We’re back at it in 2026 and happy to announce we’ll follow the same rules as last year and have collection events on each Sunday between Memorial Day and the 4th of July! Here’s the details –
KIDS WANTED TO FISH FOR CARP
Friends of Silver Lake proudly presents
3rd Annual Silver Lake
Kids Carp Cull
Open to all kids 16 and under to help remove nuisance carp from Silver Lake. Friends of Silver Lake will pay a reward of $2 per carp and $50 for the most carp submitted at each collection event (Sundays Memorial Day to the 4th of July).
| Contest Rules – | Participants must be age 16 or younger Only nuisance carp submitted qualify for rewards Only carp taken from Silver Lake (Mears, MI) qualify for rewards |
| Contest rewards – | Cash per Carp* – payout of $2/carp submitted on each collection date, Most Carp Award* – payout of $50 for the greatest number of carp caught (two or more) by the same angler at each collection event. Free t-shirts to the first 30 kids who submit a culled carp across the entire three collection events. |
| Collection dates – | Sundays – May 31st, June 7th, June 14th, June 21st, & June 28th, from 12:30N – 1:00PM. |
| Collection Site – | Golden Township Park at Silver Lake Sand Dunes 8711 W. Silver Lake Rd, Mears, MI 49436 |
| * Total cash payout is capped at $200 per collection date ($1,200 for the entire event). | |
Removing nuisance carp from Silver Lake helps promote the efforts to improve water quality, establish native aquatic plants and improve our fishery.
Print Kids Carp Cull – Press Release
Past Kids Carp Cull Efforts –
2024 was our inaugural Silver Lake Kids Carp Cull Contest and the results were encouraging. Across the four collection Sundays we netted 117 carp from 19 kids (there were repeat participants weekend to weekend) with a total payout of $434. Last year we increased out count of carp culled with 202 carp from again 19 participants with a total payout of $654.
Now we know we haven’t solved the carp infestation with these results, but it’s great to see the community involvement in the effort and we’re hoping to continue to grow this event in the future and make a serious dent is our carp population.
Also, a special shout-out to Tim Beggs, Oceana County Commissioner and a member of the SLIB, for his dedication and help with this event. Tim provided us the means to dispose of the carp that were submitted, which was crucial to the success of this effort. THANKS TIM!!