...that I have ever caught. Sure, I know - you are a minnow fisherman and catch bigger ones all the time. For me though, this one was purdy darned impressive for a freshwater minnow!
Anyway, I went deer scouting yesterday in the Cascade Valley State Forest and besides the things I usually pack along, I decided to take along a fishing pole and packable tackle box. I also had a small cup with 24 meal worms in it. I brought the fishing gear with the intent of fishing a specific small pool in the creek that runs through that tract. There are fish in that pool that I long suspected were either trout or huge minnows and I wanted to catch one or three to see wat was in there. I never got there but after my scouting hike, when walking back to my car, I stopped at a culvert and saw several small minnows and a couple or few larger ones in a pool on the downstream side of the road. I threw in a few meal worms and the fish all went berserk, the smaller fish usually grabbed the meal worms and the larger ones chased them down trying to steal a morsel; although, sometimes the larger fish got to them first. After throwing in several of the creepy crawlers, I decided to wet a line.
After two of three casts which resulted in stolen bait, I finally hooked a couple of these. There were bigger fish in there too, the bigger ones could be these or maybe they are trout but I suspect just bigger ones of these. So what are these? As far as I can tell they are Creek Chubs. The NY State DEC has a pretty informative website when it comes to fish & game and I found information about NYS minnows here. Since the creek chub is the only NY state minnow with a black spot at the base of the dorsal fin and since other characteristics matched, I am pretty certain it's one of them. They grow up to 6 to 12 inches in length and this one was about 6 inches long. After catching and releasing two of them, or maybe it was three, and letting all of them go to live get bigger, I decided to toss all of the remaining meal worms into the pool. It was a regular feeding frenzy unmatched by anything on shark week - just on a smaller scale.
I would have liked to have caught more of them but my left eye was getting itchy & puffed up pretty badly, I must have rubbed it with a finger after handling the meal worms. I've been allergic to either meal worms, the stuff the keep them in or their crap in the stuff they keep them in since I've been in my teens. My eye still has been bit red and itchy on and off today. I've got to think about that before I again buy them as bait. I'd be better off going to a pet shop and buying super worms, no allergy to them even though they look alike.
Next time I am up that way, I may take a little more time and catch a few to several of the Creek Chubs (using a different bait), then find a suitable place for a fire, and cook me some small but hopefully good eats.
All the best,
Glenn B
Anyway, I went deer scouting yesterday in the Cascade Valley State Forest and besides the things I usually pack along, I decided to take along a fishing pole and packable tackle box. I also had a small cup with 24 meal worms in it. I brought the fishing gear with the intent of fishing a specific small pool in the creek that runs through that tract. There are fish in that pool that I long suspected were either trout or huge minnows and I wanted to catch one or three to see wat was in there. I never got there but after my scouting hike, when walking back to my car, I stopped at a culvert and saw several small minnows and a couple or few larger ones in a pool on the downstream side of the road. I threw in a few meal worms and the fish all went berserk, the smaller fish usually grabbed the meal worms and the larger ones chased them down trying to steal a morsel; although, sometimes the larger fish got to them first. After throwing in several of the creepy crawlers, I decided to wet a line.
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| About 10 or 12 of these would make a decent appetizer. |
I would have liked to have caught more of them but my left eye was getting itchy & puffed up pretty badly, I must have rubbed it with a finger after handling the meal worms. I've been allergic to either meal worms, the stuff the keep them in or their crap in the stuff they keep them in since I've been in my teens. My eye still has been bit red and itchy on and off today. I've got to think about that before I again buy them as bait. I'd be better off going to a pet shop and buying super worms, no allergy to them even though they look alike.
Next time I am up that way, I may take a little more time and catch a few to several of the Creek Chubs (using a different bait), then find a suitable place for a fire, and cook me some small but hopefully good eats.
All the best,
Glenn B
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