Americans don't fish for carp

Perhaps this is common knowledge, but as a rule, Americans think of Carp as garbage fish. I grew up fishing quite often with my father and my brother. If we caught a Carp we woud throw it up inyo the bushes so it would never produce more Carp. They weren't thought of as a food source at all. I do not recall ever meeting anyone in my life that caught Caro on purpose or ate Carp. Apparently that is changing somewhat, but still they are tosse away when they are caught except for one species, the Asian Carp. These are the Carp that are disturbed by noise. The noise from an outboard motor causes the Asian Carp to fly out of the water, often landing in your boat or hitting the boaters as they are speeding along.

So I am an avid fisherman, and find myself wanting to fish for Carp now. What I don't know is just how I will cook them after I catch them. That's where I am looking for your help. What can you tell me about this?

I suppose I might need some tips for fishing for Carp. What type do you usually fish for, would it be Grass Carp? What kind of lure or rigs do you use to catch them. Let me tell you why most people I knew didn't fish for Carp where I grew up. I lived in a city that was a port town on Lake Michigan, one of the Great Lakes of the USA. It is so much like an ocean except it is fresh water. Anyway, the Carp in Lake Michigan were as big as a Shark gets. We would often see them with scales so large and thick that you could not kill one with a .22 caliber gun. As a novelty. we used the scales for guitar picks. I was on a boat with a neighbor and he caught a Carp that was 3 1/2 feet long and weighed in at around 110 pounds. That was a monster, considering the average Lake Michigan Carp runs around 7-20 pounds. The Carp in Lake Michigan are Germans, Silver, and Grass Carp. So I've seen where fly fishing for Carp on the beaches has become the favorite way to take them, but I don't live there anymore. I would be fishing for something like 3-7 pounders in small ponds and reservoirs in Colorado. Help me out with what type of gear I would need please. Cheers.