ABEL
An Angel In Devil's Shoes
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Flying Fish Jump Into Boats On Mo. River
Fish Attracted To Noise Of Motorboats
POSTED: 12:23 p.m. EDT August 7, 2003
UPDATED: 12:25 p.m. EDT August 7, 2003
BOONVILLE, Mo. -- People spending time on the Missouri River near Boonville are catching dozens of pounds of fish without a hook, according to a report.
With just a motor as hit bait, Duane Chapman doesn't just catch fish -- he choreographs them, according to KMBC-TV.
"Here they come. Look out," Chapman yelled.
Hubbard said that there is something about the noise from motorboats that has Asian and bighead carp jumping, flipping and flopping right in the boats.
"I've been hit in the head, hit in the side of the neck," Chapman said. "One fellow from MDC had a rib separated, another fellow got hit in the head and lost a tooth."
Chapman is a researcher for the U.S. Geological Survey. For months he has been charting the carps' capers on the Missouri River and its tributaries.
Catching fish this easy comes with a catch, Hubbard reported. The geological survey said that Asian and bighead carp are overpopulating local rivers, posing a serious ecological problem that could destroy reservoirs if boaters use them as bait in lakes.
"It's really important that we try to avoid bait-bucket transfers because we're going to ruin some really good fisheries," Chapman said.
Experts believe the flying fish may have escaped from a fish farm during the 1993 flood. Hubbard said that the fish reproduce quickly and are abundant in the Kansas City area.