Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Fly Fishing & Other Fish Species Israeli Carp

Well now I'm wondering.....how many Texans have been either refused permission to stock GC, or have had their requested number "amended" by the state? And if so, did the state send a representative to evaluate the pondowner's request before approving, amending, or denying the permit?

If it's not about the money, which I hope is the case, then I would expect to find instances whereby the evaluation process was interactive with the pondowner, rather than a rubber stamp approval.

I hope it's not a case of: "Did you remember to sign your check before sealing the envelope?"

In VA it is not a rubber stamp thing. Not sure about Texas or other states.

So a permit is required in VA also?

Yup, it sure does.

In my experience Grass Carp permits are not rubber-stamped in Texas. At least in North East Texas, I don't know about other parts of state. It's a big state so possibly some Texas Parks and Wildlife offices are not as strict....I dunno.

On my previous property I shared an 8 acre lake with a few other owners I personally applied for a grass carp permit and we were denied. The local Texas Parks and Wildlife office we dealt with contacted me, asked questions, and wanted pictures of the dam/spillway. When it was shown we did not have a carp barrier they denied our application and returned all or most of the application money. I could not convince the other owners to spend the money for a carp barrier, so we never added grass carp.

Thanks Zep...my faith in local govt. is restored. Or at least bolstered somewhat.

Chalk one up for livin' in the Hoosier state.

I haven't been on pond boss for a few days but just saw the discussion about Israeli carp. Israeli's can still be bought from a fishery in southern Ohio but I have lost the link. I first got the idea of using the Israeli/KOI combination from an old ponding family that dating back to 1900 when chemicals were unavailable for vegetation & FA control. I decided to try this and it worked for me. The old time ponding family was Andrew Zetts of Drifting, PA. He said the Israeli Carp ate different kinds of FA then the KOI. That may or may not be true. Zetts also said that Israeli carp didn't have off springs according to a study by Auburn University because of an emzine that bluegill put into the water. I tried to find that in the universities archives but never found it. However I never had any more Israeli Carp or KOI in my pond over a 10 year period then what I started with. I did have large mouth bass and channel cats that probably ate the Israeli and KOI.

Tony, I think Al's story will be very interesting.....

Bill:

Regarding GC in northern waters. With the ice covering, plants dying back, and the cold water, do you have any idea if they "hibernate" during the winter or still feed?

Grass carp (GC) are very inactive during water temps of 40F. They basically stay pretty motionless finning to maintain uprightness. GC much prefer warmer water similar to RES thus in winter water temps of 39F-40F activity of both fishes is minimal at best. RES have been known to be caught ice fishing, but I have never caught one ice fishing. It would be interesting to weigh a GC pre and post winter to see how much weight it looses during the cold water season.

Baby steps, but first step went very well. Now I'm waiting on the regional biologist to make the semi-final determination.

Great! Any idea of time frame for a decision?

Soon I hope. I'm just waiting on the regional biologist to make the decision, then I can build the 2nd barrier and get the permits.

I never thought living a mile from Lake Fork would create problems for me, but it did. I'll post all this in another thread after everything's done.

There is a right way and a wrong way to apply for the GC permits in TX. Hopefully it works out, but I can't complement the biologist that came out enough. He's doing his best to get me the permit, but we'll see.

Approved! This is the second happiest day of my life.

Cool!!! Now get to work on the 2nd barrier so you will be ready to stock in the Spring.

That didn't take near as long as I thought!

I'm telling Robbie you said that. And I'm telling Josh......:)

Al...I didn't know you were a mile from Fork.

So your buffet includes your own well stocked pond
and one of the top bass lakes in the country.

Mark, it's about a 20 minute drive to launch a boat, but my stupid puddle is the tip top of the watershed for Birch Creek. I never knew about that, but TWPD did. Unbeknown to me, that was the whole issue.

Brian you can't hurt Josh. I tell him he was an accident at least once a week.

Scott, things went smoothly once I could get a biologist onsite. It took 3 months to do that though.