View Full Version : Native MN River Fish Saw today:
Saw some fishermen on the Minnesota River today, asked if they caught anything. They showed me some of these fish, which they were apparently going to eat. They called them Sheepshead, and they are also called Freshawater Drum, Aplodinotus Grunniens. I wouldn't eat fish from that river, fish caught near that river, or fish that overheard me talking about that river. It's gross, and loaded with toxins. But, to each his own type of early death. Interesting fish though.
Fish_are_fishfood
04-23-2006, 4:22 PM
You only live once, and if your going to die it might as well be by eating some monster fish:clap :clap
You only live once, might as well die now.:ROFL:
JD7.62
04-23-2006, 7:17 PM
Drum are nasty fish. I catch them all the time, but actually have never fished for them!
rottbo
04-23-2006, 7:56 PM
and they are bony as hell i dont like the flavor to much
Vitaliy
04-23-2006, 7:57 PM
Fish in the first pic looks really cool, I would not mind having that in a tank!
rottbo
04-23-2006, 8:00 PM
they are easy to catch here too
I think I will go fishing for them next weekend, it will be interesting.
JD7.62
04-23-2006, 8:33 PM
In about october I can catch tons of small 2" babies in the Ohio. The would be cool for a native tank.
In about october I can catch tons of small 2" babies in the Ohio. The would be cool for a native tank.
I wouldn't mind having one, but not my first choice.
rottbo
04-23-2006, 8:55 PM
just throw a treble hook packed with worms on the bottom and you will catch those or a cat of some sort thats how i cath them
ewurm
04-23-2006, 10:13 PM
I can't use a treble hook. Do i use weight?
guppy
04-23-2006, 10:16 PM
Try a slider rigs, that is a terminal hooh 18" leader, and an eggsinker between two stops with about 18-24" of movement, works for most bottom feeders.
rottbo
04-23-2006, 10:23 PM
yeah that works great minnesota have a law against trebl hooks???
if so i have broken the law in the past
ewurm
04-23-2006, 10:25 PM
You can have them if they are attached to an artificial bait, But a treble hok by itself counts as three hooks, you are allowed one.
RyanS
04-23-2006, 10:49 PM
It's perfectly safe to eat as long as you don't eat too much. The problem is the mercury levels in the water. All bodies of water in the city have the same probem. Pregnant women and children are not supposed to eat it at all.
As fothe fish, I hate sheephead, I've never eaten one. Caught a few million though!
BTW, Ewurm, wanna see gross, go to where the Minnesota dumps into the Mississippi. Just a few miles upstream of Harriet Island. It makes the Mississippi look like it's crystal clear!
ewurm
04-23-2006, 10:55 PM
It's perfectly safe to eat as long as you don't eat too much. The problem is the mercury levels in the water. All bodies of water in the city have the same probem. Pregnant women and children are not supposed to eat it at all.
As fothe fish, I hate sheephead, I've never eaten one. Caught a few million though!
BTW, Ewurm, wanna see gross, go to where the Minnesota dumps into the Mississippi. Just a few miles upstream of Harriet Island. It makes the Mississippi look like it's crystal clear!
You should take me fishing some time on the river, I have never caught that stuff, I am from Western MN originally, and I don't know what I am doing.
RyanS
04-24-2006, 12:26 AM
You should take me fishing some time on the river, I have never caught that stuff, I am from Western MN originally, and I don't know what I am doing.
LOL, I would, but I don't own a boat. I usually go with a friend and his father, they have a little 16' with a 90hp engine and a huge 25' Cruiser with a big V8.
Fishing on the river isn't all it's cracked up to be, there are lots of big stuff to catch, but you are far more likely to either:
1. Catch nothing
2. Catch Carp
Neither of which is much fun. I've never had much luck on the river.
If you don't mind fishing of of the shore (I hate it) there are a million places to go on the river. The Mississippi is lined with parks, most of which have long beaches. I know North Mississippi Park has a fishing dock.
I don't fish the Mississippi much, as I usually get skunked. I find the St Croix River to be a much better place to fish. You name it, it's in there to catch. If you are lucky, you'll get a Sturgeon. I've only ever caught one. My favorite place to go is Presscot beach. Don't fish at the actual beach, you'll get yelled at. Walk through the trees and up to where the the St Croix and Mississippi meet. I've never fished off of the shore there, but there are always people there. I've caught numerous Walleyes, Bass, Pike and assorted panfish there. Also, where crapy clothes and big rubber boots. Some huge boats go through there making huge waves.
