Ive snagged them on blade baits and jigs and got them in my throw net trying for shad. Every article Ive read states that the asian carp are filter feeders and dont eat regular stuff that other carp eat, corn, doughballs ect but Ive seen a lot of posts where people have caught them. I wasnt aware that a filter feeder could also eat other stuff. Any Conservation people on board to clarify this??????????
Striper01
I'm not a conservation person, but I got interested in these things when I saw a story about them on the news last week.
I asked how to hook them on an Australian board (they've been dealing with them down there for quite a while now) and they will bite. I guess they go after any vegetable matter that they happen to come across. I posted one guys suggestion in another thread. Another guy suggested using corn since it has a pretty tough skin on it.
Where were you getting them?
I asked how to hook them on an Australian board (they've been dealing with them down there for quite a while now) and they will bite. I guess they go after any vegetable matter that they happen to come across. I posted one guys suggestion in another thread. Another guy suggested using corn since it has a pretty tough skin on it.
Where were you getting them?
asian carp
i got a spot that feeds in the river that is always has big asians swimming around. The only one i haven't snagged wich is up to about 10-15 alltogether i caught on a jig with a minnow and a crawler. I have yet to find a bait that can catch them. i have tried corn, worms, minnows, baitfish, cut bait, and cheeze its. none of them work.
P.S. Cheeze it's can be a great bait for pond catfish. can't use them in the river because the current pulls em off.
i got a spot that feeds in the river that is always has big asians swimming around. The only one i haven't snagged wich is up to about 10-15 alltogether i caught on a jig with a minnow and a crawler. I have yet to find a bait that can catch them. i have tried corn, worms, minnows, baitfish, cut bait, and cheeze its. none of them work.
P.S. Cheeze it's can be a great bait for pond catfish. can't use them in the river because the current pulls em off.
Love to fish,,,,,I went the other night where you are talking about I think,,it was in LaSalle down from the chemical plant (huntsman),those things were all over,,,,,,,I mean hundreds. Read an article and in 4 years these things get up to 40 pounds not to mention the hundred thousands of eggs they lay! I see these things a big threat to the river and something needs to be done,,more sooner than not!They suck all of the zooplankton from the water and i know this cant be good.I do know of one use for them,,,,,they fillet like butter and that bloody meat makes great catfish bait!
Asian carp diets
I am a fisheries biologist for the USGS working with Asian carp. You may have seen me on CBS evening news on Wednesday night. The original post asked why people catch Asian carp on various baits or lures, when they are filter feeders. First off, there are four different kinds of Asian carp introduced to the US (six if you count common carp and goldfish). Only two of these fish are filter feeders, the bighead carp and the silver carp. Adult grass carp are primarily vegetarians, although they will eat nearly anything if it is easy to catch - they won't turn up their noses at a worm under a bobber. Black carp, which to our knowledge do not yet have a self-sustaining population in the US, eat primarily molluscs. Bighead and silver carp are primarily filter feeders. I have cut open hundreds of silver and bighead carp, and I have never found anything in the gut that would be identifiable without a hand loupe, if not a microscope. So almost all of what they eat is filtered. That said, I once caught a 4-pound silver carp on a three-inch diving plug, and I have heard of many people catching silver carp and bighead carp on a variety of baits. One theory is that the fish essentially snag themselves on the hooks, or become snagged. These fish are incredibly numerous in some areas, and they pump a lot of water through those mouths, so it is possible that they just suck in a lot of things that they don't really want. The fish also sometimes use a behavior called ram-feeding, which is swimming throught the water with their mouth open to push the water the water through their filtration apparatus. They may sometimes just swim into trotlines or baits hung below bobbers. There are so many fish out there that you would expect it to happen regularly. And that silver that I caught trolling a diving plug may have been minding its own business, filtering away, when my plug came by and got it (in the mouth, though). Another possibility includes the thought that most fish are opportunists, and if the bigheads or silvers see something that is just too good to pass up, they wolf it down. They might not be excellent predators, and are not likely to expend a lot of energy trying to chase down minnows, but if it is just hanging there looking like a free lunch..... Lastly, there is the issue of anger or aggressive strikes against something they don't really mean to eat. Salmon and shad don't really eat while migrating, but you can catch them on hook and line. Probably all of these different explanations are true at different times. But silver and bighead carp rarely eat anything of any size; I can verify that from hundreds of guts I have examined. In fact, the throat is fairly small and it would be hard to get anything the size of my diving plug through it. And if they did succeed in getting a spiny fish down the throat, the gut (they don't really have a stomach, since they don't need one to eat plankton instead of larger objects) is not very robust, and the fins would likely puncture the gut, resulting in septicemia and likely death.
