Carp

[steelneal]

Dear Larry the King,
What is the biggest carp you ever seen? I saw one last year year in the early spring that was so huge it made my knees shake. i won't give you an estimate on size because you will think me a fool or addle-pated.
p.s. i've shot them in the 40's with my bow and this Brobdingnagian was considerably larger.
Sincerely,
Your Faithful subject, Steel

[dahlberg]

hey steel
I too used to spear, arrow and even noodle carp as a kid. I got in to trouble a bunch of times because on the way to "vacation bible school" I had to cross a small dam from which spawning carp were visible.
Those big slobs wallowing in the mucky shallows was more than I could take and an irresistible force would draw me into the water after them; sunday go to meeting clothes and all. I like to think of it as a baptism ritual of sorts.

I found if I positioned at a place where the bank dropped off square to about 3 feet deep, made sloshing noises with my hands and just sat still the pack would seem to be attracted. If I grabbed at them they'd bolt, but if I gently maneuvered a hand on each side, sort of shuffling slowly with them and stayed in a crouch, I could sometimes get my thumbs locked into the underside of their gills. Then it was a matter of hanging on and steering them toward land instead of open water. I dragged some of the larger ones into the local grocery store scale and they would weigh between 40 and 45 lbs.
When I got old enough to drive I had my dad's car topper grumman sport boat on a super fertile (cow poop, nitrogen, etc run off) lake near where I grew up where I saw carp that were as big as small barnyard animals. Like the ones you are describing they dwarfed my 40 pounders. They were at least two feet longer, and almost impossible to get close to on purpose. I was fishing for largemouth and anything I tossed at them sent them packing. In summer it was pea soup but in spring it was quite clear and I got a very good look.
I returned with fly gear and after down sizing and down sizing got one to hit an emerger fished on 2 pound test tippet. They were cruising along patches of coontail with a few gobs of filamentous here and there on the surface.
The thing took off like a poked pig! You can imagine how long that lasted.
I'd say the largest of those had to weigh sixty pounds, but never caught one so I can't say for sure!
I'd forgotten all about carping until your post jogged my memory!

I do remember vividly that ones I caught smelled pretty tough, and recall my mom made me bury my best bible school clothes in the back yard!
best,
L

[Bionic]

World record carp is 84lbs or so. I would be willing to bet that some where there is a common
carp that is close to 100lbs somewhere swimming around. The biggest I ever caught was
44lb and that was on earthworms fishing for bullheads. In spring time on the Niagara River
we use to see them in clear water cruising around and some were scary big.

[sean.kerley]

I've seen a couple of Carp in Iraq that were almost certainly 80 lbs or better. The problem is, if you see them, they see you. They're the spookiest fish I've ever seen, and they don't get big by being stupid! We caught a few over there that were about 15-20 lbs, and from the fight they gave, I don't think I had the gear or experience for anything over 30. We used to catch them in the middle of the day, mid-August in Baghdad, with not a cloud in the sky, and air temps well over 100! Didn't really understand that, but that was always the best time. Then the locals and the immigrant workers would come and take them as we caught them for food. (puke) We were fishing on Z-lake, a man made lake that Saddam had dug, fed by canals from the Euphrates...pretty cool to catch fish in the cradle of civilization, especially fish that were meant for the personal pleasure of such a jerk as Saddam.

[sean.kerley]

Thinking of Carp reminds me...I did some reading on how the Brittish fish for Carp, and they have some really interesting techniques (helicopter rigs, sinkers with a bait-bomb in them among other things). I really wanted to try some of them, but I could only find these items on Brittish websites and the shipping was through the roof! Anyone know where you can get these things in the States?

[dahlberg]

Hi chris,
Try googling or contacting Mick Thill.
best,
L

[steelneal]

Dear Larry the King,
or anyone else who may know....whats the length to weight ratio for a carp? as Larry the King attested the fish i saw looked to close to 6 feet and thats no fish tale.using a weight caclulator for walleyes Length cubed divided by 2700 a fish 72 inches long would weigh 138 pounds. 106 using a muskie pike calculator...which seems reasonable with what i saw. i caught an Amur that weighed 42 on a bathroom scale but it was about 38-39 inches.

