HaHa: 0
Crappie Wall Hanger II
I don't know about Illinois, but there's been a LOT of good things come to fruition over the last few months in KY that have taken a very long time to get put in place. The new fish valet service and the ice house are two big items that were badly needed, as most commercial guys didn't want to pull carp from Kentucky and Barkley Lakes due to the amount of time required to get to the processor and the amount of ice needed to ensure the fish don't spoil on the way there on hot days. With the new fish valet, commercial guys can now simply offload at the ramp, significantly cutting down their expenses. The additional subsidies to get the market price up are a HUGE help as well as without it, it was far more work and expense for very little pay causing commercial guys to stick with other species with a higher price per pound.Originally Posted by hdhntr
It's my understanding that the new BAFF (Bio Acoustic Fish Fence) could lead to a viable management program. It's to be installed and undergo a 3 year test to see if it works, if results are favorable the BAFF will be installed at many other locations across the country. If the BAFF works, it will contain the carp below the dam by preventing them from entering the lock. By having that blockage in place, and then continuing the commercial fishing in the lakes, the asian carp population could be reduced down to a more manageable level.
Great article on the fish house, ice house, and the plan to get the asian carp harvest up over the next few years: New Kentucky program to combat Asian carp begins
KDFWR has been tackling the problem very hard for many years with whatever limited resources they've had. When people say that KDFWR has sat on their hands, it couldn't be further from the truth. Now that the public is finally taking notice, the money if finally starting to flow towards fighting the carp. If only people would have listened 10 years ago and been as passionate about the problem as they are now, things would be a lot different at this point in time.
I don't know why people keep calling Asian Carp a delicacy, because it's not. It's primary use is in imitation crab meat, called surimi. The meat is ground up and turned into a paste. I don't know if you've ever bought any imitation crab meat, but it's cheap...hence the problem. You can go to Walmart and grab a snack stick pack for $1; I often pick up a few for my lunch, very good to eat but certainly NOT a delicacy. You can also order various upscale gourmet Asian Carp products from the west ky processor through their website, but in looking at the prices I honestly don't know anyone willing to pay those kinds of prices for carp...again, therein lies a problem. It's not a highly desired product, but a market does exist for it. The byproducts (skin, bones, guts, etc.) all go to fertilizer production.
Online shop to buy Asian Carp products from the Paducah processor: Products – Fin Gourmet Foods
Surimi Snack Sticks available at Walmart:
redearhoosier LIKED above post
wolfhnd thanked you for this post
Crappie Wall Hanger II
If you guys happen to be Facebook people, I would highly encourage you all to "like" these two pages to stay up to date on the Asian Carp progress in Kentucky. It's a huge a problem, but there is hope with the great people involved!
KDFWR Western Kentucky District Fisheries: Western Kentucky Fisheries - Home | Facebook
War on Carp (ran by Wade White, Lyon Co. Judge Executive): War On Carp - Home | Facebook
Slabmaster
Don’t know either way if they are intentional bites or not but I will say we caught a huge one pulling crankbaits for walleyes a couple of years back. Husky jerk was completely in its mouth. We were running 2.3mph at the time.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Trophy King II
Crappie.com 1K Star General
Hey Art, I thought you were from the Louisville area?? Did you move to Benton? I've known you a longtime from the fishin.com boards.I don't know about Illinois, but there's been a LOT of good things come to fruition over the last few months in KY that have taken a very long time to get put in place. The new fish valet service and the ice house are two big items that were badly needed, as most commercial guys didn't want to pull carp from Kentucky and Barkley Lakes due to the amount of time required to get to the processor and the amount of ice needed to ensure the fish don't spoil on the way there on hot days. With the new fish valet, commercial guys can now simply offload at the ramp, significantly cutting down their expenses. The additional subsidies to get the market price up are a HUGE help as well as without it, it was far more work and expense for very little pay causing commercial guys to stick with other species with a higher price per pound.
It's my understanding that the new BAFF (Bio Acoustic Fish Fence) could lead to a viable management program. It's to be installed and undergo a 3 year test to see if it works, if results are favorable the BAFF will be installed at many other locations across the country. If the BAFF works, it will contain the carp below the dam by preventing them from entering the lock. By having that blockage in place, and then continuing the commercial fishing in the lakes, the asian carp population could be reduced down to a more manageable level.
Great article on the fish house, ice house, and the plan to get the asian carp harvest up over the next few years: New Kentucky program to combat Asian carp begins
KDFWR has been tackling the problem very hard for many years with whatever limited resources they've had. When people say that KDFWR has sat on their hands, it couldn't be further from the truth. Now that the public is finally taking notice, the money if finally starting to flow towards fighting the carp. If only people would have listened 10 years ago and been as passionate about the problem as they are now, things would be a lot different at this point in time.
