About "Catch & Research"

Welcome. I found my passion in ecological economics and fishing. They are all about pursuit of unknown and uncertain objects. I always enjoy the seemingly reckless pursuit itself. This blog is a record of my long journey in research and fishing. Your comments are welcome and appreciated.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Weirdest fish ever, sort of...

I have been busy with summer internship, I went fishing regularly though. Mostly near my apartment complex, short trip. BTW, in May I passed candidacy exam, which is a milestone of Ph.D. program.

Yesterday evening, I went out carping at Hudson river. I used pre-made Premium Carp Bait strawberry. I have never caught carp with this bait. But keep trying. As an insurance, I cast catfish bait as well. Oh, boy, catfish are really active nowadays.

Anyway, after one hour of waiting, suddenly there was strong nibbling at carp rig. I did not rush giving enough time for carp to suck up the treble hook. Then, I set hook. To my disappointment, I could not feel the carp at the end of my tackle. But I could clearly tell that I had caught something. Tiny fish maybe?

When the small fish surfaced, I could see yellow color with black dots. It was ugly looking fish. I thought it might be Goby or some kind of invasive species. To my vast surprise, it was foul-hooked fish like swimbait!!! "Are you kidding me? How can I hook a swimbait with carp rig? Not even with other lure. Are there someone at the bottom of the river and meesing with me?" I could not stop questioning. Here is a picture of my catch.


You can see the treble hook is set on the belly of the swimbait. Foul hook!


Close shot. Black dots look like fungi. Kinda gross.


I have been fishing at the same spot with swimbaits. So, at first I suspected that it might be mine, but it turned out to be not. Considering the condition of the swimbait, it might be under water at least for one year. It has been de-colorlized, and hooks are rusty. But it still seems to be usable. :) What a productive catch! Just kidding, I will not use it.

After catching this tropy, I came back home without any success. Next time, I willl write some success stories.