According to a thread on a crappie website that I visit there were 4 Asian Carp caught either in Wheeler or below the dam on Wheeler. This is horrible news. If you aren't familiar with these fish, read up a little on them. These are the carp that jump out of the water when boats go by. That's pretty interesting, but the problem is that they feed on plankton and will severely harm the baitfish population because of that. I have read that they eat up to their body weight of plankton per day.

If anyone has any pull, with any state agency, state senator or rep, this would be a great thing to push them on. I'm sure the state is more concerned about CWD in MS but they need to work on figuring out a way of keeping these carp from expanding their range.

Anybody have the contact info for the CAB chairman? I'll make a call Monday if I can get that info. I don't know who the current chairman is.

I know they are a PIA, but it was cool watching them near Peoria, IL. A group of us chartered a guide for a couple hours. We cruised around the IL river, drank beer, cranked up Pink Floyd, and watched the fireworks.

Really bad news and not something to joke about but the law enforcement graveyard humor has to ask if they were Game Checked or not?

They need to legalize shooting them with shotguns and bird shot. It would be fun and they would be eradicated quickly.

They're in Pickwick and I've been told DCNR is assessing best they can on Wheeler, but yeah ... they're in it. Only a matter of time before they're in Guntersville if they're not already. The entire river will have them soon.

I bowhunted on Kentucky Lake last October and we only saw a tiny fraction of the number that's in the lake there. Longtime anglers are saying it's affecting shallow and deep areas for bass, crappie and bluegills.

Are they reported on Game Check?

[quote=Turkey_neck]They need to legalize shooting them with shotguns and bird shot. It would be fun and they would be eradicated quickly. X2

No, they would not. They will not be eradicated. There are hundreds of thousands of them in Kentucky Lake, and an untold number already in Pickwick and Wheeler.

Shooting them wouldn't make a dent. Similar to shooting hogs and coyotes, it might be fun but it won't matter. They're fun to bowfish but that doesn't matter. Shoot a few hundred pounds and there's hundreds of thousands of pounds still swimming.

Until the DNRs find something that kills the carp but doesn't harm other species, like a virus or other swimming predator, they're here to stay.

Party pooper.

Good analogy. They are the wild hogs of the water. Invasive destructive species.

Ive seen a few shows where people were eating this fish and pushing for a commercial market on them to drive their numbers down

I was hunting next to the white river in Indiana last year and counted 32 in the submerged treetop below me. They were all sucking air

These things will wreak havoc.

Just a knee jerk reaction/thought here, but would it not be a good start to contract with places like Southeastern Pond to start shocking the lakes and scooping them out? Seems like it would be more productive than trying to commercial fish for them and maybe they could at least keep up with their reproduction rate. It would at least be a start while trying to figure out what else to do. Just a thought.

That's terrible news. They have taken over KY lake, my home lake. The powers to be are finally starting to take notice, but I fear it's too late.

Need to start having some BIG bow fishing tournaments targeting those things.

They have been in gunterville for years just not in huge numbers

I wonder if you could make cat food, and other types of commercial feed out of them.

Asian carp? Wouldn't surprise me, but if they've been here for years it would be a very noticeable problem now.