Flying carp found in Mississippi at LaCrosse
Associated Press

LA CROSSE, Wis. - The silver carp, one of the notorious leaping fish brought to the U.S. from China, has been found in the Mississippi River near La Crosse in its first known appearance in Wisconsin or Minnesota waters.

La Crosse fisheries supervisor Ron Benjamin with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said the 24-inch fish was among five Asian carp caught by a commercial fisherman in backwaters of La Crosse last week.

In the same net were two grass carp and a bighead carp, as well as an unidentified carp that got away. The fish were discovered at a market in Pepin and reported to the Minnesota DNR.

The grass and bighead carp had been found in the area before, but the silver carp hadn't been found farther upstream than Clinton, Iowa.

Benjamin said the development is cause for concern.

Silver carp can grow to 60 pounds or more, and they become a hazard when they leap in front of boats.

Their habit of filter feeding the plankton on which native mussels and fish rely and their prolific reproduction make them a threat to the river's ecosystem.

Benjamin said the fish may have migrated upstream during spring flooding, when high water topped dams that otherwise would block their path.

The DNR, its Minnesota and Iowa counterparts and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be monitoring commercial fish hauls to watch for the invasive species, he said.

He urged anyone who finds one of the fish to report it.

"There probably are more out there," Benjamin said. "I don't know how many more."

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There are more out there, the question is, can they deal with MN's climate and other habitat variables? I have my doubts, as they should have been here for years...those barriers are anything but. With all the commercial netting, you should have seen some smaller, younger fish that were spawned here. Instead you are seeing bigger, older fish that are migrating.

NOT GOOD!

FYI thats at least 3 lock and dams away from Pepin, close enough, but not quite Pepin!

You're correct...not the first time I had a brainfreeze in the title!

Technically they were "found" in Pepin

No!!!! Couldn't they have put up screens or nets to keep them from migrating up?

nope. we're pretty much screwed. just like with the zebra mussels and buckthorn. They're gonna be everywhere and theres absolutely nothing we can do

guess were taken batting practice or maybe a new style of trap shooting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb8OmEr7VqI#

Now with the way they jump into fast moving boats and injure people would it be self defense if you were to blast them with a shotgun?

But seriously these things always worried me because hear about them knocking people of jet skis and out of boats. Its 30+lbs carp jumping up at random at the sound of a boat motor. Getting hit with one would hurt.

Well on the plus side they'd limit the yahoos running around in PWCs and huge yachts

I'm thinking a new sport is in my future... Bow and Arrow flying carp! I've seen them do it down south on tv.

a 30lber would definitely hurt, but imagine getting hit by a 60lber!! That'd take your head off if youre going fast enough. Down south they have a new sport, silver carp archery. Check out the video on youtube, it actually looks pretty fun.

Yes it may look fun, but I don't want it here!

they will destroy a lake....you don't want them. No matter how much fun you think it would be to shoot them with whatever....they'll suck the scum right off the bottom of the lake along with everything else so other fish have nothing to feed on.

Exactly! there are no benefits of the silver carp and it is a shame that they made it up here I hope they can find a way to control them.. I watched a show not to long ago on them, and they were netting them and dumping them into a big hole, but they said that really didn't impact anything.