were to get kitty bait? (aka carp)

[hashbaz]

Tomorrow, I'm going on the first annual Sackett family cat-fishing trip at Utah lake. I tried to catch some carp for bait up here at Cutler reservoir. (do you know how bad it feels to be skunked by miserable ol' carp?)[blush][][blush][]

Where is good at Utah lake to catch carp? Its a big lake and I have never fished it before.

It is legal to club and/or snag carp?
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[Fishhound]

Don't feel too bad about the carp skunk. To intentionally catch one with a baited hook is challanging. Some people are fanatic about carp fishing and can tell you that it can be a very challanging fish to catch. Many people resort to snagging them.

I like to use my home made dough baits or flies to catch them, but, I recently just got a bow and some arrows to try out when I get an opportunity to do so. One time, when I went out with TubeDude, I caught a 5 pound carp with just a landing net - there are easier ways to get one though. If all else fails, you can buy carp meat to use for bait.

BTW - a lot of other baits will work at UL for catfish.
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[Kent]

[size 1]"It is legal to club and/or snag carp?"[/size]
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[size 1]I always thought that it was legal to snag nongame fish, of which carp is a member; however, after rereading the 2005 Regulations again I am not so sure. I found the following:[/size]
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[size 1]"6.(3) A person may not take protected aquatic wildlife by snagging..."[/size]
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[size 1]"II.(23) "Protected aquatic wildlife" means... all species of fish, crustaceans or amphibians"[/size]
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[size 1]"II.(29) "Snagging"... means to take a fish in a manner that the fish does not take the hook voluntairly into its mouth."[/size][/size]
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[size 1]Under the Bear Lake Specific Exceptions it discusses it being legal to keep "foul hooked Bonneville cisco that are taken through normal, legal fishing activities." Interestingly, "foul hooked" is not defined.[/size]
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[size 1]"D.(2) Nongame fish,... may be taken by angling, traps, archery (excluding crossbows), liftnets, seine, spear or underwater spearfishing..."[/size]
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[size 1]Based upon the above, it would appear that one could receive a ticket for snagging a carp; however, I have never heard of anyone receiving one.[/size]
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[lurechucker]

People who snag carp don't deserve a ticket, they deserve a medal!




lurechucker
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[Carp_Punisher]

[#505000][cool] I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one Kent. The keyword in the section of the proclamation you posted is protected. The DWR in my experience is only intersted in protecting native species, and introducted game species. [/#505000]
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[#505000]Racoons like carp are a nuisance species that were introduced to the state by "bucket biologist" coon hunters. As soon as they are caught they are killed. The DWR wants them gone because of the damage they do to the native species, just like carp. [/#505000]
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[#505000]Based on the fact they have 7 million of them in Utah Lake they want to get rid of, and the fact they are not a protected species I would think based on what I am reading that it would be perfectly legal to snag a carp.[/#505000]
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[#505000]I'm going to go out on a limb here and use my phsycic abilities but I would imagine if one of us were to call the DWR asnd ask about the matter they would strongly encourage anything (short of the blatantly illegal such as poisons, gernades, firearms, ect) that would thin the population a little.[/#505000]
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[Kent]

As someone who deals with the laws every day, you are undoubtedly well aware that when it comes to laws one must ask, "How is it interpreted, and is it enforced?" Notice that "what does the law state" is often lost in the debate of the above two items. As it is currently written it would appear that carp are included (as disgusting as they are I think they are still a fish) in the broad term "protected aquatic wildlife". I agree carp are about the least protected fish in Utah, so apparently it has been decided to ignore the definition and not enforce the rules that appear to have been written that would protect carp against snagging. If one really wants to open a can of worms one only needs to debate whether or not it is legal to continue fishing (and releasing all fish) after one has kept a legal limit of fish. That topic went on for 10 pages of debate on the UDWR website!
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[RiverRat77]

K, first off the picture on the post right above this is just really really WRONG!!! [sly] Funny in a really twisted sick humor look at that freak kind of way..... Hmm I disclosed too much about my sense of humor I think. Anyway, on to business. Wasn't there a post a while back where somebody on our board here said they encountered two DWR officers or employees who advocated the wholesale slaughter of as many carp as possible, regardless of the methods used?? If thats the opinion of these agency representatives, then I think it would be ok to snag, harpoon, arrow, beat, fish for, or do whatever else you wanted.... as long as you weren't breaking any other codes or laws like as mentioned above, explosives, firearms, and all other Crocodile Dundee fishing equipment.[]
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[Coldfooter]

I agree with your interpetation of the regs Kent.

[size 1]"D.(2) Nongame fish,... may be taken by angling, traps, archery (excluding crossbows), liftnets, seine, spear or underwater spearfishing..." [/size]

The above clearly states witch methods may be used in the taking on none game species. No where in that statement do I see snagging as a proper means to do so. That being said I would tend to agree that snagging a carp is perhaps one of those little things an officer of the DWR might turn a blind eye to. However, its my belief that due to the fact snagging is not currently an approved method for the taking of carp a person could be sighted for the infraction.
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