Carp Hunting

[popper]

Milford - Heard that was a great place for muskie, FIL always wanted to go there. Only got those little perch behind the spillway at tuttle creek. Knew a guy who knew a guy who did the tuttle fish sample, some really big stuff, 30# range. Used an electric towed net. Here the grass carp are protected, last time at texoma the 'foreigners' always wanted the gar - lots of them. Took FIL to texoma and he hooked a big largemouth on a worm, fish did the jump and spit. He was still happy to see the action like he always saw on TV. He liked to go to McConaughy for walleye, we got a few at Stockton but they would give a tug for a second then float to the surface - no fun - but good eating. weren't very big either.

[skrapyard628]

I saw carp hunting and immediately thought of the Peoria Carp Hunters. Granted these guys are a bit goofy and what they do can definitely get you hurt really bad. But I laugh my butt off every time I see this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN2gMP3Q2Z4

[Tripplebeards]

^^^part two is way more entertaining.

[skrapyard628]

^^^part two is way more entertaining.

The "dreamcatcher"

[richhodg66]

I read that it’s common for them to live to be a 100 plus years old as well.

I know the fresh water drum do and they have found specimens in the great lakes well over 100 years. Drum are cool fish, man they fight. Also don't have the Y bones or mud line on the meat either. Those funny stones in their heads were always cool too, look like quartz.

[richhodg66]

Milford - Heard that was a great place for muskie, FIL always wanted to go there. Only got those little perch behind the spillway at tuttle creek. Knew a guy who knew a guy who did the tuttle fish sample, some really big stuff, 30# range. Used an electric towed net. Here the grass carp are protected, last time at texoma the 'foreigners' always wanted the gar - lots of them. Took FIL to texoma and he hooked a big largemouth on a worm, fish did the jump and spit. He was still happy to see the action like he always saw on TV. He liked to go to McConaughy for walleye, we got a few at Stockton but they would give a tug for a second then float to the surface - no fun - but good eating. weren't very big either.

Never heard of a Muskie in Milford. They do have Walleye, though I kind of wonder if they could survive here without stocking.

Milford had a weird carp die off a few years ago. The lake was littered with dead fish, even out in big open water, and they were all carp. For several years now, you hardly ever seem to see one. KDWP had some kind of reasoning for it based on weather, water conditions in the river up steram, yada, yada, yada, smelled like Bravo Sierra to everybody. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I really believe someone came up with a species specific toxin or micro organism that attacked carp. An awful lot of people don't like them

[Texas by God]

Washtub full? Did she hot or cold pack and how long to cook? Any detail appreciated.

Washtub was the receptacle my great uncle brought the fish over in. He seinned the overflow lakes of the river constantly. Mom pressure cooked them and put them up in Mason jars. 50+ years ago so details are foggy....
What always amazed me about carp was how light the big ones were compared to catfish.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[richhodg66]

The last time I was in Iraq in 2009, we were heavily into the nation building phase and among other things, going through the motions of giving micro grants for small business owners to start up. Anyway, one of the success stories was an Iraqi man who used one of these grants to start up a fish market and they sold fish but also cooked them on the spot. I wish I still had some pictures, my friend who was the PAO got to go out to the opening of it and showed me how they did it. Basically they gutted the fish and split it down the belly, the splayed it out and speared two sticks through it to hold it. They spiced or marinated to inside of the fisha nd then stuck the sticks in the ground with the inside of the fish at maybe a 30 degree angle over a big bed of wood coals and cooked it that way. I didn't get to go, but he showed me all the photos and even brought back some fish for me. Every fish that guy sold was a common carp exactly like the ones here in my lake. Good stuff.

[Winger Ed.]

[QUOTE=Texas by God;491949What always amazed me about carp was how light the big ones were compared to catfish.
[/QUOTE]

I've noticed that.
Maybe catfish are built more 'stocky' and wide, compared to a carp being sort of thin.

If ya weigh a catfish before and after cleaning it, you're left with about 40% of what ya started with.
Seems like a carp is closer to 20%.

[gumbo333]

Skin 'em, gut 'em, score 'em, coat 'em, deep fry 'em. Don't need to trim any meat or remove y bones? Tail pieces and rib pieces. Just good Good eatin. Put fried piece on a piece of rye bread toast, called a carp sandwich. People that won't eat it, have never tried it. Here we grew up eating carp. Best is winter caught in cold water.

[richhodg66]

I've noticed that.
Maybe catfish are built more 'stocky' and wide, compared to a carp being sort of thin.

If ya weigh a catfish before and after cleaning it, you're left with about 40% of what ya started with.
Seems like a carp is closer to 20%.

When you're starting with a fish that routinely weigh 20 pounds or so, and are as common and easy to catch, the rended down weight doesn't seem to make as much difference.