I am a fisheries biologist for the USGS working with Asian carp. You may have seen me on CBS evening news on Wednesday night. The original post asked why people catch Asian carp on various baits or lures, when they are filter feeders. First off, there are four different kinds of Asian carp introduced to the US (six if you count common carp and goldfish). Only two of these fish are filter feeders, the bighead carp and the silver carp. Adult grass carp are primarily vegetarians, although they will eat nearly anything if it is easy to catch - they won't turn up their noses at a worm under a bobber. Black carp, which to our knowledge do not yet have a self-sustaining population in the US, eat primarily molluscs. Bighead and silver carp are primarily filter feeders. I have cut open hundreds of silver and bighead carp, and I have never found anything in the gut that would be identifiable without a hand loupe, if not a microscope. So almost all of what they eat is filtered. That said, I once caught a 4-pound silver carp on a three-inch diving plug, and I have heard of many people catching silver carp and bighead carp on a variety of baits. One theory is that the fish essentially snag themselves on the hooks, or become snagged. These fish are incredibly numerous in some areas, and they pump a lot of water through those mouths, so it is possible that they just suck in a lot of things that they don't really want. The fish also sometimes use a behavior called ram-feeding, which is swimming throught the water with their mouth open to push the water the water through their filtration apparatus. They may sometimes just swim into trotlines or baits hung below bobbers. There are so many fish out there that you would expect it to happen regularly. And that silver that I caught trolling a diving plug may have been minding its own business, filtering away, when my plug came by and got it (in the mouth, though). Another possibility includes the thought that most fish are opportunists, and if the bigheads or silvers see something that is just too good to pass up, they wolf it down. They might not be excellent predators, and are not likely to expend a lot of energy trying to chase down minnows, but if it is just hanging there looking like a free lunch..... Lastly, there is the issue of anger or aggressive strikes against something they don't really mean to eat. Salmon and shad don't really eat while migrating, but you can catch them on hook and line. Probably all of these different explanations are true at different times. But silver and bighead carp rarely eat anything of any size; I can verify that from hundreds of guts I have examined. In fact, the throat is fairly small and it would be hard to get anything the size of my diving plug through it. And if they did succeed in getting a spiny fish down the throat, the gut (they don't really have a stomach, since they don't need one to eat plankton instead of larger objects) is not very robust, and the fins would likely puncture the gut, resulting in septicemia and likely death.
Somewhere I have a link to a European site where a guy gives a description of his bighead rig. Basically, you make a huge doughball that slowly falls apart, leaving a trail of tiny crumbs in the water. You hang this below a big bobber, and you tie a whole nest of tiny hooks that hang out around the doughball. The bigheads follow the chum line up until they are bumping the bait, and they eventually get hooked. I'm going to try it sometime soon if I can ever get a chance to do something other than work. If it works I will report back here. I'll try to find that link, too, but if I don't get back with it, a Google search on bighead carp should get it.
asian carp
Carp tracker, thanks for your input. I'm planning a fishin for bigheads on the Illinois River this fall, I have permission from a land owner and fish to 60 # have already been caught at this site. I will post information as soon as I firm up the date.
There is an American connection to information and rigs on Asian or bighead carp. catfished.com/newt.html is the link.
Newt is an east coast carp angler who moderates severa European capr sites. Good info from a knowledgable angler. jb
Carp tracker, thanks for your input. I'm planning a fishin for bigheads on the Illinois River this fall, I have permission from a land owner and fish to 60 # have already been caught at this site. I will post information as soon as I firm up the date.
There is an American connection to information and rigs on Asian or bighead carp. catfished.com/newt.html is the link.
Newt is an east coast carp angler who moderates severa European capr sites. Good info from a knowledgable angler. jb
i'm with the fertilizer route.. the dnr can have a couple men watching over some commercial fisherman and their nets, and get their survey at the same time. i urge everyone to get something rolling on this problem. sure i'm going to enjoy catching some of those big f:< and killing them, but personal injury along with property damage,.. i hope gets the insurance co. attention!
