jmed999 Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 This is what I usually catch in my minnow trap. Whatever it is ranges from about 1 to 3 inches long in my trap. What kind of fish/minnow is it? Thanks for your help! Quote
florida strain Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 When I clicked the thumbnail, it kinda looks like a crappie hatchling. They eat minnows alot so that could be why they are getting in the trap also. Quote
jmed999 Posted January 22, 2012 Author Posted January 22, 2012 How sure are you? I thought it was a baitfish of some sort like a shad. Quote
VolFan Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Immature bluegill. Maybe take another pic with a little less glare, but the color and gill plate look like a small 'gill to me. 1 Quote
Super User 00 mod Posted January 22, 2012 Super User Posted January 22, 2012 My guess would also be a juvenile bluegill, and maybe more specifically a juvenile pumpkinseed? Jeff Quote
jmed999 Posted January 22, 2012 Author Posted January 22, 2012 Here are some more pics of them on a paper plate. They have a blueish purple tint along their back and greenish vertical stripes. Hopefully you can see this in the pics... Quote
Super User slonezp Posted January 22, 2012 Super User Posted January 22, 2012 The dorsal fin would be the giveaway whether it's a crappie or gill. Next time, see if you can get a pic with the dorsal fin strected out. It's definatly not a shad. Quote
jmed999 Posted January 22, 2012 Author Posted January 22, 2012 I tried to stretch the dorsal fin out in the pics attached. Ignore the grass near the mouth in one of the pics... Quote
jmed999 Posted January 22, 2012 Author Posted January 22, 2012 I've noticed in the pictures the fish just looks like a brown color. The camera isn't picking up the bluish/purple on the back and the vertical green stripes. Quote
florida strain Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Yeah thats crappie hatchlings. Just look at the thumbnail photo you have, that has the smaller and bigger ones together, you can see the speckeling get more prodominate as they grow vs the vertical stripes as the smaller one, and you can see the body shape making the transition as well, the eyes are to big to be gill fish.and the gill speck would also be bigger than what it is. plus its bedding season. so they probably just hatched. Quote
jmed999 Posted January 22, 2012 Author Posted January 22, 2012 When I clicked the thumbnail, it kinda looks like a crappie hatchling. They eat minnows alot so that could be why they are getting in the trap also. These things are waaay to small to be eating minnows....they are minnows themselves. Quote
jmed999 Posted January 22, 2012 Author Posted January 22, 2012 Yeah thats crappie hatchlings. Just look at the thumbnail photo you have, that has the smaller and bigger ones together, you can see the speckeling get more prodominate as they grow vs the vertical stripes as the smaller one, and you can see the body shape making the transition as well, the eyes are to big to be gill fish.and the gill speck would also be bigger than what it is. plus its bedding season. so they probably just hatched. I thought they bed in the spring not January....I could be wrong though. So you think they just hatched and are between 1 and 3 inches? Quote
jmed999 Posted January 22, 2012 Author Posted January 22, 2012 According to this site... http://www.fcps.edu/...ack_crappie.htm This is a young crappie... Quote
Super User slonezp Posted January 22, 2012 Super User Posted January 22, 2012 The dorsal looks alot more bluegill than crappie. Is the water cold and clear, not alot of weeds or cover? Might be the reason it's so light in color. Quote
jmed999 Posted January 22, 2012 Author Posted January 22, 2012 We have no weeds in the pond and it's pretty clear/stained. Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted January 22, 2012 Global Moderator Posted January 22, 2012 It's a young bluegill without a doubt. We used to catch them in a thrownet in a pond with nothing but bluegill and catfish in it. Baby crappie have bigger anal fins than bluegills do like the picture posted above. Plus if you open the mouths the bluegill mouths will be small for their bodies and crappies will be pretty big for their bodies. Quote
jmed999 Posted January 22, 2012 Author Posted January 22, 2012 Yeah, I have done some looking into baby bluegill on the internet and I think that's what I have. Would they be good to use as bait for crappie or bass??? Quote
Helluva_Engineer Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Yeah, I have done some looking into baby bluegill on the internet and I think that's what I have. Would they be good to use as bait for crappie or bass??? Both, you'll catch some big ones Quote
Super User slonezp Posted January 22, 2012 Super User Posted January 22, 2012 http://www.bio.txstate.edu/~tbonner/txfishes/lepomis%20macrochirus.htm Quote
Super User Hooligan Posted January 22, 2012 Super User Posted January 22, 2012 Baby bluegill, beyond the shadow of a doubt. Quote
Fat-G Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 Baby bluegill, beyond the shadow of a doubt. Definitely, and it looks like they're slightly unhealthy as well. Baby gills tend to get thicker in healthy ponds with lots of cover to hide in. I would venture to guess that you got these out of a river or wide open lake. Quote
jmed999 Posted January 23, 2012 Author Posted January 23, 2012 Nope...came from an 8 acre pond. I'm no expert but they all looked healthy to me. Didn't notice them being super skinny but not fat either. Quote
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