fishing is very dear to me. i couldn't do it for a couple of years though because of moral concerns.
when I was much younger I fished for bass and sunfish. they can still be fun to catch.
then i began to pursue catfish. I still enjoy them immensely--hope to catch a big flathead in a muddy river someday--and I dream of going for the largest species of catfish in the world, the south american Piraiba (estimated to reach 600 lbs)
then I finally matured and began to fish for carp. As a person who loves fish as creatures, the common carp is my absolte favourite. Though carp are non-native to north american waters, they truely are a superior species of fish. and I think they are often just beautiful as well. I have had such wonderful times pursuing cyprinus carpio....of course die Karpfen is a much more popular fisch in europe, but unfortunately there the carp are much fatter and less athletic than here in the states. yet i would still like to do some angling there for the wonderful tench and barbel!
and then of course we come to the greatest challenge midwestern waters have to offer, ctenopharyngoden idella, the grass carp. I call them the greatest challenge because they are commonly quite large, are (according to people who have hooked them) quite powerful, live in very treacherous fishing environments, and are very tough to get to bite--I certainly have never gotten one to bite, much less had one on the line. they are primarily vegetarians--though certain evidence would indicate that they also have a diet of insects and perhaps can become even predatory once the food supply of vegetation runs out. so I go to these little grassy ponds, trying to quietly lay a bed of vegetable chum to tempt a grass carp. but these are fish of acute perception--they ALWAYS have known when i am there, and never have eaten in my presence. I have only seen them eat when i have binoculars and am far away. i consider the people who bowfish for these beautiful creatures almost cowardly
i would also love to fish for the wonderful alligator gar, which is one of our largest freshwater species but is being killed off. I also hope that one day I will be able to catch the noblest fish in the world, the sturgeon, no matter which particular species it is (though huso huso would be amazing)
i really dont fish much anymore but really should
