# 8-23-11 Lmr



## fishymcgoo (Jul 20, 2005)

No luck with the big cats tonight Caught the right bait and everything? My boy caught a fish by mistake that I took a glance at and said it was a Gizzard Shad. Then I noticed the row of teeth. I have only caught a couple Gizzard Shad and I never noticed any teeth. I looked at some images on Yahoo and maybe a Skipjack? But do they have teeth cause I have never caught a Skipjack. Netted em, but not caught one. What is this fish? The thing put up a heck of a little fight!


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

Mooneye!!! Great Flattie bait!

Salmonid


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## fishymcgoo (Jul 20, 2005)

Not tonight it wasn't. Tried it


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## HOUSE (Apr 29, 2010)

I think both shad species in the area have a black spot. That looks like it might be an Alewife. 

I didn't think skipjack had a row of teeth like that. Here's what I have in my journal about them: 
Skipjack herring are a very silvery fish with a long narrow body that is laterally compressed (nearly flat when lying on their side). They have a large terminal (ending at tip of snout) mouth that extends to below the middle of the eye. The dorsal fin is positioned directly above the pelvic fins and they, like other Alosa sp., lack the greatly extended last dorsal ray of the Dorosoma sp. of shads. Their belly comes to a point with a single row of scales folded over the edge. This gives their belly a sharp saw like edge. Skipjack are very bright silver in color with a darker back. They have some black pigment on the tip of the lower jaw and can have 1-9 dusky or black spots along the upper sides with the most visible one being directly behind the gill opening. Skipjack differ from the closely related alewife by being more elongate and having a larger mouth. Additionally skipjack herring are only found in the Ohio River basin while the alewife is primarily found in Lake Erie.


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

The fish in question is a Mooneye as Salmonid stated.



Skipjack are much more predatory & are built as such:











Shad eat insects, but their main diet consists of invertebrates & detritus in the water such as algae & other plant life. Mooneyes are more predatory (as you can tell by the teeth) and eat mainly insects and small fish.


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## HOUSE (Apr 29, 2010)

I'd never even heard of these guys before, thanks for the info! I learn something new on here every day...

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Default.aspx?tabid=22736
Mooneye
Hiodon tergisus
At-a-Glance
 Family: Hiodontidae (Mooneyes)
 Other Names: Bony tongue
 Ohio Status: No special status
 Adult Size: Typically 12-15 inches, can reach 18 inches. Usually weigh 1 pound or less, can reach 2.5 pounds.
Description
Mooneye are a very bright silver fish with a very large eye. They have sharp teeth on their tongue and jaws. The dorsal fin begins just in front of the front edge of the anal fin and has 11 or 12 rays. Mooneye have a fleshy keel or pointed edge to their belly from between the pelvic fins back to the anus. This keel does not have a row of scales folded over the edge forming a serrated saw like edge like the shads and herrings. Mooneye differ from the closely related goldeye by having a deeper body, dorsal fin starting in front of the front edge of the anal fin, shorter keel on belly, and no gold coloration to the iris of the eye.


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

The goldeye gets even bigger (up to 20") and will eat small mammals that get into the water. 


Something else to note, that picture above of the boy holding the fish's mouth open...those teeth are on it's tongue! Not something you want snapping at you if you're a grasshopper or mouse.


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## fishymcgoo (Jul 20, 2005)

I am just glad we didn't lip the fish!


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## zuelkek (Jun 8, 2011)

That's pretty cool. I caught two of those last year in the LMR (about two minutes apart) and one this year. First time in thirty years. I called them "shad" but turns out they were mooneyes. I never heard of a mooneye until just now.


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## treytd32 (Jun 12, 2009)

heres another jack, he was 16" and doing all kinds of acrobatics before I caught him.

Has anyone caught Mooneye below the first low head on the GMR? I've never even heard of one of those before. The mouth kinda reminds me of the Predators mouth lol


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

Skipjack and tarpon look, and at times, act, amazingly similar.



Now get that skipjack off the hook, back onto a hook & back into the water! My personal favorite live bait.


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