. But then I mostly fish for catfish and bream.

GB, funny I've heard that same recipe for northern pike.  

I never ate a carp, probably never will. With all the better tasting pan fish to eat, I don't know why you would want to eat a carp.  I have fished for them though. They are fun to catch, and they are not a dumb fish. When the 17 year cicada's come out carp love them. You had to hook the cicada so you didn't kill it so it would flutter on the surface. If it didn't flutter the carp didn't touch it. I've caught more carp on the 17 year cicadas then anything else. Only problem is you have to wait 17 more years for them to come out again.  Once fishing for blue gills I hooked a huge carp. Since I had my light weight rod, it couldn't withstand the pressure and snaped in two.

[pab1]

I read an article many years ago about a guy that said carp are harder to catch on a fly than smart trout.

This is true. Carp can be very difficult to catch on a fly and are often compared to bonefish (which were at one time also considered to be "trash fish"). Carp are now being appreciated and pursued by many fly fisherman. John Barryman wrote a book on the subject which contains some good info. They will not tolerate a sloppy presentation, they fight hard, grow larger than most other freshwater species and can be found almost everywhere. Whats not to like? I don't eat them, but then again, I don't eat most the fish I catch.

[Dee]

Eat a carp? Heavens no. If I did that, there would not be a janitor to clean the crap off the bottom of the lakes or rivers. Except for the catfish.

[outdoorlover]

I had read some articles about carps and as I had known carps are an important freshwater food fish. In areas that are distant from the sea, carp are often the most common fish eaten; although the prevalence of inexpensive frozen fish products have made them less important now than in the past.

[maddogg]

Carp fishing is a blast. I'll mix up some doughballs out of corn meal and strawberry Jello (use 1/2 the called for water) and some flour to hold it together better let it cool well to set up. Make a ball about the size of a 1oz slip sinker and bury a good strong hook in there. I don't like trebles cause the dough will not fall off easy enough for good hook sets. You won't soon forget a 10 lb Carp let alone a real monster.

When I was young I used the same bait, on a fly rod.  I guess it was all about the fight and fertilizer for the garden.

[hillbill]

some of the hardest fights ive ever seen or had out of a fish were all carp.only prob is they are just beyond my culinary skill to prepare. i know they are a huge fav in aisan countrys. like to know how they prepare them?im not into grinding up fish or goin thru half a dozen steps to prepare them tho.

[pab1]

All the more reason to release them and hopefully fight them again someday!