bowfin pic

[NJ219bands]

Yesterday I caught a male bowfin, 3 warmouth, 3 largemouth bass and 12 bluegills with a 1/32 oz green leadhead jig and 1" chartreuse twister tail on 2 lb test line in a Central Jersey beaver pond. The bowfin had bright green fins and tail markings indicating that it was a male. Its mouth was deformed. 2 beavers were swimming together nearby and simultaneously slapped their tails and dove underwater at exactly the same time twice.

[FASTEDDIE29]

Sounds like a great day of fishing and adventure! Nice Bowfin sir!!!

[acabtp]

cool fish man real prehistoric looking

[buzzbaiter]

Have any pics of Warmouths to confirm? I only mention it because they are considered a dangerous species. See below.

Potentially Dangerous Fish Species

New Jersey statutes prohibit the possession or release of live, potentially dangerous animals including fish. Dangerous species are defined as "a species that is non-native to an ecosystem and whose introduction causes, or is likely to cause, economic or environmental harm or harm to human health." The Fish Code identified ten such species (see below). These fish are considered to possess the potential for becoming a significant threat to indigenous animals, the environment, or public safety. Possession and/or release of live potentially dangerous fish species is prohibited and if these species are encountered while angling they must be destroyed. All but one of these species, the silver carp, has been found in New Jersey already.

Snakeheads and flathead catfish are top level predators and may negatively impact the structure of indigenous and established fish populations. Bighead carp and silver carp threaten human health as they leap out of the water when startled and may intercept passing boaters. When unregulated, grass carp are an invasive species that can over-graze aquatic vegetation, thus destroying fish habitat. Green sunfish and warmouths have a larger mouth than the state's native sunfish, thus have the ability to outcompete native fish. Asian swamp eel, brook stickleback, and oriental weatherfish are highly tolerant, generalist feeders that compete with native fish.

Anglers must destroy these species if encountered while fishing and are asked to submit specimen(s) to Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries personnel for verification. Fish and Wildlife's fisheries biologists can be reached at 908-236-2118 for northern New Jersey, and at 609-259-6964 for southern New Jersey.

[Eskimo]

.

Warmouth looks similar to so many other types of sunfish, I'm not sure I could tell the difference.

warmouth:
http://www.landbigfish.com/images/fish/warmouth.jpg

Rock Bass:
http://www.fishweb.com/recreation/fishing/fishfacts/fish/rock_bass/rock_bass.gif



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[Chrisper4694]

i know i wouldn't be able to identify a warmouth.

bowfin...very nice! it's on my list this year...being on my list is dangerous!...unless you're a big carp...hahaha

[NJ219bands]

I took pics of the warmouth and emailed them to Shawn Crouse, NJ's fresh water invasive species biologist.

[NJ219bands]

Here's a pic of the 5th warmouth that I caught this year.

[buzzbaiter]

Green Sunfish are found in many places(Delaware River/Spruce Run). Should we be killing them?

[surfrod]

Green Sunfish are found in many places(Delaware River/Spruce Run). Should we be killing them?

While I agree with the state's sentiment, IMO once they are here, they are here.

It's tough enough to eradicate if the state uses Rotenone on a water body that has feeder creeks, no less expect anglers to make a dent.

I suppose if you found the "dangerous" fish in an isolated body of water, it would make sense to follow the state guidelines to kill them, otherwise I wouldn't bother. A river? no chance.

[acabtp]

just keep the green sunfish. they've got nice little fillets and taste fine. everybody wins.