Keuka Baitfish ID?

[Lively1]

The skinny silvery thing was about 3.5" long.  The itty bitty ones were spit up by a bass I caught. They were about a half-inch long. I think the bigger one might be a small sawbelly? These were from Keuka. 

[Sk8man]

Top one is a rainbow smelt> Not 100 percent sure on bottom ones could be immature smelt or sawbellies?

[troutman]

That top one is a Cosco, not a smelt...Keuka doesn't have any smelt anymore. DEC stocked Ciscoes in the lake for bait, since the smelt and sawbellie population was depleted. 

[Sk8man]

It's a Rainbow Smelt. Despite the rumors there are still a few smelt in Keuka Take a look at this if you are still confused on the ID

http://www.bing.com/search?q=Cisco+the+fish&form=QBLH&sp=-1&pq=cisco+the+fish&sc=2-14&qs=n&sk=&cvid=816EF2AEAFE94FB29B424BECD334ACE5

 

[dry net]

I would have to agree that the top fish is not a smelt. Wrong profile, here in NH we use small smelt for bait in the spring. Not a smelt, kinda looks like a emerald. Though emeralds have a green sheen to them. Good luck!    Matt

[Sk8man]

I give up....you guys might want to take a look at pics of rainbow Smelt bring it up on Google or Bing or something. This is one I caught a couple years ago through the ice.

 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2020 by Sk8man

[justtracytrolling]

rainbow smelt....stop reading so much inaccurate material from the DEC!  Just because they say it doesn't make it true....

[schreckstoff]

Top one looks like It might be a Spottail shiner,  bottom ones look like a panfish maybe 

[Sk8man]

Serves me right on the bottom ones all I saw was the silver bodies as the top parts blended in to the background so the profile looked different I also didn't catch what looks like it may be part of a spot at the center base of the tail of the first fish....guess I stand corrected.

[dry net]

Less, was the smelt you caught through the ice caught in late Feb or early March? Looks like it's full of eggs, ready to run the river?

[Sk8man]

I believe it was mid February and yes it seemed fat with eggs but none came out anything and it put it back in and it swam off

[bulletbob]

bottom pics look like baby sunnies or rock bass

[Lucky13]

I don't see an adipose fin on the top fish, so I'm going with emerald shiner.  I used to get lots of these in with the smelt when we dipped at Russell Station, and a lot of guys couldn't tell the difference (at least until they came out of the fryer.)   The bottom look like small sunfish, we used to catch lots of these in early August in minnow traps in a shallow area of Fourth Lake where the pumpkinseeds spawned, and when we get landlocks in August, they are generally full of these even when there are good year classes of smelt in the Lake.  They do not work as bait, however as they don't keep well in a minnow bucket, and they don't stay alive on the hook.

[Frogger]

Damn, we were leave seeing through Keuka last week, DEC was stocking Ciscos at the park. I meant to see if I could look at one to see. Forgot. Doesn’t seem to look like a smelt in the pic to me.


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[Gill-T]

The mouth position downward makes me think it is not a Cisco

 

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/areas/fisheries/baudette/whitefish.html

[schreckstoff]

Fairly confident the one it is a Spottail Shiner, definitely not a Cisco. The mouth (subterminal) isn’t right for an Emerald’s mouth (superior).

 

Spottails are cool little preyfish I’ve always wanted to know more about them. I know they are more benthic than some other shiners. Likely not a coincidence their relative abundance in Lake Ontario declined quickly as Round Goby increased. 

 

[Gill-T]

The guys fishing on the bottom along the sidewalls of olcott piers with worms targeting perch in the spring used to catch them. I stopped seeing them in the mid-90’s when zebra mussels started dominating. I think the Oak fishing fleet learned to mimic the spot tail shiner when targeting browns by putting the eye sticker on the rear of the spoon. 

[Sk8man]

After looking closely at that first example I am struck by the arrowhead shaped scales down the center line and the very elliptical shape of the eye which looks as though t is tilted in an upward position.....none of the examples of baitfish I have looked at seem to have those features.

Edited October 21, 2020 by Sk8man

[scottatsummerville]

I dont like when I "like" a post and i end up sending a heart to some guy i dont even know instead of a thumb up....whats up with that?

[spoonfed-1]

1 hour ago, scottatsummerville said:

I dont like when I "like" a post and i end up sending a heart to some guy i dont even know instead of a thumb up....whats up with that?

 X2

[GAMBLER]

21 hours ago, schreckstoff said:

Fairly confident the one it is a Spottail Shiner, definitely not a Cisco. The mouth (subterminal) isn’t right for an Emerald’s mouth (superior).

 

Spottails are cool little preyfish I’ve always wanted to know more about them. I know they are more benthic than some other shiners. Likely not a coincidence their relative abundance in Lake Ontario declined quickly as Round Goby increased. 

 

I will agree with you Brian.  You have way more expertise than all of us combined on this subject.