Giant Found in Florida

[Brandon p]

I just saw this but it from where I live. Many know in my city there are more miles of canal than anywhere else in the world. This is why Florida panics about Invasive species. I joke about about seeing aquarium fish here fishing for them. I’m some areas they have what they call the freshwater slam. One is native, Large mouth bass, then there is the (killer,lol) snakehead, then last the peacock bass. Clown knives grow huge and are not see much on the west coast where I am but the east coast warmer and they are all over. The big snakes get the press but many fish lizards, monkeys are here and have self sustaining populations. Fish like the one in the video are feared by many here. I could go for pages. There are two animals that scare me the most. One is here on farms and have been found in the Everglades in small numbers. The first is is not here the salt water crocs like Steve Irwin crocs. There are American saltwater crocs here but there are smaller and timid. There are are alligators al over so we can deal we something. We don’t swim in fresh water.  The one that scares me the most is the Nile croc. Two reasons, 1 is they are here now mostly at alligator farms. The second is I think we have shown how well we can keep animals like this from escaping. The biggest alligator I personally saw was a 15 foot on named big Al at a golf course I worked at. That was a massive animal(was killed by the state after 4 attacks in 6 months none by that gator) Nile crocs can get to 22 feet. May they will eat these fish.

 

[Fish Folk]

Arapaima . . . sheesh . . . this would be game-over for Florida

[Brandon p]

On 6/27/2022 at 8:44 PM, Fish Folk said:

Arapaima . . . sheesh . . . this would be game-over for Florida

It wouldn’t  be good, but the Nile Crocs would eat them. I’m not sure what we do for croc s maybe hippos. I think that one came from a tank. Where is was found it would surprise me that it was in there long. Thing is I could b probably have one for you tomorrow maybe Wednesday at the last eat for your tank. We do have some monster tanks in this are. Just Friday there was a guy that sold a 400 gal tank for $150. I tried to buy it but he wanted cash then. 

[sumplkrum]

I don't think I'd worry about the Arapaima. They're basically over-hunted in their natural habitats. Even if they got a toe-hold, they'd just be another food fish -> Slow growing and easy to catch.

I'd worry about the Nile Crocs though. No one wants that.

[Brandon p]

Please Read: I know this is long, share your opinions please be nice or the post will come down.

@sumplkrum this is in no way directed at you I agree in most part. I do want people to try to understand this stuff will be over alof of the southern US. I personally think at Least Florida and maybe some other states should be treated like entering Australia with animals.  I’m not worried about in the city I live we do have the most canals and water ways in the world and the 3 rd biggest city in Florida at 140sq miles. Now things have changed and there are more people there are lots of area where as late as the 1990s they were leaning drug planes land on the roads here.I’ll post some pics just so everyone can see what I’m talking about. I’m in the city. The Everglades are huge, it’s 55times bigger (7800 sq miles) and covered in water. It’s 10times bigger than the largest city in the US(lower 48). It would be the 44th biggest state. I used to go out there a lot and there are very few places people can get to. There are areas that people haven’t been in 200 years. The only reason people can get to places out there is flood control. On the Indian lands good luck and thing can live there. The reason I say this is in the Amazon people are actively killing and eating these fish with some tourist fishermen. It’s not that Arapaima are going to take over but even a small population will destroy what is still left. There are still 20# + bass there, 13-15# bass are common, not everyday. My biggest bass was caught there at 16.78#. There are already tons of aquarium fish there but most end you getting eaten. Any large animals out there that are top predators are a problem. Florida is changed forever. The pythons are forever, Nile monitors, tegu, iguanas, are just a few that are there. As reported by FWC(Florida  wildlife commission) “"The most severe declines in native species have occurred in the remote southernmost regions of Everglades National Park, where pythons have been established the longest. In a 2012 study, populations of raccoons had dropped 99.3 percent, opossums 98.9 percent, and bobcats 87.5 percent since 1997. Marsh rabbits, cottontail rabbits, and foxes effectively disappeared." 
that was 10 years ago. There are Nile crocs in the Everglades today. As far as things are know there is not a breeding pop. so it consider that there are none. They could wipe out the alligators. I don’t think so but they are really great surviving. After hunting stopped there are everywhere. If you do visit Florida don’t swim in lakes you don’t know. Gator attacks are rare but in most freshwater there is a gator. In the glades that is different in areas. If you go in the flood canals in the glades you can almost walk across them there are so many.( link at end of friend) I have half jokingly said I don’t need to go to the LFS because I can go to the drainage pond by the nearest shopping center. The first endlers I ever saw lived in the canals(1989)here. I took some to several LFS and only one knew what they were. We owould net them with the mollys and  Gambusia. I’m going to end with the pics but  after sounding like a I super  environmentalist(I am not quit sure how to said what I want here. I’m not and extremist) I grew up hunting and fish and spending in time outside. These are my ideas and I think are pretty  practical. I do think we can hunt and fish, if done right. It’s a  privilege and can taken away. One thing that is also a  privilege Is pet/animal ownership. In know I’m walking a fine line here but as much as I hate to see things  restricted the time has come to limit somethings as far as some animals. I hate to say that because it is as slippery slope as they come. I don’t was to see the federal government get involved, I think this issue is a more local issue. There are bans on animals on every level in the US. Cory has talk about a few that a banned in Washington State. We have them but I think that people in Florida have loss the right to keep some animals mostly animals that are top predators. Let me ask one last question. Did you ever think that a raccoon would have to be protected and released into the wild?this photo is from the late 2010’s by in the 1990s there were no houses and power lines. You can see how the canals are laid out

