# Bass vs carp spawn



## Bassthumb (Aug 22, 2008)

Do you guys catch bedding bass when the carp are all crazy and rolling up in the shallows? Seems to me they spawn at the same time and I've never done well tossing into a bunch of shallow rolling carp. Wish they would wait a couple weeks and not mess it up.


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

I don't fish for bass during the spawn, but do see carp roiling the water at that time, so I believe they do their thing around the same time.


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## lrobison24 (Nov 26, 2013)

In the pond I fish, most years I can do pretty well on spawning bass and the pond is loaded with carp I can see in the shallows and jumping around. I cant remember catching any bass close to the carp. If I see a carp in an area I want to fish I move on to another spot, the bass have to be somewhere lol I never fish where I see carp.


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

I catch lots of bass in areas that carp have stirred up. If you see an area that is muddy in clean water it probably has a bass lurking nearby waiting for an easy meal.


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## Nightcrawler666 (Apr 17, 2014)

Last spring was the first time experiencing this. Caught a few tanks in <2 fow, one right after the other right in the middle of a ton of carp spawning. They were relating to the patches of weeds, but I think once the carp started to stir up all the smaller organisms in the mud it put the bass into a feeding frenzy. Probably pulled 6 or 7 nice ones out of a 20-30ft patch of weeds, in about 20 minutes.


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

A few years ago I hit a flat off a pocket that contained a bunch of sunning carp. I fished thru them with a spinnerbait and to my surprise caught 8-10 nice largemouth in about as many casts. A few times the spinnerbait hit and rolled over the carp like a log and then the bas smashed it.
I think the carp stirred up the bottom and the bass were feeding off it.


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## young-gun21 (Mar 14, 2006)

I wonder what it takes to be considered an invasive species? Mosquito is littered with them. Last year was the first time I stayed around those piles of carp and caught bass.


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

Carp are an invasive species if that's what you mean.


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## fisher person (Jul 2, 2004)

laynhardwood said:


> Carp are an invasive species if that's what you mean.


I fish 3 bays/coves in NW ohio where the carp and bass mingle together and have done quite well for bass. I don't find it often but in these 3 ponds they hang together.All 3 spots are shallow, free of wind, & with wood.


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

Invasive species means that the common Carp are not native to the United States. The common carp poses little threat to native species unlike the Asian silver carp.


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## Smallmouth Crazy (Apr 4, 2006)

I have the same luck if the carp are tearing up a bank you night as well move because the bass are usually not around.


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

Carp when spawning, will chase off bass and other fish simply by their roiling the waters and racket. But that being said, once got a seven pound bass off of a bank where carp were spawning.


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## freshwaterexperience (May 23, 2014)

I have to second hardwood when I fish rivers and see Carp I almost always throw around them and pull bass with crawfish cranks almost money in the bank as far as how that relates to spawn no idea I just started serious bass fishing this year so am still learning it's way different than ultra lights for panfish and running into bass lol


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

laynhardwood said:


> Carp are an invasive species if that's what you mean.


I don't see common carp on any of our "Invasive" species lists. I think they are deemed "Exotic" not "invasive". Our native fish have been co-existing with Common Carp for over 100 years. You aren't supposed to return the Invasive species back to the water from what I understand.

Heck, Common Carp are a "Fish Ohio" species! Stop the hate!  Catch a 26"er and you get a nice little pin from the state.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

MassillonBuckeye said:


> I don't see common carp on any of our "Invasive" species lists. I think they are deemed "Exotic" not "invasive". Our native fish have been co-existing with Common Carp for over 100 years. You aren't supposed to return the Invasive species back to the water from what I understand.
> 
> Heck, Common Carp are a "Fish Ohio" species! Stop the hate!  Catch a 26"er and you get a nice little pin from the state.


Invasive means not native to the waterway or region. Invasive has different meanings to people. In the trout streams of the west, smallmouth bass, walleye, and other species we consider game fish are invasive species. 

There are a couple of state agencies out west trying to eradicate walleye and smallmouth bass from trout streams.


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

Non Native would be a better term. Like rainbow and brown trout. Stocked here since the early 1900's in NC. Our only native trout is the brook trout.


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

http://dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/aquaticanimals/commoncarp/index.html Ohio may list the common carp as " exotic" but they are destructive. The Minnesota DNR lists them as a damaging invasive species and I can understand why.


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

Yeah, it's a tough nut to crack. Not sure if we stock them intentionally they are invaders, but either way, I don't hold to putting non native species in our waters here. Even the spotted bass, which has ruined the smallmouth fishing in our Lake Chatuge, and is found now in many waters in NC. Lake Norman is now a spotted bass /white perch fishery for the most part, largemouth are restricted to the shallow southern end of the lake. They have been in High Rock for years, but the largemouth are still the dominant species there, the spots for some reason being restricted to Potts Creek on the north end.
The spotted bass in Norman have genetics from two spotted bass subspecies, the smaller Kentucky spot and the Alabama spotted bass. So there's no doubt they were "bucket " stocks.


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

It is a shame that Lake Norman turned into a spotted bass and white perch fishery.


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

Yeah, although four pound spots do come out of there from time to time. Record is 6.5.


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

Those are some pretty darn big spots.


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

This guy's making a killing there now, guiding for bass and white perch. Would you call white perch invasive? They are native to NC, but only the coastal rivers, but now the darn things are everywhere!
http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0LE...th-bass//RK=0/RS=XG3W1DesVxywS_6R3Chi49PV8.M-


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

Ever wonder if they are biting, and you just feel a tap and they let go??
http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0LEV79WtFRXKEgAb9snnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTEyYzI5MG1xBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjIwNDRfMQRzZWMDc3I-/RV=2/RE=1465197782/RO=10/RU=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shTA13I_vCo/RK=0/RS=ZL_yu_HQMMMiEPRlT9J4nvWUgZM-

Here's the entire video..


