I’ve hit a local pond a couple times in the past week or so. I’d fished it once before a couple years ago, hoping to catch some of the big goldfish I’d heard live there. I didn’t catch any goldfish then, just some small crappies and bluegills.
I caught 2 Goldfish one day last week. The first measured 12.25", a new PB for me. (two pics of each fish below)
The second measured 12 1/8".
Yesterday evening I tried again. Along with the small bass, crappies and bluegills, I caught 2 more Goldfish.
The first was 11.75":
And the 2nd one was a bronze-colored behemoth of 13.25" ( a new PB) with impressive girth! Based on my measurements and calculations, this fish likely weighed in excess of 2.5 lbs!
The first fish I ever caught were goldfish in Rand Park Pond, Keokuk, IA, when I was about 3 years old. We used white bread balled onto a hook. Very fond memories, but I haven’t fished for goldfish since.
Ted
Awesome!
It would be more interesting if the water was clear and these fish could be spotted and targeted…but that is not the case. I’ve been catching these fish in probably 12"-30" of water, and there is NO seeing them at all. Its blind casting and catching little bluegills and crappies…and then sometimes I get lucky and a bigger fish gets hooked that turns out to be a Goldfish. Then I DO get excited! ;o)
Sort of expected. Back around 15 years ago when these 2 ponds were fairly new, they had clear water. I saw the hundreds of goldfish there. The ponds are owned by the City. Since this is a park next to a library, the City may have been the ones who put the goldfish in there. If people would have tossed out their pet goldfish they no longer wanted, there wouldn’t have been THAT MANY goldfish in the ponds, that’s what makes me wonder if the City stocked them intentionally for ornamental reasons.
Anyway…flash forward to the present, those goldfish have grown to substantial size. I’d heard of other people catching some of the big Goldfish over the past few years. I tried it once a year or two ago, but didn’t catch any. But now I’m temporarily (like, for just a few more days) living right next to it, so I’ve been flyfishing it often for the past couple months. The water is stained, so I can’t see any of these fish, unless they jump/splash on the surface. It would be SO MUCH EASIER AND FUN if I could spot them and target them.
The fight is usually good, these fish feel heavy on the line! I had a couple that didn’t fight much, but every fish has a personality. They are fun to catch, and the colors can be stunning!
Thanks, Lee!
