Fern Ridge Reservoir mystery

[Grifter]

Hi all,
I found the carp Shangri-La near Fern Ridge, and I have been busy roping donkeys out there. Yesterday, I saw something that gave me pause: two enormous off-white "orbs" cruising along in the deeper part of a channel. I was elevated and could clearly see that these were fish, and BIG fish--looked like a Maytag washer and dryer set bobbing along the bottom (a little embellishment there). I thought for a minute it might just be the sides of some bigger carp rolling on the cruise, but this was not the case. These were two large white tinted fish.

I guess what I'm curious about: does anyone know if there are buffalo carp (quillback) in fern ridge? I can't think of what else these could have been. I do know, however, that they have become my calling.
Call me..Ahab.

G

 

[tnffishman]

Catfish?

 

[troutdude]

Piranha?

 

[Hawk]

Used to be some biggun Crappie in Fern Ridge, till they drained it......:lol::lol::lol:

 

[Van]

Maybe someone dumped some Koi. Hard to see them as big as you are implying though.

 

[john montana]

Buffalo and quill back are different species and I don't believe either one exists in or. Could be koi, though they don't usually get that big as van says. Could also be grass carp (white Amur). Lots of grass carp here, but I am not familiar with fern ridge. Grass carp are silvery...more like tarpon than carp in appearance at a distance.

 

[Troutier Bassier]

Maybe someone dumped some Koi. Hard to see them as big as you are implying though.

I second this.

 

[JeannaJigs]

Lol @ Carp shangri-la. I've seen some big koi in the dam tailout and in that pond at Kirk park, could be koi.

 

[igquick]

I vote Albino Grass Carp. This thing was so damn white in the water, I didn't even need my polarized sunglasses

 

[Grifter]

Buffalo and quill back are different species and I don't believe either one exists in or. Could be koi, though they don't usually get that big as van says. Could also be grass carp (white Amur). Lots of grass carp here, but I am not familiar with fern ridge. Grass carp are silvery...more like tarpon than carp in appearance at a distance.

Right you are--I got hasty with the quillback reference. This is really perplexing, because the morphology of what I saw suggested a more rotund fish, very distinct from the common carp cruising through the same section of water. I guess it could have been a pair of oversized koi--though honestly these things looked to be on the order of 30 pounds apiece (judged against what I know to be the ~20lb carp in the same area). Really odd.

 

[1 nut in the water]

Nessie?