Went fishing on Sunday in a channel off of the Mississippi river. We were targeting big cats with live shad and cut bait and failing miserably. The water just was not moving.

So we pulled out the nightcrawlers and decided to see how many different species we could catch in one afternoon. We managed 11, though nothing of any size.

How many can you name?

I'm probably gonna suck at this, lol

A. Asian Carp

B Bullhead

C Pumpkinseed

D White Bass

E Silverthingy

F Flathead

G Turtle

H Bowfin

I Nile Perch

J Alligator Gar

K Shad

I'm probably gonna suck at this, lol

A. Asian Carp

B Bullhead

C Pumpkinseed

D White Bass

E Silverthingy

F Flathead

G Turtle

H Bowfin

I Nile Perch

J Alligator Gar

K Shad

That's kinda what I was thinking.  What the hell is that thing?

Freshwater drum.

A. Some Type of Carp

B. Channel Catfish

C. Bluegill

D. White Bass

E. Freshwater Drum (a.k.a. Sheepshead)

F. Flathead Catfish

G. Some Kind of Turtle (I don't know Turtle Species)

H. Bowfin

I. LM or Spotted Bass

J. Some Type of Gar

H. Some Type of Shad

Hmmm...I realize I suck at this, too.

A. Silver Carp

B. Channel Cat

C. Pumpkinseed

D. White Bass

E. Drum

F. Flathead Cat

G. Turtle

H. Bowfin

I. Spotted Bass

J. Shortnose Gar

K. Skipjack

Grass Carp

Channel Cat

Bluegill

White Bass

Drum

Flathead Cat

Red-Eared Slider (turtle)

Bowfin

Largemouth Bass

Longnose Gar

Dunno!

A. Asian Carp

B. Channel Catfish

C. Bluegill (female)

D. White Bass

E. Freshwater Drum

F. Flathead Catfish

G. Baby Turtle Turtle

H. Bowfin

I. Largemouth Bass

J. Shortnose Gar

K. Skipjack Herring

Grass Carp

Channel Cat

Bluegill

White Bass

Drum

Flathead Cat

Red-Eared Slider (turtle)

Bowfin

Largemouth Bass

Longnose Gar

Dunno!

Paul's got 'em all except the last one...it's a small silver carp. The water is absolutely thick with them. They won't take bait, but eventually you will snag one.

11 species on an nightcrawler in 1 day... WOW.  

And btw what size hook did you have?

11 species on an nightcrawler in 1 day... WOW.

And btw what size hook did you have?

I used a size 4 baitholder hook. The first grass carp was caught on a mepps spinner. We caught 2 more grass carp on crawlers, but the spinner caught me by surprise. I've never known grass carp to hit crawlers, but apparently the little ones like 'em.

A Grass Carp

B Channel Cat

C Red Ear Sunfish

D White Bass

E Drum

F Flat Head Catfish

G Red Ear Pond Slider

H Bowfin

I Large mouth Bass

J Long Nosed Gar

K Silver Carp

A Grass Carp

B Channel Cat

C Red Ear Sunfish

D White Bass

E Drum

F Flat Head Catfish

G Red Ear Pond Slider

H Bowfin

I Large mouth Bass

J Long Nosed Gar

K Silver Carp

You might be right about C being a red ear. I struggle to tell the difference between a female bluegill and a red ear. Especially on the smaller ones.

Even on a small red ear there will be an orange sliver on the female's ear flap. If that fish lacks the orange sliver it is a female bluegill. I can't really tell if that is an orange sliver or a little bit of blood. Red ear will also be thicker across the back and have a longer body while bluegills will be more disk shaped and narrow across the back.

11 species on an nightcrawler in 1 day... WOW.

And btw what size hook did you have?

I would like to say that I agree. 11 in a afternoon on crawlers. I think that the most you can get here in Sacramento on the Sacramento River is 4 species, & that's if your lucky.

Good post Daniel, and Paul did get most of them right on the nose. But are you sure that is a Grass Carp? They are Hybrids and they do not reproduce. That doesn't mean one didn't get dumped in the Mississippi, but they do not breed. I grew up on a lake that had them. They were gigantic.

It looks like an Asian Carp, but it is hard to tell from that angle. The main reason I ask is I would be curious as to why grass carp would be in The Big Muddy?

Needemp,

I'm pretty sure it's a grass carp. I don't know what else it could be. We caught 3 that day, all that size. 2 on a worm, one on a spinner bait. The spinner bait fish hit the moment it hit the water. Prior to that I had NEVER caught a grass carp in my life. I really only thought of grass carp as herbivores, but the young ones seem to be pretty aggressive.

Here's what I've learned about grass carp and sterility, courtesy of wikipedia:

"When used for weed control, often the fish introduced to the pond or stream are sterile, triploid fish. The process for producing triploid fish involves shocking eggs with rapid change in temperature or pressure. This process is not usually 100% effective, therefore, in the United States, the young are usually tested for triploidy before being sold."

C is a bluegill, not a red ear.

look at the soft dorsal and you can see the dark "thumbprint" that is the tell-tale sign of bluegills.