So I was out on my lunch break today, fly fishing in the pond in front of our aquarium (I love my job some days); when I noticed about 5-6 huge (3') grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella, that had been dumped in our pond sometime in the last few weeks (we definitely would have seen them before). Needless to say I am pretty upset, as this pond has a great, balanced assemblage of centrarchids, turtles, and LM bass thriving in native vegetation, a resource I count upon to be able to stock exhibits...and I don't even know if these are triploid or diploid carp

I'm assuming that someone didn't want them and simply dumped them there - but to get to my question: does anyone know any good tricks for catching these on hook and line? I've seen sporadic bits of info on collecting these by searching the forum, but not a lot of discussion, and never having fished for carp myself I'm at a bit of a loss for how to go about targeting this species with rod and reel...any insights, tips, tricks or other advice would be greatly appreciated.

...btw- seining, electrofishing, and bowhunting aren't options in this case or I'd have them out and eviscerated (as per Texas state law) already

Edited by BLChristie, 22 April 2009 - 11:22 PM.

Have you contacted TPWD? Are you sure these aren't triploid carp that the state, city, or private owner put in? They are legal to stock in private ponds if triploid, and proper measures are taken. Try to find out where they came from before doing anything. Where are you in N. Texas? There are some of us in the state that can, and would love to, get rid of some invasives with the proper permits by conducting a study on the pond... I'm not offering any services, I'm just saying you can probably get help with this.

Once again, call TPWD or the pond owner to find out if they know how they got there before taking action.

Edited by rjmtx, 22 April 2009 - 11:29 PM.

We (the city parks dept) are the pond owner - so you can imagine my surprise to see that someone had dumped these here! Have already placed a couple calls to TPWD to see if they are aware of any permits being issued, hopefully will get a response soon- but at this point I'm beyond 90% sure this was a drop off by someone who had them outgrow their stock pond, or similar dubious circumstance.

Why is electrofishing or seining out of the question? Is it a PR issue (being in the city)?

several ways you can go about getting them on rod and reel.
my favorite is with the fly rod, 4x tippet and a damselfly nymph (looks like a bit of algea), they like to cruise in pods, put it about 18in in front of the lead fish and dont move it. if they dont take that try simple dries like an adams, nymphs like a pheasant tail, and as a last bet a small white streamer. some take flies right off the bat, some never take them.
fishing with bread balls and worms will catch some but you will be sorting through too many catfish and sunfish. flies are more effective
the end all method, go with a flippin stick, 20lb line and a treble hook(I am assuming snagging is legal there), put a small amount of wieght below the treble hook and snag them. the secret is to get the right in the head, anywhere else and you will just make them more skittish after bouncing off the scales. in a pinch a small jig on a spinning rod works because you can see where it is and bring it right up to thier heads and send it home.
good luck, I hope you manage to get them out of there.

Start feeding them intentionally for a week or more so they get used to you offering food and then pull the switch with multiple baited lines. Use fruits and berries. Mulberries, tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, grapes all are good choices. I personally have had good success with mulberries, of course these carp were in ponds that had mulberry trees growing along the bank. They also seem to be pretty darn good at seeing the line and hook, so use relatively light line (probably fluorocarbon for less visibility) and relatively small hooks. The advantage of using fruits and berries is that you rarely will catch any of the sunfish in the pond. I have caught channel cats however on these baits. Be sure you have the drag on your reel set properly and be prepared for a long fight, if you rush them in more than likely they will break the line and be gone and even more weary of future food offerings. Good Luck!

Theres lots of Grass Carp where my daughter live and I used to have a ball catching them on cherries. Just half mash the cherry after you put it on the hook. Man, do they pull!!! .....Jim

Lots of good ideas, thanks to all for the suggestions...I tried feeding them a few leftover strawberries from lunch today- will see how the "bait and switch" works with them