Be on the lookout for Frankenfish.

I caught one of these in allouette lake last summer, I'm 70% sure, we couldn't identify it at the time and called it a "gobbleknocker" and threw it back. My buddy from Detroit said when he went to visit his grandparents down south he caught them quite often there, that should have tipped me off.

I will be calling the Fishwildlife ministry tomorrow.
 
These fish scare the hell out of me. I love the fishing here in Sask and hearing about other provinces finding these things pisses me right off. I hope I never see one.
 
DougPeach said:
I caught one of these in allouette lake last summer, I'm 70% sure, we couldn't identify it at the time and called it a "gobbleknocker" and threw it back. My buddy from Detroit said when he went to visit his grandparents down south he caught them quite often there, that should have tipped me off.

I will be calling the Fishwildlife ministry tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Are you sure it wasn't a Bowfin? The bowfin is a robust fish with a long dorsal fin that covers over half the length of its body. This fin is dark green and has two horizontal stripes on it. They are often mistaken for the exotic Northern Snakehead, but can easily be distinguished by having only a long dorsal fin and a short rounded anal fin, rather than having both a long dorsal and anal fin like the northern snakehead. Bowfin are native and can be released, however if a northern snakehead is found it SHOULD NOT be released you should contact your local wildlife officer about what to do with the fish. The bowfin has a rounded tail fin and adult males have a very prominent black spot with a gold halo around the spot at the base of the tail. Males have bright turquoise green on their pelvic, pectoral, anal, and the lower half of their tail fins. They are usually dark brown in color with a cream colored belly and do not have barbells around the mouth. They have tubular nostrils that may appear like two very short barbells on the top of their snout. Young fish may have a pattern of wavy lines or blotches on their side.

George

Bowfin
bowfinbyBZ.jpg
 
As any invasive species the MNR regs are pretty clear. They are to be destroyed and is actually illegal to put them back alive or dead. Similar to the Round Goby or Zebra Mussels.
I hope they don't make it to my area. Our fish stocks have already been hit hard by the Round Goby and Zebra Mussels. Even the lamprey are gaining ground. All at the cost of the native species.
Even plants are on the destroy list of invasive species as well as some birds. Makes for year round shooting for some of us.
 
It utterly amazes me that market hunters and fishermen were able to wipe out or bring certain species of birds, fish and animals to the brink of extinction at a time when there was so little access to modern technology yet in this day and age we can't seem to wipe out an invasive species once it gets into the eco-system. I am quite certain that like the passenger pigeon if there was to be an all out war on fish like the snakehead and asian carp that sportsmen could wipe them out completely. It just takes someone at top level to say go ahead but that doesn't get funding does it? ;)
 
Unfortunately, some species are easier to drive into extinction than others. What they learned with the passenger pigeon extinction was that you need a surprisingly large numbers of those birds to have a sustainable flock. Fall below that number, and its as good as having none. Even though there might be thousands left, that for some reason didn't work for breeding and flocking habbits.

Rock doves, on the other hand, appear to have been able to multiply from a very small breeding stock.

the spank said:
It utterly amazes me that market hunters and fishermen were able to wipe out or bring certain species of birds, fish and animals to the brink of extinction at a time when there was so little access to modern technology yet in this day and age we can't seem to wipe out an invasive species once it gets into the eco-system. I am quite certain that like the passenger pigeon if there was to be an all out war on fish like the snakehead and asian carp that sportsmen could wipe them out completely. It just takes someone at top level to say go ahead but that doesn't get funding does it? ;)
Click to expand...
 
These fish are really tasty. We used to catch them as boys using a hand line. We always carried pliers with us to remove the hook. Heard too many tales of boys who lost fingers to these buggers. They're amazing to see in action and are considered one of the most ferocious and exciting freshwater game fish in Malaysia. The larger the lake, the larger they seem to grow. They'll take a swimming duck with one snap easily.

If they get into the smaller ponds (like that Burnaby one) it was fairly simple to get rid of them. The fisheries guys would just organize a fishing derby with small cash prizes for each fish caught. It was a great way to get kids involved in some serious fun! Of course the pond Toman (as they are known) are quite small and usually one would kill the fish first before removing the hook.

There's a lot of superstition surrounding the fish that walks. They are always sold LIVE so that the fishmonger could kill it in front of the buyer. Something about devil fish that might sprout legs....

Either way, they will kill all other fish in a small pond or lake, so they need to be taken care of quickly.
 
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