Finally went fishing today! (Photo)

[Rocky998]

If I caught that I would just want to put it in my tank, to me it just looks like a big Cichlid.

Does look like it! The first one I caught almost reminded me of a gourami mixed with a cichlid because it had black circles with redish/orange and blue in between

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Not forgetting that people have been known to release the contents of their aquariums into local waterways and lakes when they outgrow the aquarium or the people get fed up of keeping them

There are alot of non native species lurking in rivers, streams and lakes and they do interbreed....and cause all sorts of issues for the native species

 

[Rocky998]

Not forgetting that people have been known to release the contents of their aquariums into local waterways and lakes when they outgrow the aquarium or the people get fed up of keeping them

There are alot of non native species lurking in rivers, streams and lakes and they do interbreed....and cause all sorts of issues for the native species

Yah... I'm pretty certain we don't have any invasive fish species surviving in the river... But that's hard to tell.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Looks like a Black Crappie. Used to fish a lot when I was younger but haven't been for many years.

Edit to add: caught a nice looking fish, good size too.

Perfect pan-fry size

 

[Rocky998]

Edit to add: caught a nice looking fish, good size too.

Sorry, didnt see your edit until now...
Thank you! Yah, it is a nice size. Although the one that got away was a beefy boy... Nice colors too... Sad I wasnt able to hold him and get a photo. He had to be about 7 inches! Nice size for a bluegill!
The one in the photo was about 5 inches

 

[PheonixKingZ]

What sort of fish?

Do you use barbless hooks?
They do less damage to the fish than normal barbed hooks. You can use a pr of pliers to bend the barb down on a normal hook so they are close to barbless.

Also letting the fish hang while the hook is still in its mouth is very damaging to the tissue around/in the mouth.

In the future, I would suggest carefully removing the hook from the fishes mouth, wetting your hands in lake water, and then holding the fish sideways. Holding the fish sideways with their jaw is also damaging.

(Nice Black Crappie though )

 

[Rocky998]

Also letting the fish hang while the hook is still in its mouth is very damaging to the tissue around/in the mouth.

In the future, I would suggest carefully removing the hook from the fishes mouth, wetting your hands in lake water, and then holding the fish sideways. Holding the fish sideways with their jaw is also damaging.

(Nice Black Crappie though )

I try to but they slip out and spine me ... I figured: "Oh no, I want proof I got you, PICTURE TIME"

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Yah... I'm pretty certain we don't have any invasive fish species surviving in the river... But that's hard to tell.

Oh, I bet you have ponds/lakes/other water ways somewhere nearby that have an invasive population of goldfish.

 

[Rocky998]

Oh, I bet you have ponds/lakes/other water ways somewhere nearby that have an invasive population of goldfish.

Now that I can ALMOST guarantee we dont have. The only way we have goldfish here is if someone has a private man made pond with some in it

 

[Back in the fold]

Barbless hooks do way less damage to the fish and that means any fish you release has more chance of surviving and less chance of dying from an infection caused by having a big hole torn in its mouth.

Sport fishing is really big around here where I live and you would have a stroke if you saw how most fishermen handle the fish they "release". Holding them up by the gills , ripping out hooks with pliers and tossing them into buckets until they decide if they want them or not. We humans are more animal than the bear or raccoon who "humanely" catches a fish to eat.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Now that I can ALMOST guarantee we dont have. The only way we have goldfish here is if someone has a private man made pond with some in it

How do you know? There are places all over the US being destroyed by invasive goldfish that people have released, that have bred wildly.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Now that I can ALMOST guarantee we dont have. The only way we have goldfish here is if someone has a private man made pond with some in it

This huge 9 pound goldfish was caught in South Carolina... granted, they apparently didn't have enough of a breeding problem that they released it back into the lake https://abcnews.go.com/US/giant-pound-goldfish-found-south-carolina-lake/story?id=74600681

But check out this video to see the damage that goldfish released into wild water ways can do. And it only takes one bad owner releasing their kids 2-3 goldfish into the wild for this to happen...

 

[Rocky998]

Sport fishing is really big around here where I live and you would have a stroke if you saw how most fishermen handle the fish they "release". Holding them up by the gills , ripping out hooks with pliers and tossing them into buckets until they decide if they want them or not. We humans are more animal than the bear or raccoon who "humanely" catches a fish to eat.

Well you have to use pliers on some hooks... Its just the art of doing it. Obviously you dont just rip it out, I gently wiggle it and then usually it plops right off.

 

[Rocky998]

How do you know? There are places all over the US being destroyed by invasive goldfish that people have released, that have bred wildly.

This huge 9 pound goldfish was caught in South Carolina... granted, they apparently didn't have enough of a breeding problem that they released it back into the lake https://abcnews.go.com/US/giant-pound-goldfish-found-south-carolina-lake/story?id=74600681

But check out this video to see the damage that goldfish released into wild water ways can do. And it only takes one bad owner releasing their kids 2-3 goldfish into the wild for this to happen...

Wow!
But in the area we are in here... I have never once heard of a goldfish being caught lol or seen

 

[Colin_T]

If the fish spike you when handling it, use a wet piece of material. We used tea towels folded into halves or quarters and wet them in the water. Then rest the fish on that. Less chance of being spiked