Today in Sonny's Fishroom: Cool Cats

[Sonny Disposition]

Thought I posted this earlier, but it looks like it didn't take.
Here's the Fort Lauderdale pleco and the female sp. "long pelvic," hiding under a broken flower pot.

And here's the spotted bullhead. He's grown since the catfish convention.

 

[SubMariner]

A Floridian...Wow! Awesome Sonny!

I'm a big Fan of Sonny's fish room


RM

 

[Sonny Disposition]

Floridians are cool.

 

[toddnbecka]

What am I missing here? Don't just about all common pleco's come from Florida fish farms? Great looking bullhead.

 

[Sonny Disposition]

Well, you're not missing anything. Just because a fish is common in the hobby doesn't mean it isn't cool. But that fish didn't come from a farm, though. He was wild caught in the New South River Canal.

Not to belabor the point (ok, it is belaboring the point): Oscars are dirt common in the hobby. Yet I'd be hard pressed to find a cooler fish. The same for Jack Dempseys. Or Angel fish. Or Discus. Or Yellow Labs. Or Cardinal tetras. I could go on, but I should stop.

 

[UNCLERUCKUS]

nice looking catfish sonny. now if i could find my line and bloodworm fish bites
ound:

 

[Sonny Disposition]

Last time I went up to H-Mart in Gaithersburg, they had live Channel cats in one of the live food holding tanks. Not an especially colorful fish, but the large ictalurids move with a lumbering, eerie grace that's really neat to watch. I think they're tremendously under appreciated in the hobby. Of course, many of them grow too large to keep in tanks. Even the smaller ones get pretty big eventually, and require a lot of space.

 

[toddnbecka]

I suspected it was a wild-caught canal pleco, having heard about the variety of introduced species to be found in Florida. Hook and line or net?

 

[maddog10]

Bob just dives in and catches them with his hands!

 

[UNCLERUCKUS]

Bob just dives in and catches them with his hands!

sounds like aunt bunny fishing from eddie murphys stand up routine.
"goony goo goo gus!
bob say it isnt so cuz im getting a visual......ound:

 

[maddog10]

You know what he wears when he goes swimming, don't you!

 

[Sonny Disposition]

Believe it or not, I just use a dipnet. (I don't like getting wet.)

D.Q., you lost me. I haven't seen that routine. (I miss a lot, because I'm always doing something in the fishroom.)

 

[Sonny Disposition]

Dipnet. I like to get Florida fish while they're fairly small, so they're easier to transport. It's tougher with big fish. They need more water, so it costs more to ship them. Or they take up too much space in the back of your vehicle on the way home.

Plus, bluegills tend to be the most numerous fish to take a hook. I'd spend all my time unhooking them and letting them go. (I'm not interested in those.)

I suspected it was a wild-caught canal pleco, having heard about the variety of introduced species to be found in Florida. Hook and line or net?

 

[dogofwar]

You can use barb-less hooks

Most of the pikes we caught in Uruguay were on hook and line...a cane pole with a small hook, a bobber, and a chunk of tetra...

 

[Sonny Disposition]

I carry forceps when I fish, so I seldom lose a fish, even if it swallows the hook. It's just that most South Florida waters are loaded with bluegill, which grab your bait before anything else gets to it. If you use hook and line, you spend all your time catching and releasing bluegills.

Plus, really small fish are much easier to transport back home.

You can use barb-less hooks

Most of the pikes we caught in Uruguay were on hook and line...a cane pole with a small hook, a bobber, and a chunk of tetra...

 

[Andrew]

Don't tell anyone where the bullhead came from.

Now that we've "educated" the fish show judges, he's sure to win in 2010...

 

[dogofwar]

It sounds like Bob only "wears" a dipnet when he's collecting. And maybe a hat.

You know what he wears when he goes swimming, don't you!