robm1093

7danny

I understand how you feel, I was raised to only kill what you are going to eat. But I was also raised to care about game management.

You say it is OK to kill Asian carp? This contradicts you kill only what you will eat philosophy. I am a bit confused here. You are saying it is OK to kill Asian carp because they are an invasive species? You do know that ALL carp are invasive species.

Here is a couple links about the invasive common carp:

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives...arp/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_carp

I do agree that some bowfishers do shoot just for fun, but that does not mean all bowfishers do. It is just like saying all hunters are bad because of a couple poachers. It is unfair for you to come down on bowfishers and generalize them without knowing their true intentions.

There have also been studies which show carp effect the ecological system of lakes, for example:

http://www.carpbusters.com/documents...all%20lake.pdf


So yes, common carp and other carp are an invasive specie that does effect game fish and yes there has been studies from universities and scientist to prove this.

I hope you spend more time investigating what we are doing and see that most bowfishermen only have the best intentions at heart and not judge us by the few bad apples. And yes, my favorite is smoked grass carp, delicious.

robm1093

What I meant o say is if you kill common carp you are killing because of misinformation and you are believe you are doing sum good which is not the case so you just wasted a fish for nothing . Now if you go out and kill sum Asian carp and are not eating them you are killing for fun but at lest you are correct in believing they are an invasive species. Common carp are not invasive this is all misinformation you hade bin led to believe.The "Trash Fish Label" is a bit of mistaken Cause and Effect.

Back during the industrialization of America, natural water ways were being diverted, dammed, drained, and polluted. This coupled with freshwater commercial fishing lead to the not so surprising situation of declining natural fish stocks. The US goverment was well aware of the problem. After much research, they decided that one solution to the
problem was to import and stock Cyprinus Carpio - aka Carp.

There reasoning was that carp were hardy enought to survive the less than ideal conditions men had created. Additionally, carp could produce plenty of protein on very little sustenance. Finally, the large immigrant communities were hungry for a taste of home.

So, the US government set about on one of the most successful stocking programs in history. In the 1890's German fish were imported and stocked
as brood stock in ponds near Washington DC and MD. From there shipments were made upon request to virtually every congressional district in the
USA. People asked, and the gov't provided.

Then a couple of things happened. Water quality due to pollution, fertilizers, and altered water ways continued to decline. People began
to notice that in some cases the only survivors were carp. Instead of admiring the carp's tenacity and mending our own ways, Americans began
blaming carp for the problem of declining native fish stocks. Not too logical since carp were a response to the problem rather than the cause of the problem.

A second event deepened the perception. The invention of refridgerated shipping. Before this event, fish were mostly a local fresh food item.
After this invention, salt water species could be caught hundreds of miles away and provided to the country's interior in an edible state. Needless to say, the freshwater commercial fisheries took a huge hit as
diets turned from local fresh water fish like carp and buffalo to tasty saltwater products like salmon, flounder, etc.

It was not long before a stigma was attached to carp. Being nearly the sole survivor of man's abuse, they were blamed for displacing more desireable species. It mattered not that the waters in question were
often incapable of now supporting the favored species.

Those who could not afford fancy fish shipped from the sea, would continue to eat local fare like carp. It was not long before folks began using carp consumption as yet another racial stereotype.
Politicians being quick to recognize a scapegoat, were more than happy to decry the evil carp, especially since it helped avoid blame for industrial pollution, agricultural run off, excessive irrigation, channelization, etc. etc.

Without an advocate to defend her, the Queen of the Rivers (as noted by Izaak Walton) came to be regarded as a scourge, a pest, a "TRASHFISH."

Once ingrained in the culture, such labels are hard to shed. I see it continuing yet today...
A man and his son are enjoying a warm spring afternoon fishing worms for bass or catfish or walleye or whatever. Suddenly, the little boy's pole doubles over. For about 10 minutes all is joy. Dad smiling, Jr.
squealing with glee. Then a large golden flank roles near the surface and a pair of fleshy orange lips poke above the water.

