I'm kind of interested in seeing the long-term impacts of chain pickerel in a pond. There is a 15 acre state park lake that I fish frequently that supposedly has a few. Several people I've met reported either catching or at least seeing them. My girlfriend has seen what she believes was one of them, but unfortunately I have not yet.

One fellow I met the other day complained about catching "those d@mn northern pike"...I suspect he doesn't know the difference, although I could believe that the lake stays could enough year-round from springwater and aerators that it might support a couple of northerns, still have to witness it to believe it.

I know the lake holds a few surprises. There are a few random longnose gar, which I doubt were illegally transplanted. Most anglers around here that catch 'em accidentally will kill them instead of dropping them elsewhere. I've seen a few random brown trout, no idea how they got there. And there is a healthy population of some of the biggest grass carp I've ever seen. And for what it's worth, milfoil and coontail are so prevalent that they have no shortage of food. And I know they're not gonna eat the filamentous algae that covers most all of the lake surface. I'm thinking tilapia would help that, but I doubt the state would ever bite. Interestingly enough, while other public ponds here are overrun with white crappie, GSF, and bullheads, brought in by "helpers", this lake appears to have none of those. In fact, it doesn't even seem to have any channel cats for whatever reason.

Oh wait, if the water is cool enough to support a few browns and possible northerns, maybe it couldn't support the tilapia for very long. I haven't checked the water temps myself, but this thing is flowing out from a cave, and the water stays pretty darn cool even in the summer.

-Brandon E. Wilson