# ******** do battle with Asian carp



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

******** do battle with Asian carp
Broken nose sidelines one man at ******* Fishing Tournament that brings participants from across country

http://www.pjstar.com/stories/082706/REG_BAPO85JO.036.shtml

Sunday, 8/27/06 BY ANDREA FRAMPTON THE JOURNAL STAR [email protected] 

BATH - Charlie Meyer will be back to the Bath Boat Tavern next year to carp about the broken nose and black eye he received Saturday in the town's ******* Fishing Tournament. 
The Springfield resident had to leave the three-hour Asian carp tournament early and head to Havana Hospital after a large silver carp pegged him in the face. 

"I was watching with my net on the left side of the boat, and he came out of nowhere," Meyer said with a laugh after returning to the tournament. "But I'll probably do it again next year." 

While injuries were limited to Meyer's broken nose and small cuts, some participants donned helmets, hard hats and masks to protect themselves from the flying fish. The popularity of the tournament rose when it was recently featured in Outdoor Life magazine and on the syndicated Bob and Tom Radio Show. 

With 78 boats entered this year, the number of participants was more than twice last year's 38 boats. People traveled to the small town of 350 residents from Colorado, Missouri, Michigan and Florida to catch the most flying silver Asian carp out of the Bath chute channel. 

This year's winners, six members of the Lakewood Duck Club in Bath, netted 126 fish and took home $300 and a trophy. Second place took home $200 with 116 fish, third place $100 with 99 fish and fourth place $50 with 94 fish. Everyone who placed also received a trophy. 

Scott Gibson of Bloomington said last year his boat took second place with 196 fish, and his group had to work to take first place this year. 

"It's the craziest thing I've ever done. My face hurt from laughing about it," Gibson, 31, said. 

Small johnboats and large pontoon boats raced up and down a stretch of the Bath chute as large carp flew through the air in their wake and entrants extended their dip nets to catch them. The crowd standing behind the Bath Tavern laughed and cheered as fish flopped their way onto boats, leaving trails of blood and slime. 

At last year's tournament, 1,263 fish were caught in two hours, while this year 1,840 fish will be turned into fertilizer. Bath Boat Tavern owner and event organizer Betty DeFord said she hopes the event raises awareness of the problem of the invasive fish. 

"I can't even take my grandkids out anymore on the river because I'm afraid they'll get hurt," DeFord said. "These things come at you like a torpedo." 

The silver fish can reach up to 100 pounds and multiply quickly; one fish can produce 2.2 million eggs. Because they won't bite a hook, participants in the tournament needed only large dip nets. As filter feeders, Asian carp affect the Illinois River food chain by eating plankton needed by native fish. 

Some experts believe the electronic barrier installed to keep them out of the Great Lakes has come too late. 

Dr. Sandra Cooke is working with the Illinois Natural History Survey in Champaign at the Jake Wolf Memorial Fish Hatchery near Topeka to study the possible invasion of Asian Carp into backwater lakes and reservoirs. 

"We hope to get an invasive map of the Great Lakes to tell resource managers what areas carp would be more likely to become established," Cooke said. "The map will give mangers an idea where to target." 

Unless such tournaments extend down the Mississippi River and its tributaries, Cooke said they would not affect carp levels. But the participants in the ******* Tournament said it gave them both a good time and a chance to lower the carp population. 

"We're praying they will be gone next year," DeFord said. "But we will have it until they're gone."


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

KILLER CARP! Coming soon to a Great Lake near you?

BATH, Ill. Trying to net an Asian carp that was soaring through the air a few feet away, Mike Pernet didn't see another 10-pound fish flying at his head until it hit him square in the mouth.

"It hurt," Pernet said, blood running from his mouth and down his chin as he sat in a johnboat on the Illinois River. "It loosened some of my teeth."

Pernet was among 300 people who took part in last weekend's ******* Carp Tournament on the Illinois River, where participants could use only hand nets or clubs to capture the Asian carp as they erupted from the water and flew through the air like batteries of submarine missiles.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006609030708

Photo gallery http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...60831&Kategori=NEWS06&Lopenr=608310803&Ref=PH

Carp facts http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060903/NEWS07/609030562

Fishing for carp http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060903/NEWS07/609030560


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