Carp

Gotta love (kill) em, catch from one 25 foot gill net.

Nice! What exactly was their end? Gator fodder? Carp chowder?

Crawfish food in a ditch where I catch bait.

those reg. or grass carp

They look like common rats with fins to me. Grass rats with fins don't have the barbels or slightly turned down mouth.

This is a Grass Rat:

I like to inplant knives into carp as well

I'm really fond of this idea for the jumping Bighead Rats
Aerial Bowfishing:


Would prefer to use a semiauto shotgun but this still looks like a load of fun

we should get together and try "bowcarping"

Such hate towards the carp. I agree, they are a problem and don't belong in our waters but you have to respect their ability to adapt and survive, they are only doing what comes naturally. It's the kind of fish evolution strives for.

Such hate towards the carp. I agree, they are a problem and don't belong in our waters but you have to respect their ability to adapt and survive, they are only doing what comes naturally. It's the kind of fish evolution strives for.

Sorry but umm.....No... I'm not going to respect them and they can do what comes naturally someplace other than in my local waters. They do not belong here and they are not a welcome addition to my waterways either. These mud grubbing rats with fins are not in my opinion what evolution strives for, they are what disrupts that process and they need to be eradicated by whatever means from our waters.

Such hate towards the carp. I agree, they are a problem and don't belong in our waters but you have to respect their ability to adapt and survive, they are only doing what comes naturally. It's the kind of fish evolution strives for.

Sorry but umm.....No... I'm not going to respect them and they can do what comes naturally someplace other than in my local waters. They do not belong here and they are not a welcome addition to my waterways either. These mud grubbing rats with fins are not in my opinion what evolution strives for, they are what disrupts that process and they need to be eradicated by whatever means from our waters.

They are only here because we brought them here, go ahead and remove and kill them but just because they don't belong here does not mean they need to be treated like trash. I don't want them here either but it sickens me when I see them left on the banks to die or tortured in some disgusting way. Animals evolve to survive and prosper, carp are doing just that, they don't know any better...humans however DO know better but continue to be a problem. Trust me, I appreciate diversity but it's the specialized animals that everyone loves that are doomed to begin with. Fish like the Whitehorse Basin cutthroat trout...doomed, they would be doomed regardless if we or carp were here. Carp don't disrupt evolution, they encourage it, animals evolve in the face of disaster in order to adapt to the changing environment. Nothing lasts forever on this planet, everything that is here today will be gone eventually. 99% of all the life that has ever existed on this planet is extinct, there have been 6 mass extinctions in the history of this planet, we are the cause of only the most recent. Life will go one, things will evolve and die and life will constantly be challeneged by new forces of nature or man. Go ahead and kill all the carp you want, they are an established part of our country at this point, there is no going back, it's all in vain. Hateing an animal for being succesfull is a waste of emotion. Sorry, flame me if you want but I admire the carp regardless of where they belong. I willing to bet that all the carp you kill in your lifetime will have done less to the environment than you or I have in the span of a week.

Another thing that grinds my gears...why is it so popular to hate carp and yet other non-natives get away scot free? Largemouth bass are established over much of the country where they don't belong. Rainbow trout have been stocked in the east, brooks in the west where they both caused problems. Brown trout aren't even from the United States. Just another classic example of people keeping around the animals they like, if anyone was truely a conservationist at heart they would be blowing brown trout out of the water with shotguns or leaving them on the banks to die...oh, right, that would be illegal...illegal to kill a non-native species. It seems that people only go after carp simly because they don't like them for whatever reason...their taste, looks...whatever but yet hide under the excuse of doing it for the environment.

Let me think here about How much I'm willing to argue with you Sandtiger......Ummmmm..... not at all...... as I have stated exactly what I think and your not about to change that. Carp are trash animals and they need to be exterminated in my opinion exterminated with extreme prejudice. I have no love or hate for these fish. What they are to me is a pest and as a pest species they need to be eradicated.

