# Big grass carp



## fishndinty

My friend shot this one last night while we were out on Allatoona.  I put a second arrow in her so we could get her in the boat.  I estimated mid 30s.  She was a handful:


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## GAX

Nice one!


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## BuckHunter 34

WOAH!! very nice


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## Michael

Congrates! Sure wish they had grassies in Clarks Hill.


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## fishndinty

Michael,
You must have 2 dozen 20 lbers in that picture of yours!  I wouldn't worry about the grassies.  I'll fish with you anytime!


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## Michael

That was the Muzzy Classic on Lake Guntersville   I do most of my shooting on Clarks Hill or the Savannah River. Both have plenty of fish, even a few trophies, but no grassies.


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## StikR

There are a few grass carp in the Savannah River.  Most trips I see none, but once in a while I find a few.  This April I found a spot that had quite a few.  We put 5 in the boat, lost a couple more, and missed 10 or so.

BTW - Nice flat head.  It's hard to believe that a catfish that ugly is actually the best eating of all of them


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## fishndinty

StikR said:


> There are a few grass carp in the Savannah River.  Most trips I see none, but once in a while I find a few.  This April I found a spot that had quite a few.  We put 5 in the boat, lost a couple more, and missed 10 or so.
> 
> BTW - Nice flat head.  It's hard to believe that a catfish that ugly is actually the best eating of all of them



Man, they're good


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## Michael

StikR said:


> There are a few grass carp in the Savannah River.  Most trips I see none, but once in a while I find a few.  This April I found a spot that had quite a few.  We put 5 in the boat, lost a couple more, and missed 10 or so.
> 
> BTW - Nice flat head.  It's hard to believe that a catfish that ugly is actually the best eating of all of them



I've been shooting the Savannah River over 30 yrs now and have never even SEEN a grassie there. Robbie Robertson stuck ONE in Clarks Hill, but that was yrs ago. What section of the river are you seeing all these grass carp?


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## fishndinty

Michael, don't you think you should tell him to PM you the answer to keep the e-scouters off his hole?


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## Michael

fishndinty said:


> Michael, don't you think you should tell him to PM you the answer to keep the e-scouters off his hole?



I'm guessing he's been shooting common carps and calling them grassies


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## GAX

Michael said:


> I'm guessing he's been shooting common carps and calling them grassies



That's what I'm thinking... 
5 in the boat, and missed 10, all in one place... something ain't right..


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## fishndinty

I thought they were pretty rare.  I have never seen more than 2 in a day on any lake, and I have been on lakes where they were stocked thick.


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## StikR

Michael said:


> I'm guessing he's been shooting common carps and calling them grassies



Hey, quit all that rolling around on the floor laughing at me.     Maybe they were common carp...someone else called them grass carp.  I know on the Sav river I always see a ton of the little ones (suckers?) and once in a while see one or two big carp in an undisclosed location.  I guess I haven't sat around enough boat ramps on a 5 gallon bucket fishing with a cork to know what a carp looks like???


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## John2

*Grass Carp*

about 10 years ago I was on Twin lakes in Lake Park, GA.  there were tons of BIG grass carp.


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## RIVER_CAT

Michael said:


> I've been shooting the Savannah River over 30 yrs now and have never even SEEN a grassie there. Robbie Robertson stuck ONE in Clarks Hill, but that was yrs ago. What section of the river are you seeing all these grass carp?



They are there.... I seen 2 year before last just out from Cherokee..... 

Also i know they has been 4 shot futher up river including this 60 lber.....


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## alfred

*Carp bottom feeding on lost lead weights?*



RIVER_CAT said:


> They are there.... I seen 2 year before last just out from Cherokee.....
> 
> Also i know they has been 4 shot futher up river including this 60 lber.....



That 60 pound Carp in the photo must have been feeding on lost lead weights.I only thought a Bass that size could weigh that much by eating all of those weighted worms the Bass fishermen lose!

As for the Grass Carp shot in the Lakes?Are they good to eat?Are they eaten or trashed?Were they stocked by the state to control the "Invasive"weeds such as Hydrilla?If so,is it not detrimental to remove them?Does anyone have any answers to my Questions?

I am not condemning it and will support your right to do so if it is legal.It would just seem detrimental to the lake and expensive to the taxpayer if they were stocked because they are needed.

