The Carp

I was hiking near a dam which was releasing fresh water into a creek. I heard a big CA-CHUNK sound! I looked down and saw about five carp lazily swirling around in the shallow water. Although the fish in the picture looks dead, it was very much alive. It was as long as your arm! It appeared to be a Carp fish. They are in the same family as Japanese Koi fish. One of these fish lunged quickly above the surface with its mouth open and sucked in a small fish or insect. When the water is warm, they can be found at the surface. In colder months, they can be found at the bottom of ponds and creeks scavenging plants, worms, and even dead fish. Icky oooh, I know, but
thank goodness they do eat dead fish because otherwise there would be rotten stinking fish in the water here. Something else that I saw on the rocks nearby were HUGE white bird poop splats. Icky oooh again, but it’s a good sign. It means that a large hawk or even a Golden Eagle has made its home here. And it probably has its eye on the carp.

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