TJ is correct. Carp become hook shy very quickly. I have tried rod and reel control of carp for 15 years and made no headway. Although a few trees have grown to great heights thanks to my efforts and the use of carp as fertilizer.
I have had a good break here recently. A while back I was talking to my neighbor and he was telling me about a pond on his property. Since harvest is done on his property I drove over there last night. I threw a minnow trap in and put hip waders on. The pond is about 1/5 of an acre in size (perfect size for my seine), at least 4.5 ft. deep and apparently has an abundant population of fathead minnows (I assume no predator fish of any sort). He has already OK'd me using it as a grow out pond. The only negative to this pond is that it is very difficult to access from May - Sept. I can walk about a quarter mile of corn to get to it, but my management options are limited. My question is, what can and should I grow out to help me with the above stated goals?
1) Blue Catfish - I could wait until my BC are large enough and try to get them to spawn in this pond. My concern is there is plenty of overflow during heavy rains and I'd hate to lose them. I'm leaning toward purchasing BC at hatcheries and possibly building Catfish spawning structures in my large pond to encourage spawning. But growing them out is an option.
2) Bluegill - I'm not sure they'd be an effective nest raider or eat carp fry, but they would be easy to grow out and certainly wouldn't help the carp population. Negative - they wouldn't hurt my carp population much. Positive - They would take to feed well on my big pond.
3) Crappie - I already have a small reproducing population of crappie in my large pond. I'm assuming if I can improve water clarity they'll begin to take over. I believe I'll assess their population next spring with my fyke net and decide if a grow out pond to supplement them would be beneficial.
4) Golden Shiners - TJ mentioned at one time stocking GSH as they are notorious nest raiders. Growing them out each year and seining them out for stocking come fall seems intriguing. Positives - They'd rob carp nests and be a great addition to the food chain for trophy cats Negatives - not much addition to angling in the big pond.
5) Largemouth Bass - I have had LMB reproduction in my large pond before. But not to a significant degree. They seem like the most efficient predator of 0-1 carp. This may be my best option. Positives - They would hit 0-1 carp hard. Negatives - They most likely won't take to food and therefore won't thrive as a sight feeder in the big pond.
I'll try to include grow out pond picture as soon as I return.
