I caught 9 tiny bluegill (micro fly-fishing #18 hook) yesterday evening for stocking a local pond that suffers from at least four different flavours of cooters/terrapins, five different kinds of wading birds and three different basses. Otters pass through from time to time as well. So, if we're going to be able to catch any there for our sport, we have to feed the glutinous critters. There may have to be some turtle catching there in the near future.

I wasn't able to go to that pond this morning and I did not have any city water sufficiently de-chlorinated so I stopped by a spring to catch some water to refresh the bucket. I followed the spring effluent to a branch and in just a few minutes caught six more tiny ones.

Hard to tell but there are 15 tiny fish in that aquarium. They are overcrowded to be sure but it is just until morning. I cipher the original nine bluegill. Two longear. One shiner. One green. One spotted bass (9 o'clock) that was so small I originally thought it was a chub else I would have promptly released it. And finally a thumbnail sized of what I suspect is a stumpknocker.

I always wanted a pond I could stock myself...

all 15 seemed still lively when I poured them into their new home this morning.

the fishing was slow. The big bluegill were on the beds and not particularly hungry but persistence in constantly annoying them pays-off as the stags get mad at the trespassing "bugs" and eventually bite.

Cichlids would be your little pond fish of choice in Colombia, right Paul?

Although I bet you have sunfish down there too.

-AaronB

Meantime, read one of his earlier experiences.....

https://sixshootercommunity.com/forum/index.php?id=60578

I never tire of reading that although the victim has also been referred to as Juan and Manuel in other editions.....

And here he mentions at least three species....

https://sixshootercommunity.com/forum/index.php?id=65937

It's hard to know what all native fish might have inhabited waters around here. The Good Lord knows I don´t get many opportunities for exploration outside of the urban setting. But cichlids of diverse species are common throughout south America. I grew up catching cará, very similar to a bluegill. And of course there's the oscar, a common enough aquarium fish - but found wild in rivers down in the plains area. The pacú is basically a piranha with blunt teeth. Mostly an eater of vegetable matter, but had one I tossed into our aquarium years ago eat our beta. The pay per kilo fish ponds I mentioned in the post Ray linked are usually stocked with tilapia and pacú, but usually have some of the native cichlids around, as evidenced by the ones mentioned in the linked post. I'm very curious about what USED to be around here, but the rivers are sewers now and there are no public lakes with native fish that I'm aware of. Was just mentioning to my wife the other day how much I miss a good, clean river and a nice place to cast a line.

I find on y.t. plenty of videos of fishing for oscar & mayan cichlids in florida. They seem to be quite easy to catch and are said to be good to eat.

In the phoenix salt river sourced urban canals fishing videos, big tilapia are depicted as abundant and good fighters but are reluctant biters.

https://m.youtube.com/@KevinRapkochFishing/videos

We had oscars for many years, including Fred, our most famous one. I sold him to a pet store when we moved from Ibagué to Barranquilla. He was purchased by a restaurant...

and placed in a much too small tank where he continued to live and grow to the point where he could move backward and forward, but not turn around. We visited him once during a brief return to Ibagué for a convention. It was sad to see him that way.

Anyway, over the years folks would see our oscars and invariably make a comment along the lines of "Fried up properly he'd go good with a nice, crisp patacón and some lime slices!" Never heard of anyone eating one here as they're exotic to this part of the country. And I can imagine them being reluctant biters, they're VERY intelligent fish indeed.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IXIqDQ7_YkE

Tilapia, known here also a "mojarra" (mo-HAR-uh for the non-spanish speakers). That was a nice sized FAT one. Most we see here are smaller and thinner. They'll cut them vertically with gashes about an inch or two apart and then fry them in oil until crispy. Good eating, bones not too bad.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=odJdEsjvKXc&pp=ygUaQ3JlZWsgZmlzaGluZyB3aWxkY2F0IHBhcm...

Yep. Spent many a fine hour drowning worms and casting lures along there...