Suckers out of the Maumee River, OH

I've been doing a lot of fishing on the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio. The Maumee is a direct tributary to the western basin of Lake Erie. There are quite a few Suckers, Redhorse, Quillbacks, and Carps running through the river on their annual spawning runs. When fishing with jigs for Walleye, we are constantly snagging or catching these suckers and whatnot. I think I know what they are, but would like some help ID'ing them.

Here's the first one...


a second shot of that first fish...I'm thinking it's either a Golden/Black Redhorse or a Shorthead Redhorse


Here's the second redhorse...almost sure this one's a Shorthead


Here's another one, looks similar to the 1st...


The final one is a Central Quillback I believe...well I'm about 100% sure of that one, it's fairly obvious that it's a quillback, I just wanna know if anyone thinks it's a River Carpsucker or anything like that.


Let me know what you guys think, I'm trying to file these photos away in my photo collection and I'm not sure where to put them quite yet.

As much as I'm beginning to loathe identifications from pictures.... However, you're doing something I have been meaning to do the last two years, one which is get down to the danged river and fish, and two get pictures of the suckers!

As for the easy one, yes the final fish is a quillback. Man, I could catch them all day. They are real wrist busters!

Now for the less apparent... My immediate impulse is to say they're shortheads, as that is the dominant Moxostomid in that river segment. However, something is keenly missing. Those tails should be on FIRE right now, look at the anal fins... They're spawning.

I think you could make an argument the final one (DSCN0395.jpg) is a silver redhorse. With the evidence present, the others are most likely to be goldens or black. None of these are sure ID's.

Try and get lip and lateral line shots next time. I know it's a hassle to take them up on shore, but you'd be doing everyone a real service. Here's a big shorthead that was clubbed to death by an ignorant fisherman.

http://gallery.nanfa...macrolepidotum/

Why I didn't post the tail and lateral shots, is beyond me... Probably because those portions of the fish were too grotesque, and I planned to do exactly what you're doing now. But in any case, those are the other pictures to include.

Good stuff though man. We'll have to go out for some rod n reel when I get back from my SE US victory lap

Have the big drum come in yet? That's usually not until later in May, but sometimes you get a real suprise early on. They some of the biggest walleyes that ever got away lol.

Todd