[Outdoors4life]

Wacker Baits has a lot of odd things to most Americans.

http://www.wackerbaits.com/

[AndyIA]

Probably the best way to estimate fish size is by using a standard weight equation developed by fisheries scientists. Its a little math intensive but the positive side is that equations exist for most north american fish species. Basically fish length vs weight is a log relationship(longer fish are heavier per inch than smaller fish.) Knowing that biologists can formulate an equation by fitting a regression line based on lenght-weight data from populations across each specie's range.

Log(weight standard)=intercept+slope*log(length)

in the case of common carp:
Log(Ws)=-3.194+2.92*Log(length)

So for a 20 inch carp:
Log(Ws)=-3.194+2.92*Log(20)
=.605
Ws=10^.605
=4.027 lbs

For a 72 inch carp:
Log(Ws)=-3.194+2.92*Log(72)
=2.229
Ws=10^2.229
= 169.59 lbs


one caveat is that these standard weigh equations are calculated to the 70th percentile so they represent a fish in good to great condition. you can calculate a more realistic weigh for a fish of average relative weight by:

.8=weight/Ws
so
weight= .8*169.59
=135.67lbs


happy fishing!

[steelneal]

Andy , that is math intensive but totally sweet. the fish i saw was an absolute monster and i truely believe it was a 100 lb plus fish but thought no one would believe me. perhaps some day some one will bag one of those behemoths and all of us crusaders can test our hypotheses.....until then,
Fish Hard, Die Free
Steel!

[majorleaguecarp]

I seriously doubt that what you saw was a 100lb carp (cyprinus carpio), it was more than likely a white amur, commonly referred to as a "grass carp". For the record they aren't the same species or even closely related. In more then ten years of trying there hasn't been a single 50lb+ common carp verified by the Carp Anglers Group across the whole of the United States. That doesnt mean there isn't any out there as large as 100lb, but it does suggest it is highly unlikely. If you have photographic evidence of any 50lb+ fish please post them up and share the location. For anyone wishing to learn more about catch and release carp angling please enjoy the latest issue of our online magazine dedicated to this amazing fish:

http://www.uscarppromagazine.com/Welcome.html

[steelneal]

i don't expect anyone to believe me, but all i can say is i know the difference between Amur and carp. my boy and me caught 17 amur one week about 2 years ago and i've shot Amur and carp many times before.i was a Creel Clerk for the Ohio Division of Wildlife for4 years and Fish Identification was my main task. it weren't no Amur. You just got to trust me on that. As for the size... it was truely a monster but i don't expect anyone to believe me if they didn't see it but it was a Carp
All hail Larry the King,
Steel

[lilmoosecountry]

I believe In Catch & Release. I love catching big fish regardless what it is. Yes i fish for carp for the fight. But after i catch them they become cutbait. That's the only way a carp is getting put back in the water by me.

[majorleaguecarp]

Steelneal

Where did you see this fish? I'm in NE Ohio as well, I'd love to know...even the netsmen up on Erie havent seen a carp that big. There are many folk myths about carp, it varies from State to State but the basic story usually involves the friend of a friend, or the friend of a son in law who is a scuba diver for the police who was diving to recover a body from a lake when he sees what he thinks is a sunken log...the log moves and the diver is astonished to realize it is in fact a humungous carp...the biggest carp you've ever seen...I've heard this story at five different NE Ohio lakes now....

[steelneal]

South end of turkeyfoot (portage lakes) in the early spring. cold still, but bright and sunny. was fishing for crappie and bluegill all the way down and to the right where the water comes out from Nimisila, it was about 10 degrees warmer than the main lake.
All hail the Larry!

[steelneal]

MLC,
i used to work for the ODOW and heard all those same stories. every body of water i ever fished from here to S.Carolina supposedly has a catfish the size of VW beetle swimming around. anyway, as you may know they don't get too much more fertile than the Portage Lakes with all the leaky septics and the lawn services excessive fertilizer and golf course run-off.
All hail Larry the King!

ps. i was checking out carp on You Tube and they were all sissy compared to this whopper.but it was scaled unlike some of thos euro fatties i see on theTube
fish hard, die free

[majorleaguecarp]

