Carp became food of the bourgeoisie, and who emigrated to the New World left Europe having developed a taste for the rich fish.Jews, accustomed to preparing carp for Geifilte Fish, were aghast. Elated, Robert Sweeney, president of the Minnesota State Fish Commission, wrote to persuade Minnesota Governor Hubbard that the benefits of receiving carp would far outweigh the burden of the new responsibility: “While it would very materially increase our labors, it enables us to secure a liberal share of those desirable fish for our own State’s waters, and which we willingly accept as the compensation for our additional work and distribution.”The fish distributed in the region only went to prominent citizens who had lobbied the federal or state fish commissions. But they were hardy survivors. Carpworld’s International section had just carried a picture of Daniel Slaby’s stunning 56lb 4oz common caught from a lake in Michigan. Dean Fletcher's 68lb 1oz British record carp "The Parrot" about to be weighed, January 2016 courtesy of twitter. They have dominated some fisheries, crowding out species like bass and bluegills and increasing turbidity to the point that walleyes have a hard time seeing food. When some escaped from rearing ponds into rivers and canals, King Henry VIII offered rewards to those who could bring “carpes to the king.” In 1653, Izaak Walton wrote in The Compleat Angler that the carp “hath [not] been long in England.”As the standard of living the average European and Englishman improved, so did the availability of carp. In much of Europe, carp remain a delicacy.
In his 1874 report, Baird wrote that the common carp would thrive better than most native fish because it fed on vegetable matter. A recent Facebook discussion on where to find 50lb plus carp highlighted several of these areas and also sparked much speculation on just how big carp in North America might grow. Dr. Bartlett reported that in 1893 one fisherman from Illinois caught 27,000 pounds of carp in two 700-yards seine hauls. People believed if they could only get rid of carp, the water would clear up and game fish would return. In China and Japan, this strong, intelligent fish has been the symbol for notability, honor, and courage for centuries.In Europe it was a food reserved exclusively for European royalty during the middle ages, and today, it is still prepared meticulously by Cordon Bleu chefs in that continent’s finest restaurants and hotels. While only partially correct (like trout, carp eat mostly insect larvae), such a revelation was enough to encourage more research. By the time the bureaucrats finally got around to importing carp, a citizen of the Golden Bear State had been raising the species in his backyard for 5 years. States wanted as many carp as they could get from Washington to propagate in their own ponds. We are so glad you are a fellow “guilty one”.All content - Copyright American Carp Society 2002 - 2020 Thomas Krist from the Czech Republic was the new World carp record holder with that fish, pictured below. Throughout the Japanese Middle Ages, carp adorned the banners carried by the samurai to symbolize strength of this warrior class.
The biggest carp on any state record list is a 75lb fish caught by Curtis Wade from Pelahatchie Lake in Mississippi back in 1963. This was also caught at Euro Aqua in Hungary. He recommended that a fish farm be established in each county to raise stock carp to sell to fish farmers, who would hold the fish in ponds or canals to fatten them for market. Although after 200 years, and as has been applied to other introduced species like the brown trout, ‘naturalized’ is a more accurate term. So were many Scandinavians, Belgians, Austrians, French, and Germans who served carp at weddings, Christmas, New Year's, and birthdays, and had assumed the land of milk and honey would have carp as well.Incensed, they wrote to the new government and demanded that carp be made available. Julius A. Poppe, of Sonoma, California, had taken matters of fish farming into his own hands and in 1872 had gone to a commercial operation in Reinfield, Germany to purchase 83 carp. Oz Holness's 67lb 8oz British record carp "Two Tone" being weighed in, 2008 courtesy of YouTube. Euro Aqua’s World carp record pedigree.
Dusk at the Carp Tournament, Chatfield Reservoir One for rod & line (57lb 2oz) captures as well as other methods such as bowfishing (59lb 2oz). .