Salvage Fishing

Several of the fishing holes down in Hagermann have a carp problem. State Fish & Game has a plan to deal with that problem which involves a rotation system of draining certain ponds every ‘X’ years and killing the Carp with Rotenone (did I spell that right?). The catch being Rotenone kills all aquatics species (Frogs, Crawdads, other fish species, etc.) not just Carp. Therefore the open the ponds to be treated to ‘salvage’ fishing for a month or so prior to treatment. There are no limits and no restrictions on how you can catch the fish (except for electro-shock, poison, or explosives). The only species you can’t ‘take’ are White Sturgeon which the local Hatchery raises in the ponds. They make every effort to round those guys up prior to treatment and re-release them afterwards. Needless to say it’s a good opportunity to go have some fun with the kids so that is what we did.

By this point the ponds are getting pretty low and most of the big fish are gone, but that doesn’t mean there is a shortage of fun. Yesterday you couldn’t toss a line in the water without hooking into a feisty Crappie or Bass. In fact you really just had to lower your hook about 10” into the water, no casting required, and something would grab hold.

The kids had a great time reeling in, but even more fun throwing the fish back in the water. I mean, none of these monsters were big enough to take home and eat or anything.

The other fun thing was that there were tons upon tons of half-grown tadpoles. Watching Jack and Emilie try to net them was pretty darn entertaining. Salvage fishing is open until September 30, so hopefully we get to make it back at least one more time. It would be about perfect to take along some waders and one of those little two-person rafts and see what kind of fun could be had.