@LonestarAngling -- sorry, I would have included the link to the spearfishing contest earlier, but I was on my phone:
https://www.atlasenvironmentaltx.com/tournamentsI missed the one in January, but there should be one in the fall. This contest is the only legal way to spear in downtown San Marcos. Normally it's filled to the brim with tubers and apparently there were clashes in the past. It definitely is fun, and the guy Nick who runs the contest is genuinely passionate about the river and one of the nicest human beings I've met. He'll announce the contest on Facebook first, and it fills up pretty quickly. Not sure if I'll do it this year, since the traffic is so awful, but if anyone signs up and I'm on the ball enough to check my PMs I'd be happy to give insights.
The carp definitely got spooky after I tried to kill them a few times. One of the nice side effects of snorkeling around in the summer was I got an intimate understanding of the area's depth and structures, and where the fish hang out, so that directly lead to me catching fish in the fall.
@JJ4MEL -- I've said this on the forum before, to much disbelief, but it bears repeating, if you prepare carp right it's perfectly lovely. My fiance has forbidden me to bring home anymore catfish, but she'll take seconds of fried carp-cake. I don't think I'll ever throw a carp back again. Also, it's good for cutbait for gar!