Sam Rayburn Reservoir · Individual fish profile

Common Carp

Cyprinus carpio

Sam Rayburn · Keep or release

Daily bag

No statewide limit

Length rule

No statewide minimum

No daily bag or minimum length.

Common Carp · Identification features below.

Barbels near the mouth help distinguish common carp from native buffalo.

TPWD Sam Rayburn records document common carp, smallmouth and bigmouth buffalo; grass carp also appears in historical bowfishing records.

These are not bass or sunfish. Verify identification carefully, particularly before deciding whether to eat a buffalo.

Fishing guidance describes documented approaches, not a promise of fish activity today.

Eating guidance · Common Carp

Not listed in DSHS Advisory 51. That does not establish that the fish is safe to eat.

Harvest permission and eating restrictions are separate.

An introduced fish that feeds on the bottom in lakes and rivers.

Sources & lake evidence

TPWD Sam Rayburn lake guide and historical water-body records. Records establish occurrence, not current abundance.