For close by fishing, you can't beat Spoon lake in Maplewood.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/areas/fisheries/eastmetro/lakes/kellerspoon.html
My friends and I slaughtered the Bass last summer. Th DNR's assessment seems to be off, LOL, we caught them one after another. All in the 3lb range. No huge, but plenty big to have fun!
Here are some websites you might find interesting. Everything you could want to know about fishing in Minnesota.
http://www.invominnesota.com/phpBB2/
http://www.lakestatefishing.com/modules.php?name=Forums
http://www.fishingmn.com/
We'll have to meet somewhere and go fishing sometime this summer, could be fun!
ewurm
04-24-2006, 12:34 AM
I would like to go!
dredcon
04-24-2006, 2:43 AM
The best bait for big fw drum is crawfish. I have been catching a ton of them up to about 6 or 7 pounds on freshwater prawns. They are a blast on ultralight.
ewurm
04-24-2006, 12:53 PM
I prefer 40lb spiderwire and an ugly stik...
dredcon
04-24-2006, 5:45 PM
I normally fish 1 or 2 big poles with big bait, but I catch most of my fish on a light or ultralight spinning rod with 10lb powerpro.
ewurm
04-24-2006, 10:22 PM
The only time I use ultralight is for panfish, otherwise I go for the big tackle. I learned my lesson after I had a Bowfin snap 30lb test, and then had a 5 lb. Largemouth break my pole in half (I landed it anyway).
dredcon
04-24-2006, 10:51 PM
hehe it can be disappointing to lose a big fish, but these days I can't help myself. I have'nt been spooled on the ul yet this year, but I camt close on a nice drum last week. Caught about half these bowfin on ul, but that was from a boat so it does'nt count.
ewurm
04-24-2006, 10:57 PM
Does anyone else think this guy should be holding a cowbell? LOL
What did you do with all the bowfin?
dredcon
04-24-2006, 11:41 PM
We have been collecting them for my friends reaserch. He wants to get an idea of the life histroy characteristics in the bayou that we fish and to see if the current regulation will be effective based on the results. We measure and weigh the fisn to begin. Next the gular plate, the bony plate under the mouth, is cut off and boiled. You can determine the fishes age from the rings on it. Next the gonads are removed and weighed. This allows us to find the GSI, or Gonadal Somatic Index. GSI is basically the ratio of egg to body weight and it can indicate the reproductive condition of the fish. Last we pull the otoliths, or ear bones as a secondary ageing structure. The all dark eggs were collected earlier in the year, while the orange eggs were collected 2 weeks ago. Since the water in the bayou never inundated the flood plain the bowfin did not have access to their spawning grounds. We think the orange eggs are being reabsorbed by the fish meaning no spawning this year. Most female we have caught recently have orange eggs which could mean total year class failure.
ewurm
04-24-2006, 11:50 PM
Those pics look like the inside of my Taco Bell.
ewurm
04-24-2006, 11:52 PM
What are the regs on bowfin in the bayou? If they have a total year class failure, wouldn't that devastate the population? Or would they just come back the next year due to underpopulation?
dredcon
04-25-2006, 12:03 AM
16 min rec. and 22 min commerical with no bag limit
One bad year will not hurt the population to much, but a few in a row could lead to trouble.
ewurm
04-25-2006, 12:06 AM
16 min rec. and 22 min commerical with no bag limit
One bad year will not hurt the population to much, but a few in a row could lead to trouble.
Are you looking to save the fish or hoping they will be reduced in numbers?
dredcon
04-25-2006, 12:15 AM
hehehe I am a big fan of the holosteins, gar and bowfin. I have done a little research on the population genetics of the spotted gar. While doing the collecting for this a realized how cool the ancient fish are. I really wanted a baby bowfin for my tank too.
ewurm
04-25-2006, 12:18 AM
Bowfin are great fish, they have a couple in the public aquarium near me. They sure do fight on the end of a line. And they are great predators, they eat anything.
dredcon
04-25-2006, 12:21 AM
We caught one that had a snake in its stomach that was the same length as the fish. I am waiting to the topwater bowfin bite to begin.
ewurm
04-25-2006, 12:32 AM
We caught one that had a snake in its stomach that was the same length as the fish. I am waiting to the topwater bowfin bite to begin.
The fish that broke my 40 lb test took a floating rapala. It was at least 5 lbs, wish I could have landed it. Totally underestimated that fish, never again.
dredcon
04-25-2006, 12:48 AM
Sometimes the big ones don't fight untill they are next to the boat, then they run the other way and break you off if you are not ready.
Thats pretty much waht happened to me.
I went fishing on the river tonight, and success, I caught my own Freshwater Drum. The Blue coloration is very cool. Would make a cool tank fish, but you would need a big tank.