in this it’s the canals you see not roads. The Gulf of Mexico is on the top of the it 90% of the canals are freshwater. 
 

since everyone who reads this knows the city I live if you are coming the the southwest coast of Florida and have some questions about things I would be glad to help
 

Pic of South Florida: Everglades. The glade is consider the area South of Lake Okeechobee to the Keys with the exception of the coast including several state national parks. I think that the 7,800 sq miles is Everglades national

 

 

This is just the view from Interstate 75 during the wet season. 

If you have time there are tons of great photos of this great place that we should not give up on. 

 

 

This video has fishing in it. If you don’t want to see please don’t open. Skip to 26:25 if you just want to see what is in Miami/glades

 

Most of the videos are from Captain Shane Procell, if you are looking for a captain on the southeast coast or glades he is amazing. 

Edited July 1, 2022 by Brandon p

[Torrey]

On 6/30/2022 at 10:22 PM, Brandon p said:

Please Read: I know this is long, share your opinions please be nice or the post will come down.

@sumplkrum this is in no way directed at you I agree in most part. I do want people to try to understand this stuff will be over alof of the southern US. I personally think at Least Florida and maybe some other states should be treated like entering Australia with animals.  I’m not worried about in the city I live we do have the most canals and water ways in the world and the 3 rd biggest city in Florida at 140sq miles. Now things have changed and there are more people there are lots of area where as late as the 1990s they were leaning drug planes land on the roads here.I’ll post some pics just so everyone can see what I’m talking about. I’m in the city. The Everglades are huge, it’s 55times bigger (7800 sq miles) and covered in water. It’s 10times bigger than the largest city in the US(lower 48). It would be the 44th biggest state. I used to go out there a lot and there are very few places people can get to. There are areas that people haven’t been in 200 years. The only reason people can get to places out there is flood control. On the Indian lands good luck and thing can live there. The reason I say this is in the Amazon people are actively killing and eating these fish with some tourist fishermen. It’s not that Arapaima are going to take over but even a small population will destroy what is still left. There are still 20# + bass there, 13-15# bass are common, not everyday. My biggest bass was caught there at 16.78#. There are already tons of aquarium fish there but most end you getting eaten. Any large animals out there that are top predators are a problem. Florida is changed forever. The pythons are forever, Nile monitors, tegu, iguanas, are just a few that are there. As reported by FWC(Florida  wildlife commission) “"The most severe declines in native species have occurred in the remote southernmost regions of Everglades National Park, where pythons have been established the longest. In a 2012 study, populations of raccoons had dropped 99.3 percent, opossums 98.9 percent, and bobcats 87.5 percent since 1997. Marsh rabbits, cottontail rabbits, and foxes effectively disappeared." 
that was 10 years ago. There are Nile crocs in the Everglades today. As far as things are know there is not a breeding pop. so it consider that there are none. They could wipe out the alligators. I don’t think so but they are really great surviving. After hunting stopped there are everywhere. If you do visit Florida don’t swim in lakes you don’t know. Gator attacks are rare but in most freshwater there is a gator. In the glades that is different in areas. If you go in the flood canals in the glades you can almost walk across them there are so many.( link at end of friend) I have half jokingly said I don’t need to go to the LFS because I can go to the drainage pond by the nearest shopping center. The first endlers I ever saw lived in the canals(1989)here. I took some to several LFS and only one knew what they were. We owould net them with the mollys and  Gambusia. I’m going to end with the pics but  after sounding like a I super  environmentalist(I am not quit sure how to said what I want here. I’m not and extremist) I grew up hunting and fish and spending in time outside. These are my ideas and I think are pretty  practical. I do think we can hunt and fish, if done right. It’s a  privilege and can taken away. One thing that is also a  privilege Is pet/animal ownership. In know I’m walking a fine line here but as much as I hate to see things  restricted the time has come to limit somethings as far as some animals. I hate to say that because it is as slippery slope as they come. I don’t was to see the federal government get involved, I think this issue is a more local issue. There are bans on animals on every level in the US. Cory has talk about a few that a banned in Washington State. We have them but I think that people in Florida have loss the right to keep some animals mostly animals that are top predators. Let me ask one last question. Did you ever think that a raccoon would have to be protected and released into the wild?this photo is from the late 2010’s by in the 1990s there were no houses and power lines. You can see how the canals are laid out

