Fined for overharvesting carp in Connecticut?

[taxid]

I get the part with no fishing license, and I know carp are a blast to catch but this just seems weird to me. Thoughts?

https://www.outdoorlife.com/fishing/three-fishermen-fined-thousands-of-dollars-for-keeping-too-many-carp/?fbclid=IwAR0DGWheWe12_Lmkor-WljC8ZDTocYEOjqJS3oQnqQRHy5F0vfFBSIn3LSE

[Jethro]

Well, the law is the law, isn't it?

[Badbrad2186]

A limit on carp..Trophy Fish all sounds crazy to me

[taxid]

Well, the law is the law, isn't it?

Of course but it just sounds so odd getting fined for going over the limit on carp. I've never heard of such a thing.

[filetandrelease]

 Well you should know what the law is , doesn’t sound like any grey area to me
 No license and over the limit pretty simple
 And being able to identify the species you are pursuing 

[rgfixit]

As an avid carp fisher……I’m not sure how I feel. Local law is what it is and it was violated.

I’ve never thought of creel or size limits for carp. For me it’s always been C&R. Many kill them for sport which, while legal, doesn’t sit well with me. They’re part of the ecosystem, do no discernible damage ( that I’ve seen ) and are a super game fish to target. ( there’s a fresh tub of pack bait in my fridge as I type)

They just don’t get no respect !

[meandcuznalfy]

Although fun to catch as a by catch while fishing for other species, never would have thought that there'd be a limit on them, they clearly violated the law, I toss all mine back.

[lowaccord66]

The state changed the law a few years back.  Lots of avid carp guys in CT. 

[mcully]

with carp tourneys bringing people from all over the world to the states to fish for them I would expect to see new regs on carp. Give something a $$$ value and regulation will follow. That's always the argument with elephant hunting- Big money to shoot one means protection. Without big money being spent to hunt they are just a huge nuisance animal open to extermination like our urban deer are turning into.

[filetandrelease]

 We use to catch them to keep in practice for the king salmon run in the fall

[‘Ol Snakebite (RuttNutt)]

This was posted on another message board by a Connecticut resident:

There’s no shortage of carp in the CT river. There’s tons of them. Just 3 years ago there was no limit.
The State DEEP was approached by European carp anglers who wanted to make CT a‘Destination’ fishery for carp. Apparently it’s big industry over there. Lots of promises about tourism and tournaments. Our DNR went from Zero limits to a limit of 1 carp literally overnight. It effectively destroyed bowfishing. Everyone was upset; bowfisherman, bass guys, trout guys, basically everyone except carp fishing fanatics.

I serve on a board that advises our DEEP and was able to get the limit changed from 1 to 12 per person but that’s only for bowfishing. The limit for rod fishing remains one fish.

I don’t have any details on who got busted but I bowfished the CT river for 30 years and it was a popular spot for Connecticuts poor to fish and feed their families. This includes homeless guys who would catch carp and cook and eat them on the bank as we drove by in my boat. The DEEP advises people not to eat carp from the CT river due to unhealthy levels of toxins, PCB, etc. So my guess is whoever was keeping all these carp we’re probably doing it out of necessity.

I agree with abiding by the rules, but this rule was, IMHO, Ill conceived and unnecessary in order to appease wealthy European anglers. When it was enacted I asked the head of fisheries if the bowfishing or anglers were having any detrimental effects on the carp fishery and they readily admitted it was not. This was strictly a tourism and revenue play by The state of Connecticut.

[slipperybob]

I wasn't trying to catch carp but they were hitting my lures like as if it was candy.  Only that it turned out that my lure was hooking onto that top dorsal fin on the first spine.  That's kind of annoying when I've only got a 4# line to it.  Only one carp actually had the lure in it's mouth.  And when it's dorsal fin hooked, the fish pulls and fights like it's twice it's size.

[taxid]

I wasn't trying to catch carp but they were hitting my lures like as if it was candy.  Only that it turned out that my lure was hooking onto that top dorsal fin on the first spine.  That's kind of annoying when I've only got a 4# line to it.  Only one carp actually had the lure in it's mouth.  And when it's dorsal fin hooked, the fish pulls and fights like it's twice it's size.

I foul hooked a large carp in the tail once and thought I was fighting a 10 pound brown.