Piranha caught in North Central Iowa pond

A vicious fish has been pulled from the murky bottom of a north-central Iowa pond. The fisherman from Fort Dodge hooked the one-and-a-half pound piranha last week while angling at the city’s Izaak Walton pond. D-N-R officials say the flesh-eating fish likely was somebody’s pet which they turned loose in the pond, rather than flushing it. Fort Dodge leaders have no plans to drain the lake or issue warnings. A few years ago, another ferocious fish was found in a Quad City pond, which was siphoned in the name of safety at thousands of dollars in taxpayers’ expense. It was later learned that fish was actually a “pacu”, a harmless cousin of the piranha — and a vegetarian.