# Helping To Stop Asian Carp



## Intimidator

Due to the identification of the Asian Carp in our local river systems....We have received the OK, from reliable Sources at the ODNR, asking us to spread the word to all MINNOW or BAITFISH fishermen that when they are finished...ALL UNUSED MINNOWS or BAITFISH SHOULD BE DUMPED ON THE GROUND AND NOT BE PUT BACK INTO ANY RESERVOIR, LAKE, RIVER, OR STREAM!

Asian carp fry now can be caught along with other bait in areas of the OHIO River and up into river feeders...for the untrained eye, the Asian fry can look similar to regular fatheads, bluntnose, etc...as a precaution, Please do not take chances, just dump the bait and leave them to die, or for birds or other animals to eat....if you do see anything suspicious, save the bait, and notify the ODNR, local Warden, or Park Management!
Thanks for the help and spread the word!


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## Lowell H Turner

We DO NOT want them to become established; they are ULTRA efficent filter feeders and very young fish fry (crappie, white bass, yellow perch AND shad ) are ALL on their menu, as well as crayfish hatchlings. These brutes can go upwards of 100 lbs and consume the very young of about the entire food chain doing so...


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## IGbullshark

what are the rules if one is caught? i mean, are there limits on this fish or can we keep as many as we catch?


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## Lowell H Turner

There are NO LIMITS on them, and am sure ODNR DOES NOT want them returned to the water under ANY circumstances. Surprisingly, they actually taste very good !


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## IGbullshark

Lowell H Turner said:


> There are NO LIMITS on them, and am sure ODNR DOES NOT want them returned to the water under ANY circumstances. Surprisingly, they actually taste very good !


ok good. i have never actually caught a carp but if i do, ill make sure not to return it to the water


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## Dandrews

IGbullshark said:


> ok good. i have never actually caught a carp but if i do, ill make sure not to return it to the water


Theyre not referring common carp; theyre talking about Asian Carp.

I could see it being very easy for them to be spread via minnow bucket. At this point Im not sure if I know how to identify an Asian carp fingerling. I could buy a couple dozen minnows from a bait shop and for all I know there could be buying Asian carp. I could throw a cast net, potentially come up with a load of them and not know it. I rarely use live bait but thats beside the point, its my responsibility to learn to identify them. 
It could only take one guy to ruin a lakeDON'T BE THAT GUY
(I dont mean you specifically IGbullshark; Im speaking in general terms)

I found this link that might help.
http://asiancarp.us/


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## Fish Scalper

You would think they'd have already banned the sale of anything but Lake Erie shiners for use in Lake Erie if the minnow bucket is an issue. Lot's of Goldens getting trucked in during full moons.


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## Dandrews

Its already unlawful to transport and introduce any aquatic species (fish, invertebrate, plant) from one body of water to another.
http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/dow/regulations/fishing_general.aspx
AND its unlawful to use fish species as bait that are not already established in Ohio waters. 
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Default.aspx?tabid=18644
The trains on the track, we need to do what we can to minimize the damage.


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## KaGee

This warning has nothing to do with Lake Erie. This is specifically targeted at the Ohio River and it's tributaries. It's aimed at fisherman who cast-net for bait in that region but also covers fisherman buying bait from shops that obtain their supply from the river region. Since it would be impractical to ask the average fisherman to know where the bait vendor got his minnows from, the easiest thing is to ask that the leftovers get dumped on the ground away from the water.


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## Lowell H Turner

Agreed. Better to sacrifice the minnows than to even accidently introduce these invaders. Because they are so good at filter feeding, planton populations plummet along with the newly hatched fry of several different species of panfish. Basically, it`s like removing the grasses from an area; EVERYTHING suffers from the loss of the 1st level of the food chain.


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## Wally Diver

This is a great topic I hope all members take time to read this,


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## spfldbassguy

Its as simple as leaving them for the racoons and possums. No way in hell do we want those things in any of our waters. Yup heard they're a little boney but taste good. National Geographic had a show on awhile back where the people was holding a tourney for them. Everything except rod n reels n dynamite seemed to be acceptable. Funny stuff if you've seen the show. Anyways we need to do whatever we can to limit the further spreading of them, they can only bring more harm than good.

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## StumpHawg

Darwins theory will take place no matter what we can do, trust me wish we can change it but nature has the last say!!! Its a cold fact and I hope our native species will adapt. The cat is out of the bag no matter how much money we spend on it. Time will tell on damage done!!!


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## Lowell H Turner

They CAN be stopped or atleast controlled; where there is a will, most animal spieces (unfortunately ) do not stand much of a chance against a DETERMINED effort against them. The fates of the passenger pigeon, American bison, dodo bird, prairie dog, American wolf, grizzly bear, mountain lion and many types of whales are pretty much proof of that. AND being delicious likely doesn`t help...


