Fisherman Catches Octopus in Arkansas Lake

December 3, 2003 - Posted at 4:44 p.m. CDT

MAYFLOWER, AR - The Arkansas Game & Fish Commission said today that a fisherman caught an octopus in Lake Conway near Mayflower earlier this week.

Fisherman John Mazurek of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, caught a real, live, good-sized octopus on Monday at the lake's dam.

The commission said it can't explain how the octopus got in the lake, but a common guess is someone had it in an aquarium and it grew too big and was dumped into the lake.  It was alive when Mazurek caught it.

He told the commission that the octopus was clinging to one of the gates at the lake's dam when he saw it and grabbed it.

Mazurek's fishing license should cover octopusing.  And he didn't exceed the daily limit on this species.

The commission said the only violation was the dumping of the octopus into the lake.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)