🔎 UNIDENTIFIED A different kind of what is it

[Older The Better]

Went to fish a quarry se Kansas, up high in the landscape never exposed to flooding, as far as I’ve caught it’s got perch, blue gill, crappie, large mouth and I think catfish although I haven’t landed one… I didn’t see this one personally but the people I was with took a picture of a “huge” fish they said the size of an otter. It almost has to be a cat but it sure doesn’t look like it any fisherman familiar with fish like this?

 

[ARC]

Carp ?

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

It does look like some type of carp.

 

[tamrock]

I'm thinking a Northern Pike

 

[Older The Better]

Carp is a maybe, there’s many ponds and I’ve never seen or caught one but we did try to stock some grass carp several years back. I never saw a single one and assumed they didn’t take. It really does look like a pike but it’s only an acre or two and from what I understand they would clean out a pond that size in no time, we do have gar in the river maybe someone transplanted it, like I said no flood contamination, things would have to get biblical to get water there, the whole county would be under water

 

[ARC]

 

[Gare]

Me and Tamerock are thinking alike I think it is a Northern Pike

 

[ARC]

So... I guess the Op has to go catch it to ever mark this one solved

 

[Older The Better]

So... I guess the Op has to go catch it to ever mark this one solved

I was thinking the same thing, I tried I went to where they saw it but there’s so many little greedy fish it probably spooked… they said it was slow moving and just kind of floated along before going out of site
Might have to go with a larger lure or bait and see if I can’t get it next weekend

 

[Tony in SC]

Me and Tamerock are thinking alike I think it is a Northern Pike

I'll go with pike also. It's long and slender.

 

[ARC]

I'll go with pike also. It's long and slender.

Optical illusion has to be considered... no joke... water does that

:P

 

[dozer dan]

Too Long and broad of a snout for carp AKA Bugle Mouth Bass. I’d have to agree on the previous guesses of pike or possibly someone released a musky.

 

[tamrock]

Too Long and broad of a snout for carp AKA Bugle Mouth Bass. I’d have to agree on the previous guesses of pike or possibly someone released a musky.

It's possible the eggs of a pike or muskie arrived via in the feathers of ducks. I know blue gills are able to invade ponds and lakes in that manner. My great uncles farm was quarried for limestone and he opted to leave one pit reclaimed and it filled naturally by the aquifer. He stocked it with catfish and bass, which he purchased from a private hatchery. The state would've provided the stockers free, but then he by law would have to allow anyone with a state fishing license in to fish, because the fish were owned then by the state. Him not wanting everyone and anyone in to fish then purchased the fish. It wasn’t quite two years before the small lake was teaming with perch and bluegill, that all hitched a ride as eggs in the feathers of migrating waterfowl.

 

[Older The Better]

Appreciate all the thoughts and info, gonna try for it next weekend, little tricky though, not knowing what it is . do I try a stink bait or a dough ball or a nylon rope type lure, or just a big stick bait maybe… nothing to do but try.

 

[ARC]

Appreciate all the thoughts and info, gonna try for it next weekend, little tricky though, not knowing what it is . do I try a stink bait or a dough ball or a nylon rope type lure, or just a big stick bait maybe… nothing to do but try.

Just dive in and wrestle it to shore ! ! !

 

[ticndig]

Appreciate all the thoughts and info, gonna try for it next weekend, little tricky though, not knowing what it is . do I try a stink bait or a dough ball or a nylon rope type lure, or just a big stick bait maybe… nothing to do but try.

live bluegill for bait if it's a pike or musky . steel leader so it's teeth don't cut your line.

 

[tamrock]

live bluegill for bait if it's a pike or musky . steel leader so it's teeth don't cut your line.

That should do it. When I was a kid we'd go up fishing in Bemidji Minnesota and I'd first catch a small perch and use it to bait a muskie or pike. One time I got up before the sun and dad and grandpa weren't even up yet. I took the motorboat way out in the lake by myself. I was sitting all nice and quiet with the motor off out on the lake all by myself, maybe 13 years old at the time watching the line as that little perch was down below swimming around in circles with a hook in it's back and all of a sudden the tip of my pole took a deep dive into the water. It dang near got pulled outta my hands. I frantically struggled to reel it in, but the tension on the reel could hardly engage. I try and and try to keep the line off an extreme load, so it wouldn't snap, but it did and all I got was a curley mess of nylon line at the end of my little Zebco setup. If anything the rush and excitement I was going through is something that's stayed with me since. Getting back to the cabin I was trying to at least tell the story of what I almost caught to my dad and grandpa and all they said, was so are you ready for some breakfast, cus we wanna get out on the Lake now. All they cared about was hooking piles of sunfish and bluegill to freeze, clean and take home. Still those are good eating if anything and they just never seemed interested in catching any Moby Dicks like I wanted to.

 

[dozer dan]

If anyone is interested…
For those of you wondering if you can cook Carp, here is a good recipe my Great Grandfather taught me. If your having a tough day catching fish you can always catch a carp and do this:

1.) Place the Carp (seasoned with butter and garlic) on a wood plank.
2.) Cook the cedar plank Carp on your BBQ for about 10 minutes so it gets a nice smokey flavor.
3.) Once the Carp is cooked, throw it away and eat the wood plank.

You didn't think I would actually eat a Carp did you?

 

[uglymailman]

My vote is for a Gar. In the 60's my Dad cleaned out farm ponds w/a dozer. I'd catch small fish as he drained the water out of the pond and take them to new ponds. I got a lot of fish out of ponds that had never been stocked. Good luck.

 

[hollARDog]

My vote is for a Gar. In the 60's my Dad cleaned out farm ponds w/a dozer. I'd catch small fish as he drained the water out of the pond and take them to new ponds. I got a lot of fish out of ponds that had never been stocked. Good luck.

Same thing I was thinking 🤘
Mmmm,gar balls