I've been out of the loop on JP Carp'in for quite some time. But I recall having conversations with a few of the regulars here years ago about JP and the possibility of it becoming a trophy Carp lake, if it was managed correctly. Some said the depth, or temp of the water was not suitable for larger carp. So...is there any change in this body of water the past 5 years or so? Has anyone caught a JP 20 or greater yet? I know I've witnessed Carp netted that had to be close to 15lb, maybe larger. Thx.

My old PB was from there and it was 18.

That's a good fish, jpf, congrats. What do you think about the possibility of larger fish (20lb+) from jp? It's obvious the fish have enough habitat to grow, spawn, etc. But what is limiting the fish from obtaining larger sizes? Too many fish + not enough food base? I'm not too strong on the tech/bio side of things. What about this scenario...

Say you removed every Carp except for maybe 5k (or less?) fish, all ranging from 5-15lb, etc. Do you think those fish or their off spring would grow larger? Or would the spawn be too successful and we end up in the same position?

Just curious what everyone thinks would need to happen in order for the Carp to grown bigger out of jp. Thx.

Go to lynn creek marina when it warms up and I guarantee you will catch them all day long

lol..Catching Carp at JP is not a problem... Catching "too many" carp might be the problem.

The lake is too murky and warm to create a trophy lake. The predator base is there but the carp got a foot hold way fast and now it is full of 5-10 lbs. adding gator gar might help a bit in the long run but all the bass guys would cry about that too along with their precious, yet invasive hydrilla.

Scott...what about eradicating a number of fish, would that help for future populations? If so...how many would need to go....10-20-80% of the population?

There's already a carp caught at 18lb, which leads me to believe there's at least 20lb carp in there.

I saw a game warden net a 20lber out during one of our kids fish in at joe pool and kill it for Neil Stern to cook, so there def big ones at the marina. I am not sure you could put a big enough dent in the population there since they spawn twice there and the water is so murky the predators couldn't keep they fry in check.

ahh..ok..that makes sense. Very cool about the 20lber being netted. Not so cool about killing it. Prolly tasted horrid. I cleaned a small JP carp years ago and it tasted horrid. Very strong, muddy, fishy, etc, etc.

Thanks for the info.

JP is awesome for kids to fish,I wanna take a few of our fatherless boys to the barge for some vertical fishing....

Great idea, that would be a blast.

We are going to do some funaments at JP next month for our fatherless kids.Gonna be fun for sure!!!!

I fished Joke Pool since day one. My biggest carp maybe was 15 lbs. Nothing bigger at all.

There are bigger ones there for sure. They just have to compete with all the small ones. lol..

Here's what I think...

I believe that every lake will support a certain tonnage of fish. Within that tonnage, there is a certain percentage of each of: Predators, Scavengers, and Baitfish (and whatever other classifications you want to throw in there). So each lake will seek to hit the balance of each of those groups. So that means that the tonnage of each of those groups will always be constant. If the number of Bass(for example) is low, the Bass that are there will be larger. If the number of Bass is high, the size of the fish will be smaller. Repeat that sentence and sub in any species you want, and I feel that it will remain true. Fewer Carp=Larger Carp; More Carp=Joe Pool Special Two Pounders.

As far as thinning it out? I think Joe Pool could stand it. But it would take efforts beyond what is happening now, and it's nice to have that option when you want to get some kids on fish fast.

Chad