Fish ID help?

I was told this was a Delta smelt. Is that accurate?

Here is a photo from the biological diversity website -
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/SPECIES/deltasmelt/index.html

It is said that the Delta Smelt has a distinct odor of fresh cucumbers . . .

Also here is a link for identifying: http://www.delta.dfg.ca.gov/smelt/dsid.html


John

Well, it might be a smelt or it could be a silverside.  Unfortunately, there are something like 6 species of smelt in San Francisco Bay/Delta.
Delta smelt
Longfin smelt
Night smelt
Surf smelt
wakasagi smelt
whitebait smelt



That photo and the placement of the thumb don't help matters.  Did it smell like cucumber?  Also where was it caught, some of the smelt are almost purely marine (whitebait, night and surf smelts) and the introduced wakasagi is pretty much just freshwater.  The longfin and delta smelts are the most common in Suisun bay and the delta.  From there I would need to either see the specimen myself or have a series of good photos. 

Where's Dr. Jim "InSeine" Hobbs when you need him?  He studies delta smelt for a living and might have a better gestalt feel for identifying them.

Brian

Okay, the more I look at it, the more I think it's an introduced inland silverside.  But the photo isn't great and the thumb is obscuring some of the fins.

http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/Dave+Neely/VA/IMG_7342.JPG.html

It was caught in Del Valle. I could not take a better picture without having to kill the fish and I did not want to do that. It was wiggling all over the place and it almost jumped out of my hand. 

I sure does look a lot like the silverside. Thanks!

I was amazed of how many of these baitfish (at Del Valle) that were hanging around the very lip if the shorline as soon as the sun went down. I can only assume that they were in inches of water to avoid the bigger predators in deeper water.......that's what I would do 

I was amazed of how many of these baitfish

At East Park Reservoir this summer they would surround me by the 1000's and try to eat my leg hairs... creepy/annoying feeling!