Originally Posted by
channelcat
Im not trying to be cruel by killing carp but in our waters they have no natural predators when they have some size to them. This happens fairly quickly and they reproduce just as quickly as they grow i think that sturgeon eat young carp but there isn't enough of them out there to do the job they destroy habitat for other fish and consume tremendous resource to maintain there active way of living (jumping around all day and such) which could be feeding native species that we prefer to be on our dinner plates. The sense i see in cutting the belly and releasing them to die on the bottom is that the fishes body will be eaten by other fish and crayfish which will contribute positively back into the underwater ecosystem compared to throwing them in a field for a raccoon to eat. I have read that if you catch a carp with a worm on a hook and release him he has learn to avoid that bait in the future they are a little brighter than a bass which the same fish will hit the same bait many time in a lifetime carp learn so catch and release is permanent when it happens. Sometime I feel that an unnatural problem (which carp are an Invasive species) need and unnatural solution (man's intervention)