Surprised you guys have not posted this yet. Maybe it has, but I did not see it. A version of the trophy carp rule y'all have been asking for is officially up for a regulation change.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/releases/?req=20080130f

How many people would keep a common carp over 33 inches anyway?

we have kept pretty quite about it...not that we didn't know about it....until it passes any way...and it looks like it will..Town Lake err Lady Bird is the carp anglers Lake Fork and Lake Allen Henry rolled into one...very special place we just had a angler over from Denmark to fish it..and every March it draws carp fishermen from all over the USA...from CA to up state New York....

it has accounted for more carp angler PB's then any other lake in the nation I would guess....


several years ago.......

further more Hooked Longhorn AH has been on my "have to fish" list from some time...it looks like you spend some time out there...see any carp??? betting there huge...

I would assume this was mostly related to managing the bowfishers. As someone with a sideline observation. I think this might be something those groups could agree with as well. Not that it is what you want to hear, but I would think they would assume this could create a trophy fishery for them too. By not giving an all out protection to trophy carp it almost looks like TPWD is trying to find a middle ground.

JvT,
there have been 2 fish over 46lbs taken at town lake very very rare to have a common carp reach those weights...town lake is not that big...one of those fish has been caught 2 more times since the original capture...the other has been dead many years...(see the record books) this is a lake that for many reason's turned out to be perfect for common carp...and bass...some real hogs...as well as some real lumps (nomenclature for a huge carp) have come out of it...much like the bridge that has become a nesting place for bats in Austin...they didn't plan it to happen it just did...town lake has become a special place for of all things carp...now all carp anglers practice a form of catch and release that would make your head spin...from fish safe landing nets and special mats to lat the fish on while unhooking to antiseptic for fish formulated just for hook wounds....just to ensure that the fish will be there for the next angler...

now this resource has become known thought out the world....TPWD understands that in a very forward thinking move has acted to protect it...and they don't have to spend any money on it; like the bats in Austin it just sort of fell in there lap...

LoneStarCarper,

The only carp I ever saw were right off the boat ramp. At night when the water is calm you can see them (there is a bright light right there) swimming right up to the boat ramp sucking on the algae I guess. Did see a guy catch about a 20lber in the crappie house one night off a minnow on the bottom. We all thought he was pulling up a sharelunker!

cool thanks....betting it was eating snails and not algae....I am sure there are some MASSIVE fish in that lake....just need to fish it...

and JvT yes it is a huge step for us as carp anglers...a managed trophy carp fishery!

Agreed. This is awesome. I just wish they would so the same thing for Lake Austin.

LoneStarCarper,
I fully understand. Not a total stranger to it all. Though I don't post much, I find this forum one of my favorites. I was carp fishing over 25 years ago when it was not cool to most. Do have (or did?) a SB IGFA line class record and once had (for a short time) an IGFA line class Carp record. Both I purposely targeted. Just not so much into Carp fishing as I once was. Never got into the Euro thing as you guys do. I have also bowfished. Though bowfishing over the last several years has only been for hunting Alligators, not fish. And I have even got into the Bass Tournament thing for a time. So with that background I am sure you guys were asking for Catch and Release of all Trophy size fish and I am sure some other groups where asking for no protection. Thus my observation that the proposed regulation allowing the retention of one fish over 33 inches per day was a consolidated response from TPWD.

I do think it is a good thing, a big step that will open the door to adding similar regulation to other waterbodys and will also help reduce the old stigma of Carp as trash fish. And I see no reason why it would not be approved. Congratulations to your groups efforts.

I'm super excited to start fishing on town lake when my poles get here next week!!! Whats the best part of the shoreline to fish near? I dont want to steal anyones thunder or anything but i'd like to catch a few good ones. I see some people fishing by the park along pleasant valley. that a good place? or any help on what kind of cover to look for and i guess i can just explore. I've never ever caught a carp of any kind so my first is also gonna be my PB!!!! fun times ahead!!!

Erock -

The fish tend to move around a lot. What is hot one day may be cold the next. In general though, the fish tend to be middle of the lake and down stream during the winter and middle of the lake upstream in the summer.

JvT -

I commend the TPWD for it's forward thinking. This regulation is not at all about this method or that method per se. Instead it is correctly about managing/preserving a trophy fishery. It is wonderful to see trophy sized carp recognized for the valuable resource which they are.

erock, pv can be good from what i know but at town different spot are better different times of year. just remember, please release all trophies u catch. fish alot and find out if the fish are deep or shallow and that will be a good start. for instance, if the fish are in 30ft of water and your fishing where u can only cast to 15ft of water, then it will be slow. time of year, moon phase,air temp, water temp and some other things i'm sure have alot to do with where the fish will be. 1 tip: chum your baits, not your area, especially in winter. in the summer and spring and fall they seems to feed alot more and u can chum a little more heavy. good luck