Ohio Sportsman - Your Ohio Hunting and Fishing Resource banner

What do you do with the carp?

14K views 15 replies 15 participants last post by  coonskinner 
#1 ·
Bowfishing for carp sounds like fun and I've considered adding this to my outdoor pursuits, but I'm not sure what I'd do with the fish. What does everyone do with the carp they take bowfishing? I get the impression that few are eaten.

Also, are carp considered a nuisance fish and, therefore, getting them out of a lake or pond justifies the killing of them?

Thanks.

Mark
 
#5 ·
Pickled Carp

1 pt vinegar
1 pt water
3tbs sugar
1tbs salt
1/4 cp mixed pickling spice (tied in a bag)
1/4 cp lemon juice or 4 slices of lemon

Scale & wash carp. Cut in serving size pieces. Mix vinegar, water, sugar, salt, & pickling spices. Boil for 30 min. Add the lemon or juice & cook 5 more min. Then remove lemon slices if used. Add fish to hot liquid a few pieces at a time. Don't crowd it in the kettle as the meat falls apart easily. Simmer until a fin can be pulled out. Pack fish in clean widemouth jars with slices of onion. Pour the hot liquid over the fish to cover. Do not seal jars. Just cover loosely with caps.After they are cooled they may be sealed. Refrigerate for 3 days min. before using.

Feed Pickled Carp to *****, opossums, skunks, and buzzards.
 
#6 ·
Pickled Carp

1 pt vinegar
1 pt water
3tbs sugar
1tbs salt
1/4 cp mixed pickling spice (tied in a bag)
1/4 cp lemon juice or 4 slices of lemon

Scale & wash carp. Cut in serving size pieces. Mix vinegar, water, sugar, salt, & pickling spices. Boil for 30 min. Add the lemon or juice & cook 5 more min. Then remove lemon slices if used. Add fish to hot liquid a few pieces at a time. Don't crowd it in the kettle as the meat falls apart easily. Simmer until a fin can be pulled out. Pack fish in clean widemouth jars with slices of onion. Pour the hot liquid over the fish to cover. Do not seal jars. Just cover loosely with caps.After they are cooled they may be sealed. Refrigerate for 3 days min. before using.

Feed Pickled Carp to *****, opossums, skunks, and buzzards.
LOL..Good one!!!
 
#8 ·
Some farmers want them for their crops, as said trappers want them for bait. You can also call your local zoo or raptor rehab and they will take some.
Any of you trappers out there that do need some carp for bait let me know. We are having shoots regularly and have carp for you.
 
#10 · (Edited by Moderator)
food,fertilizer, etc

I've eaten carp a few times, mostly when I started bow fishing just because I wanted to try it after hearing everyone say my entire life you cant eat those. Depending how you cook it, it is decent. Pretty much only the small ones under 10lb are any good to eat because they have the least amount of the dark meat. The dark meat on the middle of the sides of the fish is what causes anyone who has eaten carp to say they're terrible, you need to remove it all. This is what is called the mud vein. When cleaning the fish since they're kind of large, they're pretty easy to fillet aside from having a lot of large scales. Make sure you remove all of the dark meat while filleting, as the dark meat tastes terrible. Ive cooked the fillets on the George Foreman grill and baked them in the oven with a garlic butter marinade that turned out really well. I wouldn't recommend eating all of the fish due to getting so many from bow fishing, and most waters if not all in Ohio have consumption advisories on Carp. This is because the carp live a long time and are an oily fish that store a lot of pollutants to include the PCBs and heavy metals.
I noticed my beagle loves eating carp, I think he likes it more than dog food. They are also excellent fertilizer as well as others have said. Don't forget about catfish bait.
Don't be afraid to try eating one, but the main thing is don't just leave them laying on the boat ramp. That is what gets people fired up and gives bow fishing a bad name.
 
#11 ·
I have eaten them also years ago, when cleaned as mentioned above removing all the mud vien, rolled in a flour and cornmeal mixture and fried they are actually good. I would agree on not eating a lot of them because of advisorys.
 
#12 ·
I dont know if any of you are around tuscarawas county but I am one of the trappers that will gladly take your carp of your hands if you are a reasonably close to my area anyone on here that is pm me on here or whatever so we can set something up.....looking for large quantities
 
#15 ·
You can also sell them to Chinese Restaurants.

:tsk::tsk: I'm kidding, they did catch some guys at one of the Columbus area lakes (Hoover Res?) a while back netting them and selling them.
Yuck.
I used to trade fish, black bass and carp, to a Chinese restaurant where I used to work, for food. They would never serve it to the customers, but rather eat it for themselves at the restaurant for dinner.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top