This is what I usually catch in my minnow trap. Whatever it is ranges from about 1 to 3 inches long in my trap. What kind of fish/minnow is it?

Thanks for your help!

When I clicked the thumbnail, it kinda looks like a crappie hatchling. They eat minnows alot so that could be why they are getting in the trap also.

White Crappie

How sure are you? I thought it was a baitfish of some sort like a shad.

Immature bluegill. Maybe take another pic with a little less glare, but the color and gill plate look like a small 'gill to me.

I'm with VolFan, I vote bluegill.

My guess would also be a juvenile bluegill, and maybe more specifically a juvenile pumpkinseed?

Jeff

Here are some more pics of them on a paper plate. They have a blueish purple tint along their back and greenish vertical stripes. Hopefully you can see this in the pics...

A few more pics

The dorsal fin would be the giveaway whether it's a crappie or gill. Next time, see if you can get a pic with the dorsal fin strected out. It's definatly not a shad.

I tried to stretch the dorsal fin out in the pics attached. Ignore the grass near the mouth in one of the pics...

I've noticed in the pictures the fish just looks like a brown color. The camera isn't picking up the bluish/purple on the back and the vertical green stripes.

Yeah thats crappie hatchlings. Just look at the thumbnail photo you have, that has the smaller and bigger ones together, you can see the speckeling get more prodominate as they grow vs the vertical stripes as the smaller one, and you can see the body shape making the transition as well, the eyes are to big to be gill fish.and the gill speck would also be bigger than what it is. plus its bedding season. so they probably just hatched.

When I clicked the thumbnail, it kinda looks like a crappie hatchling. They eat minnows alot so that could be why they are getting in the trap also.

These things are waaay to small to be eating minnows....they are minnows themselves.

Yeah thats crappie hatchlings. Just look at the thumbnail photo you have, that has the smaller and bigger ones together, you can see the speckeling get more prodominate as they grow vs the vertical stripes as the smaller one, and you can see the body shape making the transition as well, the eyes are to big to be gill fish.and the gill speck would also be bigger than what it is. plus its bedding season. so they probably just hatched.

I thought they bed in the spring not January....I could be wrong though. So you think they just hatched and are between 1 and 3 inches?

According to this site...

http://www.fcps.edu/...ack_crappie.htm

This is a young crappie...

The dorsal looks alot more bluegill than crappie. Is the water cold and clear, not alot of weeds or cover? Might be the reason it's so light in color.

We have no weeds in the pond and it's pretty clear/stained.

It's a young bluegill without a doubt. We used to catch them in a thrownet in a pond with nothing but bluegill and catfish in it. Baby crappie have bigger anal fins than bluegills do like the picture posted above. Plus if you open the mouths the bluegill mouths will be small for their bodies and crappies will be pretty big for their bodies.

Yeah, I have done some looking into baby bluegill on the internet and I think that's what I have.

Would they be good to use as bait for crappie or bass???

Yeah, I have done some looking into baby bluegill on the internet and I think that's what I have.

Would they be good to use as bait for crappie or bass???

Both, you'll catch some big ones

http://www.bio.txstate.edu/~tbonner/txfishes/lepomis%20macrochirus.htm

Baby bluegill, beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Baby bluegill, beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Definitely, and it looks like they're slightly unhealthy as well. Baby gills tend to get thicker in healthy ponds with lots of cover to hide in. I would venture to guess that you got these out of a river or wide open lake.

Nope...came from an 8 acre pond. I'm no expert but they all looked healthy to me. Didn't notice them being super skinny but not fat either.