When my family moved to Pennsylvania, one of my first acquisitions was a used sit-inside tandem kayak to explore the local waters with my young kids.
As soon as spring arrived, our first adventure carried us to Presque Isle on Lake Erie. My son, Luke, and I roamed the lake in the faded-red beater catching stocky largemouth and feisty pike.
Ode to the lowly carp
Eventually we worked our way to the upper reaches of a lagoon. I cast my spinnerbait toward the shore at what I thought was another big bass. As soon as the lure landed, the water exploded in every direction as a school of massive common carp, each well over 10 pounds, stampeded out of the cove.
“Hold on!” I shouted as we gripped the gunwales and braced ourselves against the onslaught of armored fish. Our kayak blocked the only exit and fish slammed into the side of the boat as they escaped to deeper water.
This was our first close encounter with a carp-nado. Since then, we have been caught in several spawning masses and learned the carps’ love party makes fishing shallow water in spring next to impossible.
Even though the common carp is an invasive species, almost every waterbody in North America hosts the silver and gold bottomfeeders. In many waterways, carp make up most of the fish biomass. Carp are so prolific only a few states have bag or size limits.
If the tug is the drug, then carp would be a more popular gamefish. They have impressive stamina and use their considerable girth and hard head to charge for the horizon. Hook a full-size carp on light tackle and expect a lengthy battle to the end.
North American anglers malign carp as trash fish, but anglers around the world covet the hard-fighting fish. According to a story I saw on NBC News, when a famous carp in England died, the loss rippled through the British fishing community.
Some anglers love carp. Fly anglers consider “golden ghosts” the poor man’s bonefish. Both bones and carp haunt the shallows offering an opportunity to sight cast to tailing fish. The saltwater version is celebrated as a trophy catch and the freshwater sucker maligned as a trash fish.
Luke and I spent years avoiding the carp spawning season, now we make lemonade out of lemons. My son looks forward to Carp Week. During the carps’ spawning mass, Luke stands in the bow of his kayak and shoots tailing fish and then hunkers down for the sleigh ride.
When we return to the boat ramp with a load of carp, the huge, golden fish draw a crowd. We offer the gawkers, “Do you want to take one home for dinner?” They decline and then ask, “But can we hold one for a photo?”
Feature illustration: Lorenzo Del Bianco
