So I was taking my boys for a walk this evening (1.5 meg picture attached)

[Orrex]

We were taking our usual route, with our 4.5 year old on foot and our 20 month old in a stroller. We live in a small town, and our walk follows residential streets with a bit of retail/commercial here and there.

One small section, about forty feet in length, is a car-wide gravel path, sort of a spur that bypasses a corner. My older son likes it because the trees overhang the gravel, so it's like being in a tunnel.

Well, apparently somebody else took the tunnel today, and they threw about a dozen and a half newly-caught fish into the bushes along the path. I'm pretty sure that they were newly caught, because they still looked intact and were still on a pair of chain stringers. I don't know much about non-breaded fish, but I'd guess that the majority were trout, perhaps ten inches long, while a few were substantially larger, maybe 18 inches or more.

Anyway, WTF? Who'd just toss their catch into the bushes, and why? I'm not grossly offended by it, but I admit being perplexed. And a little annoyed, since they're sure to get ripe in the next few days.

Should I call some agency? Fish & Wildlife? Public Works? A few raccoons?


Here's a shot of the area in question. You can see that it isn't exactly out of the way:


Puzzling!

[crimsonblue]

1. If I had to guess

I'd say they fell out of a truck or something.

[Orrex]

3. Not a bad guess, but...

Their particular placement makes it difficult for them to have arrived there by any means other than manual. Trucks don't go on the gravel path because they don't have to--it's quicker to take the corner and keep going.

Perhaps this is one of those famous "rains of fish" that you hear about?

[crimsonblue]

4. are you living in ancient Egypt?

it may be a plague....

[Orrex]

6. I'll have to ask my mummy

Though she's kind of in de Nile about it.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

2. Fishy. Very fishy.

:Evilgrin:

[Orrex]

5. I know

I'm tempted to pick up the pisces and move on.

[bluesbassman]

7. Perhaps if you had a picture

of the grouper, we could be more certain.

[Orrex]

8. I'm not really into the grouper scene

And I didn't have a good camera with me, alas. Maybe I'll head back tomorrow to see if I can get a few snaps.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. Or a few snappers.

[TZ]

10. I hate to say it..

But I'm thinking a wife got pissed off at her husband..and got her revenge by getting rid of his "catch"....

[MissMillie]

11. She probably didn't want to clean them

:hi:

:silly:

[Orrex]

16. Way to perpetuate stereotypes

I'm betting that the husband was pissed off at his wife, and he got his revenge by getting rid of her "catch."

[Sanity Claws]

12. License problem? Over the limit?

Could the angler have caught too many and just threw the fish away?
How far away are you from a lake where the fish could have come from?

[Orrex]

15. I should have mentioned that

There are a number of creeks and small lakes near here, and a river or two. I'm not sure what the fishy population of any of them might be, but it's definitely possible that these particular ones came from relatively nearby. Not walking distance, though--they'd have to have come in a vehicle.

[NJmaverick]

13. WOW! How tall are you?

Judging by the angle of the picture, you must be like 200 ft tall.:wow:

[Orrex]

14. Well, I did mention that we live in a *small* town

That image is actual size.

[NJmaverick]

17. ahhh.... OK, that makes sense

[Orrex]

18. So here's what the fish look like. And they're still there. And stinking.

[XemaSab]

19. Aww, that sucks

Maybe the guy forgot about them, and they started to go bad so he threw them away? :shrug:

You find weird stuff in the bushes. I'm a biologist. I know.

A boat? A TV? Many, many shopping carts? Shoes? Plywood? Scraps of carpet? Dead dogs?

I have seen it all. :shrug:

[Orrex]

20. As we approached the scene tonight, but were not yet in sight of the fish...

My older son asked "what's that smell? It's pretty stinky."

"What do you think it is?" I asked.

He thought for a moment. "Is it the fish?"


As far as I'm aware, he doesn't have a lot of exposure to corpses, carcasses, or carrion. Kudos to him for solving the mystery!

[XemaSab]

21. Fish... have a unique smell

My dog used to roll in the salmon when they were running. Dear sweet Jesus that was an awful smell!