Ecological Implications & Stratigies for Big Head Carp

148 page final report from the MN DNR

Flathead catfish received honorable mention.

Management Implications and Recommendations
1.
Alternative strategies for addressing a biomass dominated by bigheaded carps include:
(a) improvements in water quality, dam removal, and restoration of natural habitat to increase native
species abundance and diversity to increase resistance to invasion,
(b) increased protection of flathead catfish and other predators of bigheaded carps, and
(c) commercial harvest of bigheaded carps

PDF Download to full report below.

Attachments:

1. Ecological-Implications-Strategies-for-Carp-21April15-Final.pdf

i know the blues/channels love to eat them as well
they wrk great for cut bait dwn south =D

I’m thinking if Congress can close a lock to protect us from Asian Carp, WI should easily close the Mississippi River to flathead harvest in the winter dormant months AND lower it’s excessive limits of flathead catfish.

@MrSpecial

mr-special wrote:

wrk great for cut bait

You know just as well as I do that there is no way in hell they will allow us to use them for bait…

Heck, we can’t even use common carp as bait.

darnit, ur right =(

Sure wouldn’t want one of those chunks of an asian (or common for that matter) carp to get lose from your hook and breed. That would be devastating.

I think the best thing would be to get more people to eat them. They’re not so bad eating. White flakey meat. Not greasy like a common carp. Very comparable to a buffalo. There are some high class restaurants that serve them…they call them Silver Salmon.

If we could get the commercial fishermen to catch them, maybe they’d leave the flat heads alone. How about an incentive deal…catch ‘X’ tons of Asians and then you can catch ‘X’ tons of catfish. Just a thought.

L8R…Ken

skunkboy wrote:

Sure wouldn’t want one of those chunks of an asian (or common for that matter) carp to get lose from your hook and breed. That would be devastating.

that thought has always made me laugh. plus i dunno a body of water that doesnt have common carp in it anyhow lol

but ur right theyre not to bad eating, ive tried them a few times
Chef Emeril Lasgasse serves it in his Restaurant and i can only imagine what kinda price theyre paying per plate lol

Kick it up a notch. Bam!

mr-special wrote:

plus i dunno a body of water that doesnt have common carp in it anyhow lol

If they were just a little bit easier to catch!!!!

Every local lake has a decent population of 30 pound carp just waiting to burn out a drag!!

If you see a school of carp, it is usually one and done. The rest get lock jaw.

Using a fly rod on the St Croix, I can say from personal experience multiple fish can be caught as long as I stayed on the school.

What’s a fly rod? Is that oen of those things those upity trout fisherman use?

Kidding.

That sounds like a blast Brian.
I really should pick up a fly rod one of these days.

Andy, a person can only do so many things at once…but I was watching a fella using a fly for pike the other day. <sigh>

Back to Flatheads and Asian Carp…

Well the one time I spotted a school down at gun club or whatever by the bass ponds. I hooked up right away with one. The school regrouped and ignored me the rest of the day. I assume water clarity and lack of stealth had something to do with it.

Stop contradicting me @beachbrian

The school regrouped and ignored me the rest of the day.

I really want to get out with Rootski one of these days!

The lake is actually long meadow and there are some true giant carp in there in the spring.

There’s a St Croix Valley meeting coming up if anyone would like the details.

No official folks, just us arm chair biologists like me attending thinking of ways to influence the powers to help protect the St Croix River. Certainly can’t knock them for that.

What I find interesting is the carp were found in the St Croix. That means they had to swim past the WI River, Hay Creek, my camper, the Trimbelle, Vermilion/Canon then make a hard right at Prescott.

Odd they aren’t found in those places.

Does anyone remember the video someone posted using a Marcum camera on the Croix? It was titled something like “no wonder the fish aren’t biting” showing all the plankton near the bottom of the river. Could it be that’s why the AC are swimming towards that river an not others?

Anyone seen Pug as of late?