Have You Ever Caught An Endangered Fish?

[Squirmin Wormin]

Just am wondering if you did catch a fish that is endangered or not, and if so do you remember what kind of fish it was ? does someone that has caught one have to report that incident as well to fish and game authorities or not? it's rare in my op, what's your op on this?

[Bluebasser86]

I haven't but I know guys catch pallid sturgeons in the Kansas and Missouri rivers in downtown KC occasionally. I've caught some shovelnose sturgeon but never a pallid. They're usually bright white because of the muddy water I guess. 

[desmobob]

There are two protected fish that I know of in Lake Champlain: the Mooneye and Lake Sturgeon.  So far, I haven't caught one of either.

 

Tight lines,

Bob

[Fisher-O-men]

Caught and ate a juvenile Black Sea Bass years ago, in ignorance.  It was delicious!

 

Ding Dong.  Well, hello officer, how can I help you today?

[SHaugh]

If you fish in Washington state it's almost impossible to not catch a fish you weren't supposed to catch. You need a lawyer with you whenever you think about keeping something... Ate a bull trout once... thought it was a Dolly Vardon till later on we studied the regs.... over dinner...

You can get a ticket just for catching a Rockfish in Puget Sound..... even if you throw it back...

[00 mod]

I caught this one, and after a photo shoot, she was put back into the water.  We found out afterwards they are protected!  Released unharmed!

 

Jeff

 

 

[Catch and Grease]

^^ Nice fish! What kind of sturgeon is that?

[00 mod]

They are called Paddlefish, or more commonly Spoonbill Catfish.  They are filter feeders and can only be snagged.  In some parts there is a snagging season for them, but not on the TN river. 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddlefish

 

Here is the thread:

 

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/136364-shattering-state-records/?hl=spoonbill

 

Jeff

[Catch and Grease]

Ohh, my mistake thought that looked like a sturgeon.

Now that I think about it I have heard of those before... Cool fish!

[everythingthatswims]

I caught about a 6" Auratus Cichlid in the Rivanna Reservoir once, he was hanging out by a boat ramp and I am 100% sure someone "released their fish into the wild to be where it belongs". I think I was about 10 at the time and it was a pleasant surprise while bluegill fishing, I saw it in the water and said "what is THAT?" after a couple of minutes of dangling a worm in front of his nose, weeding through bluegills, I had him in a 5 gallon bucket, admiring the colors.

http://web.mit.edu/lxs/www/cichlids/images/auratus-bar-1.jpg Here is a picture of one

 

Not endangered but I bet it's the only one ever caught in the Reservoir, and was probably the only one in there at the time!

[gulfcaptain]

Caught an Oscar when I was 10 from a pond on a plastic worm.....was gonna keep it and it got off when I put it back in the water to fill the bucket up.....as for endangered fish, well it's almost impossible not to catch the endangered Baccacio AKA Samon Grouper off of S. Cal when you're trying to catch quality rockfish.  There are more of them then ever and have to move to try and find other bottom fish.  But hey those studies that came from the Newpaper fish counts of what the sportfishing boats were keeping must of been right because we stopped keeping them when we were wanting something else.  Now they are protected and can only keep 2. And if you fish in the Gulf of Mexico you have to move to try not to catch the overfished and endangered American Red Snappper.  

[desmobob]

I caught about a 6" Auratus Cichlid in the Rivanna Reservoir once, he was hanging out by a boat ramp and I am 100% sure someone "released their fish into the wild to be where it belongs". I think I was about 10 at the time and it was a pleasant surprise while bluegill fishing, I saw it in the water and said "what is THAT?" after a couple of minutes of dangling a worm in front of his nose, weeding through bluegills, I had him in a 5 gallon bucket, admiring the colors.

http://web.mit.edu/lxs/www/cichlids/images/auratus-bar-1.jpg Here is a picture of one

 

Not endangered but I bet it's the only one ever caught in the Reservoir, and was probably the only one in there at the time!

 

That's pretty funny!

 

I have a 55-gal. aquarium in my house with Lake Malawi cichlids in it.  I had a Melanochromis auratus for a while, till it got beat up by some bigger, meaner mbuna.  I always joke that I cold fish in my aquarium if I got really desperate.  I guess I wouldn't be the first one to catch an African cichlid!

 

Tight lines,

Bob

[everythingthatswims]

Caught an Oscar when I was 10 from a pond on a plastic worm.....was gonna keep it and it got off when I put it back in the water to fill the bucket up.....as for endangered fish, well it's almost impossible not to catch the endangered Baccacio AKA Samon Grouper off of S. Cal when you're trying to catch quality rockfish.  There are more of them then ever and have to move to try and find other bottom fish.  But hey those studies that came from the Newpaper fish counts of what the sportfishing boats were keeping must of been right because we stopped keeping them when we were wanting something else.  Now they are protected and can only keep 2. And if you fish in the Gulf of Mexico you have to move to try not to catch the overfished and endangered American Red Snappper.  

Yeah the red snapper ordeal in the gulf is ridiculous...Desk jockeys in suits shouldn't be making the decisions about the fish...

[Dwight Hottle]

Not to take you off topic but any new PB could be considered an endangered species if kept.

[Bluebasser86]

I caught this one, and after a photo shoot, she was put back into the water.  We found out afterwards they are protected!  Released unharmed!

 

Jeff

 

 

Folks around here would have a cow if they decided to protect spoonbill so you couldn't keep them! I know guys who look forward to snagging season all year. I've caught 2 of them and, like you, was not fishing for them either time. Cool looking fish, neither was nearly that big though. 

[powerduster]

I catch horseshoe crabs quite often while fishing at times, and they are considered endangered. I also caught a sea turtle by accident while using bait. It might of been endangered, I don't know. I know they aren't fish, but still fishing related.

[Mainebass1984]

I caught an Atlantic Salmon while I was trout fishing with me dad when I was 16. It was one heck of a fight on 6 lb test. First thing it did was jump completely out of the water three times and then run up river around a couple bends in the river. Goy it turned around and then it went down river quite awhile. It took me into a deep pool along an undercut bank that was almost over my head. I had to cross through the pool to the other side of the river before landing the fish. It measured 29 1/4 inches long and weighed in at 9 lbs 4 oz . The fish had been marked at a fish ladder. It was one of 32 fish that were passed up over a dam over 100 miles from the ocean. I caught it in a small tributary 20 feet wide. Very, very rare to catch a wild sea run Atlantic Salmon in southern Maine.

[wisconsin heat]

Lake sturgeon!! Mine went 51" Caught it while fishing with a friend that likes to fish for whatever is biting

[Maxximus Redneckus]

Wasnt fishing but came apon a logging road when i was younger with a gravel bottom.this stream ran through it.only about 2 inches deep.noticed minnows swimming in it red bottoms and gray tops.few days later the stream was dried up.no minnows.followed it both ways led to nothing.ive caught minnows all around this area for ever in streams never once seen any if these.

[Felix77]

Caught a few sturgeon out of the Hudson River chasing Striped Bass.