Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Show off your catch oddballs this weekend w the net

Was out with the cast net again this weekend. Mostly going after my GSH that ended up in the creek. But here are some oddballs.

1. This one might be a hogsucker? Very square body cross-section. Brown with dark stripes. About 5 1/2" long.



2. Some sucker. Lot of these in the creek. Just a big one.


3. This a young smallmouth? Gotten a few rare ones in the creek. Definitely scaled. Not as green as you usually see SMB pix, but the top fins seem to be about right. This one is about 5"


4. I've kept dumping fish like this back in the creek as I'm not convinced they are GSH. If this is GSH, it's a grandma. It has the descending lateral line. The fins are more yellow/red than most I see and the mouth seems too large and the scales are smaller than most GSH. I really struggle with these. I want to keep mature/breeding GSH, but I don't want to put some problem in my pond.

1 & 2 I don't know without looking in a fish database.

3 Is a SMB. With it's mouth closed, look at the junction of its top/bottom jaw. If it does not extend past the rear edge of it's eye, it's a SMB.

4 Is definately not a GHS.

Nice report!

I have never seen a small mouth fry so I dont know about that one.

#4 look into different types of shiners. The old guys where I live would label that a "rock roller" and through it in the bait bucket.

I would guess it needs current to reproduce.

a picture of the top of the head would help too!

Still scratching for #4. Perhaps a scarlet shiner?
http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=567
Least it has similar coloration.

This one is in spawning colors, but see how the head is shaped differently, and the size of the mouth? That's a Sutbby Steves pellet, the same size as an AM600 pellet.

#4 is a chub likely a creek chub.

Bill, I agree about the chub part, but not having a horizontal stripe..... Maybe a Male Creek Chub in spawning colors?

Anybody notice the black spots on it where there shouldn't be spots? Anybody know what they are?

I can certainly see chub in the shape and fins. The creek chub coloring doesn't match for me.
Did run across the highback chub that looks somewhat similar in coloring... once I started looking in chubs.
http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?SpeciesID=2911

So, if we go with it being _some_ chub, I assume one does not want that in a pond? That's the bottom-line issue.. pond or back to creek? For now, I'm pretty much FHM and GSH for forage and will be a "recreational mix" of BG/RES and LMB in there next year... couple colorful PS thrown in for accent. I even threw back the SMB.. don't want even a 5" in there mowing down my fry. Imagine one SMB in an acre of forage?

Those black specks are largely grit. That shallow of a pan, fish get out onto the concrete occasionally. That baby FHM, I had a terrible time getting him back in the tray.. used the tape measure as a spatula.

Thanks much for the help gents.

Creek Chub in spawning colors:

The bass looks like a YOY spotted bass to me...