How fish get into an unstocked pond

[Brewsky]

I had a pond dug on my property a few years ago and had a similar discussion with the excavator operator, who had put in many ponds. He as well had similar theories as to the source of the "new" fish that showed up in every one of his installations. The next spring after my pond filled and before I stocked it, I found a dead rainbow trout on the bank. I assumed it was a joke by one of the locals until I started to pull out small, but legal, trout during that spring. No one in the area could believe the trout could be there or could survive in a warm water pond. It continued to be a local mystery for a number of weeks until we found the culprit- a young fellow who always fished a close by creek and was trying to be a good neighbor by quietly sharing his catch into my pond! I doubt any of the trout survive.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Asian carp are decent table fare and not particularly small as typically encountered by fishermen.

If you can't prevent 'em, eat 'em.

I've eaten a lot of things, some inadvertently, some on purpose...like home made czech sausage; etzetera; calf fries, lamb fries, pickled pigs feet, escargo, raw oysters, drum, possum, squirrel, rabbit, bear, elk, deer, etc. I did pass up my opportunity to eat some fried rattlesnake at the Okeene round up, though. Carp is considered a rough fish in my circles, and not edible except in times of famine. All I ever caught went into the pig pen; Grandpa's big old Chester White sow loved them!

 

[the old grind]

Carp is considered a game fish and good table fare almost everywhere on the planet but in the the US.

Like several other species (large-mouth bass, suckers, etc) some fish are just too hard to clean and filet the 'mud vein' and/or y-bones out of.

btw, I prefer to fish for filets anymore vs whole fish and having more work to do.

(So much for if one guy on the net likes something it means it's ok. )

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Carp is considered a game fish and good table fare almost everywhere on the planet but in the the US.

Like several other species (large-mouth bass, suckers, etc) some fish are just too hard to clean and filet the 'mud vein' and/or y-bones out of.

btw, I prefer to fish for filets anymore vs whole fish and having more work to do.

(So much for if one guy on the net likes something it means it's ok. )

I admit I have never caught a filet, although I have to say that I have now overcome my upbringing that taught me that filets were wasteful, and you needed to "fry" the whole fish or if large enough, sections. Of course when I first started fishing as a kid, I fished for tamales at times; never caught any of those either.

 

[Grumpycat]

It turns out that ducks can eat fish eggs, poop them out somewhere else, and they can still hatch. This seems like a much more likely event, since ducks basically eat and poop all the time.

Spring after buying my place I was out in a field on a hilltop in the middle of nowhere a beautiful rose bush was growing.

Am guessing that too was bird poop.

 

[EddieWalker]

Carp is considered a game fish and good table fare almost everywhere on the planet but in the the US.

Like several other species (large-mouth bass, suckers, etc) some fish are just too hard to clean and filet the 'mud vein' and/or y-bones out of.

btw, I prefer to fish for filets anymore vs whole fish and having more work to do.

(So much for if one guy on the net likes something it means it's ok. )

When I lived in Cameroon, the locals would put a fish on the coals of an open fire and after it was all charred up, they would flip it and burn the heck out of the other side. No cleaning, no head or skin removal, just put the entire fish on the fire. If it was just one person, or if there was a fish for everyone, they would pick it up and eat it like corn on the cob. If it was one fish and a group of people, they would break off bits of it with their fingers and eat what it like that.

 

[jmc]

Has anyone ever caught an Asian carp by hook and line? Not spear, bow, or net. I've seen them jump like a steelhead and would probably be as much fun to catch if they would bite.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

We used to catch one accidentally fishing for catfish; I caught on on a crawdad one time. They were some times used a trot line bait; Grand ma would make up a batch of "doughballs" to use for bait, and bottom fish.

doughball bait for carp - Google Search

 

[Jstpssng]

Spring after buying my place I was out in a field on a hilltop in the middle of nowhere a beautiful rose bush was growing.

Am guessing that too was bird poop.

That happens a lot; usually from plants with big seeds though. Sumac, elderberry, lupine, autumn olive, black locust, are just a sample of plants which I see in places that most likely were propagated by birds.
Streams and waterways also spread an amazing number of plants. Last week I came across a big patch of rugosa roses in a wetland at least two miles from the nearest road. They most likely were brought there by a spring flood years ago.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

That happens a lot; usually from plants with big seeds though. Sumac, elderberry, lupine, autumn olive, black locust, are just a sample of plants which I see in places that most likely were propagated by birds.
Streams and waterways also spread an amazing number of plants. Last week I came across a big patch of rugosa roses in a wetland at least two miles from the nearest road. They most likely were brought there by a spring flood years ago.

Reminds me of something my Dad told me many years ago. He was born in before WWI, and grew up on the farm during the dust bowl and the depression. He said that the the dust storms would bring in seeds from far away places; and that in the Spring, after a rain, there would be plants come up that were never seen in that area before. I have no reason to doubt it.