Admire the Rat with fins all you want.... I'm not going to and nor am I going to just accept their presence as something nothing can be done about. Something can be done about them and they can be controlled to a non-offensive level just as any other pest species can be controlled.

Being a Naturalist....I do know quite a bit about ecology, extinctions, evolution etc....I do know about the way things work in natural systems and one thing I do know is ever since we eliminated the Common carp from a particular pool of water on a restoration site, the diversity of Native species in the pool has increased ten-fold in three years. Hmmm...gee what could that mean?????????? It certianly does not mean that Carp where helping things for our Native fish and aquatic flora.

These fish offer nothing to our local fauna, flora or ecology and sorry but I do not have your admiration for these pests and I never will. They are roaches and they need to be stepped on and crushed every opportunity that arises.

Two things I really have to note just because it is irritating:

They are only here because we brought them here,

Who is We?

It was not me involved so do not use the word we...And as far as I'm concerned these fish are trash and belong in a dump. They have no place in North American ecology except for being a chemical fertilizer substitute or seagull food. I never put them anywhere except to their timely death and removal from the ecosystem. I did not put these fish anywhere. Being Native American in my ancestory also states I did not have much to do with introducing these fish ancestorially so please never say WE as I'm not a part of this WE in any form...Maybe YOU but not ME...

I willing to bet that all the carp you kill in your lifetime will have done less to the environment than you or I have in the span of a week.

And you may speak for yourself again here but not for me..If you really want to bet some good money though I will be happy to take yours as It is my job to secure and restore habitat for wildlife. I do more in a week for North American ecology and ecosystems than I ever contribute to the degrading of it in the same span of time. The carp I have removed in my lifetime has actually shown positive results to Native fish and aquatic macrophytes in specific restorations and this data is empirical not anecdotal. Carp have well documented negative impacts on the ecology of an area. There is no disputing the fact that if they are removed Native aquatic fauna and flora begin to thrive and return, this applies even to highly degraded localities. Don't tell me that removing them does not do anything for Local habitats as it very much does and every little bit helps IMHO be it one fish or a thousand.

guys
REMEMBER THIS
this fourm Was made to help natives
and I think that every one should try to do that in there own way like when I go fishing and I catcha carp I kill it very quickly and use it for bait but If someone thinks that carp and a good think it should be ok I mean do you guys think brown trout the same way I mean there non-native and they eat native brooks?
thanks,
Robert

guys
REMEMBER THIS
this fourm Was made to help natives
and I think that every one should try to do that in there own way like when I go fishing and I catcha carp I kill it very quickly and use it for bait but If someone thinks that carp and a good think it should be ok I mean do you guys think brown trout the same way I mean there non-native and they eat native brooks?
thanks,
Robert

I dispise Brown trout as much as Carp

Carp are trash animals and they need to be exterminated in my opinion exterminated with extreme prejudice. I have no love or hate for these fish. What they are to me is a pest and as a pest species they need to be eradicated.

I understand your motives BL but I would not phrase it that way. I have seen photos from earlier in the last century of HUNDREDS of dead alligator gar which were rounded up from the Mississippi River and exterminated for exactly this reason.

Killing them as invasive exotics is excusable. Killing them as "trash fish" or pests gives others the idea that that's all the justification they need. Like the photo of the dead longnose gar Sean posted. In north Georgia, fishermen treat hellbenders with the same contempt. They lop their heads off and throw them on the bank. Hellbenders are threatened over much of their range.

It's the kind of fish evolution strives for.

I willing to bet that all the carp you kill in your lifetime will have done less to the environment than you or I have in the span of a week.