I don't know why people keep calling Asian Carp a delicacy, because it's not. It's primary use is in imitation crab meat, called surimi. The meat is ground up and turned into a paste. I don't know if you've ever bought any imitation crab meat, but it's cheap...hence the problem. You can go to Walmart and grab a snack stick pack for $1; I often pick up a few for my lunch, very good to eat but certainly NOT a delicacy. You can also order various upscale gourmet Asian Carp products from the west ky processor through their website, but in looking at the prices I honestly don't know anyone willing to pay those kinds of prices for carp...again, therein lies a problem. It's not a highly desired product, but a market does exist for it. The byproducts (skin, bones, guts, etc.) all go to fertilizer production.
Online shop to buy Asian Carp products from the Paducah processor: Products – Fin Gourmet Foods
Surimi Snack Sticks available at Walmart:
I'm a big redear guy and I can tell you that these Asian carp have hurt the redear fishing. I'm worried about this newer Black Carp, it has the potential to eat all of the snails in the lakes which would put the redears out of business.
Anyway, just thought I'd say hi because you gave me good tips about bluegill/redear years ago when I still lived in Jeffersonville before making my way down here to Kuttawa.
Regarding the Asian carp, I do think very serious and productive steps are finally being put in place to combat and get a handle on this unfortunate situation. I've seen out of state fishermen with large boats staying at local motels chasing these things...money talks and you know the rest of the story.
Last edited by redearhoosier; 01-24-2019 at 08:50 AM.
Crappie Wall Hanger II
I finally got to move back home a couple of years ago, it's been so nice not having to burn up the West KY Parkway like I used to!
Have you had much luck on the redear? I only tried twice for them last year and just never could hit it just right, I was doing so well with the bass that I just never could put the bass rod down. I believe the carp area definitely a factor but not solely responsible for the decline in fishing for some species, I think there's a combination of many things at play making the lakes fish a little tougher. For the redear, I feel like the lack of grass the last ten years has hurt them more than anything...back in 2006 and 2007 we had some great grass and the redear were plentiful, but it seems like it's been downhill since as the grass (for the most part) went away. As for the bass I believe there are still good numbers in there, they just have adapted to different habits - the stuff that has worked well for so many years it not working like it used to, the bass are suspended more and harder to catch. It's been pretty crazy the size and number of bass I've caught the last couple of summers trolling cranks, catching them suspended along the ledges.
I'm concerned about that black carp too, I was thinking it liked mussels more so than snails? Might be a good thing if they are gobbling up zebra mussels, but bad for all the declining mussel species KDFWR has been working so hard to restore. Very frustrating.
Trophy King II
Mike58, thanks for the link to the YouTube video. Just looks like a lot of work to have 'fish balls'. I admire the lady in the video who went through all the trouble to get the fish baked, removed the bones and then made them into 'fish balls'. I probably don't have the patience to do this.
Redearhoosier. Man, I have a week scheduled with motel reservations in Mid May this coming year to specifically fish for Bluegill and Redear(Shellcrakers). I hope the Carp doesn't destroy my chances to be able to find and catch these. I guess I may have to move out into deeper waters to fish if the dang carp are in the shallow water during this. Don't want a pile of carp jumping in the boat while trying to catch fish in the shallow water bays
Crappie Wall Hanger II
You'll be fine. I fished shallow quite a bit last spring for bass and never had an issue. They only get to jumping if you really startle them, or have your big motor idling in shallow water.
Who knows, with this mild winter we might see another big die-off of the carp like we did in April of 2017.
Trophy King II
artcarney_agr, Thanks, I was at KY lake in May of 2017 and saw several dead fish(Carp) in the back end of the coves near or on the bank. So I'm with you, hope we have another die-off this year. I truly hope the commercial fishing aspect (They get enough/$lb to make it profitable for them and the processors) will keep these guys on the KY/Barkley lakes for years to come to take these fish out until someone becomes smart enough to come up with something that will kill them without hurting the other fish. If not, these lakes will be hurt significantly for fishing, unless you like to snag carp.
Crappie.com Legend , 2018 Crappie.com Man of the Year
* Crappie.com Supporter * Member Sponsor
I've been concerned about the Asian Carp for years and have voiced my opinion, most of the time to deaf ears. Nobody is happier to see the steps being taken to help the commercial fishermen make more $$ off their extremely hard labor. For whatever reason, the steps like the ice house and transfer stations is something that had been proposed for years. I guess the government moves at a snail's pace most of the time.
One thing that I can't get out of my mind is this: once all this $$ is spent to help the fishing industry, does anybody think they will try to work themselves out of a job? The Asian market for these carp is being served by a regional company that is growing yearly. Don't get me wrong, I'm tickled to see any efforts to get rid of the carp. I'm just concerned that once all the infrastructure is set in place, we will see numbers of the carp taken each year but the total eradication will never happen. Our lakes and rivers could possibly end up with a stable population that will feed the Asian demand for these fish. Could we possibly see the lakes being used as a big part of the supply chain? We provide the place to raise the fish while a huge part of the $$ being made off the carp goes to some multi-national companies that could care less about the effects of the carp on our fisheries.
Food for thought.
www.crappie-gills-n-more.com
Podunk Ideas Pro Staff /test platform
PICO Lures Field Rep
Excel Boats Pro Staff
Reply With Quote