Baitfish Identification, Upstate Ny

[Jar11591]

A few months ago I was fishing in a small 50 acre lake in upstate NY and as usual in this lake, the surface with alive with baitfish schools and bass chasing them. I wanted to know what baitfish these were, so I tossed my jerkbait into a school and snagged one. It was some type of shad/herring as it had the black dot on its head. The NY DEC does not list any shad in this lake and the only shad inland in NY is the gizzard shad. Im pretty sure this was not a gizzard shad because it did not have the overbite, and gizzard shad prefer clearer water.(this lake is slate-colored and has a visibility of 1.5' feet on a good day). Also I know it wasn't an alewife because this is basically a big pond. Can anyone help ID this fish? Thanks

[Scott F]

It's tough to ID correctly without a photo. Also, just because the state does not list the species does not mean it does not exist. I catch a lot of pike out of a lake that the state says are not present.

[Jar11591]

It's tough to ID correctly without a photo. Also, just because the state does not list the species does not mean it does not exist. I catch a lot of pike out of a lake that the state says are not present.

You're right, it could be an unlisted species. But I would think that a non native shad would be killed by the harsh winters, no? I know down south they have shad-kills if the temperature falls too low. And DEC actually states the only herring found inland was the gizzard shad. I'll post a picture as soon as the lake isn't under 2 feet of ice. Lol

[robdob]

There's about a 99% chance what you're seeing are alewives which are in several new York lakes and were probably spread to the lake u fish through someone's bait bucket.