Lebanon — It may be properly known as the “common carp,” but to Joshua Culley, the 33-inch, 15-pound mini-monster he hauled out of Hot Pond Park Wednesday afternoon is anything but.
“I’ve been fishing here my whole life,” Culley said while the carp flopped listlessly on a blue nylon leader, “and I’ve never caught anything like this.”
He was using a B moth and bluegill hook, Culley said, and was surprised the hook held.
It may be one of the largest fish ever pulled out of the Hot Pond, between Noble and New streets east of Pleasant Street.
While the pond has been stocked with catfish and bluegill for the annual Hot Pond Fishing Derby sponsored by Lebanon Kiwanis and the city parks department, the carp had to have been tossed in the pond by someone else.
Initially, Culley thought the fish was either an Asian or Japanese carp.
“Common carp are everywhere and probably the most widely distributed invasive fish in the U.S.,” said Doug Keller, aquatic invasive species coordinator for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Common carp do not occur naturally in Indiana. Since the Hot Pond is isolated from any stream, “someone stocked it in there,” Keller said.
Because carp are aggressive bottom feeders, they pose a risk to aquatic plants. There is also evidence they eat the eggs of other fishes according to a DNR report on the dangers of common carp, creating the potential the fish “can dominate a fishery in a short period of time.”
Culley’s catch isn’t close to the Indiana record of 43 pounds 4 ounces.
In a angling oddity, Culley’s cousin is the person who several years ago caught several red-bellied piranhas that someone had thrown into the Hot Pond, he said.
Bacteria Keep Swimmers Off Some Fla. Beaches
Police: Houston Found Under Water, Unconscious
Sandusky Can See Grandkids, Have Local Jury
Obama Unveils $3.8 Trillion Budget
Raw Video: Israeli Embassy Car Attacked
Coroner: Don't Know Houston's Cause of Death Yet
Valentine Greetings Sent Worldwide From Loveland
Greek Austerity Measures Spark Riots
Raw Video: Obama Budget Goes to Capitol Hill
Arab League Wants U.N. Help in Syria
Nordic Festival Puts North Korea in Spotlight
'Rumor Has It' Adele's Rolling in the Grammys
Grohl, Grammy Nominees Cut Up on the Red Carpet
Greece Passes New Austerity Deal Amid Rioting
Raw Video: Greek Rioting Ahead of Austerity Vote
Raw Video: Child Rescued After Kosovo Avalanche
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Whitney Houston's Church Mourns Her Passing
Reaction to Houston's Death at Clive Davis Party
79 Turtles Seized at Shanghai Airport
