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Joined: Oct 2013
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OP
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 339 |
Bull minnows are native to all the creeks here. I can trap them for free. I have a 4 acre LMB,BG pond.
Free expert fishing tips. Just call BR-549.
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Joined: May 2011
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Have you looked up information on them?
I am very unfamiliar with that species.
Water is the basis of all life, by design!
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Travis says Bull Minnows are a common name for Banded Killifish, a forage option he likes in some situations. Banded Killifish
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OP
Joined: Oct 2013
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Yes, thanks Omaha that is exactly them. They are sold live in bait stores all around here. I can catch them in roadside tidal ditches very easily.
Free expert fishing tips. Just call BR-549.
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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MSC, are you sure they are banded killifish and not the closely related mummichog which tends to frequent a bit saltier habitat. Mummichog can survive in freshwater and can even spawn in it. Mummichog and banded killifish are so closely related they can hybridize and actually their hybrids form an all female population in the north end of their native ranges. Anyways, I have no experience with mummichogs in ponds other than watching them in aquariums and a few I kept in an outdoor goldfish style pond. They are likely similar to banded killifish in most aspects.
If there are already LMB in your pond, it will be a real challenge getting banded killifish established. If you have ample shallow areas and quite a bit of vegetation and your bass population isn't out of control it is possible. However, from your previous posts, it sounds like your pond is bass heavy. So, you most likely will have a challenge getting them to take hold. Stock them in mid to late spring when they begin spawning to up the odds of them establishing themselves.
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Joined: Oct 2013
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OP
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 339 |
Thanks for the info Bill and CJ. Shucks now I'm not sure what they are, they look so similar, and I don't have one to look at now.
But CJ, I am close to you and I catch these in all the creeks around the Patuxent River. They have that brilliant orange yellow color in the summer when they spawn. And these things are carnivores, they attack dead crabs and chicken necks when you are crabbing. And they travel in packs. They are very fast and dive for cover when anything approaches them. When held in bait tanks I have seen a 3" try to swallow a 1.5". And they can do it.
I hope this helps what they are. Maybe I can trap some and take pics but I haven't tried that in Oct before.
Free expert fishing tips. Just call BR-549.
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Sounds like mummichog to me... Take a photo of one and post it for confirmed ID.
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I need help. I don't know how to post a topic. Can somebody walk me through it?
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Click on the specific sub forum link that best fits the topic you would like to cover. For example, if you had a question about how many LMB to stock per acre in an IL pond, you would select the Types of Fish to Choose sub forum under the Stocking a New Pond forum. Then, when that screen comes up, click on the New Topic link near the upper left. A screen will come up with an area to write a heading and then an area for the body of your post. When you are done, click the Submit button...
Last edited by Bill Cody; 10/12/13 10:03 PM. Reason: spell correct
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Joined: Nov 2013
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Joined: Nov 2013
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To me they look like a pretty benevolent forage fish with a similar place in the pond to fatheads. Doesnt seem like they could survive with a large population of predator fish, I bet they'd be good supplemental feed if you have consistent access to them. Not to mention theyre free!
I'm a bullhead sympathizer, deal with it. My pond is in Hamilton, Texas.
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OP
Joined: Oct 2013
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I found this link that CJ posted somewhere on here http://web1.cnre.vt.edu/efish/families/fundulidae.htmlAnd what I have is definitely mummichogs and not banded killifish. Everyone around here always called them bull minnows. Then I was reading about mummichogs and found this. Mummichogs are hosts to a parasitic fluke, Homalometron pallidum... What? Maybe I don't want to put a couple thousand of these in my pond.
Free expert fishing tips. Just call BR-549.
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Many if not all fish carry parasitic flukes and such. It is just part of nature. Sourcing fish from a wild source can lead to parasites being introduced to your pond though.
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Thanks for that CJ, I feel better now. I was hoping you would chime in again on this. You seem to be the minnow guy. I like these mummichogs because I can get them very close to home, and they make excellent live bait. They are very hardy. They can live for weeks in a bait bucket and they are much more hardy than say Golden Shiners after you hook them.
Free expert fishing tips. Just call BR-549.
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OP
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Dang, I was wrong again. I found these pics on my camera of the minnows I catch. These are small ones only about 1.5" long. Can someone help ID these? Now I think they are definitely banded killifish.
Free expert fishing tips. Just call BR-549.
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The one on top looks a lot like one of the species of stickleback, maybe 3 spine?. Bottom fish could be a killifish. CJBS will have a good 2nd opinion.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
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Joined: Oct 2013
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Thanks Bill. I noticed looking at the pics they do kinda look like 2 different types of fish. I caught them in the same trap last Oct. It only had about a dozen in it, all small ones.
I should have put them in a glass jar of water so you could see the fins better. CJBS does seem to be a minnow expert.
Free expert fishing tips. Just call BR-549.
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Top one is a stickleback, which can't be determined for sure with that picture. Second fish is definitely a banded killifish.
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OP
Joined: Oct 2013
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Top one is a stickleback, which can't be determined for sure with that picture. Second fish is definitely a banded killifish. Thanks so much. I have never even heard of a stickleback. But looking at the VA aquarium page, I honestly think I am also getting mummichogs in the same spot. It is an oxbow type lake off the main Patuxent River that is definitely tidal and floods thru culverts into road side ditches at high tide. Schools of minnows follow the tides into and out of the shallow water.
Free expert fishing tips. Just call BR-549.
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Very possible, both banded killifish and mummichogs are often found together in moderately brackish water.
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Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
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Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
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Travis and Bill must have taught me well, as those would have been my guesses. I'm impressed with myself.
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau
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Administrator Lunker
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Administrator Lunker
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Travis and Bill must have taught me well, as those would have been my guesses. I'm impressed with myself. TJ - The brackishites genus, right?
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,799 Likes: 69
Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
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Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,799 Likes: 69 |
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau
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Joined: Apr 2011
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Joined: Apr 2011
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I think CJ told me a while back that Zetts in WV is a good source for true banded killifish. I believe they sell them as bull minnows.
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Joined: Oct 2013
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OP
Joined: Oct 2013
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These guys are great at identifying minnows. Around here most people call both mummichogs and banded killifish, bull minnows. They are both very hardy and make great live bait. I think they are both known for mosquito control in ponds. I have seen thousands of banded killifish (I think that's what they are) 'shoaling' which is like rolling all over each other in a big school. I see this in May or June. I will be keeping my cast net in the truck.
Free expert fishing tips. Just call BR-549.
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Moderated by Bill Cody, Bruce Condello, catmandoo, Chris Steelman, Dave Davidson1, esshup, ewest, FireIsHot, Omaha, Sunil, teehjaeh57
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BG sex?
by tim k - 05/12/24 07:01 AM
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