Carp Fishing in North America

Maryland State Record Carp (Chesapeake Bay)

Once considered a non-game fish in North America, the common carp is gaining popularity as a freshwater sportfish.

Bait fishing, fly fishing, and bowfishing are popular techniques for taking carp. In some locations, carp are caught by chumming an area close to shore and still-fishing in the middle of chummed area.

To meet the demand for information, a wide range of carp-specific fishing magazines, clubs, television shows, and internet forums have taken hold throughout the U.S. and Canada as more anglers become active in carp fishing.

How big do common carp get in North America? State records for common carp provide clues about trophy-class carp weights and lengths. Across the USA, state records continue to be broken as the popularity of carp fishing grows.

State Record Highlights

Idaho

In May 2021, an Idaho angler shattered the state rod-and-reel carp record Monday with the catch of a 34-pound common carp on the Snake River. The Idaho archery record for common carp stands at 67.65 pounds, taken in C.J. Strike Reservoir in 2011.

Maryland

In May 2022, Logan Kuhrmann of Essex set a new Maryland state record common carp (Cyprinus carpio carpio) in the state’s Chesapeake Division. Kuhrmann, 24, caught the 49-pound carp while bass fishing in the Susquehanna Flats area of the Chesapeake Bay.

Massachusetts

In April 2012, the Massachusetts state record for carp was broken by Shane Felch of Shrewsbury, with a 46 pounds, 5 ounce mirror carp, taken by crossbow from Lake Quinsigamond. According to local anglers, mirror carp are the most common variety caught from the Lake.

New Jersey

While bowfishing on the night of May 19, 2014, Adam Faatz of Hawthorne, NJ, broke the New Jersey state record for common carp with a 45 lb. 6 oz. specimen. The massive carp was 42" long and had a girth of 32".

New Hampshire

In 2016, Donald St. Lawrence set a new hook-and-line New Hampshire state record for common carp. Tipping the scales at 35 lbs 13.12 oz "Carpzilla" bested the current rod and reel-caught carp record by almost 3 lbs. The record setting carp was caught in Merrimack River near Manchester.

Ohio

On June 9, 2013, bowfisherman Patrick Johnson of Toledo, Ohio, took a new state record carp in the Sandusky County portion of Lake Erie's waters. The massive carp weighed 53.65 pounds, measured 45 inches in length and 32-1/4 inches in girth.

Pennsylvania

Despite increased participation in American carp fishing, a few state records have withstood the test of time. The Pennsylvania state record for common carp stands at 52 pounds, caught in the Juniata River in 1962.

West Virginia

In 2022, Ayden Minick caught and released a new West Virginia state record common carp while fishing from the bank of Summersville Lake in Nicholas County. The record-setting carp  weighed 45.2 pounds and was 41.2 inches long. 

Wisconsin

In 2012, bowfisherman Zack Seitz reeled in a 59-pound common carp measuring 46 inches long with a 32.5 inch girth, breaking the Wisconsin state alternate method record.

Vermont

In May, 2014, a bowfisherman set a new Vermont state record for carp with a 44-pound 6-ounce fish taken from Lake Champlain. The massive carp was taken while bowfishing in a backwater area of southern Lake Champlain. The previous state record carp, also taken by bowfishing, weighed 42-pounds 8-ounces.

World Record Carp

In addition to fish caught in the USA, monster-sized carp are caught around the world. While vacationing in Thailand in 2013, a British tourist landed a 134-pound carp, believed to be the biggest ever caught. The massive fish weighed 134 pounds 7 ounces, which could set a new world record.

North Carolina Fish Attractor Study

A North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission study found that artificial reefs made from synthetic materials attract fish for longer periods of time than reefs made from Christmas trees.

The research project was entitled "Using the DIDSON to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Different Fish Attractors in Turbid Reservoirs."

"This study proved that artificial structures made from synthetic materials are a better option for us compared to attractors constructed from Christmas trees, which we would have to replace on a regular basis in order for them to attract the same amount of fish as the artificial structures," said Jessica Baumann, the fisheries biologist who oversaw the fish attractor study.

Baumann worked with other Wildlife Commission staff to evaluate the effectiveness of natural and artificial fish attractors to assess how well they congregated fish and how well they held up over a three-year period.

Fisheries biologists began the fish attractor study in June 2008, sinking three different types of artificial attractors and one natural attractor constructed from Christmas tree bundles into Lake Townsend in Greensboro and Lake Cammack in Burlington. They chose the two lakes because of their abundance of sport fish, similarity in size, and lack of underwater structures.

After evaluating each attractor site every fall, winter, spring and summer for three years, using a high definition imagery sonar unit called the DIDSON (Duel-Frequency Identification Sonar), biologists concluded that artificial fish attractors held similar numbers of fish and lasted longer than the Christmas tree bundles.

As a result of this study, the Wildlife Commission has begun using artificial structure constructed from synthetic materials to help congregate fish in many bodies of water. In 2013, staff deployed 19 synthetic fish reefs in Hyco and Mayo lakes near Roxboro.

They also deployed nine fish reefs in Lake Thom-a-lex, four fish reefs in Shearon Harris Reservoir, and two in the Tar River Reservoir. They plan to deploy similar fish reefs in Lake Raleigh, Lake Holt, Farmer Lake, Lake Michie and Lake Reidsville this summer.

source: North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission