So I live about a mile from the pleasant valley bridge that is right on town lake and I was told that there is some fun carp/buffalo fishing down there.

I however, have never been fishing for any sort of fish like this. If anyone can give me some ideas on equipment to buy (on the cheap), what part of town lake is better than others. And also, how the hell you actually do the fishing. I'll be bank fishin or wading if the water is warm enough.

ANY help is greatly appreciated! Sounds like there is a lot of fun to be had and fish to be caught around here.

Also, do you eat these fish? if so, how? and if not, do you just fish catch and release?

thanks!!

Eric

We're trophy carp fishermen who CPR, catch/photograph/release our fish.

Anywhere on Lady Bird lake can be good, just depends on the time of year.

Also, Lady Bird lake is a trophy fish water. It's not one with eating size carp in it. If you wish to eat carp, the smaller fish are much better because the bones are smaller and easier to cook soft.

Your are correct that carp fishing is a lot of fun. As for how to do it, there is lots of information on this board already posted. I encourage you to start reading and you can learn a lot. Also, the Saturday before Easter, there is a CAG tournament on Lady Bird. You could learn a whole lot just walking the bank and talking with the anglers.

It's a great sport. Enjoy!

Oh and whatever fishing tackle you have can be used for carp fishing just make sure that the drags are set light enough to let the fish take line. Fish a small size 6 hook and use something like sweet corn, worms, or even black eyed peas fish it with a light weight sliding sinker.

It can get much more complicated than that but if you decide you like this type of fishing, you can learn a lot more about specialized gear and such.

is there one shop in town that would be better than another to go to and pick up some stuff? I'm looking for a place that i can go to and ask questions and actually get an answer. so many people are worried about "giving away their secret" and I'm just worried about trying to have a little fun here and there. theres no room for snobs in that.

Also, do people actually eat carp? I've never heard of that before? How do you prepare it? and what does it taste like?

and for the record - I plan on keeping 0

All the answers are here, just dig down a little.

Also, luckily, there are no snobs here. well, there are, but we're sharing snobs.

You'll nor find much gear or information in a local store.

Brewboy had it right though, grab your bass gear and go hook into a couple. It is an amazing sport, but no need for specialized gear straight away. If you enjoy carp angling enough that will take care of itself.

In the mean time:

http://www.lonestarcarpbrigade.net/wiki/index.php?title=Starless_Dragons_recommendations

should get you very well started.

also just for grins:

http://bigcarptackle.com

my favorite online carp shop. great deals and great service.

There have been a lot of "carp eating" threads posted lately. Do a quick search and you'll find a lot of the users of this forum eat, or have eaten, carp. In some European countries carp is the main course of their traditional Christmas dinner.

If you just want to give carp angling a try, just go with your current gear, a number 6 hook, and some sweetcorn. Once you catch the first carp and realize that carping is really what you want to do, then break the bank and get all the specialized gear that the carping world has to offer. A separate bank account for your carping budget is highly recommended in order to save your marriage. Good luck.

I don't know anyone here that eats carp. I had a grass carp cooked for me once last summer and it wasn't bad, you just had to eat around the extra bones. It was just breaded and fried.

As far as a tackle shop. Sorry but I don't know of any down there that cater to carp fishermen. Just rig like I told you and you can catch.

If you want to learn about carp fishing, look at and read all the info conatined in these links:

http://www.americancarpsociety.com/cyprinology.html

http://www.americancarpsociety.com/cyprinology.html

http://www.americancarpsociety.com/cypr_3carpcare.html

http://www.americancarpsociety.com/cypr_2tam_rodactions.html

http://www.americancarpsociety.com/cypr_7reels.html

http://www.americancarpsociety.com/cypr_2tam_rigs.html

http://www.americancarpsociety.com/cypr_6markerrods.html

http://www.americancarpsociety.com/cypr_5spodding.html

http://www.americancarpsociety.com/cypr_baits_and_baiting.html

http://www.americancarpsociety.com/cypr_baiting_areabaiting.html

http://www.americancarpsociety.com/cypr_baiting_baiting_to_a_feature.html

http://www.americancarpsociety.com/cypr_baiting_pva.html

http://www.americancarpsociety.com/cypr_baiting_method.html

http://www.americancarpsociety.com/cypr_baiting_boilies.html

Thanks for all the info guys... sounds like a great time... my od and reel should be here by the weekend so maybe i'll have to head out and see what i cant put together.

Good luck and let us know how you do. If you decide to try eating on I would not do it from Town Lake/Lady Bird. That water was considered polluted for a long time. They even banned swimming. Then they banned gas motors to help save it. But I'd run over to City Park/ Emma Long on Lake austin and keep one from there. The smaller ones will have a more mild taste and most prefer that.

Erock - Send me a pm if you want to learn more about gear / spots around Austin. I am out in Round Rock and when the weather warms up a bit will fish town, austin, and a couple other spots very frequently.

Shops down here don't know much about the art of fishing, but you can set up your bass rigs with no problems. I did this for about the first year I fished for carp.