Asian Carp?
 

I was crappie fishing Sat AM and saw some 5-7" fish jumping in shallow water like they were Asian carp.... I guess that is what they were. Anyone else see anything like this lately?

What lake?

I saw some brutes 30+ pounders jumping by my boat in cheatham lake 3 years ago around the mouth of the harpeth so I'd say by now they are in old hickory, one positive if there is any about Asian carp is maybe it will deter all the skiers and wake boarders from crowding the lakes, well we can hope lol. It was madness this weekend out there.

If on OH and they were in shallow water around laydowns or grassbeds then it was probably gizzard shad. I was in a shallow pocket last year and when I cranked my motor up all these fish started jumping out of the water in the ends of laydowns. I was convinced that asian carp had taken over the lake. The next time I went into that pocket the same thing happened. I will fish all the way to the back of this secluded feeder creek when I fish it. Then I will crank up and idle out. Both times these fish went crazy when I cranked up the motor. I was convinced it was baby asian carp until one jumped in my boat and it was a big gizzard shad.

Asian carp, when small, look just like a gizzard shad.

When I were at TVA Gallatin I would often take time to go and visit with Officer Dave and Dr. Haun (sp) the TWRA research Biologist. We often spoke of how the Asian Carp are some of the greatest table fare that swims and it is a shame they are not harvested....just sayin.

Is anyone paying attention to the new, proposed regulations about transporting live bait? This is a result of the Asian carp being here

It was on Old Hickory

What's the scoop?

Something along these lines.....You will not be able to transport bait from the body of water it was caught in. In other words, if you caught bait at the steam plant, you cant put it in your bait tank, take it home to your home bait tank. The motivating factor is to combat the spread of Asian carp. The locks being a bigger concern than bait tanks but their true objective, is keeping Asian Carp out JPP, Center Hill, Dale Hollow, Tim’s Ford and other reservoirs the Asian Carp can’t enter through locks. They say it’s a safety issue - largely a recreational boating safety issue. Also, I’m told this applies to shad and shad only...not skipjack, trout, suckers, creek minnows, shiners. There is also talk of investing $millions in sound barriers at the lock to prevent the asian carp from congregating around the lock and locking through to another body of water.

TWRA will hold a public meeting this Thursday May 24th at 6:30 p.m. in the Enoch Building located within the Henry County Fairgrounds at 517 Royal Oaks Drive in Paris. “We will present an update on Asian carp and the agency’s involvement in control strategies, but we will also be talking about local sport fisheries in general,” said Frank Fiss, the Chief of TWRA’s Fisheries Division.
Tim Broadbent, a long-time TWRA biologist and manager, who has spent much of his career surveying fish populations in Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, will accompany Fiss as the agency’s spokesmen.
“There are four species of non-native Asian carp that have populated Tennessee’s waterways,” noted Fiss. “We will present updates of our current research efforts and control measures.”

These dang fish sure cause people a lot of headache.