Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help Grass Carp Removal Help

I have a pond and there are about 12 to 15 36" long sterile grass carp that keep eating my shoreline and its time for them to go. We dropped the lake a foot or so last year and hand planted a lot of pickerelweed plants. I also have catfish in the pond and only ever catch catfish when I try to catch the carp on a line. Tried all kinds of bait but it only ever attracts the catfish. I have also tried bowfishing but they are just to skittish. Impossible to sneak up on them. I am currently dropping my water level so the plants remain in a couple of inches of water and too shallow for the carp. I have also been told that electrofishing will not work very well. The pond is about 10 acres and 10 feet deep. Only other thought I had would be to bait with hay bales. Will the carp eat off of a hay bales if I put them in shallow water and try to shoot or bow them when they come in real close? Thoughts? Thanks!!

Dave

Find an avid bow hunter and they will take the carp.

I'm considering adding GC to my pond to help control the slender leaf pond weed. My plan for removal when they get too large is my old 410 shotgun loaded with slugs or buck shot.

Bill - Don't use carp. Its harder to shoot them than you think. Its amazing how little water depth stops bullets unless you are at a steep angle. Standing on shore, I cannot get to them if they are in more than 6" of water. The angle you need to shoot from needs to be rather steep. Use chemical to control your vegetation. I promise you will not regret it.

I you can get within casting distance of them I would try to put on a big weighted treble hook and case over them and snag em. Least this way you get to fight them too and have some fun!! Get a good rod and reel though... lol

I will eventually shoot mine I spose but I am only in a 1 acre pond. So it's not near as hard to find them. I have one it's so big we nick named her Nessie. She has got to be 43 inches. Mine are now all 7 years old and they say after 7 years they are pretty much not helping a whole lot and don't eat that much but if you have some goodies in the pond I am sure they will still eat them...

RC

If you are not impatient, you can add a small number of GC and then wait for the control you want. If you do not overstock the GC, they will not be a problem as they actually eat less as they age. If my second pond ends up with too much submerged overgrowth when things settle down after 6 to 8 years, then I will add a couple GC to this pond. First, I need to let the desirable plants and aquatic life reach their balance.

This is spot on. I started with .17, killed none. Moved on to .22 killed one. Moved to 20ga buckshot and killed two. Then they just stop coming around and they will run from a boat like it's a Great White. Very hard to remove.

If you don't or can't use a firearm then consider bowfishing. It is a wild ride, especially when you hit a large carp or catfish.