Unique Fishery! (For my neck of the woods.)
- This topic has 10 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated Aug 7, 2008 at 1:25 am by
.
-
Posts
-
New Orleans City Park lakes and Bayou St. John, which runs North of City Park and feeds the lakes, is loaded with Rio Grande Perch (Cichlids). After leaving my favorite fly shop, Uptown Angler located in New Orleans, I fished both the City Park lakes and Bayou St. John and caught so many Rio Grande Perch I lost count. The largest was 9 ½” long that I caught with my Orvis Superfine 1 weight. I know it was ditch fishing… but it sure was a hoot!
Speculation is that the Rios was introduced to the lakes and bayous via someone emptying an aquarium or they were washed in from Katrina.
So, if any of your folks are vacationing in New Orleans, be sure and pack a rod!
That’s very cool. I really dig on ditch fishing and unusual species. I’m guessing they’ve been introduced there? I have a friend in south Texas that makes a trip to the Guadalupe every year where he catches “Texas cichlids” (same fish I’m pretty sure).
G
Larry . . . my previous hobby (addiction) was Cichlid fish breeding. Although I have sold all my tanks and filters I still know quite a bit on topic. For what it’s worth . . . The Texas Cichlid (Cichlasoma cyanoguttatum, http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/cichlid/) is the only cichlid native to North American waters. They are very aggressive, even by Cichlid standards. They defend their territory vehemently against all intruders. They will dig massive holes in the sand and will rearrange a tank in less than a day. Once I put a small Rio in one of my aggressive community tanks and he tore the place up and I had to get him out asap. They look a lot like the Frontosa Cichlid from Africa (Cyphotilapia frontosa, http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_front.php) and they grow a nice frontal bump.
I would have a hard time killing such a lovely creature.
From what I understand the Rio are great eating! In general Cichlids can be good eating but most Americans consider them a “tropical” pet fish and tend to shy away from eating them. However, many of the fish we eat (ie Tilapia) are Cichlids. Since this is a native fish and not an aquarium transplant to the system (ie Peacock Bass in Florida) I would not have a problem with one on my plate.
Distribution: (see fact sheet http://nis.gsmfc.org/nis_factsheet.php?toc_id=174)
Its natural range extends from the vicinity of Veracruz, Mexico northward into southern Texas.
The Rio Grand Cichlid is the only cichlid native to the United States. It was originally restricted to the lower reaches of the Rio Grande drainage, but has been introduced into the Edwards Plateau region of central Texas and into Hillsborough, Polk, and Dade counties, in Florida (Courtenay et al., 1974; Lee et al., 1980; Shafland, 1996). It is also widely distributed in the canals on the southern end of Lake Ponchatrain in New Orleans (R. Cashner and J. Humphries, pers. comm.).Seeing one caught on a fly is very very cool. Thanks for sharing.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.