Carptracker\ I've read with much interest your posts. It's stange that this year 'Ive caught both our shad and bigheads on bait. I was using beemoths. Could it be the filter feeders are moving up the food chain because they are depleeting the bottom of the chain? I would like to know your thoughts on this.
bighead carp
One of the problems with bighead carp is they can spawn more than once each year. All fish, even grass carp which are vegetarians, require large amounts of protein during the spawn. It may also be that the bigheads were running, with their mouth open, through a plankton bloom and sucked in your bait with it. jb
One of the problems with bighead carp is they can spawn more than once each year. All fish, even grass carp which are vegetarians, require large amounts of protein during the spawn. It may also be that the bigheads were running, with their mouth open, through a plankton bloom and sucked in your bait with it. jb
There are really huge numbers of Asian carp out there, 
so the chances of one of them sucking up your bait by random chance is not low. Also, I don't know what a beemoth is, but it sounds like a small invertebrate larva, like an icefishing bait. I don't doubt that a bighead carp would eat one of those on purpose, especially if it was hanging below a bobber. Almost all fish are oportunists, and will eat anything they can catch that won't hurt them. I can consistently catch grass carp in ponds by hanging a garden worm about an inch or two below a porcupine quill bobber. Adult grass carp don't waste a lot of energy looking for animal protein, but if it presents itself in a situation where they can't help but notice it, then oportunism comes into play. Bigheads probably are similar.
so the chances of one of them sucking up your bait by random chance is not low. Also, I don't know what a beemoth is, but it sounds like a small invertebrate larva, like an icefishing bait. I don't doubt that a bighead carp would eat one of those on purpose, especially if it was hanging below a bobber. Almost all fish are oportunists, and will eat anything they can catch that won't hurt them. I can consistently catch grass carp in ponds by hanging a garden worm about an inch or two below a porcupine quill bobber. Adult grass carp don't waste a lot of energy looking for animal protein, but if it presents itself in a situation where they can't help but notice it, then oportunism comes into play. Bigheads probably are similar.Asian Carp Info
Try this link for info about the Asian Carp --- interesting
http://www.rense.com/general38/asiancarpswimming.htm
Try this link for info about the Asian Carp --- interesting
http://www.rense.com/general38/asiancarpswimming.htm
Jerry - Don't know exactly where to find them in Chicagoland, but here are some tips:
1) They apparently avoid water that is very muddy. Apparently it makes it hard for them to filterfeed. This summer when the Missouri River got muddy, all the fish moved into tributaries where the water was green, but not too muddy. Now the turbidity has gone down again. The water still looks muddy to me, but my turbidimeter shows the turbidity has dropped from over 150 to about 60. And the fish are moving back to the Missouri River again, but mostly sticking to quiet parts where the turbidity is lower than in the mainstem.
2) you are going to have to bowhunt them or use some novel hook-and-line techniques to catch them. See above link on how to catch them. And I've noted from links like the one above that even those that target bighead carp on hook and line don't expect to catch many of them. I catch bigheads and occasionally silvers during Missouri's rough fish snagging season, but I don't know if there is an equivalent in Illinois.
3) The fish are not rare, but they are VERY skittish. They are even hard to catch in nets, as you will note from the above link. They hate outboards AND trolling motors. If you want to get near one in a boat, you have to figure out where they are and use the wind and current to drift in to the fish. Or you can sit very quietly until they come to you. No dropping things on the bottom of the boat if you want to see fish.
4) Like most cyprinids, they release a chemical from their skin when they are injured that acts as a fright pheromone that repels ofther cyprinids. If you put one on a stringer, you probably won't have any more fish coming around. On the plus side, some predators (pike included) are attracted to that pheromone. Incidentally, I killed probably close to 3000 pounds of Asians in the Lamine River in the last two days, and between the massacre and the mouth of the river, there are very few fish present. Might be useful for the Chicago barrier.
5) In my part of the world, the bigheads and silvers were feeding all winter long, even at water temperatures as low as 2.5C. You might be able to catch them in the winter. In the winter, they typically were about 9 to 12 feet deep in the water column, based on archival tag data. They were almost never on the bottom, but they did hang out in submerged trees a lot.
6) Although these fish are considered pelagic, it seems like they use submerged trees a lot in the summer too. They like to get into the woody areas, both bigheads and silvers.
7) both are skittish, but silvers are more so than bigheads.
Hope this is helpful.
1) They apparently avoid water that is very muddy. Apparently it makes it hard for them to filterfeed. This summer when the Missouri River got muddy, all the fish moved into tributaries where the water was green, but not too muddy. Now the turbidity has gone down again. The water still looks muddy to me, but my turbidimeter shows the turbidity has dropped from over 150 to about 60. And the fish are moving back to the Missouri River again, but mostly sticking to quiet parts where the turbidity is lower than in the mainstem.
