# dangerous carp



## chrsvic (Apr 20, 2005)

Interesting story from the paper:

Fish flies out of lake, breaks Arkansas teen's jaw 
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  It's a fishing tale that packs a wallop so strong it broke the jaw of a southeastern Arkansas teen and covered him in fish blood and guts.

Seth Russell, 15, of Crossett, was cruising Lake Chicot on a large inner tube towed by a boat when a Silver Asian carp leaped from the water and smacked him in the face. Seth was knocked unconscious.

"He doesn't remember anything at all," the boy's mother, Linda Russell, said last week. "He was laughing, and the next thing he remembers, he is waking in a hospital."

The teen has had oral surgery to wire several teeth together and still experiences back pain that doctors attribute to whiplash from the high-speed collision, his mother said.

He's not the only one who's has a run-in with the "flying" Silver Asian carp.

"They do not fly, but they are quite good jumpers," said Carole Engle, director of aquaculture and the fisheries center at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. "Over the past year, we have had some calls about fish jumping and causing injuries on Lake Chicot.

"Their jumping behavior is a problem, and their population appears to be growing there," Engle said.

Silver Asian carp were first imported to the United States in the 1970s. Catfish farmers brought them here to remove algae and other suspended matter from their ponds. The Environmental Protection Agency started a program allowing cities to use the fish to help clean the water in sewer treatment plant ponds.

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## reiner52 (Jun 14, 2008)

yea i lived there awhile and ive heard of them doing that, wild


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Go on to Youtube and do a search for flying carp. There are several video clips. It is like something from a science fiction movie. They are unreal. Here is one of the videos to get you started.


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

I have experienced the jumping behavior before, we went through a big school of them one night way down the ohio river. I thought it would be cool but dodging a bunch of big airborne carp is not as cool as it sounds.


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## truck (Apr 12, 2004)

Why the hech was she throwing them back in???? Would be a good way to practice skeet shooting


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

truck said:


> Why the hech was she throwing them back in???? Would be a good way to practice skeet shooting


Yeah, I was wondering the same thing on throwing them back?


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## boonecreek (Dec 28, 2006)

has any been seen in the cinn. area ?


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## Ajax (May 16, 2008)

boonecreek said:


> has any been seen in the cinn. area ?


If they are anywhere near the queen city, I'm bringing my bow. That sounds like some x-treme bow fishing opportunties.


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## bowhazard (Apr 19, 2004)

Haven't seen any Silvers in the Markland pool. We have got into some Bigheads so chances are they are around. We have shot Silvers in the next two pools south. Seems like the big river (Ohio/Mississippi) Silvers get a bit larger and don't jump like you see in the vids in the Illinois or Missouri.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

boonecreek said:


> has any been seen in the cinn. area ?


I don't have that answer but I would say if anyone on here knows it would be Carpn. Here is a very avid bowfisherman and I know he has stated before that he has seen them on the Ohio River. I just don't know where. If you are truly interested to find out I would suggest dropping him a PM.


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## BlueBoat98 (Nov 5, 2004)

There are a ton of videos on YouTube of folks shooting them with a bow. I can no longer find the really good ones but here's one of some Ohio boys giving it a try.







The serious part is that they are really close to Lake Michigan and only being kept out by an underwater electric current fence of some sort. Once they're in the Great Lakes we are going to be seriously screwed. Somebody needs to develop some really great food that can only be made from Silver Carp.

MC


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## Carpn (Apr 5, 2004)

Bowhazard and I bowfish together alot on the Ohio. Like he stated, we've got into a bighead here and there. The first ones I ever saw where 4 or 5 yrs ago. I'm sure there are silvers around just not in the numbers seen further down river.


