How to Identify Bait Fish
- 1). Recognize a creek chub by the black spot that exists on the front of its dorsal fin. This upper fin will possess a darker area in the lower corner where it attaches to the chub's back. Creek chubs can reach a foot in length and are popular bait for bass, pike and brown trout. In the spring small bumps called tubercules will develop over the nose of a creek chub.
- 2). Distinguish a hornyhead chub by the unmistakable red spot at the tail's base on the younger fish and the red spot behind the older male's eyes. Also called a redtail chub, these fish can be between 6 and 9 inches long as adults. The back and upper sides are a dark shade of olive brown and the belly is a yellowish hue. Anglers pursuing walleye and northern pike will use a hornyhead chub.
- 3). Notice how large the head, eyes and mouth of a common shiner are. Compared to other types of shiners these features stand out. Common shiners are silvery with many having a purplish to blue-gray stripe along their sides. Few will be bigger than 4 inches long. This is one of the premier bait fish for ice fishermen, since bass, walleye, pickerel, pike, crappie and perch all feed on it.
- 4). Tell a fathead minnow apart from other bait fish by its size. Fatheads rarely grow larger than 3 inches, making them excellent bait for fish like walleye, crappie, bass and perch. Colors of fathead minnows range from olive to copper, with silvery sides. The head of a male that is breeding is black. This is one of the most common bait fish sold in bait and tackle shops.
- 5). Determine a golden shiner by its color. These large shiners, which sometimes are just under a foot in length, have golden sides, a bronze back and yellow fins. Referred to as a roach or pond shiner, the golden shiner has a small head compared to its body. This type of shiner makes excellent pike and bass bait.
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