42" Bighead carp on 10 lb. test

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These fish were stocked in a small farm pond to help clean the muddy water. The farmer was unaware and we thought they were flathead catfish as we saw glimpses of them swimming slowly while they filterfeed. They would stir up the bottom while feeding making the pond more dirty and scared the panfish the farmer was fishing for. This one was caught accidently while I reeled in a catfish rig and hooked it in it's open mouth. I snagged another larger one w a weighted treblehook a few days later and both fish took 20+ mins to land. The second fish was released into the farmers brothers pond and it swam on the surface for a while looking like a freshwater shark and scaring the crap out of the ducks!! We visited the pond stockers farm and saw some of these fish that looked 5'+ long and maybe 100lbs!! It's to bad they are a nuisance and filterfeed as they are a ball to catch on rod and reel.
 
If remember correctly, that's how the species was introduced to our waters. Accidental release from farm pond duirng flood condtions.
 
I've heard lot's of things about these non-native fish. That they were imported to help clean up sewage and other types of waste ponds for one, they were a fast growing/multiplying food fish that would produce lots of protien cheaply is another. I am also aware of the threat they pose to our native fish today and would have killed the other one if I had known that then. If the gubmnt wasnt so broke, they might be able to pay fisherman a bounty to try to eradicate them. I for one would gladly try to help stop them from damaging our native fish stocks especially if i could be payed to do it, they are not abundant here in N.C as far as I know............We should have learned a lesson w Kudzu.
 
That is a small one :( They are taking over Kentucky Lake now and are easily twice that size on average. Commercial fisherman are catching 1000's of pounds per day of these things in the lake just to try and slow their progress. The entire country will soon be populated with these fish. It is just a matter of time unless they can figure a way to poison these things without killing all the other species.
bighead_zps8b827fa2.jpg
 
I think there were 4 stocked in the small pond, we could sorta see them in the dingy water swimming slowly almost side by side sometimes as they fed. i hope this trait makes them easier to net and I hope they can eradicate them from lakes, large rivers would be much harder IMO.
 

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