pumpkinseed

i first caught one of these fish about 10 years ago at a fishery called tanyards in sussex....i had a size 16 hook on & low & behold i caught a pumpkinseed on a red maggot....it was very difficult to unhook it....
i was wondering what people think of this very weird & wonderful fish in the uk
i like em but a pain to unhook
( i was after a 5lb tench first of all) i caught it 1 week later so it wasnt too dissapointing
i think the maggot was not too happy

Hi, while I agree they are a very beautiful little fish they can also spell disaster in the wrong environement.
There is a fishery I know of were they were foolishley stocked and the fishery had very little in the way of predation.
They have now taken over the place to an extent were every bait you put in the place is attacked by hundreds of 1-2 inch long pumpkinseeds the second it hits the water and they have totally ruined what was once a very good fishery.
The pumpkinseeds themselves are voracious mini predators and will clear eggs and fry alike ruining the chances of better fish breeding succesfully while at the same time protecting their own nests with unbelievable fury towards any fish of any size.
Definitely not a good addition for U.K fisheries by and large.

[madcaravanner]

Originally Posted by Risque Manoofus

Hi, while I agree they are a very beautiful little fish they can also spell disaster in the wrong environement.
There is a fishery I know of were they were foolishley stocked and the fishery had very little in the way of predation.
They have now taken over the place to an extent were every bait you put in the place is attacked by hundreds of 1-2 inch long pumpkinseeds the second it hits the water and they have totally ruined what was once a very good fishery.
The pumpkinseeds themselves are voracious mini predators and will clear eggs and fry alike ruining the chances of better fish breeding succesfully while at the same time protecting their own nests with unbelievable fury towards any fish of any size.
Definitely not a good addition for U.K fisheries by and large.

Got to agree totally daft fish to stock on purpose

[callum]

hi having worked at fisheries woth these fish i can only say that they dont seem to have any effects on the fishery the place where they do seem to have an effect is rivers such as the ouse in east sussex where they cause problems to native species of fish during spawning times.
as for there origins they were introduced to waters during queen victorias reign when it was fashionable to have pretty ornamental fish such as these in there ponds/lakes.
there is also a scientific study being carried to prove that pumpkinseed actually remove some types of parasites so it could be proved that they are advantagous to some fisheries