IDNR free fishing days

Interesting article in the Trib: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/1607491,fish-population-story_el060409.article

Interesting article M--maybe you should take Sparky out to see if he could catch one of those 25-lb flathead cats! Boy, wouldn't that be a hoot for the lad (not to mention his mom!)?


Geo

Forget the Fox River, try the Chicago River for really big fish. This one is from the North Branch last November, 38lbs 2oz,

Holy Sea Cow! I assume that's an Asian Carp?

No, it is a true carp, Cyprinius carpio, the fish that has been here since the late 1800s. Number 1 sport fish in the world!

Wow. I've never had luck fishing the North Branch, but clearly I need to try again!

Carp take smoke really well. Does Gary W have advice for the guy with this huge fish??

Geo

Carp are sacred to my people. We take a picture (of the big ones), give them a kiss on the lips and gently release them. No smoking, no eating.

Even for non-believers, it would not be wise to eat the large fish. They have had many years to accumulate our garbage in their tissues. Small ones, under 5 lbs or so, should be good for smoking, especially if they are from Lake Michigan.

ppezalla wrote:Even for non-believers, it would not be wise to eat the large fish. They have had many years to accumulate our garbage in their tissues. Small ones, under 5 lbs or so, should be good for smoking, especially if they are from Lake Michigan.

Man, I'm so relieved that you typed that, ppezalla! I didn't want to butt heads with someone who'd already dined on it.

I catch and release myself and throw back quite a few great dinner fish. Sometimes I think twice before letting say, a pike-perch (sander) or fat perch go. However, that beautiful, monster carp wouldn't have caused me two seconds of doubt. It's old and it's been feeding on the bottom of the Chicago river for many years. It's a sad sign of the times but I'm betting that it's simply too polluted to eat by now. Not unless you're looking for a healthy dose of PCBs and mercury, that is.

Congrats on your fine catch. And double congrats on letting it swim home again! It probably didn't suffer more than a sore lip (and some confusion after its close encounters with that moustache of yours).

You two serve as reminders of all those carp (and catfish) that I ate when I lived in China in '86. Given the level of pollution in East Lake (they wouldn't let us Long Noses swim in the University's basin...), I'm sure I really don't want to know what I ate.

[and not about the dog, cat or pony, either... My students gave me a T-shirt that said "Stir-fried Cat" in characters, and snickered knowingly. ]

Geo