Tag: koi

Bass fisherman reels in colorful surprise at Texas pond

The colossal fish caught by Jose Naranjo was a type of carp commonly used to decorate residential and community ponds.

A Texas angler was hoping to catch bass recently at San Antonio pond, but instead hooked and landed a giant koi.

“I’ve seen it there before and have wondered if anyone’s caught it before,” Jose Naranjo told My San Antonio. “It’s actually one of three that are in those ponds.”

Koi are a type of domesticated carp, considered ornamental because of their bright coloration. They’re used to decorate residential or community ponds and in Japan the fish represent love and friendship.

Naranjo theorized that the koi he caught on April 5 had been released there by somebody who no longer wanted the fish.

Naranjo was practicing catch-and-release fishing and set the koi free after posing for a photo. He estimated the koi’s length at 30-plus inches.

Interestingly, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department raises koi as forage for largemouth bass brood stock in hatcheries.

“They are easy to raise, grow fast, and lack sharp dorsal spines, making them easy for the bass to eat,” the agency explains on its website. “In an average year, the hatcheries will produce 15,000 to 20,000 kilograms of koi.”

Giant goldfish – weighing 9 pounds! – discovered in small lake

Biologists conducting studies on Oak Grove Lake in South Carolina discovered a 9-pound goldfish that had been residing in the lake for an unknown period.

Biologists conducting studies on Oak Grove Lake in South Carolina discovered a 9-pound goldfish that had been residing in the lake for an unknown period.

“Anyone missing their goldfish?” the Greenville Recreation Center asked Monday on Facebook.

The goldfish, perhaps formerly a much smaller aquarium fish, rose to the surface during an electroshocking study conducted to determine the health of the 12-acre fishery.

The 15-inch goldfish stood out glaringly compared to other fish that were briefly stunned to be counted as part of the study. (Goldfish typically can fit in a glass bowl, but they can grow to large sizes in the wild.)

The electroshocking was conducted in mid-November and Greenville Parks, Recreation & Tourism released the photo Monday.

Houck told NBC that although goldfish are not native to South Carolina waters, they’re not considered invasive and the goldfish was allowed to swim free.

Houck is quoted by CNN: “We think someone must have just dropped their fish in the lake because they didn’t want it anymore, instead of flushing it down the toilet.”

Reads one of several comments on the Greenville Recreation post:

“That is probably my old gold fish. I had to move and when packing him up my brother broke the container. I had no other choice but to release him and hope for the best. Its name was Lucky. This was 11 years ago. I was so sad. I truly hope that this was my fish because that means he lived and had a good life.”

–Image courtesy of Greenville Parks, Recreation & Tourism