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## Tall cool one (Jul 13, 2006)

A friend of mine grew up on that river and said it used to be good fishing till the carp moved in. Now,it's dangerous to even take a boat out on that river and no fish but silvers and bigheads...that could be us in a few yrsTC1


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## fisharder (Mar 18, 2005)

Theres one thing I know is that if we want to get rid of a species of fish all we have to do is over fish it. A sure fire way to get that done is to put a bounty on the carp. All carp are non native and they are in every body of water in the state. However they all don`t cause the problem the silver and asian and big head carp do. We as members of OGF could promote a catch and not release policy on these fish. On any given day there are thousands of fisherman on water in the state. Armed with that kind of army we could get it done.A bounty would put even more fisherman on the water and we could wipe this species out in no time. But now is the time to do something. Maybe one of our connected members could check with the state and see if this idea could get some traction.We are the only cure to this problem!


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## LittleMiamiJeff (Oct 1, 2005)

Let's go fishing!
LMJ
Maybe we could sell the carcasses to pig farmers or some feed companies.
Fertilizer?


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## Tall cool one (Jul 13, 2006)

They're filter/plankton feeders,can you put plankton on a hook?? maybe then we couild overfish them and put a hurtin' on the population,TC1


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## crappie jack (Jan 7, 2008)

reelfoot lake in tenn.has these also couple years back we were coming in for the evening and one jumped into my nephews boat hit him in the back it was about 12 lbs or more damn things could kill someone


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## iteech (Apr 4, 2005)

That sounds GREAT to me. I accidentally catch them occasionally--but I know how to catch them on purpose! I saw a special on this not long ago--they have completely DESTROYED that area's waters' fishing--the carp have eaten all the native species, and they are about all that's left in the rivers and lakes near there. If they ever invade our waters, the only hope is to overfish them--you're right! I have a friend who has a private lake, and his wife got tired of their koi pond and put several of them in the lake. Biiiig mistake. In two seasons, they took over the lake. Three out of four fish you hauled in was a giant huge nasty goldfish. So he had a "goldfish bonfire"--he invited all his friends, supplied bait, and we fished all day long. He had two big fires going--one on each side of the lake. Each time we caught one, we tossed it on the fire, and we did this till midnite or so. (It smelled wonderful--like a fish fry, of course). Between the 10 of us, we caught and killed about 300 of them--no kidding. Guess what? The population was reduced so severely they almost never show up now--he'll catch one or two a year (and they don't go back in). And his LMB, cat, and gill numbers are now way up again. If we had not done this, his lake would have been 100% wiped of all species except the carp. How would we get this initiative going? We need to wait of course till they show up here, but only till someone sees the first one! P.S. Before I hear the sobs and cries, please let me add that my friend called every source imaginable to get someone to take them--no one would. Not baitshops, not koi dealers, no one. He even asked a farmer to take them for fertilizer. No dice. They all said fish from an unknown source would infect their tanks. Anyhoo lets do this; it works.


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## boonecreek (Dec 28, 2006)

what kind of bait did u,all use ?


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## Still_Waters... (Aug 13, 2008)

I don't know what kind of bait would work, but we could all just drive around with helmets and baseball bats, just a thought.


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## boonecreek (Dec 28, 2006)

more like shotguns


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## Ajax (May 16, 2008)

boonecreek said:


> more like shotguns


 Now that sounds like fun and a sore shoulder. Steel Shot, of course.


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## fisharder (Mar 18, 2005)

Tall cool one said:


> They're filter/plankton feeders,can you put plankton on a hook?? maybe then we couild overfish them and put a hurtin' on the population,TC1


I am not above using a nets,traps or a gaff maybe even a arrow. I know that the fish are " filter/plankton feeders" But I have cought them on bait all the same and snaged them when trolling. I am sure that we could put our collective heads together and come up with a way to successfully target the fish. Even if it doesn`t seem ethical on the surface to some people. I do how ever think at this point it would take the harshest of measures to make any difference.


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## iteech (Apr 4, 2005)

Boonecreek--plain old red wigglers! They seemed to bite those most enthusiastically--my friend bought a whole flat of them, like 2,000 or something...we used almost all of them!