Most of the points I would have made here have been made by others, thank you. I will say that I don't think that carp are what evolution strives for, because evolution is not real, but an atheistic lie. Carp were created for a specific purpose, and undoubtedly fulfill that purpose well, when they are where they belong. We (yes WE, all of humanity) were given stewardship over the earth. We are to care for it. We make decisions, personally or through our elected officials, to stock fish, clear farmland, introduce cattle to the range, etc. as part of that stewardship to fulfill our needs. We are to be responsible and protect our endangered species. Some, or should I say many, have been bad stewards. That does not mean that we should accept the outcome of their bad stewardship. If carp are a bad thing in our waterways, good stewardship says that we should eradicate them. Rats were introduced and are well adapted, should we accept them? How about the sea lamprey, is that a good thing? Killer bees. Fire ants. Gypsy moths. The list goes on. We have programs to control these introduced pests, not respect them, even if we may never eradicate them. And that's just getting started.

I do have one question, though. Why is it that evolutionists seem to view people as having a negative impact on the environment? If what you believe about evolution is true, then we are part of the environment. Everything that we do is natural. We are just a more well adapted species, and our success at the expense of others is only natural. If you believe in evolution, that is.

This Grass Rat got a little BooBoo in a pointy sharp object "accident"  

Funny, that leatherman looks exactly like mine!

Carp are trash animals and they need to be exterminated in my opinion exterminated with extreme prejudice. I have no love or hate for these fish. What they are to me is a pest and as a pest species they need to be eradicated.

I understand your motives BL but I would not phrase it that way. I have seen photos from earlier in the last century of HUNDREDS of dead alligator gar which were rounded up from the Mississippi River and exterminated for exactly this reason.

Killing them as invasive exotics is excusable. Killing them as "trash fish" or pests gives others the idea that that's all the justification they need. Like the photo of the dead longnose gar Sean posted. In north Georgia, fishermen treat hellbenders with the same contempt. They lop their heads off and throw them on the bank. Hellbenders are threatened over much of their range.

I'm not talking about anything in the above but carp or other invasive/ introduced species. I say straight out what species I'm talking about..If anyone gets a different impression then they need to go back to school and learn reading comprehension. My whole focus is on elimination of invasive and exotic species (particularly carp) and on the protection of and restoration of North American native species and ecosystems.

I'm not implying native species are "trash" be it Alligator gar, Hellbender, Western diamondback or Mudpuppy. I do think it is entirely clear and in full context that I'm not refering to Native North American species at all but carp.

If anyone on this site would use my above words as justification to go out and lop off hellbender heads or break a Gars jaws then I'd be the first to Ban them...and then I'd go out of my way to find them personally and kick their A** with a crowbar.

I deal with this ignorant attitude toward Mudpuppies almost every day to the point I have almost got into a fist fight with a dufus fisherman that threw one up on the shore to die because " if you catch one or see one all the fish go away so they have to be killed right away" Yet the same fisherman was throwing round gobies back alive because they "attract fish"

There are all types of ignorant fools out there where no amount of logic can make sense to them. As Aldo Leopold said very well "One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds"

When you are educated, not formally per se, but also in experiance and observation to the delicate balance of an ecosystem you see the holes and the gaping wounds left behind by the layman's world and often you are alone in seeing it. I accept this to some extent as it is impossible to change all peoples or cultures opinions when it comes to their offbase mythology and superstition. You can not expect all to understand species roles and the complexity of a given environment. You can not expect all to understand what teeth are needed in that gear work we call "nature" that keeps all running smoothly. Ecological balance is not well understood in American culture or society. It is taken for granted that someone else deals with that and their own participation is expected to be minimal or just not needed. Ignorance abounds when it comes to ecological matters throughout our society and culture. This is a sad truth that unfortunatly I really see no change ever occuring any time soon. One could really try to fight for a better understanding but it seem futile for the most part on a general basis.

Best that can be done is to take it in little chunks here and there. Like on this forum for example.

One thing is proven.....Removing Carp is good and not bad for the Native North American aquatic ecosystem and this is not based on superstition or ignorance it is a proven fact.

This Grass Rat got a little BooBoo in a pointy sharp object "accident"  

Funny, that leatherman looks exactly like mine!

Well I'll be damned.... I wonder how that accident happened