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Colorado Fish Species

Arctic Char
Arctic Grayling
Bigmouth Buffalo
Black Bullhead
Black Crappie
Blue Catfish
Bluegill
Bluehead sucker
Bonytail Chub
Brook Trout
Brown Trout
Channel Catfish
Colorado Pikeminnow
Colorado River Cutthroat
Common Carp
Creek Chub
Cutbow Trout
Cutthroat Trout
Emerald Shiner
Flannelmouth Sucker
Flathead Catfish
Flathead Chub
Freshwater Drum
Gizzard Shad
Golden Shiner
Golden Trout
Goldfish
Grass Carp
Green Sunfish
Greenback Cutthroat
Hybrid Striped Bass(wiper/palmetto)
Kokanee
Lake Chub
Lake Trout
Largemouth Bass
Longnose Sucker
Mountain Whitefish
Northern Pike
Orangespotted Sunfish
Pumpkinseed
Rainbow Trout
Redear Sunfish
River Carpsucker
Roundtail Chub
Rudd
Sacramento Perch
Sauger
Saugeye
Smallmouth Bass
Snake River Cutthroat
Splake
Spottail Shiner
Spotted Bass
Striped Bass
Sunfish (Bream)
Tiger Muskie
Tiger Trout
Walleye
White Bass
White Crappie
White Sucker
Yellow Bullhead
Yellow Perch
Yellowstone Cutthroat

Lakes with Grass Carp on FishExplorer
Grass Carp
The Grass Carp are also called White Amur, belongs to the minnow family. A name developed and used to avoid the negative connotations of “carp.” This large import from China is primarily a freshwater herbivore introduced for aquatic weed control.  In many parts of the country it is considered an invasive species and stocking/transporting it is illegal.  However, it is still stocked for to control weeds, typically as sterile, triploid fish. The process to create sterility is not usually 100% effective, so the young are usually tested for triploidy before being sold.  
 
Amur have a torpedo shaped body with moderately large scales.  The head is scaleless. Coloring ranges from silver to olive in color on the back, shading to white on the belly. Its mouth is terminal, no barbells, with non-fleshy, firm lips. The dorsal fin has 8 to 10 soft rays. Anal fins are closer to the tail than most other minnows.
 
In its native habitat, Grass Carp are fish of large, turbid rivers and associated floodplains.  They have a wide degree of temperature tolerance. Spawn at occurs at temperatures 68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit.  As these minnows spawn in flowing water and do not reproduce well in lakes and ponds. Reproductive success requires an adequate flow of oxygen rich water. Wild populations do exist in many waters of the United States.
 
 Juvenile grass carp rely primarily on phytoplankton for food, but have been reported to eat small invertebrates and crustaceans. Adults feed primarily on aquatic vegetation, consuming up to three times their weight in food each day. Grass carp are rapid growers, with fish stocked at eight inches in the spring reaching 18 inches by fall. Adults can obtain sizes in excess of four feet and fifty pounds. They are known to exceed one hundred pounds in China.
 

Grass Carp in Colorado

Courtesy of NDIS Species Diversity, Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Habitat: The grass carp is herbivorous, eating copious amounts of aquatic vegetation. It is not known if the species can successfully spawn in the rivers of the United States.
Description: A robust, thick-bodied minnow; head broad, blunt; mouth large, terminal; scales very large, dark-edged; anal fin close to caudal fin, distance from the front of the anal fin to the tip of snout is 3 times or more longer than the distance from the front of the anal fin to the base of caudal fin; 40-45 lateral line scales. Grass carp are golden or olivaceous in color on the back, fading to a yellow-white on the stomach. The scales on the back and side are dark-edged. As the fish age, colors gradually darken. A large minnow, adults can exceed 20 inches in length and 5 pounds in weight.
Range in Colorado: Native to Asia, the species was introduced into the United States to control rooted aquatic vegetation. Grass carp have been released in a few locations in Colorado, regulated by a permit system administered by the Division of Wildlife. The species is prohibited from the western slope of the state.

Status: This species is not listed.
 
Most Recent Grass Carp Forum Posts
Grass carp fly fishing suggestions? 04.23.21 by Troutbisquits
2 MAs in 1 day 07.28.20 by bron
Spring carp 06.17.20 by bron
How to catch grass carp? 07.14.17 by Hogaboom
A New Carp Obbession 02.16.17 by Jimmy Ice
Cat Guys vs. Carp Guys: The Heat is ON ! 06.13.16 by JOHN_COSprings
Power house 06.06.16 by jman
help? 08.04.15 by tub
Free Spooling Reel Question 07.27.15 by Catfish Johnson
Grass Carp Articles, Blogs, & Podcasts
Blog: Ready For Carp 03.18.19 by Mike McConnell
Blog: Small pond surprise 04.20.18 by David Coulson
Blog: The Fishexplorer Comunity 05.18.15 by Rob Stout
Blog: MA Grass carp 04.21.15 by Curtis Kees
Blog: Fifteen, But Who’s Counting? – Oh, I Am! 10.17.14 by David Coulson
Blog: Boomerang Tool Co. Grip 11.07.12 by Joshua Christensen
Recent Colorado Grass Carp Photos by Fish Explorer Members
by SapperJ - 32" 18lb Grass Carp by SapperJ - 32" 18lb Grass Carp caught approximately 1030AM Bron, Capt Doughball, and Toadfish witnessed the bringing in this beast. by Centrickat - by FISHRANGLER - Off on the street from my drone looking for records by urban opportunites - Crazy big  grassy in Colorado pond...👍 by rezdawg1 - 13lbs. by rezdawg1 - Grass Carp 15lb.er! by ualgremlin - by ualgremlin - by pikefreak - by Link2Courage - Caught during spawn it had my 3 and a half inch x rap half way down its throat. I was hoping for a walleye.
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