Help me identify a fish

I moved into a new house last year that happens to have Elm Creek running on the back property line (running pretty swift right now with the runoff). With polarized sunglasses, I can see a bunch of 12-16 inch fish that I cannot identify for the life of me. They have about the proportions of a walleye, meaning more long than wide. Their backs leading to their lateral line are very dark. Then the lateral line is light. And then another swatch of dark below that.

I have poured over all of the images of any rough fish known to live in MN and cannot find one that might match. Could these just be very large minnows that have grown to adulthood?

I am going to try to catch one so I can take a picture. Failing that, maybe I can try taking a picture through my sunglasses (does that even work)?

Any ideas?

Suckers are definitley running up creeks at this time, so are Walleyes. Any chance they could be smaller male walleyes? does it tie into a river close by?

Do a Google search on Creek Chub. See if that is what you are finding.

-J.

Jon Jordan wrote:

Do a Google search on Creek Chub. See if that is what you are finding.

-J.

Those would be some giant creek chubs. I’d guess suckers as well.

Yeah, but fish in water look bigger than they actually are.

Scoop some up in a net and take a pic!

-J.

My money is on white sucker.

After looking at pictures online, I think you are right that they are creek chubs. I am probably overestimating their size but I bet they are at least 8-10 inches still. Males. I’m going to try catching one tomorrow.

You can catch them with super small hook, light line and a little chunk of crawler. Cane pole or small bobber on a rod/reel set up. Hook em and flip them up on shore as quick as you can.

-J.

9 mile creek in Bloomington has some massive creek chubs! So could very well be

Suckers have a unique coloration this time of year. I would bet they are just a sucker all colored up. Pretty distinct horizontal color changes on them.

Craig Sery wrote:

9 mile creek in Bloomington has some massive creek chubs! So could very well be

Agreed. My uncle lived on the creek when I was a kid and we fished it a fair amount. At one time they actually stock trout in the creek, not a winner. We caught creek chubs up to twelve inches regularly. They were a blast on ultralight gear. However, hooking into a sucker really meant a battle.

8-10″ creek chubs make good bait!

An even bigger bonus if the turn out to be red tails!

Creek chubs thrown in a larger river system work like magic. I catch and use them all the time.

I’ve never had luck with creek chubs on Pool 4, but there is a time and place where a few good sticks I know hammer fish using them in the late Spring/Early Summer.

If you can get a steady supply of them, I’m sure there are people who’d love to use them.

DaveB wrote:

8-10″ creek chubs make good bait!

For what, pike?

DaveB wrote:

8-10″ creek chubs make good bait!

Have to use about a 16oz lindy sinker to keep em in place and that’s after the battle to get em out of the bait tank lol

Smallies love em on mille lacs, and about every other mn predator fish in the fall

I’d image they work decent for kitties too

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

My money is on white sucker.

Agreed, and I’ll try to get a picture from our Wisconson Interscholastic Fishing Association (WIFA) Master Angler program. We have 36 white suckers submitted during the spring run over 20″ as I just checked the Fish Donkey app we use to run the program during the calendar year. I’ll grab a pic and put up a screen shot here in a bit.

Mark

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I might be able to find a better specimen, but wanted to get one of the first pics I came across up…

Mark