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

NCbassattack said:


> This guy's making a killing there now, guiding for bass and white perch. Would you call white perch invasive? They are native to NC, but only the coastal rivers, but now the darn things are everywhere!
> http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0LE...th-bass//RK=0/RS=XG3W1DesVxywS_6R3Chi49PV8.M-


White perch are invasive in Ohio waters


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

Bassbme said:


> Invasive means not native to the waterway or region. Invasive has different meanings to people. In the trout streams of the west, smallmouth bass, walleye, and other species we consider game fish are invasive species.
> 
> There are a couple of state agencies out west trying to eradicate walleye and smallmouth bass from trout streams.


in·va·sive
inˈvāsiv/
_adjective_

(especially of plants or a disease) tending to spread prolifically and undesirably or harmfully.
Well we can't say they were undesirable because we stocked them intentionally. Harmful? Hence my comment regarding them co-existing with our native species for over 100 years now. I don't like the "invasive" designation for carp because it might encourage someone to kill one unnecessarily or inhumanely as you'd want to with a sea lamprey, asian carp, zebra mussels etc. Killing them as humanely as possible I should say  Certain things should not be put back in the water if caught was my understanding. But I can't seem to find anything on that specifically.

Happens all the time with our native Bowfin. People confuse them with snakeheads and leave them on the bank or worse.

Flathead catfish are as "invasive" as common carp in my estimation.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

MassillonBuckeye said:


> in·va·sive
> inˈvāsiv/
> _adjective_
> 
> ...


*in·va·sive*
(ĭn-vā′sĭv)_adj._

*3. * Tending to spread widely in a habitat or ecosystem. _* Used especially of nonnative species:
*_
*invasive species : 
*
An invasive species is a plant, fungus, or animal species that is not native to a specific location (an introduced species), and which has a tendency to spread to a degree believed to cause damage to the environment, human economy or human health.*
*
Are common carp harmful? Depends on who you ask. Do I think they are? Yes. Especially in the numbers in which they are present. While I have no actual proof, I think it's safe to say that spawning carp destroy the spawning beds of other native fish that spawn at the same water temperatures. Of which there are many. 

Just because man stocks something doesn't mean it isn't harmful. And just because they've been around a long time doesn't mean they aren't harmful. A lot of people find Zebra Mussels to be beneficial because they clear the water, but I'd certainly consider them invasive. The same goes for the grass carp. We have members on here that I am sure shed a tear when they read someone say they wish they'd never been stocked in certain bodies of water.

As I said, the word invasive means different things to different people. *
*
_*

*_


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## Bassthumb (Aug 22, 2008)

Carp just never seem to get thinned out. People largely dont harvest them and once they are big enough they dont have many natural predators. They certainly seem to be thriving in most of the waters I fish. As to the zebra mussel / Goby issue, I would concur that the net effect has been positive as far as I am concerned. Cleaned the water nicely for a better smallie habitat and the gobys have become nice forage for them. The issue is what happens 50 years from now? Just because up to this point it hasnt had a negative effect doesnt mean it wont. Those mussels filter the water of the tiny things tiny fish feed on, that larger fish feed on, so on and so forth. Although the former hysteria over mussels and gobys have subsided, we wont know the net effect for a long time. They really could still destroy the resource even though its been positive in the short run. Often times sick people get a little better right before they die, could be analogous to what may happen to our lake.


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## Ungashick (Jun 9, 2016)

Hey y'all new to the site! What lake y'all been seeing the most carp on?


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## EStrong (Jul 23, 2014)

Common Carp are not a native species to North America and were introduced sometime in the early to mid 1800s by Europeans Immigrants who missed their pretty little fishies from back home. Carp in Europe are looked upon much differently than here in the US both back then and today.

Good stuff here from the USGS. Give this a thorough reading. http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?speciesID=4

Partial Quote: "Impact of Introduction: The common carp is regarded as a pest fish because of its widespread abundance and because of its tendency to destroy vegetation and increase water turbidity by dislodging plants and rooting around in the substrate, causing a deterioration of habitat for species requiring vegetation and clean water."


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

Bassbme said:


> *in·va·sive*
> (ĭn-vā′sĭv)_adj._
> 
> *3. * Tending to spread widely in a habitat or ecosystem. _* Used especially of nonnative species:
> ...


The definitions look the same to me. The take home is they've coexisted for well over 100 years with our native species which seem to be doing fine.

A lot of people don't understand zebra mussels, grass carp, common carp, bowfin etc. A lot of people can't see past the tip of their own nose. I'm here for them.


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

As for bowfin, it's a native species that unfortunately closely resembles the nasty invasive snakehead. There's hope though. In a tournament last year on lake Shearon Harris in Raleigh a snakehead was found in a live well dead with a six pound bass..


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

Sturgeon have benefited as much as anything else from the zebra muscle infestation. Sturgeon eat zebra muscles and have been making a steady comeback.


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

I didn't even know we have sturgeon here. The Atlantic sturgeon is found along our coast (never caught one), and I found an article from last year where the NCWLRC released 3500 ten inch lake sturgeon into the French Broad River in the mountains near Asheville. They are a native species here, but have been absent from our waters for over 70 years. Hopefully, they will do well.


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

Every year we see a couple pics of people who catch them while fishing Erie. They are an awesome looking prehistoric fish.


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