Fishing for American Grass Carp
I have been fishing the lakes and rivers of the southeastern United States for most of my life and for most of that time I have been pursuing the common carp. But about 15 years ago I started catching these strange new fish occasionally when I was carp fishing. I can remember as if it were yesterday the first time I landed this stunning silver giant, and I had not a clue what it was. At the end of that session I rushed home and began looking thru every book I had on fresh water fishes. Finally, I found a picture of a fish that I believed was the same one I had caught. It was a White Amur or as it is more commonly known, grass carp.
Since this first encounter I have caught lots of these magnificent fish and as the years go by they seem to keep getting bigger and bigger. I have developed several baits and presentations that help me to catch these fish and I would like to share them with you.
You can catch grass carp off the surface or on the bottom and they will eat a lot of the same baits that the common carp will, and one of the best surface baits I have found is Bagels. I like the doughy texture of the bagel and it performs well as bait. It will float for 30 plus minutes and still be firm enough to hold
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It is a mixture of horse sweet feed, soybean meal, wheat bran, dried black molasses, and cracked corn. The liquid that is used to mix this bait is the main ingredient that really attracts the grass carp. This ingredient is Black molasses in the raw liquid form, like that used in the mixing of animal feed. This bait has to be the best I have seen for targeting grass carp; they go wild over the stuff. Now for hook baits, I prepare maize by soaking and boiling to soften the kernels. After it has cooled, I make up a small cup of the maize and pour some of the liquid molasses over it. Let this stand for a day or two and it will turn the maize almost black in
13. Species Summary for Etheostoma nianguae: Niangua darter. Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr,1991. (On-line) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=3444
Since three-forth of the world is composed of bodies of water, it’s natural that a great number of people rely on fishing for their livelyhood or just for their recreation needs. There are numerous of fish species swimming under the lakes, seas, ponds, and rivers. Most anglers consider fishing as the delight in their purpose-driven life, a sport, as they say.
As early as 1914, the Government was receiving reports from the U.S. Commissioner of Fisheries on the potential impact to unregulated fishing. By 1931, serious questions were being asked about the ability of the fish to be able to continue to meet the demands and ever-increasing fishing that was occurring in the area. By the 1980s, the fishing in the George’s Banks has almost become unprofitable. (www.nefc.noaa.gov, 2004)
Garrison, Ronnie. "Asian Carp Problems - Invasion of the Asian Carp." About.com Freshwater Fishing. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2014.
The Black carp originated in many of the Pacific drainage areas of eastern Asia, China, and parts of Russia and Vietnam. Black carp was introduced to the United States in the 1970’s to fish hatcheries and to control the populations of disease carrying snails in ponds. Flooding is the main factor to thank for the release of the black carp, which quickly turned into an invasion of the waterways. The Black carp is a medium size fish with the opportunity to become an extremely large fish if the conditions are favorable. “Based on Asian records, large adults may be more than 1.5 m total length and 70 kg or more in weight”(Nico,L.G). The black and grass carp is close to identical in regard to the characteristics of one another. However, the black carp is a slightly lighter color of black, with extremely large scales on the entire body. A black carp has human like molars as teeth that are used to crush snails and mollusks. With a slightly pointed snout that is a likely adaptation used to filter through the bottom of water bodies in search of food. The physical build of a black carp exhibits the design of a bottom-dwelling feeder. Sporting a long snout, large powerful human molar like teeth the black carp is built to succeed in water full of snails and mollusks. This means that the populations of already near extinct native snails and mollusks are at great risk of being
Attention getter: How many times have you been on a bank of a pond and said imagine if i caught a marlin. Well that cant happen in freshwater.
When you aren't fishing for Catfish, you may want to try your luck with the many Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass that inhabit this river as well.
According to Robert Inslerman, the chairman of the Wildlife Society, baiting is the act of intentionally placing food attractants to manipulate the behavior of wild species for the purpose of: Attracting wildlife to a specific location to enhance hunter harvest; Capturing and treating animals for control of infectious and noninfectious diseases; Reducing or controlling overabundant native or exotic wildlife populations, invasive species, or problem wildlife that pose a threat to human health or safety, domestic animals, or private property; Capturing wildlife for relocation or population augmentation and restoration and; Capturing wildlife for execution of research and management programs (Inslerman 3).
It is believed that these darkly colored baits encourage a bass to make a clean strike that helps to easily set your hook in the fish. So the next time you are out fishing in a clear lake or stream, consider using a dark bait or lure if you are seeking to catch bass.
Since the start of time, humans have been catching fish. The sport has, in many ways, evolved hugely, and yet in many aspects has stayed exactly the same. To me fishing is unique and I find it can be anything from relaxing to a very intense experience.
The Asian Carp were introduced in the United States around the 1960’s, the main reason was to filter pond water in fish farms in Arkansas but they managed to escape, infiltrate the Mississippi river and started reproducing by the 1980’s. The Asian Carp includes four species which are big head, silver, grass and black
The body of the lure is shaped much like a small fish. It is most commonly a shade of gray, and has the basic characteristics of a fish, such as eyes and a mouth. The front of lure is approximately two inches in circumference and gets slightly smaller toward the end. It is made up of a buoyant material that allows it to float close to the surface, where a wounded fish might reside. It is shaped much like a torpedo, and were it not for the large bill at the front of the lure, you might expect it to be very sleek gliding through the water.
My friend had invited me along with him and his family to the ocean. It was vacation for the family, but for him and me it was the beginning of a week of serious business. We had an obsessive hobby to pursue. As avid and long-term freshwater fisherman, we were thrilled by the thought of catching those large and exotic saltwater fish we had seen on television a billion times before. Yet little did we expect there to be such vast differences between our freshwater fishing and the saltwater fishing, which we were about to pursue. We learned through trial and much error that in order to have a successful saltwater fishing experience we had to make adjustments to all the freshwater tackle, tactics, and gear we knew.
The control and management of Asian carp in North America is an issue that numerous state and federal agencies have been trying work out ever since the first case of Asian carp being in the waterways of North America. Asian carp are a very difficult species of fish to manage and control because of their fast reproduction rate and that there are no predators in the North American waterways to reduce numbers. These fish are damaging native fish's food sources and habitat. More recently, Asian carp are threatening to invade the Great Lakes which would cause drastic economic and ecological problems. The fight for control of Asian carp is an ongoing battle and one that needs to be solved before it's to late.
For those who are curious about fishing, but never seem to have any luck, here are a few simple guidelines to follow which will have you reeling them in in no time. Catching fish can be really easy to do if one has the correct equipment, location, weather, and presentation.