Carp Fishing In Florida

Some American anglers regard the common carp as a pest, but not Florida based Bob Wattendorf....

Contributed by: Bob Wattendorf

Picture: Hastik with this Apalachicola-caught fish from his third place tournament finish.

What’s so common about a common carp? At least here in Florida, they are an exotic fish, which means they came from other countries and were stocked here by people. Many Florida anglers turn their noses up at them. However, there is a lot to appreciate about this unique fish, and it has some dedicated aficionados.

They are one of 34 exotic freshwater fish species currently reproducing in Florida waters. Most of those fishes were introduced illegally as the result of individuals releasing unwanted aquarium or food fishes, and/or the flooding of aquaculture ponds. So what makes common carp both common and exotic? Sounds like an oxymoron to me, but either way they are fascinating.

Cyprinus carpio, as scientists know them, evolved in the Caspian Sea, a saline sea or the second largest lake in the world. Today this area is political hot bed with its location between Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Common carp then expanded their range naturally to the Black and Aral seas, and west to the Danube River, which originates in the Black Forest in Germany. That all sounds pretty exotic to me and not at all common.

As one of the earliest fish to be cultured, carp were a major staple in the diets of Eurasians throughout history and among the most genetically modified fish species ever. The Chinese created unique looking variants during the process of rearing them in aquaculture for food more than a thousand years ago.

Monks are reported to have selectively bred a variant that was easier to prepare for the table and this is where the mirror carp and the nearly scale-less leather carp came from.

In the 1820s, the Japanese began breeding beautifully colorful koi, with fancy flowing fins and other genetically selected features, which sell for thousands of dollars apiece.

 Yup, koi are still common carp - just like Chihuahuas and bull mastiffs are both considered domestic dogs.

Want to know another exotic fact about the common carp? One famous scarlet koi, named "Hanako" (1751-1977) lived for 226 years!!

Ultimately, common carp also became one of the first recognised sport fishes in Europe, known as German or European carp. Izaak Walton said in The Compleat Angler: "The carp is the queen of rivers; a stately, a good, and a very subtil fish; that was not at first bred, nor hath been long in England, but is now naturalised."

Although stories vary, the most credible explanation seems to be that five common carp from Germany were imported into the United States in 1872 by J. A. Poppe of California for commercial purposes. He bred and sold them as a food fish.

In 1877, the US Fish Commission imported additional carp from Germany and for 20 years or so stocked the species as a harvestable food fish throughout most of the United States; often the fish were released from railroad tank cars at bridges directly into streams. More recently introductions of common carp resulted from use of juvenile carp as bait fish.

Within Florida, common carp are only known to be breeding in the Apalachicola and Ochlockonee rivers in North Florida, where they are found from steep natural banks to gentle banks and near dike fields, sand disposal areas, rocky outcrops, and backwater sloughs with or without submergent vegetation.

They are not nearly as abundant in Florida as most other states, possibly because of our short, mild winters.

This population seems to have resulted from those early US Fish Commission introductions and subsequent range expansions. Isolated collections of common carp in South Florida are believed to be the result of released bait, with this species as a contaminant. Use of carp for bait in Florida is illegal.

In the United States today, the common carp is often regarded as a pest fish, because of its tendency to destroy vegetation and increase water turbidity by dislodging plants and rooting around in the substrate, allegedly causing a deterioration of habitat for other fish and animals that require vegetation and clear water.

These effects have not been documented in Florida, where they are ecologically similar to native species such as carpsuckers. Adults feed by sucking up bottom silt, and selectively removing insect larvae, crustaceans, snails, and other small food items, and organic debris itself may be an important component of the diet.

Because they have been present since the first fisheries population surveys, any impact on native fishes would be difficult to determine. Having been established for so long, common carp would be virtually impossible to eliminate.
In Europe the popularity of carp among anglers has spawned many carp angling holiday companies and a multimillion-pound market.

In the United States, several organisations have sprung up to promote sport fishing for common carp. At least one international online tournament group is attracting attention here in Florida.

While competing in the Summer TOKS Big Four International (www.bigfourcarp.com), Pavel Hastik of Florida took third place by landing four carp weighing a total of 100.06 lbs.

Pavel Hastik caught these carp from the Apalachicola River, the heaviest weighing 28lb. The Florida carp record is 40.56lb, and IGFA reports the world record was caught in France and weighed 75 pounds, 11 ounces, although much bigger fish have been caught and officially verified, but not IGFA claimed.

American Carp Fishing Links
www.BigFourCarp.com