Our lake here will have several 60 pounder cats taken out of it each year, and those are just the ones I see in our little town. Channels and flat heads mostly. The flat heads are predators, if you go out casting inline spinners when the white bass are biting, you'll likely land as many flat heads as you do bass.

Never shot a really big carp here. While stationed at Fort Sill, the ponds there all have white amur, some variety of carp in them and they didn't mind if you bowfished for them. I shot one out on the east range there that weighed 31 pounds and some change, big fish. Shot another one that same day that broke the arrow, didn't pull the head off or break the line, snapped the fiberglass arrow in two. Never got it in close enough to see for sure, but it must have been huge to be that strong.

For several years, I had the peronal goal to take the Kansas record for long nose gar which is somewhere around 32 pounds and has held since the early 80s. I have one on the wall here that was 54" long and about 22 lbs, but that's about as big as I've shot or seen here. Not big by Texas standards, but kinda cool anyway.

[OldBearHair]

I do believe that water quality has a lot to do with how carp taste. Same with mullet in South Texas Padre Island. No one would bother to look twice at a mullet except to use for bait, much less eat one. The other side of that is from where the Mississippi River enters the Gulf all along the coast to Florida the mullet is highly prized. My friend filets out the top half of the carp only, saying it is the best. In another post here I mentioned my Dad canning 12 1/2 gallon jars of carp and putting them on the shelf in the back of our garage in Wichita Falls, Texas. It got so hot there the chickens stood around in the shade with wing tips and beaks hanging down to the ground. Actually saw 117 degrees F. at times. One day we were sitting on the back porch holding our arms out away from out bodies, when we heard an explosion, then another, and the rest is quick succession as all the canned carp was blown all over the car and every two x four stud in the garage caught pieces of sharp pointed shards of glass. When it came to drawing straws to see who had to clean up the mess, I was the only one that drew. I was twelve years old. I think my Dad was trying to teach me to not back away when trouble came my way. What a mess.

[richhodg66]

I think you're correct about water quality. Milford is a big and fairly clear lake. Carp can survive water conditions many fish can't, so people see them in muddy puddles sometimes and I think it's a turn off.

I have heard some folks would catch them and keep them in a wading pool or similar for several days feeding them corn and good stuff changing the water frequently before cleaning them to make them taste better.

[dkf]

Hello John, good catch! We have plenty of carp here, how do you cook them? The couple I’ve tried taste muddy.

I've heard of guys putting them (and other fish) in clean fresh water in a tub at home for a day or two to help clean them out.

[Tripplebeards]

I’ve had four pieces in my lil totem smoker since 10 am this morning and the thinnest piece is finally done. I’ll check the other three pieces that still look grey and watery in spots around an hour or two.
I fillet them off the rib bones so the meat starts to shrink and cracks when. I rub them down with a good coat of brown sugar before putting the carp in my smoker so they have a good glaze build up when done.

[Winger Ed.]

Looks good.
I've got a big bag of carp that has been pressure cooked out in the freezer.
I'm getting the craving to make it into salmon patty sort of things.

Year before last, I baited the dock for them and catfish.
It worked real well. I got several 8-15 pounders. I think I'll do that again here shortly.

[richhodg66]

I’ve had four pieces in my lil totem smoker since 10 am this morning and the thinnest piece is finally done. I’ll check the other three pieces that still look grey and watery in spots around an hour or two.
I fillet them off the rib bones so the meat starts to shrink and cracks when. I rub them down with a good coat of brown sugar before putting the carp in my smoker so they have a good glaze build up when done.

What did you use for brine before smoking them? I kind of found simpler to be better in that regard.

[Tripplebeards]

I normally brine my Carp using One cup of canning salt and a half a cup of brown sugar per gallon of water. I also throw in a tablespoon of Worchester shire sauce or two. It normally gives the carp meat a dark color after a day or two of soaking. I didn’t have any brown sugar a few days ago when I started the process so I used regular sugar and put in a tablespoon of vanilla extract so we’ll see how it turns out. I let the carp brine for two days. I then removed my fillets and washed them off, padded them dry, and rubbed them down with brown sugar. The brown sugar will instantly get watery like it’s a glaze. I then put a fan in front of the fillets until they start getting dry and tacky, then I throw them in my smoker. I just pulled piece number two out and the other two still look grey in color yet so I set my alarm to wake me in an hour and a half to recheck.

[Tripplebeards]

Last two out, bed time.

[richhodg66]

I haven't smoked any for years. Gotta get out and see if I can find some carp and give it a whirl again.

I remember finding a recipe for brine that had all kinds of stuff in it and trying it only to be pretty disappointed. The salt and brown sugar worked better. Those filets look good.