Photo: James Knabe / Maumelle Monitor
Did your mother ever tell you not to overfeed the goldfish? Someone in Arkansas was definitely not listening.
While fishing on Lake Valencia in Maumelle, Arkansas on May 7, Little Rock firefighter Josh Womack and his friend James Knabe thought the big one they were reeling in was a catfish. But the catch of the day turned out to be a big -- make that enormous -- goldfish.
"We did not weigh it, although now I wish I had, but I estimate the length was around 24 to 28 inches," Womack told the Maumelle Monitor.
Shortly after taking the photo, the guys tossed the fish back in the water.
Clifton Jackson, a fish biologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, said the goldfish could likely set a state record, but that he would need to weigh it to know for sure.
And if Womack's 24-to-28-inch guesstimate is correct, the goldfish would be the longest in the world, let alone Arkansas. Since 2003, a goldfish in Hapert, Netherlands has held the title of Longest Goldfish in the Guinness Book of World Records. The Dutch goldfish measures 18.7-inches from snout to tail-fin end; the Arkansas fish is allegedly a half foot bigger.
But fame came be so fleeting. Jackson said that after a cool weather delay, the commission will be restocking Maumelle lakes with catfish as of next week, making it highly unlikely that the goldfish will get hooked again.
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wow! that is one HUGE gold fish! I wish that i would have caught that thing! : ) Byes! Fred
its a carp. duh.
That's not a goldfish! That's a butterfly (longfin) koi that somebody released...
That is a hugeeee gold fish but looks more like a koi fish to me because of the bigger droopy mouth. Gold fish have smaller mouth and more narrow. It's pretty fascinating how they can live in lakes like that and survive.
No one will debate that a "goldfish" (Carassius auratus) is a member of the carp family of fish. However the orange colored "goldfish" that people keep as pets and feed to their carnivorous fish and reptiles, as well as ornamental fancy "goldfish" and pond Koi (Cyprinus carpio), all are descendants of a very specific carp only indigenous to China.
Selective breeding programs in China began with a yellow carp that was used for food now known as a Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio). The fancy ornamental varieties have been around since the 1500's, and they were exported to Japan in 1502, breeding programs were around before the 1100's. The carp in this photo is not a variety of anything found natively in North America. A careless person could release the wrong aquarium fish and cause a lot of damage to local wildlife.
I forgot to mention, I think it must have been an awesome surprise to pull that very orange fish out of an Arkansas lake. It's not impossible for a common goldfish or Koi to grow to such a mature size if the lake has lots of oxygen and food, goldfish or Koi enjoy water temperatures a lot colder than most of the tropical fish species that people keep in aquariums. Carp are not native to the Americas, they were brought here in the 1800s, and are an invasive species. I suspect it may not be outside the realm of genetic mutation for a common carp to develop a gold, yellow, or orange coloration. It's a subersive fish that are not welcome outside of it's natural habitat in Eastern Asia and far Eastern Europe. They cause turbidity in the water, uproot plants, and make food scarce for water fowl and native species. In Australia it's illegal to throw them back, there are no limits on how many a person may catch. I have heard of locals in the States who tell me they eat them, even though I read they are not prized in most kitchens.
It just boggles the mind how a "fishy" biologist can call that a goldfish. Maria, you need to fact check your "work".