Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations TROUBLE WITH JOHN A. GRINDEL

Yes! I have trouble right here in River City. I have Grindels! AKA Swamp Bass, Cypress Trout, Cotton Fish, Mud Fish.

Does anyone know how J. A. Grindel got his name attached to this fish?

It puts up a wonderful fight, better than any bass I have ever caught. Other than that it is a trash fish that can easily damage a ponds BG/LMB balance.

I want them OUT of the pond! Suggestions? From my reading, their reproductive and fingerling cycle envolve weedy areas. My grass carp have insured that the pond has very little weedy areas for cover.

Do you think this will help in their control?? How much?

Poison, Electro fishing & dynamite are not options.

They are survivors and very tough. How did they get in the pond?

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/families/amiidae.html

Bowfin are also an ancient family of fishes and are represented by only one living species found in North America rivers. This heavy bodied, widely distributed predatory fish has a long dorsal fin reaching nearly the length of the body. Bowfin have a lunglike gas bladder, can breath air similar to gar, and can survive in low oxygen environments. Maximum size is about 20 pounds. They are frequently caught by fishermen and sold in restaurants as dogfish or grindle. Males (with a tail spot) dig gravel nests where they guard the eggs and larvae. Bowfin are effective predators on fish and crayfish.

I am not sure how the Bowfin got there. I assume they were put in the pond by the same fishermen that put the rest of the fish in the pond 16 years ago. Fish tht were caught somewhere else. I am the only one who has stocked or formally tried to manage the pond.

John A. Grindle -- The Dictionary of Americanisms notes that Virginians gave the bowfin this name


grindle - whether brindle led to grindle, grindle to brindle, or whether the two names are independently derived, is not clear. The spelling "grindal" was used as far back as 1709, when English botanist John Lawson encountered the "soft sorry fish" during his explorations of North and South Carolina. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, grindle and its various spellings are from the German gründel, meaning ground or bottom. There are several other derivations of grindle that could apply to the fish: grindel, an obsolete British word for a narrow ditch or drain; grindel, an Old Norse word meaning fierce or angry; and grindle-tail, a breed of dog in 1600s England.


Why get rid of 'em.... enjoy them! One of the most amazing fish ever! http://www.bowfinanglers.com/index.html

One time I tried to get past how evil they look, and fried one up. I didn't find it palatable. Next time I hook one, I will cut the line and hope the hook works its way into its black little heart.

Blackjack, thanks for the link. Very enjoyable reading!
Lou