This thread feels familiar....I'd say I have nothing against carp per se. But because they are robust, fast-growing, competitive feeders which can stand the overcrowding, re-capture etc, they've been the fish around which the commercial fishing model has developed. So for me, and I accept it's just my view , the type of fishing on offer, with its car parks, cafes, toilet blocks, on-site tackle shops and closely pegged, overstocked, characterless pools, is a bit too close to shopping and a visit to a mall. I know there are some lovely ones, and I understand, increasingly, as I get older, the benefits of their convenience. The general model though, involves increasing the catch rate whilst decreasing many of the things that attract us, or some of us, to the waterside.
So, I'm ok with carp, and when I bump into them accidentally, it's a challenge to get them out, and I don't pretend I'm not pleased if I do. I can see the attraction of fishing for them specifically, although I don't think I'll be taking it up. If I have a gripe, it's that we've overdone it with the commercial scene, where catching carp in huge quantities at unprecedented sizes has rather devalued them. And that some mixed fisheries have been spoiled by their thoughtless introduction.
