Fish are relocated from the Provo

[hedgesd]

If you didn't see the news last night but 70,000 pounds of carp were taken from the provo and relocated to the dumb. The DWR offered the fish to local soup kitchens and other organizations but no takers. I wonder why.
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[Junksiege]

Where did they pull these carp out from?
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[loanfish]

I wonder if they told some of those german companies out there about them. Im german and my grandparents still live there and they love eating carp. Im just wondering if anyone knows if they contacted any overseas company to come and getthem.
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[hedgesd]

If you want to see the story check out the local news pages. I can't remember exactly which station it was I was watching but I'm sure they all did a story on it.

Its probable from the lower provo. I looks like the main reason for removing them is so they don't have a huge low water kill off like last year. People complained about the smell.

Millions of people love carp so don't knock it until you try it.
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[EmuScud]

Here is the link to the news story from the Provo Herald:

[url "http://www.harktheherald.com/article.php?sid=91394"]http://www.harktheherald.com/article.php?sid=91394[/url]

The carp do a migration every 10 years. They are thick in there still. I went on a bike ride last night with the kiddies. There was one spot where the bottom of the river was literally black with carp. My daughters and I have been having fun with jigs and bread. They fight hard and are easy to catch. They are concentrated on the provo river west of Geneva road. Keep a few, fillet them out and freeze them for later catfish bait. The average size carp down there runs around 3-5 pounds.

Good fishing to all!

ES
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[Junksiege]

I've heard that carp tastes really good smoked. Catching a cooler full of 3-5 pounders would fill a smoker. Not much trouble filleting a larger fish too.
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[TubeDude]

[cool]If you have never tried to fillet a carp, you are in for a surprise. As members of the "minnow" family, they have a different bony structure than the bass, walleye, wipers and sunfish we might be more used to. Their flesh is full of small bones that must either be located and cut out in strips...or rendered edible through overcooking or dissolving. Overcooking is done in a pressure cooker or by "slowbaking" bor a long time in the oven...to steam the bones soft,..like canned sardines. Pickling is a way of chemically softening the bones.

If you want to smoke them, you can either brine and smoke the fish whole, and pick out the bones as you eat it...or, you can cut the fillets into strips, lengthwise, as you feel out the rows of bones and make cuts on each side of them to strip them out.

Trout have one row of small hairlike "flesh bones" along the center of their sides. Northern pike have a couple of rows of "Y" bones, that pike specialists learn to remove satisfactorily. Most European and Asian carp recipes rely on cooking the fish so thoroughly...or grinding it up...so that the fine bones are rendered harmless.

Smoked carp is very good. I used to keep some for those Monday night football games when "friends" would descend on my house to watch the game and eat up all my smoked salmon and steelhead. When served smoked carp, more than one "dimbulb" commented that it was the best smoked salmon I had done.

Carp meat is coarse, with large flakes. It takes a brine well...especially after being frozen and thawed. If you slice out the major part of the dark flesh along the sides, it is surprisingly mild, and absorbs the smoke flavoring very well. Try smoking it to a point of almost done, and then finishing it in a slow oven (150 degrees) until it is approaching "jerky". Thin slice it and serve it with cheese and crackers and you will amaze yourself.
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[FlyFishingMoose]

Hey TD, That's what I was thinking about I can/jar the excess trout I catch using the pressure cooker method, it was amazing you don't even have to worry about the bones, they almost disolve, just like sardines, you're right there. I put them in pint jars and process them for 1 hour @ 15lbs pressure in my pressure cooker. When you're ready to eat them they taste just like tuna, I was really suprised. I've got some bass that I'm getting ready to try that was, while I'm at it I just might try some carp!
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[Curtisfish]

I've wondered about the flavor of Carp since I used to fillet them out at Utah Lake for catfish bait. That Y bone is almost identical to the Pike I've filleted. Takes some getting used to, but not impossible. Use a very soft knife so it flexes around the bones for the first few until you learn where they are, then you can pretty much slide the meat right off. I had also wondered about the dark stripe of meat much like that of a Striper. They taste much better after removing it. Thanks for the tips. I will have to try smoking a few from the river out here.
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[EmuScud]

Bring a sharpener and a plastic bag for the scales. Those scales are huge and can make an equally huge mess when scaling them before filleting. Its no wonder that carp can live anywhere, those scales are like armor. The sharpener is for your fillet knife after your done. You can really feel those little bones.
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[TubeDude]

[cool]I never tried it with carp, but when I lived in Sacramento, I used to slow bake a lot of shad...the big ones. They are really bony too. I wrapped them in a double layer of aluminum foil, on a baking tray. Before sealing the top, I seasoned with garlic salt, a pepper blend, some oregano and cumin and then layered on some onions and tomatos...or tomato sauce (mustard is another good addon). I baked the fish for about two and a half to three hours, at 225 to 250. When they came out, they tasted just like canned sardines and the bones were mush. Absolutely great for sandwiches and salads...or munching with cheeses and breads in front of the game.

With a carp, I would experiment both with the seasonings and the cooking times. It's a factor of heat, length of time in the oven and thickness of the fish. The sauces and seasonings should turn even a rank old boot into something edible.
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