In my two tours, my guys fished around the palaces in Tikrit and Baghdad. They caught the same fish as in the photo, some sort of carp-like creature. You would NEVER want to eat one, those waters were polluted beyond belief.

Quick & very very dirty

Fly fishing is an addiction.

You can either fish, or you can fight!
--Are you crazy, Goddammit? Don't you think its a little risky for some R&R?
If I say its safe to fish this beach, Captain, then its safe to fish this beach! I mean, I'm not afraid to fish this place, I'll fish this whole farking place!
Charlie don't fish!

Is it catch-and-release or do you eat the flies you catch?

What could he possibly have to say about fishing in Iraq that would fill an entire book?

ButterMule: What could he possibly have to say about fishing in Iraq that would fill an entire book?

Saddam was evil, therefore we had to kill everyone.

A River of Blood Runs Through It?

TFA is odd in its numbers

Charlie don't fish!

Spoonfed'sBuddy: You can either fish, or you can fight!
--Are you crazy, Goddammit? Don't you think its a little risky for some R&R?
If I say its safe to fish this beach, Captain, then its safe to fish this beach! I mean, I'm not afraid to fish this place, I'll fish this whole farking place!
Charlie don't fish!

I was hoping for that reference.

Also, does anyone else see one fish eating another in that picture?

Baghdad Anglers Club

What, marching up and down the square not good enough for you?!

He wrote a book about his experiences, "A Fly Rod in my Sea Bag: Fishing Adventures in Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2005-2011."

semper fi. ugh.

/no disrespect intended but , damn.

What's the quota on former dictator's victims' heads these days?

I swear.... Sometimes all I want is quick and dirty, then I spend about the same amount of time trying to log into my Flickr account because something got screwed up.

/I need to spend more time with Photoshop.

Cool, nice find subby. I think the freaky looking fish he is holding is called a Mangar.

Who the hell wants to fish for carp?

2wolves: Fly fishing is an addiction.

yup!
/spent the afternoon tying bloodworms and chironomids and micro leeches
//going fishing in an hr or so (day 30 this season so far!)

Spoonfed'sBuddy: Charlie don't fish!

Dammit. How did I miss that the reference had already been made?

I fish (and catch 'em) in all sorts of unexpected places... drainage ponds, small creeks, etc.

knbber2: In my two tours, my guys fished around the palaces in Tikrit and Baghdad. They caught the same fish as in the photo, some sort of carp-like creature. You would NEVER want to eat one, those waters were polluted beyond belief.

It's actually a common carp which has been bred for aquaria, but then released, probably intentionally. Common carp have been made to look all kinds of bizarre.

TurdHeart: knbber2: In my two tours, my guys fished around the palaces in Tikrit and Baghdad. They caught the same fish as in the photo, some sort of carp-like creature. You would NEVER want to eat one, those waters were polluted beyond belief.

It's actually a common carp which has been bred for aquaria, but then released, probably intentionally. Common carp have been made to look all kinds of bizarre.

What a common carp might look like.

tomWright: [www.talltalestruetales.com image 601x323]

Came for this, leaving satisfied.

Thanks depleted Uranium!

Lots of them in those lakes. Tons of turtles too. I used to watch people catch them all the time.

It's crazy how Saddam had all those lakes and canals built around his palaces. The permanent buildings were complete crap however, but the overall effect was impressive.

Never got a chance to do it, but I was told the fishing in Baghdad was pretty good. There were some really weird and nasty fish in the Tigris, tho.

Don't even ask what happens when they find sheep......

I'm an Egyptian!: Never got a chance to do it, but I was told the fishing in Baghdad was pretty good. There were some really weird and nasty fish in the Tigris, tho.

Remember the Weapons of Mass Destruction we never found? Well, there's a reason the plants were by that big river, and why someday fish-eyed Iraqi zombies will rise up from the Persian Gulf to destroy us all.

oooh, fond memories...

was invited to dinner in Babil with the police general. being a special occasion, we were served some fish they get out of the Euphrates, but only for a couple weeks a year, so it's a big deal...

it tasted pretty good... but, I don't even want to think about what else was in that thing...

/not dead yet..

I wrote a fishing book too. It's called "My Rod In One Hand & My Fishing Pole In the Other"

It wasn't so polluted in 2003, when we first got there--there was a maintenance crew that cleaned all of the man made ponds (remember, this was more a resort compound for VIPs than a "palace" compound for Saddam). In those days, there were small mouth Bass, which were promptly fished out. Then it got all cloudy and gross (more from OUR dumping crap in there and not cleaning it), and all you saw were these catfish/eel hybrid mutants...fishing wasn't as popular then...

/spent 3 years on VBC as soldier/contractor

We used to throw them chucks of bread from the DFAC on Camp Liberty at them when I was there and the fish would all come up, swarm around and gobble it up. The water in the lake there looks like something you'd find discharging from a municipal waste treatment plant.