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## StumpHawg

Lowell H Turner said:


> They CAN be stopped or atleast controlled; where there is a will, most animal spieces (unfortunately ) do not stand much of a chance against a DETERMINED effort against them. The fates of the passenger pigeon, American bison, dodo bird, prairie dog, American wolf, grizzly bear, mountain lion and many types of whales are pretty much proof of that. AND being delicious likely doesn`t help...


I hope for the best but the bison bird wolf bear lion whales ect is a direct of modern human tools and chemical ignorance not a invasive species that we can control by fines and protective statos. Look at history with our invasive natural species and once they are here its time for Darwins theory to kick in!!!! Im on your side 100% but it is what is when it comes to nature.


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## rayscott425

Lowell H Turner said:


> They CAN be stopped or atleast controlled; where there is a will, most animal spieces (unfortunately ) do not stand much of a chance against a DETERMINED effort against them. The fates of the passenger pigeon, American bison, dodo bird, prairie dog, American wolf, grizzly bear, mountain lion and many types of whales are pretty much proof of that. AND being delicious likely doesn`t help...


Pythons in Fl Gobies in Lake Erie Zebra muscles in a bunch of lakes Wild boar through out the south Mother Nature is going to take it's course and we can't stop it!!!


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## Lowell H Turner

Am not saying Mother Nature is completely at our mercy; however every individual species has vunerabilities. Mankind seems to have a knack for discovering those vunerabilities and has exploited/ hunted several of those species into or to the very edge of extinction. And NO being tasty to humans IS NOT an asset to their continued existance...


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## kingofamberley

I hate to be that guy, but "reliable sources" telling us to kill just doesn't sound right. If this is real, why wouldn't the ODNR just come out and say so officially?


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## KaGee

I hate to be that guy that tells you that in this case your skepticism is off base. The source is 100% verified and the reason for no public statement is 100% politics. Ya, I know, hard to believe certain people within state government would play politics with such an important issue.

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## kingofamberley

If they are relying on OGF to spread this to everyone who fishes the Ohio, it just won't work.


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## Intimidator

kingofamberley said:


> I hate to be that guy, but "reliable sources" telling us to kill just doesn't sound right. If this is real, why wouldn't the ODNR just come out and say so officially?


We received word from "Them" to spread the word....I'm not going to get involved in all the Political stuff or conspiracy crap, but if you research it, the ODNR is finding Asian Carp in places they shouldn't be! 
Just think of it as helping the other wildlife with a fresh meal of sushi!


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## kingofamberley

I mean, thats fine, I'm not implying conspiracy and I don't fish with minnows personally. But if they think that something this heavy is going to spread by word of mouth and be effective enough to keep the asian carp away, I think they are mistaken. Are there signs about it at boat ramps?


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## Intimidator

kingofamberley said:


> I mean, thats fine, I'm not implying conspiracy and I don't fish with minnows personally. But if they think that something this heavy is going to spread by word of mouth and be effective enough to keep the asian carp away, I think they are mistaken. Are there signs about it at boat ramps?


Not that we know of!
We cannot figure out why it is so "Hush Hush"....no wonder the dang carp are now this far up north!
They could have stopped this mess in the Southern waters but everyone sat on their hands and tried to "wish them away"!

"Rumor" has it that Asian Carp DNA has been found IN A VERY BAD PLACE!


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## Dizzy

Intimidator said:


> "Rumor" has it that Asian Carp DNA has been found IN A VERY BAD PLACE!


One of the Great Lakes? Damn I hope not.


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## Intimidator

Dizzy said:


> One of the Great Lakes? Damn I hope not.


I really don't know what to believe!
First they tell us to spread the word, then not to spread the word, then spread the word. 
Then Asian/Silver carp DNA has been found in the Great Lakes, then it hasn't. Then they've found fish in the Ohio river and Tributaries, but "don't say anything"! 
Then they've found fish in Erie, but "it's not Bad...yet"!

No One from any State or Government Agency really seems to be EXCITED....YET!


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## KaGee

kingofamberley said:


> If they are relying on OGF to spread this to everyone who fishes the Ohio, it just won't work.


Again, I hate to be the guy...
You are a fairly new member here so you probably do not know all the facts. There is no other website or forum with as many viewers as we have here. The sources that "leaked" this info are well aware of the influence of OGF in this region.

The worry is not the Ohio River, it's probably too late. The main concern is to attempt to limit the spread to other bodies of water inland. The bait warning is one simple way to help prevent the species from spreading.


