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Just read the post of live bait and it reminded me of the fish I saw at Utah lake this weekend. While looking for the bass I saw a orange thing in the water and as I got closer it started to swim. I was able to get very close to this orange fish and it turned out to be a foot long gold fish. It had to be someones bait one day. Very odd to see such a thing especially where I was. I ran into a guy that said all moving water is off limits because of the walleye. I did get checked by fish and game on Sunday. I asked him the rule on the marsh areas, He said it is legal even if water is moving as long as You are in the lake itself and not up a stream. Just a little info, I'm sure You all already knew that , but I didn't.
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[cool][#0000ff]I'm sure there have been "scofflaws" who have used live goldfish for bait in Utah Lake...and dumped their leftovers. But there are quite a few different "exotics" that have been caught out of both the lake and Jordan River downstream. It seems to be a popular dumping ground for aquarium fish that have outgrown their tanks or just because someone wanted to "help the ecology". Probably one of the more interesting species to turn up are the "pacu"...large relatives of the piranha that live on greenery rather than flesh. I have heard reliable reports of a couple of those being caught.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have seen fairly large koi carp (exotic goldfish) both in Utah Lake and in the Jordan River. Those things are very valuable when they get big.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Might explain why orange in a crankbait is sometimes such an effective color.[/#0000ff]
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I heard tell it was scuber divers. They can't see most of the fish in Utah Lake, so they plant goldfish 'cuz they're bright orange and easy to see.
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[cool][#0000ff]Makes sense to me. They probably planted all those big blue cats and flatheads too. If they are bigger they are easier to see. I'm surprised they haven't planted any redtail cats from South America. They are both big and bright.[/#0000ff]
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We'd better quit givin' 'em ideas.[crazy][crazy] They'll think we're serious.
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It does happen though! Some of those aquarium fish get expensive to feed (like said redtail cat ) and people just dump them.
The oscars, which are a south american ciclid, have an actual established breeding population in the everglades due to careless fish dumping.
I tried selling a 14" carp as a koi once.
Had better luck turning it into bait!
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[cool][#0000ff]As we both realize, there is a big limiting factor which keeps Utah Lake relatively free of "exotics" from the aquarium. That is the cold temps. Not even tilapia can survive the cold winters...much less the other warm water tropicals.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It would be interesting to know just how many different species have been "introduced" by bucket bozos...most never to be seen again. I'm sure that some might survive a warm water summer but if they weren't caught out they would probably be history by early fall.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I sure hope that truckload of giant snakeheads I've ordered for June planting help reduce the carp population. Gonna try to pass them off as sabertoothed june suckers. Think DWR will go for it?[/#0000ff]
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That might be the answer to the carp problem. Raise snakeheads all winter, turn them loose on the carp in early summer, and after they've eaten their fill of carp they'd die off in the cold waters of fall and winter. Maybe they could be trained to return in the fall so they could spend the winter in Jamaica (heated aquariums).
It would be interesting to know all of the different types of fish that have been given the chance to colonize Utah Lake.
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Don't know if it is fact or fiction but I have heard of Northern pike, Lake trout, and a couple of chuckle worthy recounts of either a crocodile or an alligator. If the last one was true that could explain several of the fish stories that my brother told me.
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