Strange looking Carp Lake Hartwell

• Sep 9, 2020

• #1

ghadarits

Senior Member

So I was at Lake Hartwell over Labor Day weekend and to keep the kids entertained I baited up the dock for a carp fishing tournament. The Derby was a hit with everyone involved so it was a big success. Now for the interesting part of the weekend. My oldest nephew caught a fish that I think is a Mirror Carp.
Some of the scales on this carp were 3 inches wide. Thats 6ft Tarpon sized scales so it got my attention real quick.
From what I've read mirror carp are native to the UK and Europe not North America. Heck with that being said I think all carp in the USA were imported from somewhere else.

Any incite on if it is in fact a mirror carp or what it is if it isn't will be greatly appreciated.

 

Attachments

• 
  Mirror Carp.png

  715.4 KB · Views: 304

• Sep 9, 2020

• #2

j_seph

Senior Member

Mirror Carp

 

• Sep 9, 2020

• #3

Cool Hand Luke

Senior Member

Never seen one but cheated and looked online. Seems to match the pics and description. Says they can get up to 60 lbs.

 

• Sep 9, 2020

• #4

L

lampern

Senior Member

Mirror carp

Carp are trash fish but fun to catch

 

• Sep 9, 2020

• #5

A

almoore

Senior Member

Beautiful miror carp. Selectively bred by midevil European monks to have fewer scales. Very rare in most places. A trophy catch when you find one. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/08/carp-undergo-reverse-evolution-get-their-scales-back

 

• Sep 9, 2020

• #6

ghadarits

Senior Member

almoore said:

Beautiful miror carp. Selectively bred by midevil European monks to have fewer scales. Very rare in most places. A trophy catch when you find one. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/08/carp-undergo-reverse-evolution-get-their-scales-back

Click to expand...

That’s good info. I knew it was unusual since I’ve never seen one in Hartwell and I’ve been fishing it since 1982.

 

• Sep 9, 2020

• #7

ghadarits

Senior Member

Cool Hand Luke said:

Never seen one but cheated and looked online. Seems to match the pics and description. Says they can get up to 60 lbs.

Click to expand...

Heck if checking the web is cheating I’m a serious cheater.
Unfortunately I don’t think any species of carp get that big in Hartwell. 25lbs is probably the biggest I’ve personally seen.

 

• Sep 9, 2020

• #8

ADDICTED2HUNTIN

Senior Member

Yep mirror carp or as I was always told around the tournament lakes growing up "German carp" (don't know where that came from)

 

• Sep 9, 2020

• #9

G

GreenPig

Senior Member

I shot alot of Mirror Carp when I used to bowfish.

 

• Sep 10, 2020

• #10

Rabun

Senior Member

Never seen anything like that. Curious if you kept it...would make an interesting mount

 

• Sep 11, 2020

• #11

ghadarits

Senior Member

Rabun said:

Never seen anything like that. Curious if you kept it...would make an interesting mount

Click to expand...

My Nephew caught it and let it go after we took a couple of picture. Definitely an unusual looking fish and from what I’ve read considered a trophy carp.

 

• Sep 11, 2020

• #12

tr21

Senior Member

i cant believe you can use trophy and carp in the same sentence

 

• Sep 11, 2020

• #13

G

GreenPig

Senior Member

tr21 said:

i cant believe you can use trophy and carp in the same sentence

Click to expand...

Here's a trophy Common Carp. 40.1

 

• Sep 12, 2020

• #14

ghadarits

Senior Member

tr21 said:

i cant believe you can use trophy and carp in the same sentence

Click to expand...

LOL!! I'm just telling you what I found on the WWW.

A trophy is whatever you want it to be anyway. My first deer with a bow when I was first starting out bow hunting was a button buck and let me tell you I was mighty proud to have taken that little deer at 35 yards with my Bear Whitetail II bow. My first Tarpon when I was about 10yo fishing by myself only weighed maybe 5lbs but it was a real trophy to me. I'd be proud to catch that carp in the picture above too especially if I caught it on a #8 mosquito hook on 8lb line like I fish for them. That makes it a real challenge to land them.

 

• Sep 12, 2020

• #15

NCHillbilly

Administrator

Staff member

Anywhere you find carp, there will be one of those pop up here and there. I've caught several over the years. I think OldCaptain has posted several pics of them on here over the years, too. There are also "leather" carp with almost no scales that you'll catch one of every now and then. And yeah, no carp are native to the US. They're all the same species, just mutated versions.

 

• Sep 18, 2020

• #16

blackbear

Senior Member

Thats the rare Buglemouth bass!
They are good smoked on crackers with hot sauce!Taste like kippers
Good catch!

 

• Sep 21, 2020

• #17

OwlRNothing

Senior Member

I once caught a trophy brook trout. All 12+ inches of him. I consider it the best fish, biggest accomplishment and most favorite moment of my fishing life. Not kidding. It's all relative my friend.

 

Attachments

• 
  biggestwildbrooktrout.JPG

  28.2 KB · Views: 19