7 replies to this topic

[MuskieBait]

My sister and I visited our 4 Maritime provinces between June 7-17, 2015. We spent most of the time camping and hiking in various national parks. I did, however, have a few sessions to fish for some Northwestern Atlantic saltwater species. I did not fish for any freshwater species at all since 1) a different freshwater license was required for each province while we do not require any license for tidal waters 2) most trout or salmon rivers have very strict regulations and some provinces requires visitor to hire a guide to fish freshwater streams (it's ludicrous!) and 3) most of what was available in freshwater species were already caught by me in other areas of North America so I simply was not interested based on 1 and 2 above.

 

I made a challenging but achievable goal to catch a new species from each province. In the end, I caught 7 new species and accomplished my goal!

Shorthorn Sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius) - Species #464 (Newfoundland)



Rock Gunnel (Pholis gunnellus) - Species #465 (Newfoundland)



Winter Flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) - Species #466 (Prince Edward Island)



Blackspotted Stickleback (Gasterosteus wheatlandi) - Species #467 (Prince Edward Island)



Three-spined Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) - Species #468 (Prince Edward Island)



Atlantic Tomcod (Microgadus tomcod) - Species #469 (New Brunswick)



Longhorn Sculpin (Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus) - Species #470 (Nova Scotia)


 

[MuskieBait]

There were so much spectacular scenery that there isn't enough room to share here. I'll share my favourite panoramic view with you, but I so encourage you to visit my blog posts to see the rest.

 

http://muskiebaitadv...nada-day-1.html





















 

[MuskieBait]

[FirstChAoS]

Nice fish, a familiar marine assortment.

 

Living inland I do not know flatfish well. Did you make sure the flounder had scales between its eyes to rule out the near identical smooth flounder?

[MuskieBait]

Nice fish, a familiar marine assortment.

 

Living inland I do not know flatfish well. Did you make sure the flounder had scales between its eyes to rule out the near identical smooth flounder?

I did not feel them by touch at the time I held them unfortunately. I only knew about Smooth Flounder after I return home from the trip. However, looking at the photographs, I can see scales or indentation of scales between the eyes for all of the flatfishes I've photographed.

The real enigma for me, at the moment, is that all my flatfishes had their dorsal fin origin near the middle or at the rear edge of the eye. Winter Flounder's dorsal fin should originate near the anterior edge of the eye. I have a few pictures of different fish where the dorsal fin was completely erect and clearly showed this. Added to the issue is that some of the flatfishes had marginal anal fin ray count (42-43). From what I've read, Winter Flounder is higher (44-58) while Smooth Flounder is lower (35-40). Some of mine are right in between! I read in a few articles that races of Winter Flounder can be separated by consistent difference in fin ray count, due to differences in environmental factors affecting phenotypic expression such as fin ray count. I wonder if our more northern waters lowers fin ray count?

 

I'm quite puzzled to be honest...but Winter Flounder is the most commonly caught species of inshore flatfish in Atlantic Canada so I had very little reason to think these are any other species but Winter Flounder. I am considering sending my pictures to be examined by my friend who is an assistant curator at ROM in their ichthyology department.

[FirstChAoS]

I checked the NH saltwater fishing guides flounder ID chart and it says an arched lateral line is diagnostic for yellowtail flounder. However a search online shows yellowtails having pointier faces and some winter flowers having arched lines (assuming the photos were correctly IDed by their posters),

[MuskieBait]

From this link:

 

http://www.gma.org/f..._ferruginea.htm

 

Yellowtail Flounder: The dorsal fin (76 to 85 rays) originates over the eyes, its middle rays are the longest. Its anal fin is similar in outline to the dorsal, but is much shorter (56 to 63 rays), and it is preceded by a short, sharp spine pointing forward.

The fin ray counts for all my flatfish are simply too low to be Yellowtail Flounder.

[Sean Phillips]

Sounds like a great trip! Never seen coloration like that in a Longhorn Sculpin.