Help me identify this thing?

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Rank Amateur
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Help me identify this thing?
<p>I&#39;ve hooked the same 8-incher in my fav. pond, four times on 4 separate days, lately. White belly, drab green body. The lines and the look of him resemble a white sucker, but he&#39;s got no sucker-mouth. And the color is drab green, not the copper of an adult sucker. I&#39;ve hunted and hunted for a picture, can&#39;t find one. Is he a juvenile white sucker?</p>
kernel j
Catch him a 5th time, take pi

Catch him a 5th time, take picture.

Rank Amateur
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No can do..... :(

Ya, no way. I hate cell phones, I won't have one. No camera, either. The wife's phone is our camera. And she won't be WITHOUT it. Oh, dear.

I smell feet. Or is that the fish you caught today?

Outdoors4life
Outdoors4life's picture
Tough

Going to be tough to ID with a description like that then. I never leave home without my camera.  Never know when you are going to catch that fish of a lifetime.

 

It is all perspective!

Acer Home Inspections

kernel j
Well, shit...

Until your fish curiosity overcomes your disdain for cameras and phones, you're probably going to need to develop a photographic memory and some wicked drawing skills.  But we do love scratching at mysteries, no matter how absurd their origins may be.

 

Is this favorite pond the Enfield, Connecticut project you have spoken of in several places here?  The one off Thompson or something?  If so, take a look at pictures of Grass Carp (White Amur) or similar species.  Given the nature of the water and public concern for restoration, they may have been stocked for the over-vegetation issue.  If that's the place you caught it, anyway.  

 

I say this assuming you know what a young LM Bass looks like, the 8" seems big for isolated chub catches, and you have possibly caught 4 different fish instead of the same one 4 times.  Google Images with the words "Grass Carp" and look at the various sizes to see if it comes close, small fish can look different than the adults with regard to color and water.  

 

If not the fish, we'll look into the specie accounts further.  Check out Fallfish while your at it, long shot but they are in the area.

 

 

 

Rank Amateur
Rank Amateur's picture
You're a sport. Thanks. ....

Yes, it IS the Enfield, Connecticut pond, in that town's Thompsonville district. No, the fish is not a LM Bass, for sure.

After looking at pictures of grass carp, the pattern of the scales is like the one I caught. The green body of "mine" was more olive than the green-yellow of the adult color in the google pictures. And the head is not quite the same as the look of the adults in the google pictures, either. ..... I think your hunch is indeed correct. That's our best bet. Yes, and thanks for the response!

I smell feet. Or is that the fish you caught today?

kernel j
Rank sez...The green body of

Rank sez...

The green body of "mine" was more olive than the green-yellow of the adult color in the google pictures. And the head is not quite the same as the look of the adults in the google pictures, either.

Then you might want to continue looking at species in the area, Fallfish or something chub-like would be a good place to start.  You will encounter a a great variety of species at this type of fishery, it's not just a pond.  Close proximity to the big river and feeders like Jawbuck and Freshwater are going to provide a diverse array of strange catches withing the pond proper.

Awesome area to be in, looks like fun and you'll always have surprises there.  Google for surveys of the feeder creeks and adjacent river, you'll see just how many fish are in that area.  Many will end up in the pond somehow.

 

Rank Amateur
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Crap.

......went down there today, and found it drained. Connecticut DEEP didn't even know about it. Town of Enfield DPW told me there was a broken gate on the little waterfall at one end that they were fixing. So... ALL the fish surely followed the flow OUT, and down to the Connecticut River, about half a mile away. Fishing that spot on the river from shore sucks. Big sandbar, extending out pretty far. Gotta have a boat. Plain and simple. So, I'm shopping for another spot. Which automatically means going further. My fav. honey-hole happens to be the CLOSEST to me. It's in CT, I'm in MA. It'll be useless again, until next Spring, to try to fish the Freshwater Pond in Enfield. I just want to eat someone's face!

I smell feet. Or is that the fish you caught today?

kernel j
Crap nothin'...it's lemonade!

That's what you make when life gives you lemons, right?  This lemonade is made with the camera I'm encouraging you to buy, doesn't need to be anything fancy, but waterproof is always good.

 

See, when ponds are drained or creeks are low and clear, you take as many pictures of the bottom contours as you can.  Then when it fills up with water again, you have the best and most detailed form of topo map there is.  Every little detail about structure, depths, breaks...you name it, you have a picture.  Sometimes, it even helps you understand why you caught fish in certain locations in the past.  

 

So many overlook this and miss out on some really precise fishing on account of it.  Don't sulk, sieze the opportunity while it lasts.  I hate cellphones as much as anyone, but those nifty little cameras on them can do some wondrous things these days.  Even panoramas of drained ponds so give it some thought, Rank.

Graceclaw
Graceclaw's picture
Eating faces

Smoke some bath salts and visit Florida. That should satisfy your craving.

Rank Amateur
Rank Amateur's picture
Nice to get the replies, anyhow.

It will be a chance to do some exploring.

:)

ok, here we go. I think.

 

I smell feet. Or is that the fish you caught today?