Carpe Diem

One of the features along the Des Plaines River south of Chicago is the electric fish fence. A section of the channel is electrified to stop the advance of Asian Carp up river and then into the Great Lakes. It is a serious installation with large transmission lines servicing the site, plus three onsite generators – we presumed in case of a power failure.

These extraordinary measures are to protect the Great Lakes fishery. The sport fishing industry in Michigan is valued at seven billion dollars annually. It stokes the tourist economy that keeps all of the tiny villages in the peninsula afloat. So much so that Michigan DNR stocks a minimum of a million salmon fingerlings each year and the state of Michigan sued Illinois claiming they were not doing enough to stop the fish migrating to the Great Lakes through the Chicago canals. 

A number of different kinds of carp have been introduced either accidentally or purposely in US waters. But the extremely high abundance of bighead and silver carp causes the great concern because of the potential for competition with native species for food and living space. 

Of these, silver carp are the most problematic as they are easily frightened by boats, which causes them to leap up to 8–10 feet into the air, and numerous boaters have been severely injured by collisions with the fish who might weigh up to 100 pounds.

Because of their filter-feeding habits, they are difficult to capture by normal angling methods. Hence the extraordinary methods used to catch these fish. These range from netting and electro-netting in the scientific based community to a variety of so called “red-necked” fishing tournament methods such as bow fishing, spearing, etc.

We even saw a charter fishing boat on the Illinois River. It was an aluminum pontoon boat with twin outboards; recognized as being one of the best combinations to scare Silver Carp. The frightened fish jumped into the air and then the passengers on the boar used bows and tethered arrows to shoot them. The boat itself was surrounded by netting 4-5 feet high to protect the passengers from jumping fish. We have also heard of “red-neck” fishing tournaments featuring areal netting and water-skiers stabbing the fish in the air whilst wearing body armour.

Strangely enough, we have only seen them jumping when other boats go by. For some reason Moon Dance does not startle them. Nor does our dinghy and motor appear to frighten them. Somewhat disappointing as it was a “thing” I anticipated seeing, but all for the best. Apparently these fish are incredibly slimy and are thin skinned so bleed profusely when injured. Other boaters tell us the mess and stink is dreadful. 

Sorry no pictures as we really haven’t seen them. We hear them though. At night, they wander around in marinas feeding. Their tails can slap the boats hull loud enough to make a sound. Sometimes it is so loud it bothers the dogs and so frequent it bothers us.