Last weekend while fishing Rush creek. I came across something I have only seen on larger bodies of water..
there were suckers starting to run and also something else.
there were several schools
i grabbed this one out of a large school and threw it on the bank for a pic. I’m sure they will love all the trout in the river
You might want to send that photo and your info to your local DNR fisheries office. I’m sure they’ll appreciate the info.
It is a Chestnut lamprey and they are spawning too. Use it for bait. It is a native Midwest fish and nothing to be too concerned about. Since native lamprey and other fishes have co-existed for millions of years, they have adapted so there is little damage to overall fish populations. However, in some areas of the country they are considered invasive and are managed. The bad one is the sea lamprey. They are nasty!!
Im no expert but lamprey ID but based on where it was found, I would guess it’s a chestnut lamprey. MN has 5 native species of lamprey so I guess I have a 1/5 chance. I’m sure others will chime in but if it is a chestnut lamprey, it’s one of the two parasitic species.
ok so these have been around.. I guess that is good.. just the first time I had ever seen them in a stream so I just figured it was bad!
They say a good lamprey is hard to find!! I have not seen a real lamprey since I was a little kid. Cool Pic For Sure!! Thanks for sharing! 
That’s some interesting info 
I’ve always thought that all lampery’s were invasive
Rush Creek???? Please clarify which rush creek? Are we speaking of the one in SE MN? In the Lewiston and Rushford area?
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That’s some interesting info
I’ve always thought that all lampery’s were invasive
just the sea lamprey. chestnut, silver, american brook – theyre all native lampreys. some are predaceous, some arent. hate to see muskies covered in them on the croix in the spring though.
Did some collecting for a Ichtheolgy class back in the early 80 s found lots of these little brook lamprey they are not parasitic. Can’t remember the species name. It was the 80s
back in the late 90’s me and somebodies caught a bunch of little guys like that in the zumbro river near pine island mn there were hundreds of them, we have never seen them since maybe we just havnt been around the water as much there either though…..
by rushford, MN
those things have been pretty wide spread since the 07 floods. (from what i have noticed any how) I also believe it is the non parasitic version (american brook lamprey) based on the range and the yellow fins. They breed in late april-june so I wouldn’t doubt more of you will be seeing one soon.
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