05-26-2004, 10:23 PM
I agree. Although they have tried to encourage people to harvest carp, it's like pulling teeth. Do you want to eat carp? I sure don't. And it's still technically illegal to just dump them on the bank even though they are nongame fish. I really don't think anglers can put a dent in the carp no matter how hard they try. Commercial fishing or something similar would need to be done I think to significantly reduce their numbers. People target the white bass and keep a ton all the time (there's no limit on them) and they still overpopulate the lake. Hopefully this study will provide information on how we can reduce their numbers.
Another question I have is, what happens when carp numbers drop significantly? Carp minnows are the main forage fish for most predators in Utah Lake, including walleye, white bass, and catfish. At least until they grow too big to be eaten. (They're small enough to eat for only a few months after hatching, they really grow fast). After that they're useless and in fact damaging. So once they're low in number, what are the predators going to eat? I wonder if the renewed vegetation will provide more habitat for bluegill and crappie and they would become the main forage? These are all things I've been thinking about lately.
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Another question I have is, what happens when carp numbers drop significantly? Carp minnows are the main forage fish for most predators in Utah Lake, including walleye, white bass, and catfish. At least until they grow too big to be eaten. (They're small enough to eat for only a few months after hatching, they really grow fast). After that they're useless and in fact damaging. So once they're low in number, what are the predators going to eat? I wonder if the renewed vegetation will provide more habitat for bluegill and crappie and they would become the main forage? These are all things I've been thinking about lately.
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