Carp in the Ricmond.

[shep]

Hi all,

Suppose this would be the correct place to post this??

Was taking the young bloke for a walk across the Wardell bridge today and stopped to see if we could see any fish swimming past.
To my amazement i seen what i can only think of as a carp swim by under us. This was along the rock wall on the northern side of the river, the fish was bright orange with black mottling on the top/back, shape was that of a good sized carp. This was at the start of the run out tide at around 8.30am. It was definately not a jack.

Someone please tell me i was seeing things or maybe possibilities of what else it could have been.

[maxi]

very good chance it was a carp mate ... they have been spotted in there before ... im thinking maybe its chasing the good run of school prawns that are happening as i write this ... guess what im having for lunch and there just about to go in the pot ... yummmmmoooo

[Scizz]

what ? your having carp for lunch ?

[pink nipper]

M8 it's no secret that the carp are running riot in the parts of the Richmond
I have been fishing in lately.

The top end of Emigrant Creek has so many you can target them on corn
and have a cracker session, especially if your name is Moses.
I see them often in the McGuires Creek Arm, around the twin bridges at Tevan
and in up the smaller feeder arms like Duck Creek.
The worst part is they don't take lures very often.

It appears the European Carp hang more in the fresh but the Koi Carp
swim in the brackish and salty water especially when feeding.

Nip.

[Prof]

Looks like it might be time to get serious and organise a carp cull for the Richmond and its feeder creeks.

I know this has been said before ???

who would be willing to give it a go??

Would it be better to concentrate our efforts in one spot or spread out??

let me know guys and we will organise it soon.

Cheers

[smackmaa]

Yeah I'd have a crack.. never targeted carp before but willing to learn in the name of restoration.

Jake

[Tide-n-Knots]

We have them in the upper reaches of Marom Creek now too.

Count me in for any carp bashing.

[pink nipper]

Today I called Fisheries to try and get help eradicating Carp from our local Richmond River and to find some answers to my questions on how I can go about doing this. What I found was a lot of buckpassing from department to department. No one actually wanted to either help or provide funding, they just wanted to pass the issue onto another department so they didn't have to deal with it. The chain of phone calls went -

Fisheries NSW
Exotic Pests NSW
Wollongbar Fishereies - Habitat Rehabilitation
BIO Security NSW
NSW Commercial Fisheries Management - Cronulla
NSW Commercial Estuary Fisheries - Coffs Harbour
I was given more Federal government department numbers to ring but ran out of credit on my phone.

They did say that I am not allowed to use cast nets, not allowed to use ordinary nets unless I am a fully licensed commercial fishermen, not allowed to use ordinary nets even as a commercial fishermen in Emigrant Creek as it is closed to commercial fishing, not allowed to use electro - stunning, not allowed to shoot them with guns, not allowed to use spearguns or even handspears, certainly not allowed to use explosives. I can try to fish them out with a fishing line only taking I have a current recreational fishing license.

I got to speak with Darren Reynolds from NSW Commercial Estuary Fisheries - Coffs Harbour who has personally known about the Emigrant Creek Carp issue since the 1990's. No one has been able to come up with an answer on how to control the carp in the Richmond River since that time.

He said I could send him an email outlining my concerns and any propositions I wish to put forward so at least they would be documented.
His email address is darren.reynolds@industry.nsw.gov.au, and yes you are getting an email from me Darren.

It would appear that Carp are considered a noxious pest in NSW but that we are not able to be proactive in reducing their numbers either.

Do Carp taste any good on the table?



Nip.

[maxi]

well .... did you really expect anymore NIp ???? ...
its in the toooooo hard basket remember !!!!!!


great effort mate ... im sure you will keep us informed with any updates .... lets all hope darren will have some relevant info that he is willing to share on the local ... sounds like he is in the know ....

the law has to change, so a proactive approach CAN be used.. snaps has some carp pics on here somewhere,they were shoulder over shoulder in the creek .... bloody amazing numbers .. and not allowed to use a net to get the bloody things out ... .. bow fishing would be great to use ...


Maxi

[Prof]

Thats all you ever get when you ring Government departments, the run around and pass the buck.

What shits me the most is the DPI have downgraded the classification of carp and now they are a class 4 pest which states :

It is not currently illegal to immediately return captured carp to the waters from which they were taken (defence under section 216 of the Fisheries Management Act). However, carp are a noxious fish in NSW and Industry & Investment NSW encourages recreational fishers to retain and utilise any captured carp rather than returning them live to the water.

Why ???

They have released a carp control plan here is a copy for your perusal.

nsw-control-plan-for-carp.pdf

To report a sighting
Either phone: 02 4916 3877 (recorded 24 hour hotline)
Or complete the online form http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/pes ... t-sighting
Or email aquatic.pests@industry.nsw.gov.au

DPI Aquatic Biosecurity
Port Stephens Fisheries Institute
Nelson Bay NSW 2315
Fax: 02 4916 3979

Also i did read today that KOI Carp like eating peas ?? And we know European carp like corn so it's off to the supermarket to buy some peas and corn, so whenever i go bass fishing now I will also set a line for the bloody carp and get rid of them one by one, I may also take my hand spear and leave it in the water and if a carp should happen to get stuck on the end I will dispose of him as well !!

Gotta start somewhere.

Cheers

[Prof]

Looks like the Victorians are trying to do something to control the carp ??

Their plan is to produce "daughterless carp", in other words more males than females by manipulating their genes ??

Lets hope it works?

Cheers

[Prof]

Here's a recipe for making corn dough for catching carp.


Youtube


Also this from a keen carp angler on how to catch carp.

Improving-Your-Carp-Results.pdf

cheers

[squidgie]

Im all for a carp muster will bring it up at next meeting on 8th Feb if its a no go lets do it anyway see if i can get some of the ballina fishing clubs involved

squidgie

[Prof]

Thats great Squidgie thanks for your help mate, I'll be there for a carp Muster, I'll bring my hammer to make sure they are all dead.

Bloody vermin they are, but we also have to try and kill the KOI carp as well, otherwise they will breed into a super carp that cannot be removed??

Cheers