John Gillio

Manny, it sounds like a good idea. I wish you luck.

Brac, I wish I could help ,but I have only fished that area a couple of times.

Ryan, I have a 7 wt. Ion that I picked up this year. I messed up my casting arm in March and that put a dent in the amount of use the rod got, but I was very pleased with it the times I was able to fish it. It casts a good sized fly quite well, gives a solid hook set, and has alot of backbone. I hope to get a good amount of use out of it next year targeting smallies, hybrid stripers, and carp.If you can try one out first like Rob says.I did get to fish a Hydros one afternoon. It is a great rod.

Rob, I think I'll stick with that all to common stuffed turkey. If ever the day comes that I have to eat fish on Thanksgiving Day I suppose I would consider a stuffed Asian Carp. They are easy enough to put on the table. I wonder how they would be with an oyster stuffing ?

Went out this morning to Starved Rock fully expecting nothing but Asian Carp. The plan was to land two or three ten pounders and clean them up for some winter meals. I wasn't disapointed as I mouth hooked 5 of them In a short period of time. What did surprise me was the huge sauger that hit on my first cast. He dropped off before I could land him. One day the last four weekends I don't expect a sauger, and I hook what would have been my best one of the year on the first cast. No others seen the remainder of the hour or so I was there, just carp. The carp didn't have as much fight in them today. Maybe partly because they were all snagged in the mouth and the water is getting colder. I blackened the last batch of Asians on the grill, and pan fried a few also. They weren't bad though I liked them pan fried and deep fried much more. I suppose I'll bake a few of the fresh ones and save the rest for the fryer.

That was entertaining Rob. What a mess! That's what we are dealing with here too. Thanks for sharing that one.

Scott, you were very lucky not to run into any. I know of a number of instances when they have ended up in boats or bouncing off of passengers in the main channel which is 12 feet deep at least. They do seem to freak out easier in shallow water. I had them go ballistic when I was yaking uppstream on the Vermilion one afternoon. I was afraid I'd have one in my lap. They all seemed to jump almost straight up out of the water. Many jumped out higher than my head all around me. I'm not sure what spooked them. Schools of them were under me a good part of the afternoon, and that's the only incident I had.

Catchers seem to make good managers. I remember those in the broadcast booth mentioning that he would make a good manager someday. He has big shoes to fill though. I wish him the best. He was a good ball player and has the respect of alot of baseball people as well as fans.

Rob, could the name of your fly possibly be the Redbird "Catcher". Were you toying with us ,and knew all along that Mike Matheny Was to be the next Redbird manager .

Rob, thanks for the compliment. I have tried them smoked. They were very good. The next one will be on the grill. I cleaned one up today. Ryne, it is extremely frustrating. I was at my sauger spot on the Vermilion this morning. I had carp scales with every cast. I landed another big tailhooked Asian Carp, ran him home, cleaned him up, then headed out to Starved Rock in hopes of sauger. Almost every cast in every hole brought back Asian Carp scales. I landed three in the 15 to 20 pound range and gave them all away. It is the thickest I have ever seen them. If the sauger are there they can't see my lure through the mass of carp. Someone with the DNR told me that a processing plant is in the works downstate. The sooner it gets built the better,if you ask me.

Agreed, and if the game fish are there it's hard to get past the carp to get at them.

The game wardens have been ticketing for intentional snagging with a treble hook, so be carefull with this even if it is just for carp. The trebles do a number on any other species that get in the way.

Tom, I was fishing for sauger by dragging a twister along the bottom. The carp were so thick I kept snagging them in the dorsal fin. They were everywhere in the water column. A friend who used to fish for them said he had good luck drifting boilies made from flour and chicken feed. He would mix the ingredients into small spheres with a diameter of about a centimeter, then boil them a few minutes until they felt like a small rubber ball. They supposedly stay on a small single hook quite well. Some recipies call for algae but he said chicken feed works just fine. I haven't tried it myself. I've found that if you cast a jig upstream and work it back you often snag them in the mouth while they are filter feeding. They are often facing upstream.

Paul, that is pretty much all I eat too, but I thought the taste was about like that of a crappie. It was caught on a cool day and I cleaned it as soon as I got it home. It was still jumping. That may have been the difference. It is said that they do spoil quicker than most other fish if they are not gutted right away. I may try to bake one or grill one. I like eating fish, but I don't keep many. I may keep a few of these and do my part at putting a tiny dent in their population.

I agree. Finding a way to market them for consumption here in the states would solve alot of problems. I grew up eating European Carp, and they are a strong tasting fish. These Asian Carp have a very mild flavor. It's just the idea of getting people to try them. They are not the bottom feeder that other carp are.

Went to a favorite spot on the vermilion for late fall sauger. Instead of sauger, the hole and nearby flats were loaded with every kind of carp that call this stream home. The asian carp inthe first picture below is the same fish that is in the pictures that follow. With the aid of the video provided ,on another thread by Rob G., I was able to tame the bones and end up with an exceptional meal of tasty , flakey white, deep fried Asian carp. The stripps were served during lunch at work today. All brave enough to try them were very impressed . Thanks Rob! I definitely will be cooking them up again.

I totally agree with Steve. That's a "Star Quality" video. I also send a heartfelt thank you to your nephew for serving our country.

Rob, that's a bummer. He was my favorite pitcher the 15 years he was there. I just read his book,"Tales From the Cardinal's Dugout". He seemed like a real class guy who had alot of fun in the Cardinal jersey.

Dave Duncan was born in 1945. It would be a great loss if he were to leave.

Jonn, I think Jose would be a great choice. There has been talk of that for years. You may be right about radio too. I'm afraid it may slowly become a thing of the past. So far it has been able to morph with the times. I hope it can continue to.

That fish didn't sing for you, did he? He kind of looks like Steven Tyler of Aerosmith.

When I was a youngster in the 60s ,I remember going to bed at night ,and dad having the ballgame on the radio in my parents bedroom. Jack and Harry were calling the game. The signal was in and out as we were so far north of KMOX radio, but I would strain my ears to hear the game. That is how I became a Cardinal fan, surrounded by Cubs, Sox, and Yankee fans. Mike Shannon was a player back then and I recall that he almost had to give up ball because of a kidney operation. It hit me pretty hard when Jack passed away. His voice was a part of every summer for almost as long as I could remember.

That's a nice piece of work Rob. In the words of the late great Jack Buck,"That's a winner.... Thanks for your time this time till next time so long."

Nice work Terry.

Very nice Manny. I like those coneheads and the little nymphs.