How to Get Rid of Carp in a 40 Acre Reservoir Without Hurting the Game Fish

Isolation Method

• 1

  Locate a section of the reservoir that will act as a channel or inlet to restrict the movements of the carp. Carp cannot mate in still water, so this area should be as stagnant and still as possible.

• 2

  Chum the area with canned corn, or feed corn that has been soaked for three days in water. This will draw in a lot of the carp from various areas of the reservoir. Keep this up for a few days and be generous with the corn. Try to do this at the same time each day for a period of about four days.

• 3

  Chum the water on the fifth day, and when the feeding is at its height, pull the fish fence across the narrow end of the inlet. This will effectively trap a bulk of the population of carp. The carp can then be harvested, or hunted with a bow and arrow to completely eliminate them.

Scientific Methods

• 4

  Stun the carp. There is an electrical generator that is especially designed to be used to cause fish to momentarily cease moving and float to the surface. It does not harm the fish, but allows sufficient time for a hand net to be used to retrieve the carp while it is recovering from the shock.

• 5

  Train the carp to respond to sound and food stimulus. Dan Willis, a graduate of the University of Florida, wrote a thesis based on research he had done in very large aquarium tanks. He created low frequency sounds underwater prior to dispensing an amount of food in a fixed location in the tank. Eventually the carp responded to the sounds by moving to the fixed location, even without the stimulus of the food. Mike Duncan built upon Willis' work with his own thesis, and tested the idea of releasing carp into a pond and training them to respond to the sound and food reinforcement. Underwater speakers and a generous amount of carp food can replicate this result in a reservoir.

• 6

  Drain the reservoir into a nearby waterway and rescue the non-carp fish. This option is a last resort, as you essentially have to kill the pond to bring it back to life in a following year. With a smaller area, you can effectively kill the remaining carp and remove them and their eggs from the water.

• 7

  Treat the remaining water with Rotenone. This is a chemical extracted from the roots and stems of a tropical plant. It takes about three weeks after the application of the rotenone for the chemical to decompose and make the water ready for the restocking of game fish. Seed the water with desired plants and refill the reservoir with water. This method has worked well in the Hennepin and Hopper Lakes in Springfield, Illinois.