After years of trying (yes, really) my first Goldfish came as a complete surprise.

Species: Goldfish (Carassius auratus)
Location: Long Tom River, Monroe, OR
Date: June 23, 2016

I spent countless hours trying to catch a bloody Goldfish. It’s embarrassing in more ways than one, I know.

Topsy Reservoir was the obvious choice, as Goldfish represent more than 50 percent of the whole biomass there, but I just couldn’t get one of the small reverted specimens or the larger, more traditionally colored ones to bite. Some of these fish run five pounds or more, but I never could figure it out. Lame.

So the day I went carp fishing at Long Tom River and caught this pretty little guy above, I was shocked and excited. It was far from glamorous, but anyone fishing Long Tom knows it’s not a glamorous place.

Apparently, all you need to do to catch a target species is not try for them at all.

***

Long Tom has since produced several  more Goldfish for me. Nothing large and all were reverted, though.

What it did produce was a Common Carp x Goldfish Hybrid. And then another.

This unique fish just didn’t have the mouth of a carp. Further investigation revealed the number of scales on the lateral line was off, and the mouth, although subterminal like a carp’s, did not extend downward like a vacuum and was mysteriously missing barbels. Both of the hybrids I caught were between one and two pounds.

Long Tom is a cesspool for invasive species. I have caught a few puss-gut hatchery trout and a single Largemouth Bass, but otherwise, it’s Common Carp, Goldfish, and bullheads for days.

The carp and occasional Goldfish are fun to catch, so I stomach the less-than-desirable location.

#SpeciesQuest // #CaughtOvgard

Read the next entry in #SpeciesQuest here: Species #77 — Blue Chub.

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