01-17-2019, 02:55 PM
[#0000FF]From a purely personal observation standpoint, I do believe there has been a noticeable reduction in carp overall. BS (before seining) it was difficult to fish plastics without hooking a few carp in a day's fishing. Some actually slurped the lures but most were "dorsal diners" or "tail takers". These days it is sometimes difficult to catch a carp for bait.
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[#0000FF]And on some early morning ventures...with calm water and the right water temps...you could look across the lake and see hundreds of "carp clumps"...groups of carp swimming together on the surface. There are still a few to be seen, but not in the numbers of old.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]When the annual spring fling...carp spawning...is in full force around the lake, you would swear that there were more carp than ever. But when they disperse after spawning they spread out over the entire lake and are less noticeable.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]You mentioned water turbidity. Carp are definitely contributors to muddying the water. But because Utah Lake is fairly shallow overall, any major wind event stirs up the whole lake. So it is difficult to separate wind from carp when the water turns chocolate. However, I have seemed to notice more days of "walleye green" water the past couple of years.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I would really like to see the powers that be take a shot at trying the [url "https://blog.csiro.au/reclaiming-our-rivers-from-feral-carp/"]"carp herpes" virus[/url]. There have been a few successful experiments in the states, where portions of a lake were diked off...to prevent potential damage to other fish populations. It really seems to work. The major concern in Utah Lake is the darling June Sucker. It is highly unlikely that the feds would allow the use of any such agent unless and until it has been proven 1000% safe for suckers.
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[#0000FF]My opinion? Yes, carp numbers have been reduced but even with the "maintenance" program it may not be enough to prevent another carp explosion. Carp are horrific and prolific spawners...with an "average" female producing huge quantities of eggs. (See attached pic) During a good spawning year...with prolonged successful spawning and good recruitment...carp populations can increase exponentially in a short time. Natural predation from walleyes, catfish, bass, pike and white bass occurs only during the short time the young are small enough to eat. They grow quickly and are too big for most predators by fall.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]In short? The genie was let out of the lamp long ago and is now almost uncontrollable. At best you can throw lots of money at the problem without ever being able to totally eradicate them. You can knock down the numbers...temporarily...but anything short of a mass poisoning will never work long term. And you know that poisoning is not an option as long as one last Junie still lives in the lake.
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[#0000FF]And on some early morning ventures...with calm water and the right water temps...you could look across the lake and see hundreds of "carp clumps"...groups of carp swimming together on the surface. There are still a few to be seen, but not in the numbers of old.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]When the annual spring fling...carp spawning...is in full force around the lake, you would swear that there were more carp than ever. But when they disperse after spawning they spread out over the entire lake and are less noticeable.[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]
[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]You mentioned water turbidity. Carp are definitely contributors to muddying the water. But because Utah Lake is fairly shallow overall, any major wind event stirs up the whole lake. So it is difficult to separate wind from carp when the water turns chocolate. However, I have seemed to notice more days of "walleye green" water the past couple of years.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I would really like to see the powers that be take a shot at trying the [url "https://blog.csiro.au/reclaiming-our-rivers-from-feral-carp/"]"carp herpes" virus[/url]. There have been a few successful experiments in the states, where portions of a lake were diked off...to prevent potential damage to other fish populations. It really seems to work. The major concern in Utah Lake is the darling June Sucker. It is highly unlikely that the feds would allow the use of any such agent unless and until it has been proven 1000% safe for suckers.
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[#0000FF]My opinion? Yes, carp numbers have been reduced but even with the "maintenance" program it may not be enough to prevent another carp explosion. Carp are horrific and prolific spawners...with an "average" female producing huge quantities of eggs. (See attached pic) During a good spawning year...with prolonged successful spawning and good recruitment...carp populations can increase exponentially in a short time. Natural predation from walleyes, catfish, bass, pike and white bass occurs only during the short time the young are small enough to eat. They grow quickly and are too big for most predators by fall.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]In short? The genie was let out of the lamp long ago and is now almost uncontrollable. At best you can throw lots of money at the problem without ever being able to totally eradicate them. You can knock down the numbers...temporarily...but anything short of a mass poisoning will never work long term. And you know that poisoning is not an option as long as one last Junie still lives in the lake.
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