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## Intimidator

KaGee said:


> Again, I hate to be the guy...
> You are a fairly new member here so you probably do not know all the facts. There is no other website or forum with as many viewers as we have here. The sources that "leaked" this info are well aware of the influence of OGF in this region.
> 
> The worry is not the Ohio River, it's probably too late. The main concern is to attempt to limit the spread to other bodies of water inland. The bait warning is one simple way to help prevent the species from spreading.


Agreed!
These fish would be a disaster to any of the inland lakes or reservoirs....and even worse if they populate Erie!


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## kingofamberley

Chill brother, I'm not going to argue on the internet. I'm only saying that if this is their plan they should stop messing around with politics and get the word out more. This is serious business.


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## PapawSmith

Dizzy said:


> One of the Great Lakes? Damn I hope not.


DNA in the body of water does not necessarily mean fish in the body of water. There are these bastards swimming around in several waters that are contiguous to the Great Lakes but currently kept out, barely in my opinion, by electric 'net wall' barriers in some Illinois waterways. That fact that the water itself flows somewhat freely allows for the DNA of all inhabitants to move thru the entire system. Hell, I can pee of a dock in the Vermillion river and soon afterwords my DNA will be in Lake Erie, but I'll still be on the dock. Now, if those electric barriers fail for whatever reason then there will be these fish in the Great Lakes. As much as I hate to sat it, it is just a matter of time in my opinion.


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## ARReflections

I think it is already too late. History can back me up. For example zebra mussels, gobies, snakeheads, etc... They should emphasize the tastiness of the fish to help control the population. Rename them something else besides carp. Even asian tilapia would work. Maybe tell people it has magical healing properties like rhino and elephant horns to make people who believe in that sort of stuff start poaching Asian "tilapia". Need a way to make them valuable to a certain market to encourage people to over hunt them. Otherwise it is unfortunetly a losing battle. Maybe sashimi....


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## Lowell H Turner

How ironic that in Europe and Asia "common' or German carp are 1 of the TOP5 "game fish". They actually have "Carp Masters" which has International status, far bigger than "Bass Masters' here. All because of a strip of overly developed lateral line tissue, the mythical and absurdly feared "mud vein"...Have often said it and will repeat it again: Hook a 5 pd bass. See how long he fights. Hook a 5 pd carp. Time it. Chances are that bass will be landed, weighted photographed and racing away to nurse it`s newly aquired jaw piercing before the "sewer bass' is even done with it`s 1st run...pd for pd, there`s just no comparision...


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## Intimidator

PapawSmith said:


> DNA in the body of water does not necessarily mean fish in the body of water. There are these bastards swimming around in several waters that are contiguous to the Great Lakes but currently kept out, barely in my opinion, by electric 'net wall' barriers in some Illinois waterways. That fact that the water itself flows somewhat freely allows for the DNA of all inhabitants to move thru the entire system. Hell, I can pee of a dock in the Vermillion river and soon afterwords my DNA will be in Lake Erie, but I'll still be on the dock. Now, if those electric barriers fail for whatever reason then there will be these fish in the Great Lakes. As much as I hate to sat it, it is just a matter of time in my opinion.


Papaw
They have already found fish in Lake Erie...but they suspect they were released by someone....they do not know if their is a breeding population ...YET!


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## Intimidator

ARReflections said:


> I think it is already too late. History can back me up. For example zebra mussels, gobies, snakeheads, etc... They should emphasize the tastiness of the fish to help control the population. Rename them something else besides carp. Even asian tilapia would work. Maybe tell people it has magical healing properties like rhino and elephant horns to make people who believe in that sort of stuff start poaching Asian "tilapia". Need a way to make them valuable to a certain market to encourage people to over hunt them. Otherwise it is unfortunetly a losing battle. Maybe sashimi....


Agreed!
Look at some of the videos and see how well they have been able to control them.
The Federal and State Governments and agencies had a chance to poison rivers to stop their progress but choose not to...that was really the only option that we have with these fish....they can destroy a whole ECOSYSTEM because they are such massive and efficient filter feeders....THEY EAT UNTIL THERE IS NO FOOD CHAIN LEFT!


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## ARReflections

Intimidator said:


> Agreed!
> Look at some of the videos and see how well they have been able to control them.
> The Federal and State Governments and agencies had a chance to poison rivers to stop their progress but choose not to...that was really the only option that we have with these fish....they can destroy a whole ECOSYSTEM because they are such massive and efficient filter feeders....THEY EAT UNTIL THERE IS NO FOOD CHAIN LEFT!