in this it’s the canals you see not roads. The Gulf of Mexico is on the top of the it 90% of the canals are freshwater. 
 

since everyone who reads this knows the city I live if you are coming the the southwest coast of Florida and have some questions about things I would be glad to help
 

Pic of South Florida: Everglades. The glade is consider the area South of Lake Okeechobee to the Keys with the exception of the coast including several state national parks. I think that the 7,800 sq miles is Everglades national

 

 

This is just the view from Interstate 75 during the wet season. 

If you have time there are tons of great photos of this great place that we should not give up on. 

 

 

This video has fishing in it. If you don’t want to see please don’t open. Skip to 26:25 if you just want to see what is in Miami/glades

 

 

@Randy didn't I see you netfishing in a similar area?

[Brandon p]

@Torrey just so you know and your gets an idea of the areas because don’t think Shane says we’re he is. 
1. Big Cypress National park(close to it)

rest urban/suburban Miami

[Torrey]

On 6/30/2022 at 11:25 PM, Brandon p said:

@Torrey just so you know and your gets an idea of the areas because don’t think Shane says we’re he is. 
1. Big Cypress National park(close to it)

rest urban/suburban Miami

Thank you!

[nabokovfan87]

Love Jeremy Wade and his shows.

Fun fact, he almost died from an Arapaima because he hit him in the chest so hard and made his heart stop. It's one of the few fish he is actually afraid of. Here's the extended clip the news used with that story.

Here's an example of how crazy they can be, especially at size.

Highly recommend that show if you're into fish or just seeing interesting stuff.

[drewzero1]

It sounds to me like Florida could have really used Maine-style pet restrictions, as much as I hate to say it. Florida has historically been a hub of the aquatic pet trade in the US because it's a great place to farm fish, but with all of those exotic animals in open ponds outdoors it's impossible to keep them from getting into the wild during floods/hurricanes.

My uncle used to live in Cape Coral and we had a lot of fun watching the canal for wildlife... and never ever EVER going in the water!

[Brandon p]

@drewzero1 I lived here most of my life as a kid we didn’t Appreciate it, it was Cape Coma. I used to swim in places lots of the canals(1990’s). Gators attack so rarely but it’s been 40 years now since the hunting ban. There has been limit gator hunting for at least 20 years but some numbers. I don’t know how it is currently run but there was a lottery. 
 

Florida sadly in my life has not made the best decisions for its own citizens with wildlife. For years they talked about Saving the Florida panther. So the released panthers and 10 years later built a 6 lane highway and developed most tracks of continuous land. They left small areas but panthers need much larger areas or just one. There are still panthers warning signs on that road. The common story line is Hurricane Andrew destroyed the herping industry in Miami. Fish farm is not going anywhere, it’s a big business so much so UF started a degree program for it a few years ago. Flordia is a test though, it has failed. Are other States watching? 
 

