Xi Bowhunter
07-02-2006, 09:42 PM
Here is the story:
Angler catches unlikely crab in Tennessee River
By Dennis Sherer
Staff Writer
Last Updated:June 29. 2006 12:00AM
Published: June 29. 2006 3:30AM
This blue crab got tangled in fishing line when Steve Dyess was trying to catch catfish along the base of Wheeler Dam. DENNIS SHERER/TimesDaily
TOWN CREEK -- A wayward sea creature is causing quite a stir at Pat and Tim's Bait and Tackle.
Blue crabs are normally found in coastal waters. Steve Dyess and his 16-year-old son, Joey, caught one Wednesday while fishing along the base of Wheeler Dam.
"On the way up, I told Joey we would have seafood for lunch. I never thought we would catch it ourselves," quipped Steve Dyess, of Mount Olive, as a visitor photographed his unusual catch to show her friends.
Keith Floyd, a supervising biologist for the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, said the crab is the first he is aware of being caught in the Tennessee River.
"They do occur in semi-fresh and fresh water in estuaries along the coast. But I have never heard of one being this far north," Floyd said. He suspects someone released the crab into the river.
Steve Dyess was shocked when he reeled in the cutbait he was using to fish for catfish and found the crab tangled in his line.
Joey Dyess was stunned initially to see the blue crustacean on his father's fishing line. Then it piqued his appetite for seafood. "I was thinking lunch when I saw it."
Instead of boiling their catch, they took the crab to the bait shop and placed it in the minnow tank.
Word of the unusual catch quickly spread through the Fisherman's Resort community. Many residents visited the bait shop to see the crab.
After taking a peek at the crab, Jadie Letson said he is curious about how it wound up in a lake more than 300 miles from the coast.
"Somebody could have turned him loose or he could have been attached to a barge. I don't think he came here on his own," Letson said.
Bait shop owner Tim Bryant has a theory about how the crab ended up in Wheeler Lake.
"I think a cook on one of the towboats let supper get away one night," he said.
Wayne Lash, owner of Fisherman's Resort and a seafood shop nearby, was amazed at how lively the crab was. It raced around the bottom of the tank each time someone tried to catch it and repeatedly jumped out of the net.
"He must have been in the lake for a while," Lash said. "I've hauled a lot of crabs up here from the Gulf, but I've never seen one that lively when I got them here."
Steve Dyess said the crab appears to have adapted well to its freshwater home.
Bryant is unsure what he will do with the crab. For the time being, it will be at his bait shop at Fisherman's Resort. "I've never had to find a home for a crab."
http://www.myfishingpictures.com/img/101332.jpg (http://www.myfishingpictures.com/?p=101332&c=500&z=1)
Angler catches unlikely crab in Tennessee River
By Dennis Sherer
Staff Writer
Last Updated:June 29. 2006 12:00AM
Published: June 29. 2006 3:30AM
This blue crab got tangled in fishing line when Steve Dyess was trying to catch catfish along the base of Wheeler Dam. DENNIS SHERER/TimesDaily
TOWN CREEK -- A wayward sea creature is causing quite a stir at Pat and Tim's Bait and Tackle.
Blue crabs are normally found in coastal waters. Steve Dyess and his 16-year-old son, Joey, caught one Wednesday while fishing along the base of Wheeler Dam.
"On the way up, I told Joey we would have seafood for lunch. I never thought we would catch it ourselves," quipped Steve Dyess, of Mount Olive, as a visitor photographed his unusual catch to show her friends.
Keith Floyd, a supervising biologist for the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, said the crab is the first he is aware of being caught in the Tennessee River.
"They do occur in semi-fresh and fresh water in estuaries along the coast. But I have never heard of one being this far north," Floyd said. He suspects someone released the crab into the river.
Steve Dyess was shocked when he reeled in the cutbait he was using to fish for catfish and found the crab tangled in his line.
Joey Dyess was stunned initially to see the blue crustacean on his father's fishing line. Then it piqued his appetite for seafood. "I was thinking lunch when I saw it."
Instead of boiling their catch, they took the crab to the bait shop and placed it in the minnow tank.
Word of the unusual catch quickly spread through the Fisherman's Resort community. Many residents visited the bait shop to see the crab.
After taking a peek at the crab, Jadie Letson said he is curious about how it wound up in a lake more than 300 miles from the coast.
"Somebody could have turned him loose or he could have been attached to a barge. I don't think he came here on his own," Letson said.
Bait shop owner Tim Bryant has a theory about how the crab ended up in Wheeler Lake.
"I think a cook on one of the towboats let supper get away one night," he said.
Wayne Lash, owner of Fisherman's Resort and a seafood shop nearby, was amazed at how lively the crab was. It raced around the bottom of the tank each time someone tried to catch it and repeatedly jumped out of the net.
"He must have been in the lake for a while," Lash said. "I've hauled a lot of crabs up here from the Gulf, but I've never seen one that lively when I got them here."
Steve Dyess said the crab appears to have adapted well to its freshwater home.
Bryant is unsure what he will do with the crab. For the time being, it will be at his bait shop at Fisherman's Resort. "I've never had to find a home for a crab."
http://www.myfishingpictures.com/img/101332.jpg (http://www.myfishingpictures.com/?p=101332&c=500&z=1)