When I was a kid we used to go to the local lake and catch what we called carp.
They were a foot long and about four inches in diameter. Cigar shaped. They had Deep
redish purple dorsal and pectoral fins and tails. I now believe these were lake locked red
horse.They are edible because my brother and I cooked one once and ate it.
I’ve caught some in a creek near where I live now but the bodystyle is not the same.
They are the same length but not cigar shaped. More like a bass. I’ve noticed in the
spring that they are backed up behind beaver dams. You can tell them by the dorsal fin
sticking up . There may be 50 or so of them.
Am I witnessing the migration of the Redhorse.? I’ve heard they were a staple food
source of the American Indian
What we call a redhorse in these parts is a redhorse sucker. They are edible, but they’re so bony, they require a special cooking technique. Carp, on the other hand, are much bigger, and they have scales as big as your thumbnail. In the USA, they are usually shunned as a trash fish, but the upper fillets are reportedly quite tasty. In Europe, they are revered as a sport fish. They’re real fighters. Here in central Indiana, more than 50 miles of the White River were rendered fish-free by a chemical spill. Carp fans were crestfallen, for there were lots of carp there.
AskNott
"Measure twice, cut once. Dang! Measure again, cut again.