Friends of Silver Lake and the Silver Lake Improvement Board are partnering in an effort to remove nuisance carp from Silver lake in large quantities from Silver Lake by trapping. Nicknamed ‘Carpe Carp’ (Seize the Carp) this effort is intended as a pilot program for future carp removal programs on Silver Lake.  Through the first four (4) weekly harvests (as of 8/3/26) over 5,700 pounds of nuisance carp have been removed and disposed of from Silver Lake.

‘Carpe Carp 2026’ operates through a permit from the Michigan DNR, which allows the team to utilize an automated box net that is baited with cracked corn for serval days before the trap is remotely sprung and the resulting catch is transferred from the trap into a boat which is then removed from Silver Lake for disposal. 

This year’s program is partially the result of successful testing in September 2025 by several Silver Lake residents that determined the carp were attracted to and consumed large quantities of cracked corn in relatively short periods of time.  That evidence, presented to the SLIB by FoSL over last fall and winter, along with the Silver Lake Improvement Board’s mission to execute programs to improve the water quality in the lake put this year’s pilot program in motion.   

This year’s ‘Carpe Carp’ is being operated by a five-person group representing the SLIB and FoSL boards along with community volunteers.  The effort to date has involved –
* obtaining the necessary permit,
* contracting to lease the proprietary automated box net,
* securing a location for the net for this season,
* participating in net installation and use training, and
* acquiring a boat and trailer for use in the harvest. 

The process for each weekly harvest includes –
* daily baiting of the net in the evenings leading up to the harvest,
* then a final baiting and setting of the net to trap the carp in the overnight hours before the harvest,
* then on harvest morning volunteers hook the boat to the net,
* use a floating boom to drive the catch toward the boat,
* then hoisting the net to dump the carp into the boat,
* the boat is then removed from the lake and the carp are disposed of through composting. 

Each weekly harvest effort needs at least nine (9) volunteers to fill team positions and help is needed to keep ‘Carpe Carp 2026’ going.  Nearly all are positions require the volunteers to get wet and messy, as the harvested carp do put up a fight before and during being hoisted into the boat.  Harvesting is currently taking place Monday mornings at 9A and interested volunteers can signup here for available team positions.

The overabundance of nuisance carp in Silver Lake has a detrimental effect on water clarity and fishery quality in Silver Lake.  The Silver Lake Improvement Board partnered with Friends of Silver Lake to execute this community-based effort to remove the fish in large numbers.  Prior recent efforts by the SLIB to remove carp through electro fishing did not see significant number of carp removed and Carp Carpe is a welcome solution to combat the carp in Silver Lake.  FoSL has operated a Kid’s Carp Cull for the last three years, where kids are paid for each carp removed from the lake.  The Kid’s Carp Cull has removed some carp but not in the promising quantities seen in these first few weeks of this carp harvest.

Removing nuisance carp from Silver Lake helps promote the efforts to improve lake water quality, helps establish native aquatic plants and improve our overall lake fishery.