spearing carp clearlake

Has anyone spearfished for carp in Clear Lake?

Its not legal. I wish it was.

Fish for them instead they are a blast to catch and are one of the hardest fighting fish there is. I use ultra light and 6 to 8 lb test and just let them run! and man do they run!

 You can bowfish for them there!  It is a blast!  Matt

I shot at a few with friends who owned a house up there about 10 yrs ago. I felt like a total douchebag when I finally hit one. Not much point in shooting something for the sake of seeing it suffer.

No worse than fishing or spearfishing, and they taste pretty good smoked.  I just bonk them as soon as I get them in the boat.

I didn't realize people ate them. Anyway, the hooligans I was with weren't eating them.

Bowfishing for carp is a blast and one of the most effective sporting ways I know of controlling the carp population.  They can indeed be eaten..........They can be processed into fertilizer, animal feed, .........

As long as there is no waste.............

It is not at all uncommon to find large numbers of carp basking in shallow water bays in Clear Lake and Lake Berryessa.  Bowfishing can be done from shore at times but I was most effective in a flat bottomed boat poled slowly and quietly into range.  No trolling motor, no paddles................But that was many years ago.  My friend needed feed and fertilizer for his organic farm and there was one HELL of a lot of carp that year.  We filled up the bed of his Mazda pickup and came close to bending the axle....but EVERYTHING was used...His livestock (pigs) were fed and his crops (Best Mellon I EVER HAD) were planted.........Helped him through a rough time.

BTW.....They don't just roll over when you put an arrow into them..........Be prepared for a tug of war....Some of those we got way back when must have been over 40 pounds.

Its not legal. I wish it was.

Fish for them instead they are a blast to catch and are one of the hardest fighting fish there is. I use ultra light and 6 to 8 lb test and just let them run! and man do they run!

I totally agree about "freshwater redfish."  A totally under-appreciated fighting fish, although I don't like eating them and prefer catch-and-release.  Here's a fun thing to try: fly-fishing for them.  No joke.  Use any weighted nymph and drop it about 12" from their nose when they are feeding in the shallows and they will take it.  Mouth-hooked almost every time.  It is good casting practice since they wont go out of their way to grab it... you need to nail the cast.   And the fight, now THAT is a lot of fun.  (Jeez, I wonder what a 40# carp is like on a hook and line...)

"Its not legal"  Actually, spearing Carp is legal, non-native garbage fish that is not considered a game fish and can be taken by spear. Squaw fish  can also be taken by spear. I have shot many Carp in Lake Berryessa, not as easy to sneak up on as one would think, once you start slinging steel at them they really become skittish. I don't eat them, give them away to anyone that will take them. Always wanted to try it at Clearlake, spent allot of time up there but no spearing. good luck

Ranger Jim

Oops, I misspoke on fish and game regs., 2.30 Spearfishing: Colorado River District, and Central Valley Districts only with some restrictions. Page 13 of the freshwater fishing regs. available online. I disagree with this, especially in Berryessa where there are spawning trout in it's tributaries, the Carp love to eat their eggs. Oh well, guess I can write that spot off. Dam, I hate eating my foot, it just doesn't taste good.   

Its not legal. I wish it was.

Fish for them instead they are a blast to catch and are one of the hardest fighting fish there is. I use ultra light and 6 to 8 lb test and just let them run! and man do they run!

I totally agree about "freshwater redfish."  A totally under-appreciated fighting fish, although I don't like eating them and prefer catch-and-release.  Here's a fun thing to try: fly-fishing for them.  No joke.  Use any weighted nymph and drop it about 12" from their nose when they are feeding in the shallows and they will take it.  Mouth-hooked almost every time.  It is good casting practice since they wont go out of their way to grab it... you need to nail the cast.   And the fight, now THAT is a lot of fun.  (Jeez, I wonder what a 40# carp is like on a hook and line...)

I caught one around 30lbs a couple of years ago at lake mendocino on 6lb test. It took me about 30 minutes to land the fish, when i did i got a applause from an audience that was watching.
I am so tired of catching those 3 to 10 lb slugs called bass, i cant wait for the carp to show!!

I am so tired of catching those 3 to 10 lb slugs called bass, i cant wait for the carp to show!!

http://www.norcalcarpclub.com/

I saw a school of about 80 HUGE carp in cache creek where the redbud trail crosses.  They were in a large shallow pool with riffles on either side.  I wished I had a rod with me so bad! 

If I ever go back there, I'm bringing my 8wt fly rod for sure.

Here's a fun thing to try: fly-fishing for them.  No joke.  Use any weighted nymph and drop it about 12" from their nose when they are feeding in the shallows and they will take it.  Mouth-hooked almost every time.  It is good casting practice since they wont go out of their way to grab it... you need to nail the cast.   And the fight, now THAT is a lot of fun.  (Jeez, I wonder what a 40# carp is like on a hook and line...)

I hereby predict that carp will be an AOTY fish by 2025.  A fish with a tail as wide as your paddle has got to be a bruiser.  Tasty wild fish will be so regulated by then it wont make any sense.  Thus, the future belongs to hard-fighting fish that tolerate crappy water and are absolutely garbage to eat!  (but lets leave LMB out of this.)  The Brits think we are crazy not to give more love to carp; it is a whole industry out there.  Like we have Bass Pro shops, they have specialty stores that just do carp.  (true).  They have a huge amount of different specialty rods and reels.  Special strike alarms.  Special "corn slingshots" for chumming (I have one).  Some of the spinning reels will allow the fish to take the bait with zero resistance.  Others opt for huge (40 feet long?) $2,000 telescoping carbon carp poles, that allow you to work the weeds from shore; the fight is epic since there is no reel and no drag. 

There is even - NOT kidding here - a thing the Brits call a "carp mat."  It is a carp-size rectangular piece of 2" thick foam rubber.  The idea is that you place the carp on it in order to gently remove the hook.  The heavy carp cant hurt himself thrashing around like he would laying directly on the ground.  It shows the respect they have for this fish. 

In England, the carp would definitely be in AOTY.  Obviously it is a "coarse" fish but it is the king of coarse fishes.