Carp Classic defies weather to improve lake

MOSES LAKE — The Carp Classic wasn’t as big as it could have been, but it went well, all things considered. Twenty-seven boats filled with bow hunters set out from Connelly Park Saturday. That’s eight more boats than last year, said organizer Ty Swartout. 

“The biggest year we ever had was 39, but this was good,” Swartout said, “I was excited to see 27 boats. The weather wasn’t that great, so I didn’t know what to expect, but all in all we ended up having a decent tournament.” 

Bow fishers brought in 351 carp, a total of 3,400 pounds, organizer Sandie Swartout wrote in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald.  

The cloudy weather and chilly temperatures impeded the hunt in several ways, Ty Swartout explained. The lack of sunshine made it hard to see fish in the already none-too-clear waters of Moses Lake.  

“And then the cooler the temperature, the less the carp are up shallow where (hunters) will be able to see them,” he said. “The best-case scenario, it would be a really warm week before and the fish would be moving up in the shallows to spawn, and if we had good, clean water with a nice, sunny, windless day, it would be amazing. (It was like that) three years ago, we shot 1,000 fish.” 

The Carp Classic originated in 2019, both as a sporting event and as a way to bring attention to the water quality in Moses Lake. Carp stirs up phosphorus from the bottom of the lake, which feeds the blue-green algae that can make the water toxic. In addition, carp are invasive and push out fish people want to catch. Taking 351 or even 1,000 carp out of the lake won’t make a huge dent in the 400,000 or so that are believed to be in the lake, Swartout said, but it makes at least some difference, and it gives the Moses Lake Watershed Council some leverage to convince the state to allow net removal or trapping to take out more.  

“A lake can only handle so many pounds of fish, whatever that biomass is,” Ty Swartout said. “So, the way I look at it is, if we get 3,400 pounds out of the lake, there's a possibility of 3,400 pounds of bass, trout, walleye, perch, crappie, bluegill. I do believe the fishery’s already being helped by all the projects we’re doing.” 

Jennifer Novak shot the biggest carp of the day, Sandie Swartout wrote, at 25.8 pounds. Novak’s team, which consisted of her, Clint Novak, Chris Church and Holly Church, also shot the ten largest fish, totaling 178.4 pounds of carp. 

The team of Alex Mendoza and Victor Mendoza shot the largest number of carp, at 38. 

Some of the prize money came from a donation by Moore Brewing Co. of Moses Lake, which kicked in $1.25 for each pint sold of its specially brewed beer, Carp Classic Ale. Another $2,800 came from other community sponsors, and local organizations and volunteers helped make the event possible, Ty Swartout said. 

“The MLIRD allows us to use the park for free, and they provide a dumpster,” he said. “The Columbia Basin Conservation District provided support, along with the volunteers and the sponsors, and the shooters, of course. We (all) want to do something to make this lake healthier, so that we can use it all year round, and it doesn't impact our tourism or our economics.” 

    Jennifer Novak shows her prize-winning carp weighing almost 26 pounds at the Carp Classic Saturday.
  

    The unpredictable weather didn’t deter 27 boats of bowfishers from setting out from Connelly Park Saturday morning for the Carp Classic.
  

    A boat waits to go out on Moses Lake Saturday morning for the Carp Classic.