Father's face falls. F'ing carp. Too bad. It's so ugly. Junior now doesn't know whether to be happy or sad about this, the grandest fish he has ever caught. Taking his cues from dad, he spits on the fish and
curses it. Dad tells him to throw it in the bushes and they get back to catching their intended, smaller fish. Lesson Learned.

Scroll forward a few years and Jr. signs on the a place like the TFF. Carp are mention and Jr has a visceral negative reaction.

Such a scenario will not quickly change. However, there are an increasing number who have discovered that all is not as it appears. Join the fun, become a part of the "Carp Brigade."

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wheelie

Oh yes we do eat the tasty carp, cook them the same way as eat coyote. By they way, is that you mom? LOL

robm1093

Perhaps you have heard that carp, which is an exotic species not native to North America, have by accident invaded our game fish waters. You may have heard that the carp of today are descended from fish that 'escaped' from private stocks or were illegally introduced by unauthorized persons. How is it then that carp are found in almost every state and in waters hundreds of miles apart from each other. The reason is because the U.S. Fish Commission and almost every one of the state governments in our land undertook one of the greatest far reaching campaigns to establish the carp everywhere in our country. Let me explain.

Prior to 1900, native North American fish were viewed as vital natural resources. Most of the fish we regard today as sport fish were harvested commercially by the millions of pounds. They were shipped by rail to markets where they were an important food source for a growing population. This was before the advent of refrigeration and communities relied on 'ice house' preservation. Harvested were the basses, sunfish, crappies, pike, walleye, perch, lake trout, and sturgeon. Also coarse fish such as freshwater drum, buffalo fish, catfish, suckers, bullheads and others.

The results of large harvests were declining stocks of lake and river fishes at a time when the population was expanding. To answer these concerns the U.S. Congress authorized President Ulysses S. Grant to appoint the US Fish Commission in 1871 to oversee the nation's fisheries interests. Among the first tasks was to consider what species to introduce to bolster the nations supply of food fishes. By 1874 the commission after long study issued a report entitled "Fishes Especially worthy of Cultivation" It went on to say that no other species except the carp, promises so great a return in limited waters. Cited were advantages over such fish as black bass, trout, grayling and others " because it is a vegetable feeder, and although not disdaining animal matters can live on vegetation alone and can attain large weight kept in small ponds and tanks".

In 1876 the commission enumerated other good qualities such as high fecundity (a count of ripe eggs in the female fish), adaptability to artificial propagation, hardiness of growth, adaptability to environmental conditions unfavorable to equally palatable species, rapid growth, harmlessness in relation to fish of other species, ability to populate waters to it's greatest extent, and fine table qualities. By 1877 citing the above reasons and adding 'there is no reason why time should be lost with less proved fishes' the commission convinced of the value of carp imported 345 fishes of scaled, mirror and leather carp from German aquaculturists. On May 26th they were placed in the Druid Hill Park ponds in Baltimore Maryland. The ponds proved inadequate and some were transferred to the Bab**** lakes on the monument lot in Washington, D.C.

So did they somehow escape from these confines to populate nearly everywhere? No. Now the state governments get involved. Records indicate in 1879, about 6.203 fingerlings were produced in the Bab**** Lakes. These were shipped to 273 applicants in 24 states. About 6000 fingerlings were produced in the Druid Hill ponds that year and were stocked primarily in Maryland. One year later, 31,332 carp were shipped to 1,374 applicants. In 1882 carp production increased to 143,696 fish, distributed in small lots to 7,000 applicants. In 1883 about 260,000 carp were sent to 9,872 applicants in 298 of 301 congressional districts and into 1,478 counties. During the years 1879-1896 the US Fish Commission distributed 2.4 million carp, some of which were sent to Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Mexico. By 1897 the Commission discontinued the stocking because carp had been distributed nearly everywhere and many states assumed the task of propagation and stocking of carp.

Within several years many states were involved in the propagation and stocking of millions of carp. The Ohio State Fish Commission stocked tributaries of Lake Erie. Every major river in Illinois was stocked. Fish rescue missions from 1890-1920 conducted by various states and the US fish Commission stocked hundreds of lakes and rivers, particularly into the Midwestern region of the US. In a few short years the effort to introduce the resource of carp had been successful. Newspapers and magazines lauded the importance to the food industry and the bright future of all citizens eating carp.

