My dad's friend who raises carp to eat originally stocked 8 adult carp he caught from a local lake. All were 20"-28" in size. They were more than enough to produce all the carp he could ever want to eat! His carp pond is just under an acre in size. The pond is only carp, no other fish. He catches the carp mostly by seine, but will use a hook and line if he is looking for entertainment. I would guess he uses about 5 adult carp per week between him and all his family members. At that rate, he seems to keep the carp numbers in check. He usually harvests carp in the 16"-22" range. He says when they get much bigger than that their taste goes down.
