Did a little midnight seining this weekend and caught this along with a few fish:



There is no photo shopping I promise you! I can't grow fish like you guys but try and beat this mussel

That is a serious size mussel!

I have been surprised to find several in my pond that are 3-4 inches long and the pond is only a couple years old.

I have some good sized ones but not like that.

BIG clam!!! By the way are they a plus or minus for ponds? I can get plenty at a creek near me if they are good.

Thanks

Pat W

Just think of the RES needed to eat that thing, it would be a monster!!

It is a filter feeder and says your sediments are oxygenated and healthy. Technically it is not a clam but a freshwater mussel. Clams have a slightly different structure inside around the hinged area. Most clam species are marine habitat types.

Wish my mussel were that big!!!

But are they beneficial or not?


Pat W

They're filter feeders, and I consider their presence to be indicative of good water quality. I don't mind them at all.

Moderators please update the thread title to the correct name from clam to fresh water mussel.

Thanks for the mini lesson on mussels vs clams Bill!!

Did you eat it?

I was told they were nasty to eat. Although, they couldn't be any worse than that Old Milwaukee my buddy drinks...yuck!

Are those mussels any good to eat? I know the raccoons such do like them.

They are pretty or very rubbery texture. Smaller ones are probably not as tough meat. Clam type flavor. Type of algae that they are eating may impart a flavor.

Native freshwater mussels are generally very tasteless. They are OK to eat safety wise though, unless taken from polluted waters. There are several species of native fingernail clams which are quite small. There are a couple of introduced species of freshwater clams from Asia found in parts of the US. Our native freshwater mussels have a parasitic stage. Most biologists feel they're generally not harmful to their fish hosts though. No doubt the mussels do provide a food source to fish. However, because of their larger size and hard shell. Their value is limited.

Growing up in No. MN and No. WI, we tried them numerous ways when we were teens.

As many here on Pond Boss know, I like a lot of crazy foods. I'm kind of like TV's Andrew Zimmern of Bizzare Foods.

I will say that I've never found a satisfactory way of fixing fresh water shellfish from Minnesota or Wisconsin -- and I even eat lutefisk!

If anybody has a good recipe, like beer battered freshwater clams, using Fitgers, Old Milwaukee, Grainbelt, Hamms ..., etc., please send it as a recipe for inclusion on the cooking page of Pond Boss Magazine!

Ken

My brother is like you as far as trying what nature has to offer in the way of food. His conclusion, after trying many ways to fix them, was the same as yours. Nice white meat that looked good but could not get them to taste of anything but mud. I guess Zimmerman would call it an earthy taste.