FISH JUMPING INTO BOATS

Consistent with many of the fish stories I've heard in my life about "that special place where the fish are so plentiful, they jump in your boat" is this story from the Jefferson City News Tribune.

This is no fish tale: A state fisheries biologist motoring on the Missouri River near Columbia had a filling knocked out of his tooth by a high-jumping fish that hit him on the side of the head. Another state biologist in the St. Charles area was seriously hurt when he was struck by a giant carp.

The fish are nonnative species of carp imported from Asia by the aqua culture industry and were intended to be used to eat excess algae and waste in aqua culture ponds. Unfortunately, periodic flooding has allowed the fish to escape into the Missouri River and its tributaries.

They are large fish that spook easily upon hearing the sound of a boat motor at which time they jump out of the water, sometimes into a boat. The fish are considered such a hazard that state conservation personnel now wear protective headgear when motoring in fast boats and some are placing protective netting across the bow.