CeeJay Posted July 20, 2015 Posted July 20, 2015 I mentioned in another post that my brother works as head groundskeeper at a Nature Center in the northern VA suburbs. Basically it's a place for education and events dealing with native birds, fish, etc. Cool job for sure. Anyway they have a little oval shaped pond on the property, maybe about 20 feet in length x 12 feet width. There's a waterfall to prevent stagnation and they seem to take very good care of it. Frogs, little turtles, and various minnows call it home. But some of the nearby residents have apparently been releasing unwanted pet Goldfish into the pond. According to my brother there are about 6 Goldfish that have been spotted, ranging in size from 2-4 inches. The bosses recommended netting and killing the fish, but my brother talked them out of it. So I volunteered to do some "Micro Fishing" with rod, hook and line to remove the Goldfish. The fish I catch will be given to a local who specializes in caring for unwanted pet fish. Anyway this should be interesting I plan to use the tip section of my B'n'M panfish pole, 2lb mono, size 14 hooks, fly fishing strike indicator, and.......no idea about bait. Suggestions for little Goldfish that live in such a tiny body of water? Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted July 20, 2015 Super User Posted July 20, 2015 I have no clue. But you might ask this guy, bet he knows. A-Jay 1 Quote
CeeJay Posted July 20, 2015 Author Posted July 20, 2015 Haha good ole Dr. Seuss I think I'm going to chum the surface with actual fish flake food from the pet store. Once I see them feeding on the surface I'll probably use a tiny sliver of Berkley Gulp, and not bother with a float. I suppose I could also make a little mini bait balls out of the flakes as well. But I wonder if the Goldfish have learned to feed off the bugs and worms and whatever else falls into the pond. But I'm not allowed to use live bait there. There's no way I could allow myself to get skunked in this situation and in such a tiny pond....that would be rather embarrassing 1 Quote
Super User Choporoz Posted July 20, 2015 Super User Posted July 20, 2015 You're going fishing for goldfish....I wouldn't think you'd worry too much about being embarrassed 7 Quote
CeeJay Posted July 20, 2015 Author Posted July 20, 2015 You're going fishing for goldfish....I wouldn't think you'd worry too much about being embarrassed You know what's cool though is that there's a decent bass/panfish lake about a mile away from the Nature Center. I'll be spending the entire day in the area, so if goldfishing is slow (haha that sounds funny doesn't it?) I'll break out my other tackle and hike on over to catch some bigger game...all for the purpose of learning the local aquatics, of course Quote
Super User everythingthatswims Posted July 20, 2015 Super User Posted July 20, 2015 They like little pieces of worms. Better use a #16 or #18 hook. Get some 6 or 7x tippet for your leader I hate to admit it, but I'm speaking from experience 2 Quote
Super User Choporoz Posted July 20, 2015 Super User Posted July 20, 2015 What's the decent water? just curious..... Quote
CeeJay Posted July 20, 2015 Author Posted July 20, 2015 What's the decent water? just curious..... Lake "Adoubond"? Or some similar name? It's in Reston. Mark (my brother), says the bass are in the 1-3 pound range based on their studies there. Bluegills abundant but under a pound. Sounds like a typical park lake much like the ones I used to fish when I lived in NoVa. Quote
CeeJay Posted July 20, 2015 Author Posted July 20, 2015 They like little pieces of worms. Better use a #16 or #18 hook. Get some 6 or 7x tippet for your leader I hate to admit it, but I'm speaking from experience Hey were you fishing in your aquarium again? Thanks, the hook size for small Goldfish I wasn't so sure about. I have some flies in #16 size...maybe I could tip them with something scented and flavorful. Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted July 20, 2015 Super User Posted July 20, 2015 One things for sure ~ They're gonna be a Bi@ch to Fillet . . . A-Jay 3 Quote
Super User tomustang Posted July 20, 2015 Super User Posted July 20, 2015 Throw a bass in there, in a couple days time when theres no more goldfish, catch the bass 3 Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted July 21, 2015 Global Moderator Posted July 21, 2015 They're miniature carp, approach fishing for them accordingly. 2 Quote
CeeJay Posted July 21, 2015 Author Posted July 21, 2015 Throw a bass in there, in a couple days time when theres no more goldfish, catch the bass I actually would but this place is ultra strict about what can be put into that puddle They forbid fishing in the pond to the general public... but are allowing me (since my brother is highly respected there), to try to take out as many Goldfish as I can...and to top it off I must keep them alive for the volunteer fish keeper, who will hopefully be there at the time. I think it'll be a fun day. I'm always up for challenges and new experiences when it comes to fishing and the great outdoors. By the way, I will definitely take some pictures and maybe even try to film a bit of my battles with Goldies. Quote
CeeJay Posted July 21, 2015 Author Posted July 21, 2015 They're miniature carp, approach fishing for them accordingly. Yeah that's pretty much my plan. I'll surface chum first to see just how many goldfish are in there. I have a feeling it's a lot more than they think...and also who knows what other species of aquarium fish have been released into the pond. Perhaps I'll end up tangling with some fairly exotic fish I just hope I don't catch too many little turtles or frogs haha. Quote
Super User SirSnookalot Posted July 21, 2015 Super User Posted July 21, 2015 You may want to buy a fighting belt. 2 Quote
CeeJay Posted July 21, 2015 Author Posted July 21, 2015 You may want to buy a fighting belt. haha 1 Quote
masterbass Posted July 21, 2015 Posted July 21, 2015 This is hilarious. I'm anxious to hear how it goes. 2 Quote
CeeJay Posted July 22, 2015 Author Posted July 22, 2015 This is hilarious. I'm anxious to hear how it goes. Yeah it'll be interesting for sure. I just can't appear to be having too much fun or they'll probably say, "ok that's enough lets just drain the pond" No date has been set yet, we're waiting for the camp field trips to wrap up. They don't want the kids seeing me fishing in the pond and get the idea that it's allowed to the general public. 1 Quote
5 Dollar Fishing Game Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 Throw a bass in there, in a couple days time when theres no more goldfish, catch the bass ^^^THIS^^^ Quote
CeeJay Posted July 22, 2015 Author Posted July 22, 2015 ^^^THIS^^^ haha yeah but they want the goldfish to be alive when I remove them. Also can't introduce any more fish into the pond. Though I'm pretty sure people have released a variety of fish in there before...a cichlid would be cool. Always wanted to catch one 1 Quote
Super User J Francho Posted July 22, 2015 Super User Posted July 22, 2015 Why do the goldfish need to be alive? Never mind, I deal with stupid customer requirements all day at work, lol. 2 Quote
CeeJay Posted July 22, 2015 Author Posted July 22, 2015 Why do the goldfish need to be alive? Never mind, I deal with stupid customer requirements all day at work, lol. They want to give them to a person who takes in unwanted pets and fish. People also drop off injured squirrels, turtles, birds, etc. Quote
BannedForSpamming-1234555 Posted July 23, 2015 Posted July 23, 2015 How about using a minnow trap? 2 Quote
CeeJay Posted July 23, 2015 Author Posted July 23, 2015 How about using a minnow trap? Realistically, that would indeed be the best solution. They could then release any tadpoles, salamanders and minnows they want to remain in the pond, and keep and remove the goldfish. But If they decided on that, I wouldn't be needed haha. The only reasons I volunteered to angle for those goldfish is because it will give me a chance to try out micro fishing for the first time, I enjoy challenges, and also gives me a reason to go back to Virginia where I used to live. 1 Quote
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