They are called trash fish, junk fish, the bottom of the barrel among fishes, a nuisance, a pest.

They are otherwise known as carp, the Rodney Dangerfield of freshwater game fish.

Anglers mistakenly catching them enjoy the fight until they see that at the end of their line is a fish with a vacuum-cleaner snout, large scales and a golden-brown complexion.

As big as carp fishing is in Europe and Asia — it’s as huge there as bass fishing is here — it is generally frowned upon by most fishermen in America. Carp are unwanted, disrespected and most definitely underestimated.

The American angling populace doesn’t know what it’s missing, those who fish for carp say. But, slowly, the word is getting out. Evidence suggests carp fishing is being taken at least a little more seriously in the United States.

“I remember 20 years ago, me and a friend would go carp fishing and people would give us a funny look when they asked what we’re fishing for,” said Jered Carlson, 41, of Yorba Linda, Calif., an avid carp fisherman for more than 20 years.

“Now people ask more about it. ‘Carp? Really? How big?’ They seem a little more interested in it.”

Interest in carp could get a boost June 5-10 when the first World Carp Championship is held in the United States on the St. Lawrence River in New York.

The International Carp Fishing Association, based in Europe, has almost 40 member countries. The ICFA is sanctioning the event, and the American Carp Society is putting it on.

As a message that carp should be taken seriously, the ACS is offering a $1 million prize to the competitor who catches a carp that breaks the New York state record of 50 pounds, 4 ounces.

“This definitely raises the bar for carp-angling competition and sends a strong message about its future here in America,” Wayne Boon, a director of the American Carp Society, said in a statement.

Carp are considered very easy to catch in the spring and summer, a little tougher in the colder months. They are prolific breeders and can be caught in just about any body of water.

Carp are native to Europe and Asia, where they are as respected as bass, catfish and trout are here. In those parts of the world, it’s been said that carp have been one of the most frequently sought sportfish for centuries.

To the bass-fishing purist or other anglers who might shun the thought of catching carp, carp anglers simply say, “Try it, you’ll like it.”