[quote="steelneal"]MLC,
i used to work for the ODOW and heard all those same stories. every body of water i ever fished from here to S.Carolina supposedly has a catfish the size of VW beetle swimming around. anyway, as you may know they don't get too much more fertile than the Portage Lakes with all the leaky septics and the lawn services excessive fertilizer and golf course run-off.
All hail Larry the King!

ps. i was checking out carp on You Tube and they were all sissy compared to this whopper.but it was scaled unlike some of thos euro fatties i see on theTube
fish hard, die free[/quote]

Those are Mirror Carp, same species, different scale variant, about one in a thousand have that genetic mutation.We know there is some huge fish in Turkeyfoot, a couple of 40's came out in a Bass tournament in the 80's but bank fishing/access is extremely limited and the weed makes it almost impossible for carp anglers past mid spring.

[thanks larry]

u all are stupid carp dont hurt anything how would u like it if someone caught your kid and cut it up to use for bait u guys have no clue

[young_gun]

actually they are right, acording the the great state of Michigan Carp are and invasive species. They were brought here in the giant tanks of freighters and dumped when the tanks were drained into our lakes. They destroy the spawning gorungs for native fish and are a pest in preserved wetlands by up rooting various plant spiecies.So unless you know the facts please don't bother posting angry and invalid post on a forum thanks guy.

$young_gun$

[steelneal]

Dear Larry the King,
trying to share a photo of a large carp i arrowed last week.

Scope it out
it was 41" in length, girth was 28" after losing eggs and being buried for 2 1/2 days .didn't realize its potential weight until later
http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv86 ... C00511.jpg

[MJEdens]

Back in the 70's my cousin, and I were on Bullsholes lake in north westeran Arkansas. I was spear fishing along one of the deep limestone blufs, accrost the lake from Lead Hill boat ramp. I was in about 120 feet of water, on a free dive with snorkel, as I had all ready spent my air tank. I had dove down to 30 foot along this bluff, where there was some trees that was left in the lake when built back in the 50's. I had started my asent . I always watched the bottom as I come up; just in case I saw one nice fish I would take a parting shot. I had come up about 10 feet or so when I saw this large shadow of a fish just below me. I decided to take a chance and went back down. when I got close it was the bigest yellow carp I had ever seen. I shot it high in the shoulders, a good shot but not a killing shot. This fish was about 4.5 to 5 foot long It was almost as long as I was. Instancely it towed me down to 95 feet. I know how deep it was because thats what my depth gage said. Trying despeterly to get my hands on him throu the gills, and needing air real bad by then, he pulled off the spear takeing a chunk of meat out his shoulders the size of my fist. I pushed off the side of the bluff, and went to the surface as fast as I could. when I reached the surface I was seeing little stars. I shot out of the water all the way up to my knees. My cousin had been timeing me and said that he was worried, because I had been down for 2 minutes. I know first hand that carp do get to be monsters I have see one. This is the Truth, and I can take a lie detector test to prove it.... No not a grass carp as there wern't any in the lake... MJEdens

[steelneal]

Dear Larry The King,
And all others
i haven't seen any monsters yet this year though i saw one that was a bit bigger than the one i arrowed.
i figure those monsters people are talking about are rare and unusual but perhaps, like people an occasional true giant appears like Andre the Giant of wrestling fame.i been checking some bow fishing sites and those dudes definitely seem to get bigger fish than the rod and reelers.Those big head and amur carp get huge . wouldn't mind tangling with one of them!
Later! Steel
MJEdens_ were you using a spear gun like they use for saltwater?
if so, do you have any recommendations as to type, size, spear etc...? i was looking at them on ebay over the winter. there are so many types it was a little over whelming
Majorleague -they weedsare an issue but i know a few people who would probably let you fish from they're property. shoot me an e-mail

[MJEdens]

Hello Steelneal, I was useing a champion Abrety, made by U.S. Divers. But it's a little noisey when you shoot and causes the fish to jump, and sometimes on long shots causes to miss or hit far back in the body. I like to shoot them throu the gills or the eyes. It kills them almost instancly. I now use a T. D. Preece . It is a wood body and has three bands, 3/8 s.s. shaft. It shoots much more quiet than the alum. ones. It is 48" long. you need the longer for more acreat and they have the power to git the big ones. You can send me a e-mail at MJEdens@Yahoo.com