 

 

@nabokovfan87I watched that episode. My son and I would watch them when the first starred. 
 

UPDATE: I talked a friend at Florida wildlife and was told and this is I my friend heard from others at Florida wildlife so that as what you will. They think it was a pet. They also think it was in the wild for quite some time. That is was caught some where else may the Everglades and brought back and either released so it could be in that area or there had no idea what to do with it. I think probably both because it was a brackish water area what is almost salt water. 

[gardenman]

Modern fish farming in Florida is a lot different from what it was in earlier years. Ponds are regulated now with all water leaving ponds having to go through other ponds containing native predators that should eat anything that tries to escape into the wild. You still get idiots releasing non-native fish into the water either intentionally or accidentally, but modern fish farms are typically no longer an issue. Now, having said that, the issues from earlier farms that weren't well controlled still exist. Short of sterilizing the entire water ways and then restocking with native species, there's not a lot you can do about it.

 

[Brandon p]

I agree. My father worked for the state DEP and went to many over 10 years. Even then they where changing. Most tropical fish here are small and end up as part of the food chain very few fish are issues as all. Even the peacock bass is isolated in a small area and have not been able to make very far. In some place where introduced species have caused native fish population to grow. The state has done good work they saved the Goliath grouper with is now eating the lion fish along with barracuda. There is no going back. JOKE: if ever state stopped sending their “State Man” to be “Florida man” there wouldn’t be so many people releasing stuff. There are very bright well meaning people that care release animals because the right decision is hard sometimes. I had to personally deal with this with my Pacu. Even then the final decision wasn’t the best. They where sent to an aquarium and placed into a tank with manatees. @gardenman thank you it was important to let people know about the farms. I’m not sure if you are in Florida but there have been efforts to make things better. Fish are probably one of the smallest issues with invasive Species. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/1/2022 at 6:53 AM, gardenman said:

Short of sterilizing the entire water ways and then restocking with native species, there's not a lot you can do about it.

The two biggest issues are:

1. People getting pets they cannot handle, are illegal, or they don't do any research beforehand and the animal escapes.

2. People do not have a place to surrender pets and would rather screw up nature than euthanize something.

[PineSong]

@@Brandon p thanks for sharing those Florida views. I spent my childhood in what was then rural Naples and looking back I can't believe we swam in those creeks and canals--or that my parents let us.

Maybe since they were city slickers from way up north, they really did not know what the dangers were. We saw rattlers, alligators and water moccasins on the daily. While I would not want a gator  too close to me, they don't creep me out like those large fish do. If I had known any of those monster fish were in the waters, I'd never have gotten in. Still traumatized by the sight of a huge grouper hanging in my neighbor's garage---49 years later!

[Brandon p]

On 7/1/2022 at 1:36 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

The two biggest issues are:

1. People getting pets they cannot handle, are illegal, or they don't do any research beforehand and the animal escapes.

2. People do not have a place to surrender pets and would rather screw up nature than euthanize something.

The first is true. In Florida the FWC(Florida Wildlife Commission) has a program that allows you to surrender exotic pets with no penalty. I posted the link here.

https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/amnesty-program/

[Brandon p]

On 7/1/2022 at 4:01 PM, PineSong said:

@@Brandon p thanks for sharing those Florida views. I spent my childhood in what was then rural Naples and looking back I can't believe we swam in those creeks and canals--or that my parents let us.

Maybe since they were city slickers from way up north, they really did not know what the dangers were. We saw rattlers, alligators and water moccasins on the daily. While I would not want a gator  too close to me, they don't creep me out like those large fish do. If I had known any of those monster fish were in the waters, I'd never have gotten in. Still traumatized by the sight of a huge grouper hanging in my neighbor's garage---49 years later!

Naples is a lot less rural now. Gator aren’t to bad they are pretty predictable. Most attacks are people not knowing or thinking about the rule around water. On Sanibel there where 4 or 5 attacks and if I remember 3 involved pets, golf balls, or turning you back to the water on the edge at dawn or dusk. The big lizards scare me the most. The tegus are the worst for me but they are not all over. The grouper are coming back so there are big ones again.