Today I went up to Sunapee, home to a big lake and a regionally extinct trout. But I didn't see the lake (odd as it takes up most of the town on the map). instead i went just over the border to Trask Stream to look for northern red belly dace.

I got the tip that they were here and stable enough to net from a fish and game non game officer. He sad they are not in beaver ponds like usual but hiding under the alders.

The stream was a small slow moving one that meandered through an open field. (sadly I didn't bring my camera). The pictures I tried taking I took afterwards at home. The water level was high from the rain leading to numerous marshy flooded areas and weedy channels jutting off the main stream. It looked just like the areas they love to hide in.

Minnows were everywhere. Just dip a net under a weedy banking and get a net full of dusky little minnows with pinkish sides and a black stripe on the sides. Not seeing a double stripe I at first assumed they were blacknose dace. I also got a couple silvery ones I have yet to try and ID. (the cool thing about NH is we have only one protected minnow found in a different drainage making this perfectly safe to do in this location).

I collected without much incident, most weedy banks had dace under them. (I also nearly grabbed a giant water bug from a new when I realized it was NOT a stick and dumped the nasty clawed critter out it out).

I pretty much assumed they were likely blacknose. After a long drive home the fish were all faded. I took a couple pics. Let them adapt to tank water (I worry they were added too fast, even after 20 minutes the bags water was much colder than the tanks).

After adding one I saw the coloration it was gaining in the tank, it had TWO stripes. RED BELLY! The freshly caught ones were so dark in color their upper stripe was obscured. I want to go back here in the spring and catch some in hopes of raising them.





sorry on the pics yellowish cast, i think low batteries (haven't used the camera in a while) and artificial lighting mixed to do that.

I just looked in my minnow tank and found the silvery looking guys also have gave up their identity, they have developed a lateral stripe and a black dorsal fin spot, my first New Hampshire creek chubs! My goal fish of the year was achieved and I wasn't even trying!

Edited by FirstChAoS, 07 November 2010 - 07:56 PM.

I can tell from the "texture" that those are indeed Phoxinus. That almost scaleless look gives them away pretty easily usually.

I can tell from the "texture" that those are indeed Phoxinus. That almost scaleless look gives them away pretty easily usually.

Way to go, Chaos - I'm glad you finally found your red bellies! Hope they do ok, re: temp. change.