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Illinois fisherman 'hooks' octupus at Lake Conway
Saturday, Dec 6, 2003
By Joe Mosby
Today's fishing report from Lake Conway: Bass fair, crappie very good, bream good, catfish fairly good, octopus excellent.
John Mazurek Sr. of Glen Ellyn, Ill., with the octopus he caught at Lake Conway's dam.
The venerable lake has seen and hosted its full share of oddities in its 52 years, but John Mazurek Sr. may have reached a new plateau Monday when he caught a good-sized octopus at the lake's dam.
Yes, octopus - the ocean creature of many myths, little knowledge among inlanders and several steps beyond the more familiar eye-openers like alligator gar and grinnel.
No one has a solid explanation of how this octopus got in the lake, but a common guess is someone had it in an aquarium, but the critter grew too big and was dumped into the lake. It was alive when Mazurek caught it.
He told John Harper, wildlife officer with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, that the octopus was clinging to one of the gates at the lake's dam when he saw it and grabbed it.
Mazurek's fishing license should cover octopusing. And he didn't exceed the daily limit on this species.
Only apparent violation was the dumping of the octopus into the lake by party or parties unknown. This violates rules against release of "exotic" or non-native wildlife into the wild, land or water, in Arkansas.
Mazurek lives in Glen Ellyn, Ill., and was in the Conway area on a visit. He may not be aware that he achieved a plateau that wasn't reached during Lake Conway's early days and the era of the Lake Conway Monster.
In the early 1950s, numerous reports were made about a strange and unidentified creature seen, heard and - on one or two alleged occasions - smelled in and around the lake. Guesses included bear, escaped convict, alligator, alligator snapping turtle and - most frequently and most likely - alligator gar. A similar report came forth once or twice in the 1970s. But no one suspected octopus.
In the 1950s, the reports came to a sudden halt by action of Frank Robins Jr., then the publisher of the Log Cabin Democrat. Robins simply ordered, "No more stories on the Lake Conway Monster unless they are accompanied by a photograph."
Mazurek would have satisfied the Robins decree.
Several species of octopuses live in oceans close to North America. Largest is the pacific octopus, which can grow to 30 feet and more. Some are so small they are sometimes washed upon shore inside sea shells. The Mazurek octopus may be the common octopus found in waters off Florida. At least, its size is appropriate for that species.
Debi Ingrao of the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Fla., said, "Octopuses have the most complex brain of the invertebrates (animals without backbones). They have long-term and short-term memories as do vertebrates. Octopuses learn to solve problems by trial-and-error and experience. Once the problem is solved, octopuses remember and are able to solve it and similar problems repeatedly."
There may be people in this area who could learn something from octopuses.
And no, stocking octopuses in Lake Conway was not a facet of the recently released long-term management plan for the lake drafted by the Game and Fish Commission and the Lake Conway Citizens Advisory Committee.
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Joe Mosby is the retired news editor of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and Arkansas' best known outdoor writer. His work is distributed by the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. He can be reached by e-mail at jhmosby@cyberback.com.
Saturday, Dec 6, 2003
By Joe Mosby
Today's fishing report from Lake Conway: Bass fair, crappie very good, bream good, catfish fairly good, octopus excellent.
John Mazurek Sr. of Glen Ellyn, Ill., with the octopus he caught at Lake Conway's dam.
The venerable lake has seen and hosted its full share of oddities in its 52 years, but John Mazurek Sr. may have reached a new plateau Monday when he caught a good-sized octopus at the lake's dam.
Yes, octopus - the ocean creature of many myths, little knowledge among inlanders and several steps beyond the more familiar eye-openers like alligator gar and grinnel.
No one has a solid explanation of how this octopus got in the lake, but a common guess is someone had it in an aquarium, but the critter grew too big and was dumped into the lake. It was alive when Mazurek caught it.
He told John Harper, wildlife officer with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, that the octopus was clinging to one of the gates at the lake's dam when he saw it and grabbed it.
Mazurek's fishing license should cover octopusing. And he didn't exceed the daily limit on this species.
Only apparent violation was the dumping of the octopus into the lake by party or parties unknown. This violates rules against release of "exotic" or non-native wildlife into the wild, land or water, in Arkansas.
Mazurek lives in Glen Ellyn, Ill., and was in the Conway area on a visit. He may not be aware that he achieved a plateau that wasn't reached during Lake Conway's early days and the era of the Lake Conway Monster.
In the early 1950s, numerous reports were made about a strange and unidentified creature seen, heard and - on one or two alleged occasions - smelled in and around the lake. Guesses included bear, escaped convict, alligator, alligator snapping turtle and - most frequently and most likely - alligator gar. A similar report came forth once or twice in the 1970s. But no one suspected octopus.
In the 1950s, the reports came to a sudden halt by action of Frank Robins Jr., then the publisher of the Log Cabin Democrat. Robins simply ordered, "No more stories on the Lake Conway Monster unless they are accompanied by a photograph."
Mazurek would have satisfied the Robins decree.
Several species of octopuses live in oceans close to North America. Largest is the pacific octopus, which can grow to 30 feet and more. Some are so small they are sometimes washed upon shore inside sea shells. The Mazurek octopus may be the common octopus found in waters off Florida. At least, its size is appropriate for that species.
Debi Ingrao of the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Fla., said, "Octopuses have the most complex brain of the invertebrates (animals without backbones). They have long-term and short-term memories as do vertebrates. Octopuses learn to solve problems by trial-and-error and experience. Once the problem is solved, octopuses remember and are able to solve it and similar problems repeatedly."
There may be people in this area who could learn something from octopuses.
And no, stocking octopuses in Lake Conway was not a facet of the recently released long-term management plan for the lake drafted by the Game and Fish Commission and the Lake Conway Citizens Advisory Committee.
-----
Joe Mosby is the retired news editor of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and Arkansas' best known outdoor writer. His work is distributed by the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. He can be reached by e-mail at jhmosby@cyberback.com.
