September 5, 2008
by Noah Bressman
So there’s an alligator in Chappaqua. That’s not the only strange creature lurking in the local waters.
I discovered another while giving a fishing lesson at the duck pond near the Chappaqua train station. I had hooked what I had thought was a big catfish, but, in fact, had caught a three-foot-long female eel!
The American eels residing in the Chappaqua train station pond are a species of freshwater eels. They live in freshwater streams, but migrate to the open ocean to spawn. When they are done spawning, the females return to freshwater, while the males remain in shallow estuaries.
I hypothesize that all of the eels in this pond are female, which would explain why the several eels that I caught this summer were about three feet long and approximately three to five pounds, the typical size for females of this species. When Greeley Brook was dammed, which created the pond, it blocked the traditional migratory route of the females from Greeley Brook to the Sawmill River, to the Hudson River, and finally out to the ocean, stranding them in our little pond. Even though they may have not been able to spawn for about ten years because of the dam, the eels continue to thrive because they can live for over 25 years. And these creatures have a bountiful food source, the dead fish at the bottom of the pond.
Eels and white suckers and rudds as neighbors! Who knew?
Using a variety of lures over the past months, I have discovered that there are several unusual fish in this pond. Besides common freshwater fish, like largemouth bass, common carp and sunfish, there are rarer species, like white suckers and a fish that I believe is a rudd. White suckers are long, slender fish that can reach a length of up to 24 inches. They have a mouth like a plecostomus, or algae eater, which is a common aquarium fish that comes in many different species and sizes.
A rudd is a silvery fish with large scales and translucent fins tipped with orange that can grow to a little over a foot long. They are native to the slow-flowing rivers of Europe. If the fish I caught is indeed a rudd, it must have been introduced into our ecosystem unnaturally. Without natural predators, the rudds have reproduced quickly. A large school of rudd can often be seen from the sidewalk next to the pond.
I give fishing lessons and take people on guided fishing tours around the perimeter of the duck pond. I teach my clients everything they need to know about fishing, from what knots to tie, to how to use certain lures, to locating the fish, to fly casting. Guided tours, where I take people fishing to find specific species, are more informal. We are so fortunate to have such diversified bodies of water so close.
Noah Bressman is a freshman at Horace Greeley High School and hopes to start a fishing club there. For the past two summers he has attended the Professional Fishing Academy off the west coast of Florida, where he co-hosted the radio show “Simply Bananas” and appeared on the television show “Addictive Fishing.”
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