| The surprising popularity of carp fishing in Texas | |
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Source: click2houston |
10/2/2020 |
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Siobhan Fairchild molds a fistful of what looks like pink oatmeal into a ball, tucks a thumb-sized hook into the fragrant bait, and launches it into Austin’s Lady Bird Lake using a 12-foot rod.
Fairchild, an Austin school teacher, is hooked on carp fishing. She and her boyfriend, Lee Fenner, spend hours on the banks of Texas lakes, fishing for the big, oft-vilified bottom feeders that some fondly refer to as “suburban salmon.” |
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Austin, it turns out, is a hotspot for carp fishing. Fairchild credits social media (follow @austincarpangler) for spreading the word about the sport—that and the size of the fish. A 6-pound fish is big in the bass world; that’s small for a carp. The state record was a 43.75-pounder pulled from Lady Bird Lake. Other popular carp fisheries are Lake Walter E. Long east of Austin, Lake Fork near Dallas, Canyon Lake near San Antonio, and Buchanan Lake and Lake Travis in the Hill Country.
Europeans, who have a long history of the sport, brought the fish to the United States in the 1800s. They loved the fight the fish put up. The Europeans also ate them for dinner. |
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