2) you are going to have to bowhunt them or use some novel hook-and-line techniques to catch them. See above link on how to catch them. And I've noted from links like the one above that even those that target bighead carp on hook and line don't expect to catch many of them. I catch bigheads and occasionally silvers during Missouri's rough fish snagging season, but I don't know if there is an equivalent in Illinois.
3) The fish are not rare, but they are VERY skittish. They are even hard to catch in nets, as you will note from the above link. They hate outboards AND trolling motors. If you want to get near one in a boat, you have to figure out where they are and use the wind and current to drift in to the fish. Or you can sit very quietly until they come to you. No dropping things on the bottom of the boat if you want to see fish.
4) Like most cyprinids, they release a chemical from their skin when they are injured that acts as a fright pheromone that repels ofther cyprinids. If you put one on a stringer, you probably won't have any more fish coming around. On the plus side, some predators (pike included) are attracted to that pheromone. Incidentally, I killed probably close to 3000 pounds of Asians in the Lamine River in the last two days, and between the massacre and the mouth of the river, there are very few fish present. Might be useful for the Chicago barrier.
5) In my part of the world, the bigheads and silvers were feeding all winter long, even at water temperatures as low as 2.5C. You might be able to catch them in the winter. In the winter, they typically were about 9 to 12 feet deep in the water column, based on archival tag data. They were almost never on the bottom, but they did hang out in submerged trees a lot.
6) Although these fish are considered pelagic, it seems like they use submerged trees a lot in the summer too. They like to get into the woody areas, both bigheads and silvers.
7) both are skittish, but silvers are more so than bigheads.
Hope this is helpful.
thanks
Thanks both of you, every bit of information helps put the puzzle together. I just like to catch big fish. I talked to one habor owner and he told me they have caught bigheads to 60 # right in the harbor. A fellow carp angler put me onto the idea of fishing near lights at night. The lights cause the plankton to remain active and since they are plankton eaters they must have some method of finding this food. He usually catches them while throwing jigs or spoons for white bass. Many are snagged but almost as many are caught in the mouth so they must be feeding. Once I get on some I'll post info about where and how. Right now I'm busy doing honey do work and fishing for big kings. Plan on spending more time on them in early fall. Fishing from shore. jb
Thanks both of you, every bit of information helps put the puzzle together. I just like to catch big fish. I talked to one habor owner and he told me they have caught bigheads to 60 # right in the harbor. A fellow carp angler put me onto the idea of fishing near lights at night. The lights cause the plankton to remain active and since they are plankton eaters they must have some method of finding this food. He usually catches them while throwing jigs or spoons for white bass. Many are snagged but almost as many are caught in the mouth so they must be feeding. Once I get on some I'll post info about where and how. Right now I'm busy doing honey do work and fishing for big kings. Plan on spending more time on them in early fall. Fishing from shore. jb
my partner and i came down from wi. this past weekend with hopes of shooting some asian carp. we got one we were told to go by the marina in peru. we did find alot of fish mouthing on top all were small buffalo we shot 24 we also shot 3 bigheads they were cruising about 6 inchs below the surface. we did manage to shoot i aisian also cruising. we also went along the shoreline with the trolling motor and had 3 grass carp jump in the boat. early in the morning we did see alot of asians porposing but we were unable to get shots at them. if you have any advise or know of any good spots please reply to this post as we are coming back on labor day weekend.
big time bowfishing,
Seen you down there Saturday. You might try in the I&M Canal by Peru. My wife and I were in there a few weeks ago and seen alot of Asians. The water was really high then. I don't know if they would be in there now that the water is down, but it might be worth a try.
We also seen alot of them in the Little Vermillion. I don't know if you can get in there now that the water is down. They were going crazy that day. Several of them almost jumped into the boat. Looks like your boat is set up for shallow water. The fan motor looks cool!
Later,
FSHBLUFSH
Seen you down there Saturday. You might try in the I&M Canal by Peru. My wife and I were in there a few weeks ago and seen alot of Asians. The water was really high then. I don't know if they would be in there now that the water is down, but it might be worth a try.
We also seen alot of them in the Little Vermillion. I don't know if you can get in there now that the water is down. They were going crazy that day. Several of them almost jumped into the boat. Looks like your boat is set up for shallow water. The fan motor looks cool!
Later,
FSHBLUFSH
Water is real low. Would be hard to get up the Vermillion, at least past the rapids area . The silvers are jumping 10 at a time near Henry, and are pretty much anywhere in the river thick up to Starve rock.
I think they are going to be real big trouble for the waters.
the Bowfishing Association of Illinois is going to have a bowfishing shoot for them in the Henry area this July23rd. Come on out and give it a try!
Heres a article from the outdoor notebook on the new barrier....
