Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain Help Id this minnow/chub

I have a creek running thru our property and thinking it might be a possible place to get some forage fish. I'm pretty sure this is a chub of some sort. Is it a creek chub or could it be a hornyhead chub because of its color? The one on the bottom is definately a different color, but it sure looks the same otherwise. Should I move some of these to the pond?
http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t507/JimStadtlander/DSCF0036.jpg

This one looks like GSF or a HBG? I'm NOT going to stock these.
http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t507/JimStadtlander/DSCF0038.jpg

I'm fairly certain the top photo is of creek chubs. I agree that the bottom photo is a GSF or HBG. Most likely GSF.

We have a public stream fairly close that is about 99% populated with those two types of fish. I freeze the GSF for catfish bait. I try to keep the creek chubs alive as long as I can in an aquarium, and use them for LMB and CC bait. As they die, I freeze them in baggies to use as CC bait.

I agree with Catman creek chubs and GSF. Different color of the chubs is just a natural variation. Hornyhead chubs will have a tiny barbel at the corner of the mouth whereas the creek chub the barbel is concealed in the groove of the mandible. Horny head nor creek chubs will spawn in your pond. Their mouth is large and they will eat small fish and big insects when large. Bass will eat them pretty readily in you pond. When they are gone they are gone no reproduction. They would make good bass & CC bait. You can tame your bass by feeding them the chubs. If you do it on a regular basis bass will learn to follow you around the pond looking for you to toss in a chub.

Creek Chub's, if large enough, are fantastic as smoked table fare!

Hold up. Are you serious? I trap them all the time and never once thought to eat one.

Better than smoked suckers! Very Good Eat's!

We use to catch them all the time as kid's, and bring them to Carl, our neighbor, and he would smoke them up! Carl, He was Top's! You could not meet a finer person, and had a true heart of gold!

I haven't been to a local meat market lately, but smoked Creek Chub's were more popular than smoked RBT produced by a local fish farm.

Simply Fantastic!!!

Give it a try! I ain't dead yet!

"Their mouth is large and they will eat small fish and big insects when large."
.....Meaning this in a detrimental way? If they could reproduce, then it would become bad?

"Horny head nor creek chubs will spawn in your pond. When they are gone they are gone no reproduction."
.....I have a constant surface spring going into the pond (50GPM). I created a sediment pool before it goes into pond. There is a dam that separates the two with a pipe. When the pond is at full pool, fish could swim up-spring. They could always swim down-spring as long as they fit thru pipe. Does this change my situation any with them reproducing?


Deepfried creek chubs........ goes right with my fried butterfly wings..... a new style of fish n chips

JKB, how were they prepared?

You just prep and smoke them like any other fish.

Bigger creek chubs are great eating. As kids we used to cook them over an open fire on our camping expeditions. They're just bony. Fallfish are even better because they get much bigger.

I'm confirming what Bill said about creek chubs eating small fish ( I know, Bill doesn't need confirming, but we like photos right?).

I threw my minnow trap in and when I retrieved it there was this chub with something in it's mouth. By the time I got my camera it was gone. So I wanted to find out just what it was and how big! I was going to start throwing a bunch of these in my pond, but after this I think I better hold off since I don't have any forage fish in yet. I don't want them turning into my top predators! [img:left][/img] [img:left][/img] [img:left][/img]

F-N-C - Neat pictures and impressive. Size of the prey even suprised me. Is that a GSF it ate??

Awesome photo and documentation... VERY impressive how large a fish that creek chub swallowed. Almost makes me wonder if it was dead or badly injured before the creek chub ate it.

I too am curious as to what species of fish it is that was eaten as well. Was this chub caught out of a creek? I am thinking it may be a small rock bass, but after having been digested for a bit, it's hard to say...

Neat pics ! I have found that other than the planktovors (shads etc)most other fish species will eat other fish. It is interesting to go to Fishbase , look up a species and then check out its food items.

CJ, I'll bet you are right on the i.d.

All I have trapped out of there so far has been Creek Chubs and GSF. So I just assumed it was a GSF. I will go and see if I can take a better look. I would be shocked if it was a rock bass. Am I crazy to think that stocking these ahead of any other types of forage fish is a bad idea?

It depends on the rest of the plan and goals.

If you mean stocking creek chubs ahead of any other forage fish, I think it probably isn't the best idea. What are you trying to gain by adding creek chubs to the pond?

I was just thinking to get them going as forage base. Bill said that they wouldn't reproduce in a pond, but I thought I'd try because of the spring I have and they may reproduce there. Before I re-did the pond, I think they may have been present. Can't say for sure, I've learned alot since then. I'm going to hold off in tranferring any, if I ever do.

The "victim" was in pretty bad shape by the time I looked at it again. I am going to defer to the experts on ID, but my guess would be Green sunfish. For the records, Chub was 5.75" long and food was 2.25" Tail was on it, but I tore it off messing around with it.
[img:left][/img] [img:left][/img]

Yeah, that is a GSF no doubt about it. I have serious reservations that a creek chub that size could take on a healthy GSF that size. Anything is possible, but I really feel that GSF was already dead or in bad shape to allow a creek chub to eat it.

I have to wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that they both were in the trap and that makes the GSF easy prey. Are you thinking that in normal circumstances a GSF would be to quick for a creek chub?

I think FNC is correct. When a predator is in a trap with other smaller fishes the smaller fishes are much easier to catch by chasing the prey into a corner. Ive seen that feature a lot in trapping fish.

Most likely the case, the fact they were in the trap completely slipped my mind and is the most likely scenario. I seriously doubt in a open situation a creek chub could catch a GSF that size. Creek chubs and fall fish do not have any of the teeth like LMB have. Although LMB don't have sharp teeth, they have those rows of teeth that feels like sandpaper. Stick your finger down a creek chub's mouth, it's smooth. Makes it much harder for them to hang on once they were able to capture their fish prey. Under most circumstances, even the largest of creek chubs will have a diet of 95% plus invertebrates.

Hope JHAP don't freak because the Creek Chubs are taking out the GSF on the small side. Hey, they won't grow any bigger once partially digested

Where is JHAP anyway?