Posted on 08/07/2013 7:06:19 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
Angler nabs vegetarian piranha
SEATTLE Angler John Denton was surprised to catch what he believes to be a pacu, a relative of the piranha at Lake Ki over the weekend.
According to The Everett Herald, Denton was fishing for perch and bluegill on Sunday when he cast his line into the lake near his home and came up with the unusual catch. One of his neighbors identified the fish as a pacu, a native South American freshwater fish that are related to the piranha.
Bang, there it was, Denton told the Herald. Its a pretty big fish, a big ol herking fish. The fish Denton landed weighs about four or five pounds and he said it took him around 20 minutes just to haul it in.
Denton took the fish to the Tulalip Cabelas, where its being held in quarantine in a large fish tank at the back of the store.
The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife is expected to pick it up Thursday.
Frankly, I doubt it was 20 minutes. I've used ultra-lights with 6 lb test river fishing out of a canoe -- and five minutes is a reasonable time frame for a 4.5-5 lb black bass...if you choose to play him, rather than horse him in.
Never caught a pacu, but I would suspect that they're stronger than most game fish and would be a load -- probably given to running or going to the bottom than coming to the surface.
Given an inexperienced fisherman with light tackle, bank fishing and without the ability to maneuver, I can see ten minutes...which could well seem like twenty.
And, if the guy wants to tell his grandkids it took thirty minutes to beach the beast, well, I'm not going to object...
I fish 2 pound line and sometimes hook some 5 to 10 pound buglemouth bass that take a long time to land. If you are not used to catching bigguns on light line, you will tend to be too careful, but once you get the feel for fighting the fish using the rod, you can cut the fighting time.
I agree. If bream weighed 10 lbs, it would not be safe to step in the water. Piranha are built like and probably distant cousins of bream. Mean little fighting fish.
Someone's gotten tired of feeding that creature in an aquarium and let it go... funny thing is... I believe I know the chap that could have done this. I wouldn't put it past him.
Yep. When the bass aren’t hitting, I break out the 8 ft light action fly rod. I keep a 5 lb leader around 6 ft long on the fly line which is 50 lb test. Have caught many large fish and pumpkin seed bream that way.
One thing to keep in mind on Pacu is that they are shaped like a blue gill, but thicker. So imagine the fight a 5 pound bluegill could put up with those wide sides. Also, if this was a Black Pacu I think they grow to 50 plus pounds ! I have seen them in aquariums at around 20 pounds, they love grapes and chopped bananas.
“I believe I know the chap that could have done this. I wouldn’t put it past him. “
Seems like a really stupid thing to do. On the other hand - this guy probably just napped the Washington State Record books for largest Pacu.
HaHa...They are good but I'll take perch and bluegills over them any day...
Went to a bar in Longview that served fish and chips...While most places served cod, this place served breaded halibut for their fish and chips meal...Gotta say that was pretty awesome...
Reeled in a 6 lb. smallmouth on a 4 wt. flyrod with a 2 lb leader...I fooled with him for over 20 min...Was afraid of breaking the leader but I got 'im...
yay, 20 minutes seems like a long time but, they are scrappy lil bass turds...
The TV Show River Monsters had an episode about this fish. It was taken out of its native habitat and used as a replacement fish in some other country. Apparently the fish began attacking people and left marks that look just like a human bite. They have very strong jaws and teeth designed to crack nuts. It is not known how large they can grow because they are normally from a very high predation environment.
My wife and I have been cooking and eating alot of Tilapia lately. Apparently it was once considered a trash fish. I could live off of it. Wonder if the Pacu is similar. It’s good fried, blackened, or sauteed. Take some mayo and mix it with dijon mustard, horseradish, and diced dill pickles for homemade tartar sauce.
Was watching Andrew Zimmern last night. He was in Suriname.
One of the producers had a fishing rod and caught a huge piranha.
It was 20” long, weighed 5+ lbs. and a set of teeth similar to a downsized great white shark.
Supposedly very tasty.
A Brazos bull bream on ultra-lite or a fly rod was always a good tussle.
Pound-for-pound -- or, more accurately, ounce-for-ounce -- one of the toughest fighters in the river.
yep
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