[adnankhan]

I have been trying different natural baits to catch carp in the Naperville lakes off and on for the past 2 months or so. SO far the best (easiest) to make recipe seems to be a mix of Panko Bread Crumbs, Jello, Corn and Hominy - link here:

I had a nice setup on the southern side of Willow Lake on the corner of McCoy and Fontenac and managed to get plenty of bites and then a nice sized carp snagged my hook on its lower lip.

I threw in a few side casts with Zman floating worm https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XDC76X6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and got a decent sized bass as well.

I am wondering what other lakes are good for carp fishing in the Naperville area? Any ideas?

Best
A

 

[RonG]

Nice! Those two fish look stunned after experiencing the Wrath of Khan.

 

[adnankhan]

Haha.. Ron that cracked me up. They were taken care of, photographed and gently released back in the lake to swim on.

 

[RonG]

Don't forget--the leftover Panko works good as a nice breading for the carp. The corn and hominy are your veggies, keeping you within the food pyramid for the day and of course, the jello is for desert. 8)

 

[Rambler]

I hate carp. Don't put them back - kill them.

 

[adnankhan]

Oh? Why?

 

[Rambler]

They're an invasive species brought from China (where else?) In the 1800s. The mud they stir up is death for game fish eggs.

Pretty sure state law prohibits returning caught ones.

 

[adnankhan]

Hey Rambler
Thanks for that. I did a little research and it seems that Common Carp (which is what I caught - I think but I will be more careful to check next time) is considered naturalized in almost all Illinois rivers and habitats. They are now part of the natural life cycle in our midwestern rivers, streams and lake. Please see the following links.

https://www.ifishillinois.org/speci...rs.&text=Splashing carp, often with their,observed during the springtime spawn.

The other species of carp (Grass, Black etc.) are definitely invasive and need to be killed when caught. These invasive species if somehow make their way into the greater lakes will be a disaster for our local ecosystem.

Let me know what you think.

 

[Rambler]

"Naturalized" just means an invasive has become so common that it would be impossible to get rid of them. They're still an invasive and still detrimental to game fish.

However my dislike for them goes back to the 1950s when my family spent our summers on a small lake in MI. My dad's summer job (he was a PE teacher) was camp director for a scout camp & we lived at the "family camp".

It was (is) a beautiful little lake with robust populations of bass, perch, cats, etc. Then carp showed up. The adults made spears out of broomsticks & nails, chummed the water with bread & nailed (HAH!) carp that surfaced for the crumbs. Just got to hate the carp & love watching adults kill the bastards.

I don't care what type of carp you catch I think it's best to toss them into the woods for the raccoons.

 

[adnankhan]

Thank you for sharing. What an interesting piece of history. Now I am even more curious and will do some additional reading on how carp got introduced into this habitat.

 

[Rambler]

Our species is always "improving" things without considering the consequences.

For example, when Hoover was president he spent a lot of time fly fishing the Rapidan. Someone got the brilliant idea of making the fishing better by introducing Brown trout (another naturalized invasive). They took over & pushed out the Brookies. It really pissed off Hoover.

Of course if he'd spent less time fishing & more time being president he might have noticed the Great Depression coming at the country. At least he didn't spend a lot of time golfing at a club he owned.

 

[adnankhan]

Of course if he'd spent less time fishing & more time being president he might have noticed the Great Depression coming at the country. At least he didn't spend a lot of time golfing at a club he owned.

HA ! ... I see what you did there ...