Largemouth bass consume carp in Illinois River, but hopes they could reduce invasive carp are doubtful
There is new evidence that largemouth bass regularly dine on silver carp in the Illinois River, a finding that could potentially help manage invasive fish.
Potentially being the key word here. There are plenty of caveats: bass in the La Grange Pool of the river appear to be rather picky about portion size – they prefer silver carp that are roughly 40% to 45% their own size. Also, there are plenty of other food options in the river that largemouths prefer. In summary, scientists investigating the possibility of “carp cleaning bass” are mostly doubtful.
