Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Grass carp

I put 10 grass carp into my 1.5 acre pond 3-4 years ago to control algae etc. They are now at least all 15-20 lbs and I have always read that they are most effective the first couple of years - thoughts on how to get rid of these huge guys and then add some new youngsters? I tried shooting them with a 22 when they are visible but no luck - the water obviously reflects the bullets - suggestions??

A friend of mine used to regularly bow fish for carp. You can use a regular setup of get high priced gear at Bass Pro.

Do they like fish food? If so....soften some up go fishing for them.

Agree with Boondoggle. Fishing for them is fun - especially if you hook one up for a small kid or grandkid! They would remember the fight with a 15# carp for the rest of their lives.

However, that removal method would probably be slow to make a dent in their numbers.

I also agree with Retired. I also had a buddy that bowfished for carp. He was pretty successful, but he also went on to become a tennis pro so his skills at that kind of stuff was very high.

Are your grass carp triploid (sterile)? If not, there may be a time during the spring when your carp will move up onto the shallow mud flats in your pond to spawn. You will observe them rolling over each other in the water. One time we saw the carp doing that and wanted to see how big they really were. We were able to wade up with our large fish landing net and actually scoop them up into our jon boat. They were actually that "preoccupied"!

If you do catch them doing that behavior, then that would be your easiest time to shoot them with either bow or rifle.

The other option with the rifle would be to go to a larger caliber and go out in your boat. However, you must be standing in the boat and shoot almost straight down. That would ensure no water surface deflections, and the bullet would probably at least wound or stun a large carp in shallow water.

Of course, loaded firearms and unstable platforms do NOT mix. I would only try that with another buddy in the back of the boat holding the platform absolutely stable with a pole into the pond bottom.



P.S. Does anybody know if triploid carp still engage in spawning behavior? I do not know the answer to that question.

I would suggest a higher cal than a 22lr. We tried to remove ours (roughly 15-20 years old) this way and though we had bad aim because we never found a one at the banks or floating. A year later we decided to fish them out and caught several with 22lr sized holes, some with multiple. Didn't seem to affect them.

Grass carp (GC) do not like eating algae.

How clear is the water?
If the algae was controlled after the GC went in,,,, turbid water would have reduced the ability of the algae to thrive.

Putting GC in is very easy --- getting them out is very difficult. If you can remove some of them, restock with tilapia who LOVE eating algae. Then the winter's colder winter temps usually removes tilapia.

Look up catching grass carp on YouTube. Some of those ideas may work for you. Report back with any of your results so others can benefit from your learning.

thanks for all the ideas - yes they are sterile. I will either get a buddy to try with a bow and also look up on Youtube

You might try snagging them with spoonbill gear, it does work, ive caught them before.
Other then that, are they creating any damage, so that just letting them go would be a problem? even tho they are not as voracious eaters when they get older, they still gotta eat, and keeping a 15 20 lbr alive takes good bit of vegetation.
Ive always had a hard time figuring out why a bigger one would quit eating altogether.

A friend of mine put triploid gc in his pond approx six acres he put too many in and they completely consumed all the vegetation in the pond. When he would mow around the pond the wind and the mower would send some grass cuttings in the water and the carp would come up and eat it. So we took a wad of grass and tied it to the hook and let it float out we caught several on fairly heavy tackle. We then switched to light spinning gear and had any absolute ball catching most of the rest. And I agree if you let a youngster in on the fun they will always remember it. The kids we included are still talking about it and that was about twenty five years ago.

Bill Cody has really good questions and suggestions for you. Last summer he posted some links that describe successful fishing for them.
I have 5 big ones, 36" to 42" long in my 1/4 acre pond. They hardly dent my elodea forest. They will come near the dock when I'm feeding. It would be an absolute piece of cake to take them out with a 12 gauge loaded with coarse shot, say #2. Remember to aim slightly low as the refraction of light passing through water makes them appear higher than they really are. If I were shooting a surface slurper, I'd hold right at the base of its head. I wouldn't shoot if the fish were 4" or deeper under the surface. The concussion from the shot load hitting the water may help stun a target, too.
Have fun. And cook them up and report back. They are reportedly the most abundant farmed fish in the world for human consumption.

I've Salmon snagged in Colorado, absolute blast. Get Salmon snagging hooks , Its my game plan , when mine come out . Snag , turn rod over to youngster , he or she will talk about this experience for ever. No Youngster ? You'll tell the story, from your recliner.

IME hooking GC is interesting. They act that they have no idea what's going on until you get them about 15 feet from shore. Then they explode.

After having hooked big GC a couple dozen times, I have landed only two of them - a 26 pounder and a 49 pounder. The rest got away.

In Texas it is well documented that sterile grass carp are not 100% sterile. A small percentage will reproduced and then it's off to the races. I would never stock them for any reason. They will eat all the beneficial natives, then alligator weed and other invasive take over and the carp won't eat them.

Ross do you know if they will eat the underwater variety of slender spike rush?

Last week , a super nice couple , stayed at our RV park for one night. After hours cooped up in a truck , they were ready for a stretch and asked to rent 2 kayaks . He went behind our Island , the wife came out from behind , he didn't for several minutes . When he came out by himself , he was paddling slowly and paddled into one of our coves , a bit shallow with drought and I now had a clear view of him. Just as the kayak was fully inside the small narrow cove , the water exploded , with water flying in excess of 10' high and at that he was screaming and paddling backwards as fast as he could. My first thought was that he had surprised a very large beaver that jumped into water for safety . But no , when was he calmed down, he explained , he had paddled over possibly 3 40" plus Grass Carp and they exploded in 2-3 ft water all around him . He then accused me of training GC to attack Kayakers , because the reason he was paddling so slow out from behind the island was the same thing happened behind the island , with one big difference. He jumped a school of GC and his attention was on a GC semi trapped between him and the bank which was quite fascinating , when another GC smacked him in the back of the head very, very hard , the family story time word he used was "stunning him " , The GC slid down his back butting him with it's head and slapping him with it's tail . His hair, neck, back of shirt, all covered with red mud , FA, and soaked . Therefore I add another way of removing large GC , simply grab them when they jump in your kayak with you obviously in a panic, and while you have control of the situation (recommend you have a BIL pilot the kayak and affect the arrest ) capture the GC . They did go ahead and spend the night at our campground , with considerable laughter with other campers , and kayak rental money in MY pocket.

Ya know, that dang story is a classic.

I don't know. They didn't eat our square stem rush.

Thank You Dave, from a Master as Yourself , the complement means much. The story is I assure each of You , Truly True . Witnessing the event First Hand , made both the cost of the Kayaks and Paddles , plus my Labor carrying them down to the water from the barn , far more than WORTH IT. Plus the Grace shown by the customer , his classic good humor , laughing at himself with fellow campers , was " Priceless "