Never caught one of these before

[Jimmy Mayeux]

Yesterday I decided to stop in Lafreniere Park for a little relaxation after work and throw a new pattern I had just tied. I was catching one bluegill after another. Then this monster hit.

Put up a pretty good fight. The color was just amazing.

[Kirk Dietrich]

Damn, that is wild! Where's a picture of the new pattern? Have you been fishing the evening or morning? Are the gills the usual dinks or do they have any size to them? I fished there a couple times in the last couple weeks but didn't get anything. Have to give it another shot soon.

Kirk

[gene bethea]

what is it? oscar?flyer?warmouth?goggle eye? mutant ninja turtle?

[StippledPopper]

My guess is that the fish is indeed and Oscar.  Some of them have that color pattern and the body shape and
fins appear about right.  More people dumping aquarium fish into our waters.

[Jimmy Mayeux]

Kirk I've fished yesterday evening. The gills had some size to them a couple were really nice. The pattern was a parachute madam x.

Gene it is indeed an Oscar. I looked for more but couldn't find any. As SP said, just more people dumping aquarium fish in our waterways.

[Jimmy Mayeux]

Ok Kirk, I posted a pic of the fly on the fly tying board.

Jimmy

[blufloyd]

I caught one first in yankeeland.   



Yeah, they fight like stripers.

[Chris Barclay]

What are y'alls thoughts on this sort of thing?  Did you keep or release it, Jimmy?  Seems to be risky to throw them back as it's an invasive species.

[Jimmy Mayeux]

He came home with me. I wasn't going to throw him back in. We already have a ton of Rio Grande cichlids around here didn't need another invasive species. Although, my brother did tell me this morning that he caught a huge tinfoil barb in the park. Don't know about the barbs but Oscars are really aggressive.

[Chris Barclay]

Glad to hear you were responsible about it, Jimmy!  I've never heard of a tinfoil barb being caught - not good!  People really need to be educated better about how bad it is to dump aquarium fish into our waters.

[StippledPopper]

  I had an Oscar in a 55 gallon aquarium.  The aquarium was completely covered except for one small area.  The day after I introduced two other Cichlids, about half the Oscar's size into the tank I came home from work and found those other two Cichlids dead on the floor.  When Oscar grew too large for my tank I finally introduced him into another body of water.  But in my case it was into the couple of hundred gallons tank at the pet shop where I had originally purchased my Oscar.  That was when I started breeding Fresh water Angels instead.

  Oscars are aggressive all right.

[Ron Mc]

the red oscar is gorgeous. 

a guy on south San Antonio reservoir caught a plecostamus
http://www.lonestarfishing.com/?q=node/5824#comment-17702

The San Antonio river is saline from being surface condenser fodder for 90% of SA's electric power generation.  There are redfish and corvina in the two reservoirs. 
It's also biologically polluted back to the origins of the San Antonio zoo when exotics (tilapia, etc). were turned loose in the zoo creeks and San Pedro springs, which are the headwaters of the river. 

[Bill Heugel]

I had a pair of fresh water angels that were breeding.  I thought it was a great opportunity to introduce my son to sex.  We watched the angels do their thing and then went upstairs and I told him the fish were fertilizing the eggs and that moms and dads did the same thing.  He said sure dad,  I can just see you throwing fertilizer on mom.  Maybe it was a bit too early!!!