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

iteech said:


> Boonecreek--plain old red wigglers! They seemed to bite those most enthusiastically--my friend bought a whole flat of them, like 2,000 or something...we used almost all of them!


Which species are you referring to catching? As others have stated I was unaware of the silvers being in Ohio as of yet. Perhaps they are but the numbers you mention make me think that perhaps you are referring to something else.


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## truck (Apr 12, 2004)

boonecreek said:


> more like shotguns


I am one of the hillbillys that would love to join in


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## truck (Apr 12, 2004)

[email protected] http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/InNews/shootfish2004.html


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## iteech (Apr 4, 2005)

bkr43050: Sorry--I did not mean to mislead anyone--I was not talking about the same species of carp mentioned in the news articles; as far as I know THOSE have not yet reached Ohio waters. I'm talking about koi...big huge goldfish--and I have no idea what type of carp they are, I just know they're carp. They look just like the goldfish in a kid's fish bowl--except they are 40 times bigger! I described that incident as an example of restoring a natural balance of native fish after all the carp (koi) were killed. They had very nearly wiped out the bluegills, cats, and bass in the pond over a 2-3 year period; but after we eliminated the carp (koi), the population of the gills, cats, and bass zoomed back. It's a normal balance now that the goldfish are gone. Am I nuts?...aren't goldfish and koi a species of carp?? If not I am very embarrassed.


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## Still_Waters... (Aug 13, 2008)

I'm pretty sure they're all part of the carp family, if not then they're really REALLY closely related, but as for the species I'm pretty sure koi is it's own species, because they've been breed for such a long time I'm pretty sure they're pretty much something all to their own, but as for catching koi, they act just like any other carp as far as I know, I catch them by accident about once a year out at Eastwood lake, I really wish I could catch the people dumping them in there, because now they're in Blue Lagoon too, but it doesn't seem like they have any kind of hold on the lake it's just disheartening to go out there and see a big ugly mottled orange log swimming around.


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## fishdealer04 (Aug 27, 2006)

I read that article a few days ago on another forum. Crazy fish. I know they are pretty bad in Illinois and that the DNR there actually goes out and gets them. At the Cincy boat and fishing show a couple years back the DNR was saying if you catch any to kill them and report it.


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## Mrsnspectr (May 21, 2008)

I saw a special on TV the other night about a "******* Fishing Tournament" held in Bath, Illinois every year. All these boats go out and catch as many Asian carp as possible. Whatever boat has the most at the end of the day wins $2500. There are a half dozen or so people on each boat and they are all armed with nets or ball bats. Lots of people came back bruised up and one guy even had a broken nose from one of the jumping fish. They said it really hasn't made a big dent in the numbers, either.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Mrsnspectr said:


> I saw a special on TV the other night about a "******* Fishing Tournament" held in Bath, Illinois every year. All these boats go out and catch as many Asian carp as possible. Whatever boat has the most at the end of the day wins $2500. There are a half dozen or so people on each boat and they are all armed with nets or ball bats. Lots of people came back bruised up and one guy even had a broken nose from one of the jumping fish. They said it really hasn't made a big dent in the numbers, either.


Yeah, they probably would need to hold that event every weekend throughout the summer to make a dent.


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## Doctor (Apr 5, 2004)

They are in the Markland pool, just roll up into water that is 10 deep or less and watch the water erupt with them things scary as all get out, Lynn and I were fishing down around JT Myers dam below Henderson Ky and I rolled up into 7 foot of water started marking fish thought I was on a school of Blues when Lynn said we need to get out of here, I looked back and 8 were in the air all 10# or better, big fish that get some serious air when they come charging out of the water, we have had them bang into the sides of the boat and leap over the front deck, not fun at all, noise spooks them out of the water, watch the barges on the river next time your on the Ohio the waves lapping against the shorelines sends them flying, I get in a major panic when they start leaping, generally you will smell them before you see them leap as they stink the water up pretty good.............Doc


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