Not sure if I agree with your response. I find it highly unlikely that poison is selective to only the silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) aka asian carp. That would be like throwing the baby out with the bathwash. Poison can also destroy an whole ecosystem. Again, the fact is the species is unfortunately a part of the US ecosystem so more effort should be concerted about the tastiness of the fish. It has been compared to eating cod with a hint of scallop and crab flavor. It is a filter feeder so not sure about the report of eating other hatch fish...


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## Intimidator

ARReflections said:


> Not sure if I agree with your response. I find it highly unlikely that poison is selective to only the silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) aka asian carp. That would be like throwing the baby out with the bathwash. Poison can also destroy an whole ecosystem. Again, the fact is the species is unfortunately a part of the US ecosystem so more effort should be concerted about the tastiness of the fish. It has been compared to eating cod with a hint of scallop and crab flavor. It is a filter feeder so not sure about the report of eating other hatch fish...


If you really get into "the meat" of the reports, they had areas of the waterways that were DEAD. They were going to poison selective stretches multiple times to eliminate adults and fry, they proposed using poison that would dissipate before wiping out the whole river system.
Of course as with anything, this could go wrong...but just leaving these things to multiply and destroy whole ecosystems, would have been a chance worth taking...IMHO!
My fear is this is like the "Financial Cliff"...no one wants to make a decision because their "cushy" job is just too important! We are allowing these things to just take over and destroy our fisheries and we really have done nothing AT ALL!
We'll see how important this becomes when they find a breeding population in Erie...then what will they do!


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## Robertn3

does anybody have a picture of it as an adult and pointers on how to tell them apart from minnows and other baitfish because I am trapping baitfish and i am just starting off and i do not want these fish in our lakes around here. I rely on these lakes to fill in a spot on my dinner table for this year and years to come.:G


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## Just Fishin'

The Ohio DNR website has some helpful information on how to identify them. Unfortunately, I'm new to OGF and cannot post a link yet, but you can certainly Google Asian Carp to see pics or go to the Ohio DNR website and look for it.


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## Dizzy

Welcome to the boards Just Fishin' 

Here is the ODNR page. ODNR Asian Carp Info


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## Robertn3

Ok thanks for the site and one last question do you guys know any extra ways or tell tell signs of asian carp when they are babies and we are catching them in cages and nets


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## Natejohnson561

Go fish or go home!


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## Dandrews

Saw something about this on Kentucky Afield yesterday

http://weku.fm/post/asian-carp-kill-under-investigation

http://nashvillepublicradio.org/blog/2014/04/25/reports-massive-asian-carp-die-cumberland-river/


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## [email protected]

Eagle and Osprey populations across North America are thriving along the river paths of these invasive fish. I love watching the Eagles and Osprey in our area from the GMR to Miami Whitewater. But, its sad to think of the trade off of some of our native species of fish, for the resurgences of these birds of prey. It doesn't seem to be bothering *the Big Smallmouths down by the Dam* , lol. From the size of the Smallmouths I've been catching they must like eating Asian fish as much 
as "Lowell H Turner-....Surprisingly, they actually taste very good !"


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## Wormdrowner257

Saw an internet story that MN state gov't is considering law to change the name from Asian Carp to Invasive Carp because it might be offensive or hurtful to some. Gimmee a break! What,s next? We gonna rename Cracker Jack because that's offensive or hurtful??


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## [email protected]

Was on my way to catch some flatheads 6 July 2014, when I came across this dead Asian Carp at the North dam in Hamilton, Ohio. Turkey vultures were feeding on it. I have no idea how it got there 30 feet away from the rivers edge, but would guess someone accidently snagged it and dragged it here. I haven't heard of anyone catching one with bait. Is it possible? If so, what do they bite on? This one was 43 inches long and at least 12 wide, I didn't weigh it but it must have been pushing 50 lbs. I would guess.  
After reviewing several reference photos, I am sure this was an Asian Grass Carp species.


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## Dandrews

*Link*
http://ohiodnr.gov/invasive-species/aquatic-invasives/asian-carp


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## [email protected]

Thanks for the link, I submitted a report with the photos and the GPS coordinates.


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## bgrapala

http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=20061&d=1239124236

there is a bighead I caught a few years back out of a pond


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## [email protected]

Did it hit that lure, you know , trying to eat it? or did you accidently snag it?


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## bgrapala

the lure was in its mouth when I pulled it up on shore. It felt like a hit, which led me to set the hook and proceed to fight with the damn thing for 30 minutes.


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## [email protected]

Thanks for the info and quick replies, I've always been told they only eat vegetation , that's why I asked, wasn't doubting you caught it, just trying to understand how. Good picture and good fighter it sounds like. I have only caught "common carp" on artificial jigs and flies, not any of the Asian types, that why I asked.


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## Detainer

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## ML1187

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