Commercial production started in the 1900's. During the decade after World War II, annual catches reached 36 million pounds. Many prominent restaurants and hotels served carp on the menu. Restaurants of the Waldorf and Astoria listed "Carp in Rhine Wine Sauce"

Following World War II the saltwater commercial fishing industry captured a major portion of the fishing market by consolidating and modernizing operations This resulted in tremendous productions of ocean fish and improvements in processing, packaging ,shipping and storage and a reduction in operating costs. At a time when the oceans were perceived as pure and our rivers were becoming polluted, contributed among other factors to the decline of carp as a food fish.

History demonstrates that the federal and state governments of the US undertook a massive effort to install the carp in all of our waters from coast to coast in an effort that no other country has ever embarked upon. History also indicates that American anglers in great numbers lead the world today in the history of carp angling since the earliest turn of the century. Generations of anglers have enjoyed the carp as a sport or food fish. History also indicates that the carp found in our many waters did not escaped the ponds of long ago carp farmers, as the myth is told, but were placed carefully for our angling benefit by thoughtful government agencies.

Al Kowaleski
Historian


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blakefrautschi

i shoot carp for fun, and i don't eat them, i shoot deer for fun, and i eat them, i shoot ducks for fun and i eat them.

if your saying its wrong to hunt for fun then i'm all in the wrong... if i didnt enjoy hunting i wouldn't do it

i agree that in general you should eat what you kill, but like said before, i dont know anyone who eats coyotes or crows, but people shoot them, depending on the person some bow fisherman eat carp, it's not for me and i don't know anyone who does personally

the attack on bow fishermen was unnecessary.

and if the DNR wanted all of these carp in our lakes why would they encourage bow Fishing?


do you use round-up to kill weeds in your lawn? do you eat those weeds that you kill?

FLORIDA_BOWFISHING

Ditto. As hunters we enjoy hunting which includes the shooting of game. I doubt it highly that you are hunting for food because you have to. You are doing it because you enjoy it or you would be buying meat at the store. I agree 100% that we must do everything to make sure that the fish are "used" in some way, but that does not always include "eating" them. Some Carp guys use them for fertilizer. The worms ate that day. I for one tried donating my kills to the homeless. They told me to clean them first. Guess what, there were 20 guys outside the Red Cross that could have taken a knife to them. Now I just feed them to the hogs. Much more appreciative than the homeless. NO bowfisher would ever agree with just DUMPING fish. It makes everyone look bad, but rough fish need to be trimmed and it's a blast doing the trimming. Here in Florida we can;t even posses a Grass Carp because they are afraid if they ever get transported to another lake they will take over and kill everything else. I actually have residents on lakes cheering us on sometimes when we are killing the Tilapia because they steal Bass beds and reduce bass populations. Thats a FACT because I have seen them do it. I don;t need a report or a survey to prove it to me. Bowfishing has been one of the greatest sports to ever attract people to the world of Archery and Hunting/Fishing!

simong

we lost three duck ponds to them english idiots stocking carp in them, the carp destroy the duck production

go to Delta waterfowl and see how many millions of ducks we lose to carp and you will start shooting these invasive bastards too.

if you support the illegal introduction of non native invasive species you do NOT support American Hunting and game management.

jloop

Back in Michigan I would shoot carp 1000+ a season and then me and my buddies would use them for trappin bait.
plus its just fun to shoot the nasty fish...

robm1093

common Carp are not Invasive and were not illegally introduced into the USA this is a myth. History shows they were imported and a breeding programed help the USA Fish department to stock them in all the lakes in the USA. I have an article that tells all about it if you would like to view it send me a pm with your E mail address and I will send you the file. BY the way I do only hunt for food, I like the meat and if I did not I would not hunt, yes I enjoy hunting but meat on the table is what it’s all about for me believe it or not. No way I am going to waste my time hunting if I am not going to eat what I kill