Prussian Carp update

[goldscud]

A coworker said he got 4 carp at Blood Indian this weekend. He said they were full of all the same bugs that trout eat. So I guess the growth rates there should be falling dramatically over the next few years. Why do people need to move fish around and wreck water bodies???????

[hillbillyreefer]

Originally Posted by goldscud

A coworker said he got 4 carp at Blood Indian this weekend. He said they were full of all the same bugs that trout eat. So I guess the growth rates there should be falling dramatically over the next few years. Why do people need to move fish around and wreck water bodies???????

Crappy. Planning a trip there after combining.

How was the trout fishing?

[BeeGuy]

We better get used to it.

The future of central and southern Alberta fisheries is one filled with Prussian carp.

Sad but true.

They are already established in the lower red deer, bow and oldman and tribs as well as the irrigation infrastructure. From these waterways alone they can disperse far and wide.

At least As far west as the porcupine hills too.

[Sundancefisher]

This is pure and simple eco terrorism. There should be harsh jail terms and fines for these idiots.

Please...if you know of anyone doing this...contact your local Fish and Wildlife office and report them. These people need to be stopped.

[BeeGuy]

Ecoterrorism?

I would be hesitant to apply that term.

[Flapjack]

If this is who i think it is, then the person who caught them this weekend was my dad. Here is a picture of one of the four fish from Blood Indian.



Judging by the how fat they were it seems that these fish are thriving. To think, when we fished there earlier in the year we didnt catch any all of May or June, and now, only a few months later we caught four, plus another person had one earlier in the morning as well. Trout fishing was so-so, caught more of these goldfish things..

Scariest part is how tough these suckers are, survived out of water for over three hours meanwhile as a kid i tried to keep a little trout alive in a bucket which died in about an hour or so..

[jacenbeers]

There needs to be more of a concerted effort from SRD against these fish. I know it will be impossible to eliminate them completely but some measures would be better than none.

[Flapjack]

Originally Posted by jacenbeers

There needs to be more of a concerted effort from SRD against these fish. I know it will be impossible to eliminate them completely but some measures would be better than none.

agreed, been hearing too many stories of people catching twenty or so at a time in the Bow!

[chriscosta]

How far north can they be found I'm willing to do my part and I'm sure I could get some people to join me lol

[BeeGuy]

It is far too late to do anything imo

[BeeGuy]

Call RAP and collect as much info as possible if you see people removing these fish alive and/or transporting them alive.

[The cooter]

I don't know a lot about these spices of fish? I am finding that more and more people are finding them. Time for some research on this subject for this guy. Just wondering are these fish eatable ?

Seems like this issue is on the rise rapidly. Time to get educated.......

[jacenbeers]

Every time I have talked to biologists or anybody that can do anything about it they seem to not care too much

[Lund rebel]

Well next thing I see them doing is introduction a fish to eat these fish and causing a greater problem.

It's terrible to see, all I can think about it the river feeding into the Great Lakes with there big head carp and see how out of had it has gotten.

Not familiar with the area but how much did the floods impact the spreading of these fish ?

[schmedlap]

If so, then we need to encourage and publicize a "commercial fishery" for them (?). We won't ever get rid of them at this point. But, maybe, the authorities need to encourage (as opposed to just "allow") keeping and killing all that are caught, on a wide open basis, and giving encouragement and intel to do so. It might suddenly render the idiots that fill buckets with illegal catches of other species into an advantage (?). Never underestimate the ability of some to turn an apparent disaster into an economic (or just plain culinary?) opportunity.
I await your brilliant filleting techniques and recipes (?).

[Battery]

If youre going to illegally introduce a fish into a body of water, at least make it Bass and not these nasty looking things.

[Moefoe]

Can they be used for big Pike through the ice...they look juicy enough??

[WayneChristie]

cant use them for bait.

[huntsfurfish]

Originally Posted by BeeGuy

It is far too late to do anything imo

Agree, damage is done.

[Moefoe]

Originally Posted by WayneChristie

cant use them for bait.

You'd think they could make an exception for these fat little buggers...

[J D]

Want to see there numbers kept low figure out how to cook these carp and advertise in sports stores and forums about how good they taste.

Odds are they are not going away but you can try and keep the numbers low

[Billy2017]

How are they to eat?

[Flapjack]

We ate ours, delicious fish very tender meat, but still firm, not mushy. Only problem is they are a bit on the bony side. Pan fried!

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by BeeGuy

Ecoterrorism?

I would be hesitant to apply that term.

Why not? They have deliberately destroyed a fishery. It will harm habitat and may extirpate native species.

May not be violence to people but they are harming us all through the destruction of our fisheries.

[Moefoe]

Well I went up to Dewitts today and caught a couple of them...cool looking fish reminds me a lot of the fish you find in the UK, Roach, Bream etc! These guys are tough no way we're getting rid of them...pretty sure there in Chestermere, dark back, silver sides, fat, 20 or so in a school was just how my buddies grandmother described them!

[BeeGuy]

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

Why not? They have deliberately destroyed a fishery. It will harm habitat and may extirpate native species.

May not be violence to people but they are harming us all through the destruction of our fisheries.

Who is they?

[Kurt505]

Originally Posted by BeeGuy

Who is they?

[BeeGuy]

If a farmers pond that has had Prussian carp in it for 20 years spills it's banks into a tributary of the SSR that connects to the irrigation canal/reservoir system...

Is the farmer an ecoterrorist?

[trainerdave]

Hi Beeguy. I would think the concern here is the deliberate placement of these specimens in waterbodies. A dugout caving in is an ecological disaster, which it could be, depending on the contents and volume; whereas terrorism is a deliberate act. As they are unable to fly, several of the new locations are in reservoirs which means they were carried up and over. These carp are now in the foothills of AB throughout the tributaries of the Little Red Deer. They will go upstream on every tributary below Glennifer Lake. Up the Medicine river west of Gull lake.Where does the diversion for Gull come from? From the Blindman, which certainly has these carp. They are likely to go up all creeks up to places like Pine lake and Sylvan lake. I have seen them in a tiny outflow below a reservoir near olds. They are very capable of occupying and eating their way through a great deal of biomass. Personally I am concerned for not only fishes which may have themselves have been introduced, but also native birds reptiles and amphibians.They are generally less adaptable than these carp. These fish are very tall and slender-so piscivores would have some difficulties swallowing them-like swallowing a frisbee. The scales are very large and course, which could lead to difficulty dislodging the fish once the bird has it in the throat. Troller..

[Winch101]

More importantly what should the limit be and when's the first tournament .
I see more of a festival....Carporama ....they look very Mekong Deltaish ,
Tilapiaish.....when the word gets out there , plenty of anglers to go
Around .....50 a day seems reasonable . Give Travers and PCR a break