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Carp, Friend or Foe?


FishermanSteve

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Saturday evening it was decided that Sunday's charter was cancelled. The reports were all showing a 2.6m swell with high winds. It was then decided that I should meet a fellow Fishraider for some inland fishing. I know in Australia Carp are seen as a pest, but it was happy sight to see on a rainy day. A hair rig tied by the fellow Fishraider threaded with sweetcorn, size 6 hook. A small ball sinker with a weight stop a foot up the main line to set the hook on impact. Nothing beats the buzz of the baitrunner. Laughing hard in the picture, that we had made the right decision to hit the water regardless of the weather and disappointment of not going out on the charter. 

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They are great fun to catch and put up a good account of themselves. I fish for them a lot and have never used that technique which is used a lot in the UK these days. Bread dough round a 2/0 hook is deadly. Cheers, bn 

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1 hour ago, iconnolly said:

I've heard from several sources that they make great bait for some saltwater fish e.g slimy mackeral.  It's something to do with the fact that they are so oily and smelly.

 

Not surprising I guess... also pretty firm flesh and tough skin. Strip baits would stay on the hook and present pretty well.

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Despite the hate, carp have a lot to offer as a sportfish. Great sight fishing, easily accessible and put up a good fight (got dusted in some skinny water today).

I'll kill em if i catch them in water worth saving, but the inner Sydney freshwater bonefish can have their chemically polluted urban creeks for all i care. At least there's fish in em!

IMG_20181009_073833_250.thumb.jpg.55f5f0daa8b4ef5e5962699e5d3baef6.jpg

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JDanger, wh

17 hours ago, jdanger said:

Despite the hate, carp have a lot to offer as a sportfish. Great sight fishing, easily accessible and put up a good fight (got dusted in some skinny water today).

I'll kill em if i catch them in water worth saving, but the inner Sydney freshwater bonefish can have their chemically polluted urban creeks for all i care. At least there's fish in em!

IMG_20181009_073833_250.thumb.jpg.55f5f0daa8b4ef5e5962699e5d3baef6.jpg

JDanger, what is that you’ve caught the carp on. It looks like a fly - maybe imitating a dragonfly ?

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That fly is called a "carp bitter".

Heavier fly for fishing the bottom, reminds me of the kind of shrimp imitations we use for bream and tied on the same saltwater hooks (SL45s) with bead chain eyes for weight.

Definitely looks like a dragon fly in the pic.

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On 10/9/2018 at 10:15 AM, DaveBM said:

Not just "seen as" a pest, they're a serious ecological problem. I hope you killed it.

Fun to catch though!

A lot of people think that you Have to kill carp if you catch them, legally  this is not the case in NSW. However it is recommend that you do as the are a noxious species. 
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/369106/Freshwater-pest-fish-in-nsw.pdf 

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I learned to fish catching carp.  My family was very poor when I was young and we would eat them if I caught them.   I fished every day after school and chores. I’m not sure how my Grandma prepared them but they didn’t taste bad.   That said Grandma being from Norway we ate lots of fishy foods.

 

Bear

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1 hour ago, Noo2OzFish said:

I learned to fish catching carp.  My family was very poor when I was young and we would eat them if I caught them.   I fished every day after school and chores. I’m not sure how my Grandma prepared them but they didn’t taste bad.   That said Grandma being from Norway we ate lots of fishy foods.

 

ahh the notorious carp.... agree with all comments about the dangers and damage this species can do - they are surprisingly adaptable to brackish low oxygenated water and their eating habits destroy the native eco system.

But......if I reflect as Bear has....

I left Croatia just before I turned 7..... the cuisine in that area was a melting pot of various surrounding countries.  There was a particular fish dish "Paprikash" which was of Hungarian descent - a thick spicy soup made from a tomato, onions, wine, paprika and chilli stock served with thick cut flat noodles - the best paprikash was made  with cuts of three fish species - carp, pike and wells (eel tail catfish).  Sometimes it was thickened with fish roe as well. A really hearty meal for those cold european days regularly served with a glass of red and crusty bread....

Faster flowing rivers produce well toned fish.... its the brakish ponds that produce fat smelly fish (of all species)!

What a digression from the topic.... but memories eh !

Cheers 

Zoran

PS - we are spoiled here in Oz with variety and quality compared to other places in the world  ! 

Edited by zmk1962
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