Thursday, June 30, 2005
By Bob Maciulis/Outdoor Notebook, The Star
Great Lakes activist and director of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Council Tom Marks, New York, joined Ed Landmichl of Perch America, Dr. Phillip Moy of Illinois/Wisconsin Sea Grant and Palos Outdoor Writer Jim Kirby last Thursday to review the progress at the Barrier II site on the Ship Canal, 135th Street, Romeoville. The electric field that will eventually emanate from the weir will stop the upstream migration of the Asian carp species which would threaten the forage base of the Great Lakes if they slipped into Lake Michigan.
Langmichl had bought a Bighead Carp from a fish market and brought it to the site to show what the culprits look like.
The Bighead is one of the three exotic species which are already rampant on the Illinois River. The carp were originally imported and were being raised commercially in private ponds but escaped into the Mississippi during the terrible flood of the mid-90s. Once the floods receded, the carp thrived in the plankton-rich Mississippi, eventually finding their way into the Illinois River.
"Look at the mouth on this thing," Landmichl said, running his fingers across it. "It's as smooth as a rubber hose. They don't have teeth. They filter the water, taking our all the plankton and microorganisms. If you think the zebra mussel created problems, wait 'til these things get into the Great Lakes."
Dr. Moy explained that the 500 foot long electric field will effectively stop most of the carp from migrating up the canal.
Tom Marks questioned what "most" meant and Landmichl argued that the positioning was wrong, "that the prop wash from the barges (which creates turbulence) could blow any fish through that were held up by the field."
"The only way the field would work," Landmichl has said, "is if the barges shut down their engines and are towed through the area of the barrier. You know that won't happen. So, it's back to a battle between commercial interests and what's good for the lake."
A first barrier was erected to stop the downstream migration of round gobies and, while it is still functioning, it is approaching its half-life. The 9.2 million dollar new Barrier II is much more powerful, Dr. Moy explained, and despite the doubting Thomases from the fishing community, will effectively block all carp from passing through.
Marks pointed out that the strength of the force field depends upon the surface area of the fish. Large fish would be zapped pretty well, he said, but small ones might not be affected at all.
The Barrier II project should be completed this fall.
I think they are going to be real big trouble for the waters.
the Bowfishing Association of Illinois is going to have a bowfishing shoot for them in the Henry area this July23rd. Come on out and give it a try!
Heres a article from the outdoor notebook on the new barrier....
Thursday, June 30, 2005
By Bob Maciulis/Outdoor Notebook, The Star
Great Lakes activist and director of the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Council Tom Marks, New York, joined Ed Landmichl of Perch America, Dr. Phillip Moy of Illinois/Wisconsin Sea Grant and Palos Outdoor Writer Jim Kirby last Thursday to review the progress at the Barrier II site on the Ship Canal, 135th Street, Romeoville. The electric field that will eventually emanate from the weir will stop the upstream migration of the Asian carp species which would threaten the forage base of the Great Lakes if they slipped into Lake Michigan.
Langmichl had bought a Bighead Carp from a fish market and brought it to the site to show what the culprits look like.
The Bighead is one of the three exotic species which are already rampant on the Illinois River. The carp were originally imported and were being raised commercially in private ponds but escaped into the Mississippi during the terrible flood of the mid-90s. Once the floods receded, the carp thrived in the plankton-rich Mississippi, eventually finding their way into the Illinois River.
"Look at the mouth on this thing," Landmichl said, running his fingers across it. "It's as smooth as a rubber hose. They don't have teeth. They filter the water, taking our all the plankton and microorganisms. If you think the zebra mussel created problems, wait 'til these things get into the Great Lakes."
Dr. Moy explained that the 500 foot long electric field will effectively stop most of the carp from migrating up the canal.
Tom Marks questioned what "most" meant and Landmichl argued that the positioning was wrong, "that the prop wash from the barges (which creates turbulence) could blow any fish through that were held up by the field."
"The only way the field would work," Landmichl has said, "is if the barges shut down their engines and are towed through the area of the barrier. You know that won't happen. So, it's back to a battle between commercial interests and what's good for the lake."
A first barrier was erected to stop the downstream migration of round gobies and, while it is still functioning, it is approaching its half-life. The 9.2 million dollar new Barrier II is much more powerful, Dr. Moy explained, and despite the doubting Thomases from the fishing community, will effectively block all carp from passing through.
Marks pointed out that the strength of the force field depends upon the surface area of the fish. Large fish would be zapped pretty well, he said, but small ones might not be affected at all.
The Barrier II project should be completed this fall.
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