I have been talking about this "boat-in" idea for about a month now, Temple. Let's organize it together.
Kelly

Something else to think about: As I was watching the flood reports on the news last week and seeing TV footage of the flood gates on Tom Miller Dam wide open and blasting thousands of gallons of water into lake Town Lake, I wondered how many of those grass carp were riding the surf into Town Lake. And since the water in Town Lake is warmer than Lake Austin, those carp should be able to eat all they want. argggg!!!

Dear sportsman and conservationist.


In June of 2004 supporters of Carp Conservation via catch and release, specifically the groups American Carp Society
http://www.americancarpsociety.com and The Carp Anglers Group http://www.carpanglersgroup.com proposed to make Town Lake and Lake Austin catch and release only carp angling lakes. In spite of a long and well documented history of aquatic destruction by the common carp and his cousins this proposal found support in two city council members. Jeb Boyt Chairman of the downtown committee and Vice Chairman of Austin Parks committee. His e-mail is jeboyt@hotmail.com. Also Cid Galindo from the Austin Planning commission support this measure. His e-mail is cid.galindo@ci.austin.tx.us . This proposal now has a reasonable chance of passing.

Carp are listed by Petersons Field Guide to North American Native Fishes as an invasive exotic. Texas itself lists them as an invasive exotic species. Millions and millions of dollars are invested each year in fish screens and poisons to remove this aquatic pest. Carp are prolific breeders and muddy up a lake while feeding on plants, insects, the eggs of other fishes and fish themselves. They alter a lake so much that it it makes it uninhabitable for native species thus allowing carp to be the dominate species. As a food fish their flesh is boney and taste is unpleasant , so few if any Carp are used as a fish food. The only reasonable approach to Carp control is either chemical or mechanical. Chemical control involves poisons that effect the entire eco system not just the Carp. It is also expensive.

Mechanical removal includes commercial fishing techniques and bow fishing. This amendment being considered by the Austin City Council seeks to remove this most reasonable and least expensive of options. In all states Carp are listed as an invasive exotic and should be treated as such. To propose protective legislation for Carp is unreasonable. This well documented Paper shows the impact of Carp on a water shed http://www.hort.agri.umn.edu/h5015/00papers/baldry.htm . There are literally 100's of similar papers all across the world documenting the path of destruction of the carp.Why are The Authorities in Austin are working to preserve Carp when in fact we should be discussing better ways to preserve our native fish is beyond reason. What next a Fire Ant Conservation amendment !

If you need any further information on the impact of Carp please by all means contact curt@bowfishusa.com or president@nativefish.org

If you are concerned about the impact of Carp and our Aquatic enviroment please send an e-mail to all city council members and the Mayor of Austin by sending e-mail to http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/default.htm

Thank You

Robert Rice

No prob Kelly .. let's get it done !

BUMP

Just e-mailed the mayor, on behalf of us Lake Conroe guys. Dont want your lakes ending up like ours did back in the 80s.

i say everyone just goes down to austin, make some fun with it, and goes out on the lake and just catches as many carp as they can and keep them.

well wait a minute. There was a fellow that came all the way from Conroe to Austin twice to tell us that Conroe has never been better. This gentleman, and I use that word loosly, showed us a guides report the first time down that Conroe has never been better. This second time down, he said Conroe has never been better and fisherman were bringing in big stringers (he put his hands out to show how big the stringers were, which we all thought was funny). So you are telling me that This marina owner would lie about how good the fishing really is?
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't they have B.A.S.S. tourney's on this lake back in the 70's and early 80's? I guess getting rid of all that grass is more important than a comunity making money. I hear now that the carp eat the grass clippings from the mowers from the lawns that are there on the water front.
But now here in Austin they have put enough carp in lake Austin that the carp per acre of hydrilla excedes what Conroe had per acre. But I guess these are hydrilla eating only carp and we have nothing to worry about, because once the carp eat the hydrilla the carp won't eat any of the other grasses that are in the lake. And once the hydrilla is gone ms. gilroy is going to do the fisherman a favor and plant the natural grasses back in the lake . As Bobby Knight once said "What an idiot".

LOL!!!

This is shocking and disturbing... lawmakers more concerned about carp than our native species? Surely there are those in higher places who would find this movement repulsive as well. I am with you guys, we are fighting this battle at Joe Pool and will do anything to help our fellow anglers down south as well. I will email those folks too, they need educating...Or maybe the pro-carp lobby has the better incriminating photos...I can't imagine how else it could be explained!! ...Ron

"lawmakers more concerned about carp than our native species?"

Hydrilla is not a native species, is invasive and will choke the life out of all the native grasses, but ya'll don't want to hear that becaise the short-term benefit of a better fishery is more important to ya'll than the long-term effects of having all the native grasses killed out by an invader.

Please seek to educate yourselves before you try to educate others...get the whole story, not just the one side.

i think he meant "native species" is our fish, versus Asian carp

The grass carp will only eat the hydrilla, nothing elese! Please please use a non-native fish to eat a non-native plant. This is all making sense now.

Mark ya kill me !

Obviously, an over-abundance of grass carp isn't any better than unchecked growth of hydrilla. Perhaps harvesting would be a better way of attacking the problem? It's not as cost effective, but maybe it's a better alternative?