Men Beware: Rare Nutcracker Fish Caught In Alabama Lake

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We published this story earlier in the year thinking Jon Rex Spruill had caught a piranha.

Jon Rex Spruill was as surprised as he could be when he reeled in his line and discovered an odd fish of some kind on the other end.  At first glance, it appeared Jon had caught a piranha in Lake Tuscaloosa. Could it be?

Many folks have sounded off about the mystery fish. Many responses said the fish is a pacu. A pacu that gets really big. The pacu eats fruit and nuts. It appears the pacu is also fond of bacon.

Russell Andrews said he fed his pacu bloody worms. That does not sound too appetizing, but I’m not a pacu.

Clay Keith said, “no wonder we never catch any fish, piranha’s are eating all the good ones. Haha”.

KJ James says that is definitely a pacu fish and there are plenty of them in Lake Tuscaloosa.

The pacu reportedly grows big and becomes pretty. So how does the pacu get in Lake Tuscaloosa? Many people say they come from someone's fish tank. And they will eat anything, including snakes.

TJ Neal says the pacu is good eating. I will take TJ’s word for it.

Caitlin says she worked in a pet store and they sold them.
She looked at the pictures and video we've shared here and says 100% Pacu.

 What we didn't know is these fish are notorious for attacking men's private area. In some cases known to just rip the jewels completely off. These fish originated from Brazil. There are thousands of cases in which these fish have attacked the crown jewels.

So the mystery remains as to whether or not there is piranha in Lake Tuscaloosa, but it appears we have confirmed there is plenty of pacu fish for the catching.

It's not safe anywhere!

I guess I'll be wearing protection my next lake day!