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Small Spotted Fish ID

Started by Guest_jasonpatterson_* , Jun 09 2011 08:10 PM

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14 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_jasonpatterson_*

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Posted 09 June 2011 - 08:10 PM

A number of these were collected in a small, swift flowing, shallow tributary of the Cuyahoga River in NE Ohio. I started the day with a homemade photo tank that did not hold up as well as I had hoped, so by the time I started finding these guys, holding the net was pretty much my only option for a photo. They are approximately 2" long. A mystery darter is included in the bottom right for anyone who really wants to go nuts. It's probably a female rainbow; I happened on a number of them.

Any help would be welcome, thanks much!

mystery fish.jpg 247.36KB 6 downloads

I'm attempting to use the attached file from the trip report I made for this post. Please let me know if it does not work for you in case I have it cached or some such thing.

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#2 Guest_donkeyman876_*

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Posted 09 June 2011 - 08:19 PM

I'm fairly certain what you are holding is some baby rook trout. I would check your local regs because netting in any trout waters is often illegal.

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#3 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 09 June 2011 - 08:53 PM

Yeah, you have a net full of juvenile trout which is never a good way to impress the local constabulary. The darter might be a rainbow, or even possibly a female banded? There isn't enough information in the picture.

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#4 Guest_Newt_*

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Posted 09 June 2011 - 10:00 PM

Besides the juvenile spots (parr marks), other characters that you can look for are the adipose fin (this is the small, non-rayed fin between the dorsal fin and tail, also present in catfish) and the extremely fine scales. These two characters combined with the terete (torpedo-like) shape tell you for sure you've got a salmonid.

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#5 Guest_jasonpatterson_*

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Posted 09 June 2011 - 10:33 PM

I'm fairly certain what you are holding is some baby rook trout. I would check your local regs because netting in any trout waters is often illegal.

Probably not brook trout, but yeah, looking at pictures they're definitely trout. Thanks, it's not a group of fish I'm used to catching (barring the occasional stocked rainbow when I was a kid.) I'll keep this in mind for future exploration. If it were brook trout that would be an incredibly cool discovery. As far as I know, they're only in a couple of Ohio watersheds, reintroduced, and the Cuyahoga isn't one of them. If they were reproducing there, super awesomeness. Could these be steelhead trout? I know that they are stocked in the Cuyahoga, though I don't know if they're breeding there. If I'm not mistaken none of the trout reproduce particularly well in rivers in Ohio. I can't find any Ohio fishing regulations regarding trout aside from size limits and the fact that brook trout possession is prohibited.

The darter might be a rainbow, or even possibly a female banded? There isn't enough information in the picture.

Indeed, I didn't figure it would be identifiable, just thought I'd throw it out there.

ETA: Looking at some information on the University of California's California Fish Species page DNR's page it does look like a steelhead trout based on the number of marks on its side.

Edited by jasonpatterson, 09 June 2011 - 10:45 PM.

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#6 Guest_exasperatus2002_*

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Posted 10 June 2011 - 08:01 AM

Looks like rainbow trout fingerlings.

rainbow fingerlings

brook trout fingerlings

brown trout fingerling

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#7 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 10 June 2011 - 06:41 PM

My guess would be a successful steelhead spawn. Brian Zimmerman will hopefully chime in, and give us some better info. I believe native brook trout are only in a couple tribs to the Chagrin. I do not believe the state stocks any trout that are that small. I would bet on natural reproduction. Pretty nice find.

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#8 Guest_jasonpatterson_*

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Posted 10 June 2011 - 06:54 PM

Indeed, that's definitely what it appears to be. It interesting because from what I can see they haven't stocked the Cuyahoga for at least 5 years, so these ought to be the spawn of fish that were spawned from stocked fish, a reproducing stock, that is. Whether it's sustainable or not is another question. It could also be from fish that wandered from the creeks where they were introduced, but I like my version of events better. I shot an email to the DNR's steelhead stocking folks at Fairport Harbor with the location in case it was of interest to them. In any case, it's not exactly what you expect to find in an Ohio creek.

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#9 Guest_farmertodd_*

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Posted 11 June 2011 - 06:56 AM

I've found juvenile rainbows in the Ottawa River in urban Toledo, so I'm not really sure what to expect any more

Todd

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#10 Guest_creekcrawler_*

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Posted 16 June 2011 - 09:43 AM

They're baby steelies fer sure.
I'm betting the creek you caught them in starts with a "S" . . ..

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#11 Guest_jasonpatterson_*

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Posted 16 June 2011 - 07:02 PM

They're baby steelies fer sure.
I'm betting the creek you caught them in starts with a "S" . . ..

Indeed they are. I have no idea what creek you're talking about. I imagine someone has given this creek a name at some point, but none of the maps I can find give it, nor does its name appear on any signs around the area. Had I known the name I would have given it.

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#12 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 20 June 2011 - 03:47 PM

The darter might be a rainbow, or even possibly a female banded?

In that part of Ohio it would be a rainbow darter. Banded darter are absent from the Lake Erie drainage (to the best of my knowledge).

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#13 Guest_Jan_*

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Posted 20 June 2011 - 08:00 PM

You have a trout infestation!

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#14 Guest_smbass_*

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Posted 09 July 2011 - 10:01 PM

There are a lot more naturally produced rainbow trout/steelhead in Ohio than most people realize. The Cuyahoga is a particularly good place to find them, they are in many of the tributaries to it. The Cuyahoga actually is not a stocked river and the adults who enter the river system from lake Erie are all from elsewhere. The stocked rivers in Ohio are the Vermillion, Rocky, Chagrin, Grand, and Conneaut Creek. So Yes those are definitely rainbow trout and yes Nate is right about the darter has to be a rainbow no bandeds in the Lake Erie drainage.

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#15 Guest_creekcrawler_*

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Posted 12 July 2011 - 02:57 PM

Actually, the Cuyahoga was the first river in Ohio to be stocked with steelhead.
In the 1920's!
Lot a reproducing going on. Unfortunately, I think most of the fry get cooked in summer
when temps go to high. :neutral: