Northwest Fishing Reports

I was reading the regs the other day and noted that weren't supposed to release any carp you catch and there's no limit BUT you are asked not to take "more than you need".

Which left me thinking: Who needs ANY carp?

The only use I could think of was for crab bait. Has anyone tried it? Did you have any luck?

I've watched a few videos on cleaning carp and if that's what it takes they can keep their meat. Also there aren't too many bodies of water around me that tempt me to eat their bottom feeders. Am I missing another use for Carp?

Thanks,

John

Where are you reading that you need to retain all carp? I've never heard that.

natetreat wrote:Where are you reading that you need to retain all carp? I've never heard that.

Well, I know I read it because it surprised me so I read it again to be sure I wasn't missing something. However I can't find it anywhere now that I'm trying to find it again. I'll ask on the help line and report back here.

John

You aren't required to keep any carp you catch, the only law that would come into play is the "intentionally wasting fish or shellfish" law.

As for using the carp as crab bait, I bet it would work just fine. I've used suckers and squawfish, both of which I wouldn't eat if you paid me to, and they worked great. Keep them as fresh as possible and freeze them after cutting into useable portions. I normally cut sqaws and suckers in half and use bait pins to secure them in the traps. Crabs react favorably to other crabs gnawing on a carcass.

we used to use Carp guts as catfish bait in the Midwest.

My grandma used to just bury them whole in her garden for fertilizer.

Gringo Pescador wrote:My grandma used to just bury them whole in her garden for fertilizer.

I'll bet your grandma's garden was further from her bedroom window than ours is.

jmpurser wrote:

Gringo Pescador wrote:My grandma used to just bury them whole in her garden for fertilizer.

I'll bet your grandma's garden was further from her bedroom window than ours is.

Ha! Yeah, Cattle Ranch in central NE.. EVERYTHING was further from the house than around here..

Carp eggs are the real prize in the carp for me. I make Boutarga from them. I tried carp for crab. Ehhhh Id rather use salmon carcass.Or best is Makerel.