Each month, we add an article in the Moderator's Corner of the www.pondboss.com website. Take a look at Catmandoo's article and learn more about using grass carp. Also take a look at the other articles in that section. If you haven't subscribed to the magazine, we invite each of you to do so. In the meantime, enjoy Catmandoo's experience and knowledge. We appreciate having him as a moderator.


http://www.pondboss.com/news/moderators-corner/grass-carp----yes-no-maybe

Very nice article.

We have plenty of issues with grass carps here in California. As the article stated, once they reach around 20 to 24 inches, they become extremely lazy. Those who don't remove the grown one to replace with younger ones, there will be massive issues to come later. Use them with extreme caution. As the list indicated, mechanical removal must be the first method, in conjunction to source control. The source is the introduction of nutrients into the pond. If the pond is used to intercept nutrients run-offs, then you have no choice but to deploy various method to mechanically extract the weeds and algae. Always remember that there are compounding effects when applying blockers/capping agents and herbicides.

My family and I use our hunting bows to convert them to carp hunting bows. Every season, we assist the lake and pond management with no limit killing. Our pets and family love the limited meals provided by the carp's, but our plants love the additional nutrients from the ground up carcasses. We can't harvest enough carps to make seasoned patties quick enough for our hungry pack. 100lbs of carp, if we're lucky, yield about 36lbs of edible meat. Yes, carp meat is awesome with proper seasoning and cooking methods.

Well done article Cat !!!

Leo, unless it is a top secret recipe, we would love to have you share the details of the carp meat recipe. Do you make fish nuggets, or patties or what out of the carp? How do you get the flaky meat to hold together?

My brother loves bow hunting carp this time of year but maybe the 30 pound carp from our rivers are not the kind anyone would want to eat (the rivers aren't the most clean where they live...)

Thanks to all for the kind words.

Leo, I too think that some of your long-time secret family recipes about preparing carp for delicious meals would be highly welcomed and greatly appreciated.

"Rubber Lips" fishing contests are held in many areas of the country to rid lakes and other impoundments of grass carp and common carp. The contests usually use the captured carp for pet food -- or worse, fertilizer, or just plain landfill. It seems like such of a waste of good fish.

We also obviously have the horrendous problem of Asian and Bighead carp in Mid-West US rivers and impounments.


Very near to me we have a beautiful mountain lake I love to fish. I had actually hoped to get their this afternoon for some trout and crappie fishing, but other priorities got in my way. I'm hoping I can get out there near sunup tomorrow.


Warden Lake, WV

Unfortunately by early-to-mid summer this lake becomes nearly non-navigable and non-fishable due to weeds. A number of years ago, our state Department of Natural Resources tried introducing many hundreds grass carp into the lake. It worked for a while. Then the grass carp got fat and lazy.

The grass carp grew and grew. About 10-12 years ago a fisherman by the name of William R. Taucher caught a 58 inch grass carp weighing 71.69 pounds, as verified by one of my friends from the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources who got to measure the fish.

As many of my Pond Boss friends know, I've made a lot of delicious treats out of some strange and unusual things. Most have been based on generations-old ethnic recipes.

So Leo, if you can, get us some old family recipes. I can't commit or speak for Bob Lusk as editor of Pond Boss Magazine, but he has published a number of my recipes in Pond Boss magazine that many have enjoyed. Some have even raised a fair amount of money for fishery student's scholarship funds.

If anybody else has good grass carp or common carp recipes, please send some info to Pond Boss headquarters to see if they can be usable. I'm almost always available to try new recipes.

Good eating,
Catmandoo Ken

When I was a kid, salmon patties at granddad and grandma's never ever included salmon. It was carp and/or sucker, and it came out of a mason jar, not a store bought can. Delicious.

Great article Cat!

One man's trash fish is another man's treasure fish! I was raised that Sheepshead (Fresh water drum), carp and suckers were trash fish. My bride showed me how wrong that was when it comes to the sheepshead. Absolutely fantastic steamed with some Asian spice. I also have a recipe for pickling suckers that puts pickled herring to shame (no bones in a sucker when it's pickled correctly!). I'm looking forward to seeing some good common carp recipes. I know a nice clean river where I can catch some nice 10 pound+ ones.

I can't remember if my recipe for pickled fish has been in Pond Boss magazine or not. But yes, pickled fish are delicious and easy to prepare. The hardest part these days is finding sweet white wine. White vermouth works just as well -- if you can find it. If you can't find any of those, a cheap white wine with sugar added will also work.

I've pickled everything from saltwater finger mullet to muskellunge. It just takes some fish pieces/slices, onion slices, white wine, white vinegar, sugar, and some pickling spices.

The bones in bony fish like red horse suckers, small "snake northern pike" and even small bluegill dissolve a few weeks after being processed into jars.

I just never have gotten a chance to try it with grass carp. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be delicious.

Ken

Yep! My pickled fish recipe started out as a pickled NP recipe. We called those little 18 inchers hammer handles. My sucker of choice is also golden red horse! Small world. For sweet white wine I just hit the German wine section. You can buy a decent wine for pickling for $6+. I've never tried BG pickled but I bet it would be excellent. Pretty much any firm fleshed fish would work I think.

nice article. thanks

Great article.

The one and only time I have seen two of the stocked grass carp in my old pond the water had cleared up nicely. I was throwing out some feed when I saw what looked like two RC submarines pass by. Had not imagined they would grow that big. I never saw them go after any pellets, but they sure cruised by to see what the commotion was from the other fish feeding.