Keeping it real (KIR)

Just read about the imported Carp which were captured at the docks. All were put down. A price of ?40,000 was estimated. How much damage could this have caused to our present stocks?

How many of us fish for fish which were brought into the country illegally?

How about we all stop fishing these waters?

Sensible answers only please.

I dont fish for Carp that often, however some of my mates do! We live on the Wirral which isnt exactly an angling mecca, especially for Carp! So a few years ago the lads get into carping big time, a bit of banter starts, who is going to be the first to catch a 20 etc, now round here there are hardly any waters with 'known' big fish, and as it was the only water that was (a 2acre lake) had legally imported fish, to I believe 40LB, from Holland, and lotsof them! It didnt take much to persuade these lads where they were going to spend their time, incidentaly none of them caught the 40, or much else, it died shortly after stocking along with lots more of the stock! Anglers today want instant results, hence the popularity in commercial fisheries where you sit 6 metres or so from the next angler, and if a fishery owner wants to sell day tickets, their is nothing more appealing to the masses than a pic of an angler cradling a lump, regardless of its country of origin.

Eddie,
I fully understand where you are coming from as far as the lack of big carp is concerned in your area, but if they are legally imported and anglers recognise them for what they are then i can't see a problem, i'm sure the lads in the south amongst the multitude of big fish opportuniies must see that you are as intitled to do exactly what they did years ago.....legally import fish.
The latest case that Murray mentions though is a totally different aspect......i know of waters here in the midlands that have been lost to the general angling public or angling clubs and suddenly produce fish up to 60lb!!.....in some cases the owners actually state they are grown on!!.........funnny how there is a brisk trade in continental carp but no one buys em!! bit like top shelf mags!!!
Legal imports fine....the others no way, thats my view.......but ask me what would i rather catch, a 40lb just imported or a 30lb unknown true brit and i would go for the 30 every time.
Theres als the little matter of some oversees fishery owner losing his/her fish and then Joe Bloggs going over to say france fishing for carp that now reside in his home town!

I cannot argue with that Paul, and like you would much rather fish natural waters for native species. But I still feel that it boils down to cash, and some fishery owners will do whatever is neccessary to flog a few more tickets!

Illegal importers of fish are just scum, and I dont suspect there are many anglers who would knowingly fish for thier ill gotten fish. But the problem lies with knowing who is reciving what. Another angle to this is what would happen if an angler stummbled upon a genuine previously unknown big fish water? The accusations would fly for sure.

Andrew,
i agree with what you say basically but i think you are wrong and that there are plenty who will fish for them.......even well known anglers who hold them up for all to see.........think about it, why else would the smugglers continue to smuggle them?........it is well known in some angling circles where the fish are but to say so in print could lead to a lot of possible repercussions.

i know the lake eddie is talking about,i was on the syndicate when those carp were stocked,i voted with my feet and left.
mates of mine carried on fishing there,and some tremendous catches were made,anglers were catching up to 4 or 5 twenties in a night when the season started,this in an area that has virtually no known 20lb carp!!!.
i still see some of those lads,they have sold all their gear and no longer carp fish,those that do still fish tend to tell you the same stories of how many twenties they once caught!,having not had any since...it ruined a few local anglers thats for sure!,and its a real sad story of how our best local water went down the pan.

i went for a walk around a lake which i fish at today and there was not a single person fishing. 3 acres and a pukka english fourty for 61 quid a year.
must be to hard for the poor darlings

That is spot on Mark, a lot of the lads from by me dont fish at all now, I thought at the time that water was no different to the commercial fisheries that are available now, their catches were simply ridiculous but only for a short spell (until the fish died). As such when they went out onto other waters they struggled massively and compared everywhere they went to you know where, now of those 6 or so lads that used to fish I think only one still bothers.

Do you lads think that Carp anglers who came into the sport as carp anglers are more inclined to pack it all in after a season or two?......those who have progressed to carp from other fields of angling and have been long term anglers before seem to hack it for life, thats the impression i get at least......i love carping when i'm in the mood but to me angling has so much more to offer than only carp.........perhaps these imports (legal or otherwise) keep the short termers happy and help them to part with their cash?

The term 'instant carp angler' was often used in the eighties to describe people who hadnt done this mythical 'apprenticeship' and learned to fish for other species, before 'graduating' to carp. I think a lot of anglers today start fishing with tha aim of catching a 'whopper' and your easiest chance of doing that nowadays is with carp! Its no different to the kids I take from the school I work at, inevitaby they are more happy going to a commercial and catching 20 pound of small carp without really trying than going somewhere a bit more natural and working at it! That said, commercials are many match and pleasure anglers first choice these days so maybe it is me who is out of touch.

I think you're right Eddie,

although most of us have been through the mill with other species, the lure of large carp either through 'progression' from smaller species or as a first choice for a newcomer will always exist.
The whole carp scene appeals to a lot of people and it's not just the fish and their size, if that was the case then the carpers would be moving onto cats (which grow bigger and fight 5 times harder than any carp).

But fish sizes are part of the scene and where there is demand, there will always be someone to supply them, either legally or othewise.
In the 80's it was with stolen carp from other UK waters, nowadays it is with imported fish.
Legally imported carp serve a purpose in filling the gap that UK breeders cannot fill, the sizes of which are another issue and another discussion.

The cessation of the trade in illegally stocked carp, be they imported or otherwise, deserves our help and support as non-health certified fish are a danger to the incumbent stock.