I literally joined this site just to bounce this off some other people that might have an idea of what I saw. I've been living and fishing in MA for about 6 years now. A fish on average 6-8 hours a week, mostly for largemouth around the north shore/metro west area. Tonight I was at a lake not far from my house... about 70 acres with a max depth of 7 feet. the lake is separated in the middle by a road with the only access between the two being a small culvert about 3 feet in diameter with water covering all but about 10 inches of the top. I've fished here many times and there is a possibility of catching the occasional 5+ pounder with the usual pickerel and crappie and perch thrown in the mix. Tonight I was out there in the rain a little before dark, standing directly over the culvert when i heard the small splashes of sunfish being chased out of the water directly below my feet. I looked down just in time and almost swallowed my tongue! As I looked down into the 3 foot deep water I saw something that completely baffled me. I fish came gliding out of the culvert no shorter than 4 feet in legth with the girth of a dinner plate. it came out of the culvert and turned to hug the shoreline and vanished into the lily pads. I even made a half assed attempted to cast at it as it swam away not that I would have had any chance with my 10lbs test line. My first thought was pike just from the size, shape and color and honestly I couldnt think of what else it could be. But i would be surprised to find out there are pike in that lake seeing how I've never caught even a small one among the many fish I've pulled out of there. and to be that big in a relatively small lake? if it was a pike it as a solid 20lbs. any ideas?
Grass Carp maybe? A few places had them from before the ban on stocking them..is it possible that someone at one point had a few in there?
possible... there is thick vegetation thought the entire lake
Be my best guess. A 3-5 foot fish would be nothing out of the ordinary and they tend to be longer/slightly greenish when in the water. I know some places up that way do have them..so without more info gun to my head for an answer I'd go with a grasser.
If it was you really didn't miss much lol..they don't fight much in the water until right under the rod and on the mat.
it could have been a pike the pond could have been stock a long time ago and just never did well with the fish and they all could have died except for one if it was as big as you think the fish could be right around 20 or so years old and if there are a lot of perch there that would defiantly be a perfect food source for a hungry pike , it could also be a pickerel to they can get to be pretty big to 7-8 pounds but there is also the possibility of a koi fish to they can get over 3 feet long so fish will lose there color when they get older and turn a grey color someone could have just dropped it off ive seen a few big ones in a small deep pond by my house that could explain why you never caught it i assume you dont fish with corn or dough balls but try catching a big perch/golden shiner and put it on a hook and let if float around if its a pike that will be like ringing the dinner bell
I just want to point out that Koi do not lose their color with size or age typically.
they can if they have bad genetics, poor quality food and with different water temps
It isn't losing their color though, some fading yes but not completely losing color.
Most color in Koi is dictated by genetics, then sun exposure and food etc. Yes color may change over time but they do not lose it. Some fish lose specific colors going from orange and white to white. Or gaining some black, usually spotty, or fade in brightness. Even a faded orange koi is still orange however. In fact faded fish can often times be perked up and the color brought back into vibrancy.
They DO NOT go from say white or orange to Grey and simply lose their color to the point in which they would simply look a green/grey or revert back to common carpness. Unless of course the fish was a green/grey koi to start with heh..then it is quite possible to fade down and appear much less muted.
Actually most koi tend to thrive color wise in the wild since the diet that is offered and the sun exposure and such is far greater then usually maintained in a man made pond with a fake diet. We have quite a few prime examples swimming the waters here in Massachusetts into the 20lb class.
End of the day though a koi is simply a genetically defected common carp ( Cyprinus Carpio ) anyway and he pretty much ruled that out so the point is kind moot. Be cool to have another koi to chase though lol.
70 acre pond that stocked pike? I think the DPA tends to stock larger bodies of water that have the potential to attract lots of people.
Is this pond totally cut off or does the culvert lead to a stream and to another body of water?
Always the chance of not official stocking as well. A friend caught a 12lb pike in a pond that had no pike officially. He thought it was a record Pickeral at first..
turns out, rumor wise anyway, that someone had caught and stocked a few under the radar.
Nature could do it as well..floods, birds dropping prey etc..the world is an interesting place.