German Carp are a invasive species.Many years ago I was told "Remove as many as you can and do not to return them to Georgia's waters" by a Georgia "Game Warden" as they were called back then.(I think they are called by some fancified city folk name now).

I was told that "all Asian Carp not approved are considered invasive".I think that the "Sterile Grass Carp" is the only one that has been approved and I think some of these have reproduced and escaped into our waters!alfred


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## RIVER_CAT

I dont know about good to eat but i have some people that take almost all of my fish to eat.
The fish in the picture was shot from a lake in GA. I can not speak for the stocking of the GA lakes but its legal to take them via bowfishing equipment in the state of GA 

Now for us here in SC.......
As far as the grass carp being stocked by the DNR.......yes. Our supposedly "Sterile Grass Carp" here in SC are stocked by the DNR and the Santee Lake System and we are not allowed to possess (shoot ) them in the state of SC.  From 1989-1996 there was 768,500 triploid grass carp stocked in the Santee Cooper Lakes to help control the growth of hydrilla.  1996-2006 no carp were stocked. While this control method provided many years of lake-wide control, there was also a long term management strategy which include maintenance stocking a sufficient number of grass carp in the system to keep hydrilla suppressed while allowing desirable native vegetation to flourish. A maintenance stocking plan developed in 1999 provided for the stocking of grass carp at a rate that maintains a low level population to control hydrilla yet maintain native plant species. The plan was initiated in 2007 when it was apparent that aquatic vegetation was increasing in the lakes. Surveys in 2007(pre-drought) continue to indicate a substantial increase in aquatic plants and the regrowth of hydrilla in some areas. The plan is intended to maintain the population of triploid grass carp at the same level that was present in 2006.They are not sterile by any means for the thousands of them you can see in a nights time. Although sterile triploid grass carp are commonly used, there are still concerns that effective stocking densities cannot be achieved without impacting non-target vegetation and animals the species of aquatic vegetation. 

Hydrilla coverage was estimated several ways depending on available funding. When funding was sufficient, aerial infrared photography was used and aquatic vegetation types were verified by ground truthing. At other times, small aircraft, flying at approximately 300 meters altitude, were used to map aquatic vegetation. Observers mapped topped out aquatic vegetation and ground crews subsequently identified the species of aquatic vegetation. Once mapped and identified, the area of hydrilla coverage was estimated with a planimeter.

Similar methods to those of an earlier study of triploid grass carp were used in the Santee Cooper reservoirs . Skilled bowfishers collected at least 98 triploid grass carp yearly for a bounty of US$50.00 per fish using described methods. Collected fish were measured for total length to the nearest mm and weighed to the nearest 10 g. Lapilli were removed, cleaned, and stored in 95% isopropanol. Scales were removed from the area near the posterior tip of the pectoral fin when laid flat against the body, and stored in ziplock bags. Estimated condition to compare plumpness of fish among years and evaluate the effects of decreasing hydrilla coverage. Fish collected during 1994, a period of time when hydrilla was abundant, were used as the standard for determining condition and for setting regulations on fish harvest.

I would like to see the rules change in the state of SC were you could atleast have a limit of one (1) grass carp per person or no more than two (2) per boat per day. Just as a regulation to help limit and control the grass carp same as some of the other fish types. If the DNR was to take a ride at night now on some of these boats equipped with lights to view the bottom and see that there is very little grass left in the lakes and how it effects the bass,panfish and catfish population as cover,vegetation for smaller bait fish and so forth......things may change. Not saying that all the lakes are covered up or clear of hydrilla. Me being a bowfisher i prefer the "more grass" as to it holds the targeted non-game fish better. When you find more grass or cover in the water not only do i find carp but i see lots of other species of fish also.  With the sufficient drought waters we have been experiencing for the past year or so, there has been some nice vegetation that has accumulated on the shore line and is now starting to be submerged as the water levels are starting the slowly rise. From seeing the lakes from years past compared to now days......In my opinion there is not an even balance of grass in 2008


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## Michael

That's a powerful lot of info RC. You writing a book?


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## Seth carter

StikR said:


> There are a few grass carp in the Savannah River.  Most trips I see none, but once in a while I find a few.  This April I found a spot that had quite a few.  We put 5 in the boat, lost a couple more, and missed 10 or so.
> 
> BTW - Nice flat head.  It's hard to believe that a catfish that ugly is actually the best eating of all of them



there are some type of carp we catch them all the time


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