Unidentified species?

[Kittyhunter]

Hey guys, a friend of mine went to Sharon Harris lake this weekend catfishing. They caught this thing and we can't figure out what it was. I didn't see it, they threw it back. They said it was about a foot to foot and a half long, looked like a big grubworm, big on one end and chubby with rings like an earthworm, and had a long slightly curly tail. They couldn't see any eyes on it. Anybody got any ideas?

[ohiocattracker]

Around here i have seen mud dogs or mud puppys about 18 to20 inchs long and they are in bottom mud in rivers where i have ran trotlines and skin is covered there eyes.Also have seen some with red like gill plates around there neck.Buddy went and ran my lines with me in Licking river in Kentucky and about ever other drop line had one on he had never seen a salamader or mud dog that big scared him to death he didnt want to run lines anymore lol.

[greggofish]

a Two-Toed Amphiuma. But it could have also been a Greater Siren. Both of their ranges just touch Wake County and I have caught other critters around Harris which were borderline out of their natural territory (eg. Eastern Glass Lizards).

This is assuming they caught it on some type of bait. Read all about em here:

http://www.herpsofnc.org/herps_of_NC/salamanders/salamanders.html


This is also the definitive site for reptiles in NC. Contrary to the belief of 99.2% of fisherman, all snakes are not moccasins :D

[Kittyhunter]

greg, it didn't have any legs or extensions off the body of any type. He said it looked like a big earthworm with a curly tail. Had rings and a chubby head area like a grub.

[greggofish]

More details????

Did it bite a baited hook?
What type of bait?
Did it move alot?
Did they touch it?
Do they drink heavily?


Sounds like nothing that lives around here....thats for sure.

[JAYNC]

I would have kept it and took pictures or something, maybe its something new.

[Kittyhunter]

I accused them of smoking some crack or something. LOL! They caught it on a jug line I think on shrimp. They didn't touch it with their hands but grabbed it with some pliers and said it started wiggling around a lot. One thing that confused me was they said they caught it on a hook, but they also said they couldn't see a mouth. They said they thought it was a big bass lure until it moved. Said it had a curly tail and looked like a big grub or earthworm about half the body. I have been all over the internet trying to find out what this was. Maybe it was a story to overshadow the fact they only caught one fish and it was less than a pound. LOL!!

[Dwednuts]

I am curious if this lake is near a nuclear power plant, LOL!!!

[Kittyhunter]

Dread, I know you were joking, but it is. It's at Sharon Harris Nuclear Power Plant. No kidding! They use the water for cooling purposes in the plant.

[greggofish]

No wonder they didnt catch anything....shrimp is not going to do much at Harris. The Channels in there are big and mean but very picky and hard to catch. I think the Hydrilla gives them way too many places to hide. Tell them to use a balled up piece of bread next time. Take a whole piece of white bread and ball it up tight. Run a 5/0 through it and look out. It is the weirdest thing, but for some reason, the cats in that lake love bread. The one in my profile pic is a 20 pound Harris Channel.

The very best bait in there is by far live bream if they fish while waiting.

[Tarpon]

Maybe it's some type of larvae. Som kinda animal thats not fully grown.

[Kittyhunter]

cool greg, thanks. Any particular spots to try on Harris? They tried to get me to go, but that's too much water to fish when you don't know where you're going.

[cats4uandme]

no clue. sounds like nothing ive ever seen. wish they had a pic. intresting.

[greggofish]

Most any area as long as you are fishing 4-6 feet of water. I would use a float (for the bread and the bream) most of the time as well. The Hydrilla is so thick. My favorite areas are the back of Little White Oak Creek and any cove off the main lake. You can catch em about anywhere though as long as you are in the right depth.

There are loads of big bass in the lake as well. Using Bream you always have a chance of one 5-10 pounds.

Let me know if you ever get close to going and I'll be a little more specific.

[Kittyhunter]

Asked the guy again and he said the thing was side hooked. I guess it swam or wiggled by and hooked itself. I wish they had kept it.

[Kittyhunter]

Greg, how big of a float do you use, how far off the bottom? Are there any flats and blues there also?

[greggofish]

I use balloons and I blow them up about the size of a big egg. No weight. 1-3 feet down. Chum the area with bread. The only cats Ive ever seen in the lake are Whites and Channels. I read on here before about Flatheads but Ive never seen em. Ive been using live bait on that lake since 1992 and never seen or caught one so if you ask me, for all intensive purposes, there are none.

Course if you ask me if there were alien grubs in there I'd laugh too, but.......

:D

[Kittyhunter]

Greg, so you you just tie the balloon on the line above the hook and don't use a weight?

[greggofish]

exactly











15 words is dumb............

[Kittyhunter]

Why not use a big bobber or cork?

[greggofish]

you could but to me it is simple and if you use live bait under it, they can really pull the balloon around.

[playinghooky]

sounds cool whish i could have seen that thing

[Hookman]

i always carry a camera for big fish or wierd things

[playinghooky]

i bring camera too but always forget to take pics lol