Learning something you didn't know about yourself

Over the holidays, I found out I'm a pretty good carp fisher. Caught this (and many more) on a pickerel rig. Turns out, they're not much interested in sardine fight or whatever those little bait fish are. Worms all the way!

My biggest, bestest fish I've ever caught (so like... the 4th fish ever)


Pants hiked up, had to go in and get this one!


Last one, you can see me getting rougher through the day.  Moose said "Your hair is in the way."  I said take the picture, this things heavy and I'm not wiping my hair away with fishy hands!  So I didn't, and he did.

GOOD GORDON GIRL! Those things are HUGE! Pardon my fish snobbery, being a trout eater and all, do you eat those things? Will you smoke them? Can them? Give them to the dogs? You must be pretty chuffed, those are some big fish.

very awesome!!! looks like a super weekend!!

Wow! Them thing's big! The last is a monster!

In Germany you catch them and have a small pond in behind your house. You put them there for a few weeks in clean water (they are bottom dwellers and taste a little muddy) and then you eat them. The clean water bath washes the mud from the meat.

Are they native to Saskatchewan?

Holy carp!

authenticfarm wrote:Holy carp!

You just couldn't resist that, could you!

Actually, I was stupid excited.  They're invasive so you can take as many as you want, all day long.  We threw some back because we ran out of room in the coleman.  80lbs of fish brought home yesterday.  Some older German guy asked me what I was going to do with it and I said feed it to the dogs; he was appalled!  Those are the best eating he said.  So I gave him one, he took the smallest.

From what I can find online, they taste muddy.  You have to either soak them in milk for 3 days or bring them home alive and keep them in small tanks for 4 days with fresh water every day so they can 'detox' themselves and remove the murky flavor. Sue just confirmed this while I was typey typey.

We'll try them next time we catch some with some room in the cooler.  I felt bad about throwing some back in the water.  I really fought hard with whether it was better to whack them and leave them on shore for the birds (or in the water for the fish) or release them again, as they are invasive.  Of the 5 we took home, all but 1 was female and LOADED with eggs.  Almost 3/4 of their length inside is packed with eggs, glad I got them out of the system.

Apparently, I'm -really- good at catching them (caught more than MOOSE even(!) and he's a great fisherman).

I had one hooked that I think was even BIGGER than all of these, but I lost him when having trouble with my reel (turns out there's a screw thing that loosened off, but is all better now)

Schipperkesue wrote:

authenticfarm wrote:Holy carp!

You just couldn't resist that, could you!

Not even for a minute!

authenticfarm wrote:

Schipperkesue wrote:

authenticfarm wrote:Holy carp!

You just couldn't resist that, could you!

Not even for a minute!

Neither could Moose. He posted to facebook "Holy crap!" then when I caught the really big one he posted it and said "Nevermind, holy carp!"

Fillet them and soak in milk if already dead. You can eat the roe too. It is fantastic.

Any fish is good smoked, but google online for a "German Carp Recipe." The Germans are an incredible culture for making delicious dishes out of the most unlikely things. During the war and times were tight you should hear some of the things Dad ate.

Schipperkesue wrote:Fillet them and soak in milk if already dead.  You can eat the roe too.  It is fantastic.

Any fish is good smoked, but google online for a "German Carp Recipe."  The Germans are an incredible culture for making delicious dishes out of the most unlikely things.  During the war and times were tight you should hear some of the things Dad ate.

I'm actually really excited to try them, but we didn't start gutting them until they had been sitting for a while and the German guy made a point of telling me what I was missing. I'm sure I'll be able to catch some next week (Fingers crossed)

I am sure the German guy straightened you out. We Germans like to think we know everything!  

He told me he will forever call me the "Carp Lady"

You are hereby christened: CarpLady!

Schipperkesue wrote:You are hereby christened: CarpLady!

*SQUEE*

How to prepare a Carp:

http://germanfood.about.com/od/fishrecipes/ss/carpsbs.htm

Carp can be a lot of fun but never throw them back, they are so invasive. They make great fertilizer for your roses, dig a hole a the roots and bury them whole. I have had blackened carp, it was okay. You have to watch the y bones when you fillet them. They are a white fish and take on the flavour of what you cook them with. They are supposed to be good pickled as well. I am told the big ones like the ones you had get real muddy tasting but make the best fertilizer. Good job, carp take a nice light touch to catch.

Okay, good deal, smaller for eating, bigger for garden.

They sure do -not- take a light hand to catch. I'm NOT good at fishing. There was a guy there talking about how hard they are to catch because they have to swallow it first. Let me tell you, the mooooment my rod tip bounces enough that I think it's legit, I snatch that rod back so hard and so fast I'm surprised anything stays on. Consciously, I know I do this and that it's not good practice, but I just get so excited. Moose says if it works, don't stop, so I haven't.

I can see what you're saying. On the smaller fish when removing the hook the mouth can just rip, and one of the fish I lifted by the gills, the fish's gills split through to its mouth. I may just be lucky!

My garden will sure be lucky come next spring.

WoW. Them is some big fishys girl! I would so eat them. They sort of remind me of the Bullheads we used to catch back east in the St Lawerence. Many people that catch them think they don't taste good. They are mainly bottom feeders and will eat anything. However, once you clean them, they taste really good.

Nice catch ! We have them here as well , destroyed many rivers by uprooting the vegetation .I wouldn't personally eat them , but I hear they are tasty when smoked .I'm Not sure , but I'll assume that they are oily as are the bass ? But we used to go and try to catch the biggest ,some were way over twenty five pounds ( no scale ) .......made for good fertilizer  

Love your photos Sweetened and love seeing you in them as much as the big one that didn't get away. Congratulations!

 Man, they are bruisers! I'd also try eating one. Fish fry all week looong!

Good work Sweetened!!  ~Squeee~  !!  Way to bring home the...er...proverbial bacon!  Moose must be so proud.  I'm sure he's proud, right?  What spouse doesn't LOVE when their non-fishing sweetie shows them up at reelin' them in?     Let us know how you prepare the monsters, and how they taste (if you dare).

Sounds like you have a soft touch instinctively . You need to let them take the bait, but without feeling you on the other end of the line. Then you set the hook hard. I made a rod called a swing tip for fishing carp. I would use a rod holder so I wouldn't be touching the rod, and the tip was super sensitive so the first nibble would show and then it was a matter of grabbing the rod and setting the hook hard. Carp fishing is huge in other parts of the world, with professional tournaments. You may be discovering a whole new career that will allow you to travel.

I always thought it was the temperature of the water, rather than feeding method, that made fish taste muddy. I've eaten muddy trout from local lakes and it has to do with time of year, water depth and water temperature, I believe. Sturgeon are bottom feeders and I've never heard anyone say sturgeon tastes muddy or needs to be 'cleaned out' in fresh water before eating. (like where do you store a 400 pound fish for several days? The bathtub?)

Sweetened, I fish like you. I'm a little like a grenade on the end of a rod. Calm and still them BOOM! yank that puppy in! Heck, just throw the rod down and haul in the line hand over hand! Play the fish? To heck with that, reel that sucker in as fast and as hard as you can. I have been told I lack technique.