DNR Reports Capture of Record Size Bighead Carp
Redwood Falls, MN (KROC-AM News) - A monster carp caught in a private gravel pit near Redwood Falls has set a new state record.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says the invasive bighead carp was caught by a bow angler and measured 47 ½ inches in length and weighing in at 61.7 pounds making it the largest invasive carp recorded in Minnesota.
DNR experts say the huge fish probably migrated into the gravel pit during an episode of high water on the Minnesota River, noting the pit is periodically connected to the river during times of flooding. Invasive fish coordinator Nick Frohnauer says the capture is somewhat alarming, because of both the size and location. He says the gravel pit is about 80 miles upstream from the site where the only other bighead carp has ever been captured in the Minnesota River.
The state agency is working with the landowner to conduct follow up samplings in the private gravel pit and samplings in other nearby floodplain lakes and the main river. DNR officials note the invasive species has been moving further and further upstream since they first escaped into the Mississippi River in the 1970’s. While no breeding populations have been found in Minnesota, there have been a number of individual fish captured in the Minnesota, Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers.
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