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Chief Jim
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I joined the forum last week and have been reading through the archives. Some interesting tips and good info, but I have to take exception to one thread having to do with carp. Seems someone thought that the carp were cleaning up the waterways because they eat vegetation and that they should be returned to the water to continue their righteous cause.
Oh, contrare! I can't think of a more invasive species to screw up the natural order of things! Carp were imported from Europe bac about 1900 and have since invaded almost every major water in the this country. They are even worse than the Zebra Mussel and the Walking Catfish! And they don't really clean up the vegetation, they just muck around in the bottom and stir up the slit until the water is turbid to sustain most of the native species.
I grew up in the Midwest, not far from the Mississippi River and I have encountered carp all over the country. I can't think of a single place where they were ever considered a beneficial species. Okay, they tried them in Devil's Lake to get rid of the weeds. Result: the lake is still weed choked and the grass carp are displacing the other species.
But all is not lost. Carp can be made edible. Here is my favorite recipe for carp. Get one about 4-5 lbs., split it down the backbone and nail it to an oak plank. Then find a pile of aged horse manure and bury the planked fish for 2 weeks. Then dig up the fish and eat the plank!
Seriously, carp can be made somewhat edible by skinning the fish and removing the dark "mud vein" on either side, then filleting out the rest of the flesh. Soak the fillets in salt water for 24 hours and deep fry. Best served with hush puppies and lots of beer.
Chief Jim
Oh, contrare! I can't think of a more invasive species to screw up the natural order of things! Carp were imported from Europe bac about 1900 and have since invaded almost every major water in the this country. They are even worse than the Zebra Mussel and the Walking Catfish! And they don't really clean up the vegetation, they just muck around in the bottom and stir up the slit until the water is turbid to sustain most of the native species.
I grew up in the Midwest, not far from the Mississippi River and I have encountered carp all over the country. I can't think of a single place where they were ever considered a beneficial species. Okay, they tried them in Devil's Lake to get rid of the weeds. Result: the lake is still weed choked and the grass carp are displacing the other species.
But all is not lost. Carp can be made edible. Here is my favorite recipe for carp. Get one about 4-5 lbs., split it down the backbone and nail it to an oak plank. Then find a pile of aged horse manure and bury the planked fish for 2 weeks. Then dig up the fish and eat the plank!
Seriously, carp can be made somewhat edible by skinning the fish and removing the dark "mud vein" on either side, then filleting out the rest of the flesh. Soak the fillets in salt water for 24 hours and deep fry. Best served with hush puppies and lots of beer.
Chief Jim
, the Mississippi River would make for some good bowhunting, because it is basically a disaster for a fishery (3 different kinds of carp), there are all sorts of random fish in the Mississippi.
