# Creature ID?



## scappy193 (May 11, 2009)

went after some crappie the other day with londoncalling. we were using minnies and did get into some action but not what we were hoping for. after using minnies for a while i thought i'd dig around for some worms and under a log i found this little guy. i think its some kind of salamander. i thought salamanders lived in the water and i found him under a log in the woods. anyone have any ideas?


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## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

Definitely a type of woodland sally! Not all live in water...just head that way for breeding purposes. Hopefully someone can chime in and give you an idea of what species it is.


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## homebrew (Apr 13, 2009)

It's definitely a salamander. They breed in water and usually mature from newts into adult salamanders and leave it for damp places. It's hard to tell from the pic, but it looks like a marbled salamander. Was it black with gray markings?

On second look, it seems a bit thin for a marbled. They are pretty fat little guys.


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## striperfreak (Apr 30, 2004)

red spotted newt?


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## EE (Apr 13, 2004)

picture makes it tough, but I'll take a shot here scappy. 
It's relatively small size (compared to your hand?), body and head shape, short legs, coloration, where it was found, etc. makes me lean toward the common Redback Salamander. There's a darker phase to this species and this looks like it (most common woodland salamander in midwest, by the way). that's my best shot with that particular picture..... hope someone else chimes in.
good luck and nice find!


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## EaglePoint (Feb 22, 2010)

not sure what the name of the little guy is but they're common. my daughter who is ten wanted to try to find them last week so i took her and we ended up with six of them. i'm thinking they have to be great bass bait!


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## BarnyardMonkey (Apr 14, 2005)

Must be a hot time for the Nutes/Salamanders...i was out at Alum creek tonight and actually caught this dang thing below.

(snapped a quick shot on my phone)


















Kinda freaked me out for a sec when he came walking out of the water at me on my hook.was expecting a crappie...not even close.

hit my crappie rig in about 16FT of water in the north end.
he was about 12"-14" long, and pretty damn strong while trying to get the hook out. (the black marks on his front legs were black gills that opened up)


Have a good one.


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## spfldbassguy (Mar 23, 2009)

BarnyardMonkey said:


> Must be a hot time for the Nutes/Salamanders...i was out at Alum creek tonight and actually caught this dang thing below.
> 
> (snapped a quick shot on my phone)
> 
> ...


i bet that freaked u out..it's cool though.congrats,u dont catch something like that everyday..


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## EE (Apr 13, 2004)

Barnyard,
that is a mudpuppy. catch them in Hoover from time to time.


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

I wonder what the fish Ohio length on mud puppies is, that seems pretty dang big


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## scappy193 (May 11, 2009)

thanks for the help guys. it was cool looking thats for sure. after reading the reponses i went to odnr's site and i think you are right EE it looks like a redback.


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## BarnyardMonkey (Apr 14, 2005)

EE said:


> Barnyard,
> that is a mudpuppy. catch them in Hoover from time to time.



Good to know.wasn't sure what they were called exactly,i always called them water dogs.but that was the second strangest thing i've caught (wife not included  ), followed by an 18" Eel i caught at griggs dam a couple years ago.


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## gump (Apr 5, 2010)

Thous wally dogs are some good eating fryem up in butter mmmmmmmmmmmm


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## the duke of spook (Nov 2, 2009)

crazy ! the bigger they get the uglier they are they are all over the olentangy. I not sure probably a water dog or mud puppy.


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## patsheart (Feb 24, 2007)

Hope I never catch one of those. Some people call them Hellbenders and for good reason.


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## TerryMayberry (Dec 23, 2009)

haha....I'd never expect to pull one of those out. It would certainly freak the wife out.


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## Rainer Wolf (Apr 11, 2004)

they sell big ones like that in texas tackle shops...flip em on heavy tackle over and over in bushes 4 bass...i don't care how many bass u get i wont use one


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

BarnyardMonkey said:


> Good to know.wasn't sure what they were called exactly,i always called them water dogs.but that was the second strangest thing i've caught (wife not included  ), followed by an 18" Eel i caught at griggs dam a couple years ago.


Please elaborate (on the Eel that is)


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## andesangler (Feb 21, 2009)

Ahh, the mudpuppies. Buddy and I were fishing that area last Friday, and he caught one about that size. Also caught a larger one last fall. Funny--he hasn't caught a saugeye yet, but has two mudpuppies to his credit!

True hellbenders are different from mudpuppies, and are pretty rare. Common names are often interchanged.

Hope that eel didn't have a sucker mouth with what looks like small gravel stuck inside. Netted and killed some of those dudes in the Mad several years ago.

andesangler


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## Gottagofishn (Nov 18, 2009)

Looks like a "Puppy Ohio" qualifier.........Congrats!

As for the salamander I'm guessing a Northern Dusky salamander. Kinda hard to tell from the pic but those are fairly common.


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## Apex Predator (Feb 4, 2010)

A Hellbender gets much much bigger than a mud puppy, with feet a few inches big. Ive only ever seen 1 Hellbender in my life and it was around 20lb. Congrats on the pup.


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

So did you get any bites on the salamander? He looks perfectly bait sized...


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## BarnyardMonkey (Apr 14, 2005)

acklac7 said:


> Please elaborate (on the Eel that is)



Was trying for saugeye an hour after dark below the dam at Griggs,tossed an extra pole out on bottom with some cut shad, and got ahold of the thing.

felt like a fish till it got close and i reached down over the ledge to net it with the light..looked like a black snake raising up out of the water..scared the hell out of me for a sec.

so i cut the line and dumped the thing back in heh.

Think it's an American Eel stated on the dnr site, and the one below.
mainly in the Ohio river area i guess though.

http://www.fish.state.pa.us/pafish/fishhtms/chap9.htm


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## catfishhuntr (Mar 27, 2009)

yep thats a waterdog we used them out in arizona when i lived there for catfish bait ussualy not that big but they are great for the cats


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## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

BarnyardMonkey said:


> Was trying for saugeye an hour after dark below the dam at Griggs,tossed an extra pole out on bottom with some cut shad, and got ahold of the thing.
> 
> felt like a fish till it got close and i reached down over the ledge to net it with the light..looked like a black snake raising up out of the water..scared the hell out of me for a sec.
> 
> ...


Seriously? If it really were an Eel, that is amazing. With the dams obstructing their migration, I wouldn't expect them at Griggs....have heard some reports from Greenlawn.. Are you sure it wasn't a water snake?


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## BarnyardMonkey (Apr 14, 2005)

Mushijobah said:


> Are you sure it wasn't a water snake?



Yea, was definitely an Eel.was more black than the ones i've seen on DNR site,but everything else looked the same.glanced at him for a few minutes before cutting the hook off, and the skin resembled skin on a catfish.


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## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

Very cool..!


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## I_Shock_Em (Jul 20, 2008)

mudpuppies and hellbenders are two completely different species


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

BarnyardMonkey said:


> Yea, was definitely an Eel.was more black than the ones i've seen on DNR site,but everything else looked the same.glanced at him for a few minutes before cutting the hook off, and the skin resembled skin on a catfish.


Quite an amazing catch, akin to catching a native Scioto Sturgeon..You should be proud .

Speaks volumes for the Scioto south of Griggs.


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