No Fishing Poles Allowed

Looking for some fishing of a different kind? The Boat Tavern in Bath, IL has started a new tradition: the Redneck Carp Tournament. But fisherman beware: these aren't your father's carp. These are silver and bighead carp from Southeast Asia -- weighing in at 20 to 50 pounds each -- that have invaded Midwest rivers and could someday be coming to a Great Lake near you.

Neither of these species will bite at a baited hook. Silver carp can leap ten to fifteen feet in the air. These leaps can put dents in ships and break the bones of anyone in their way.

And there's no limit. In 2006 seventy-eight boats caught 1,804 fish in three hours.

The tournament was started to attract some national attention to what could become an environmental and economic nightmare. About 80 percent of the commercial fisherman on the Illinois River quit after the carp eliminated most of the buffalo fish and catfish they fished for. But man is adaptive and a few enterprising fisherman have adapted and are now netting Asian carp and selling them in Asian markets around the continent.