More dabs

It is a smelt.  AKA Candlefish.  AKA Eulachon.  They are high in oil content.  The native americans used to dry them then stand them on end and light them like a candle.

-Allen

sorry but a smelt like we have them down here is different from a candle fish.  we do not have candlefish down here.

(this is why brian[steve] should answer my question about baitfish. I guess he doesn't do bait fish?)



okay this is a jacksmelt, but all the smelt I have caught look like this. even the 3" ones. the mouth is distinctive.

and once I caught one of these (actually I caught two)



and brendan dismissively told me I had a smelt. But I didn't, I had a mackerel!   
brendan is still the best kayak fisherman I know however... 

I have caught some other weird baitfish, but I think they were juvenile game fish.  have you every caught
undersized lings on a sabiki? I have, I think pat called them "fingerlings", which is pretty funny! 

J

sorry but a smelt like we have them down here is different from a candle fish.  we do not have candlefish down here.

Actually, the Eulachon (Thaleichtys pacificus) is found down to Monterey Bay.  Well, at least when I did a Google search, the info I found suggests that is the southern end of their range.  Also, we have surf smelt around here, at times there are A LOT of them.  They are different than jacksmelt.

I have caught some other weird baitfish, but I think they were juvenile game fish.  have you every caught
undersized lings on a sabiki? I have, I think pat called them "fingerlings", which is pretty funny! 

I've caught many lings on a sabiki.  In fact, I've caught many unintended fish on a sabiki.  One time I had 3 small 6-7" blue rockfish AND a 29.9999 inch ling on a sabiki I was jigging midwater.  I'm guessing the ling came up off the bottom to feed on the suspended school of blues.  I had to release that ling as that was the 30" minimum year.

-Allen

jacksmelt and surfsmelt are different, but look real similar. little mouth for their size. the jacksmelt average 10", go to 18",
while surfsmelt average 6-8" and sometimes get to 10".

either way, they are not candlefish. vic dunaways 'sport fish of the pacific' lists candlefish as eulachon and
candlefish as an alternate name.

I have not had much exposure to bay 'shiners', i guess these are threadfin shad? which are different than lake shad?
I guess 'shad' is like 'minnow' and more or less means 'baitfish', 

Actually to me, jack smelt and surf smelt look very different.  Different mouth structure.  Different body and head shape.  And take closer look at the pectoral fins.  Tails are even different.

Now jacksmelt and topsmelt look very similar.

Bay shiners are shiner perch.  I've never heard of them being referred to as shad.  Lake shad are threadfin shad.  And don't confuse any of these with American shad.

-Allen

maybe your surfsmelt is not the surfsmelt in vic dunaway's book. he has a couple other smelt in there that look totally
different from what I am calling surfsmelt and jacksmelt. whitebait smelt. rainbow smelt. He does not list a topsmelt.

thanks for the note on shiner perch. dunaway lists threadfin shad as appearing in brackish water too.

His note:

threadfin shad

this is a common freshwater forage species that was introduced to Califorinia some 50 years ago and
now is often encountered in tidewaters and bays, and even offshore to some extent in CA and OR.

So I lept to the conclusion that the 'shiners' they buy for $1.50 each were these.

I read a lot of john mcPhee, including his entire book on american shad, so I'm at least pretty familiiar with those!

looks like we need a mooch laminated page for baitfish!

Surfsmelt, Hypomesus pretiosus ... is that what he lists?

-Allen

chapter 20, herrings and baitfishes includes but is not limited to:

American Shad (Alosa Sapidissima)

Eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus)

Jacksmelt (Atherinopsis californiensis)

longfish smelt (Spirinchus Thaleichthys)

Northern Anchovy (Engraulis mordax)   (where do these go in the winter?)

Pacific herring (Chapea pallasii)

pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax)

rainbow smelt (osmerus mordax)

Surf smelt (Hypomesus Pretiosus)

Threadfin Shad (Dorosoma pretenense)

Whitebait smelt (Allosmerus elongatus)

His too pictures do show a different tail as you say, and the dorsal is different, but the basic long non-compressed
shape with a small mouth right at the end of the fish exists in both jacksmelt and surf smelt.

There is some kind of thread herring that is in warmer waters that has a shape a lot like a threadfin shad. And I guess
many herring can go back and forth between salt and fresh.

He lists shiner surfperch as Cymotagaster aggregata and it looks like a surf perch, just small. They use these for bait?

Top smelt ... Atherinops affinis.  Looks a whole lot like a jacksmelt.  I don't know the difference myself.  They're all jackies to me.

Look at the pectoral fins on the jack vs. surf.  They are way different.

And the mouth too.  The jacksmelt is more on the front side and straight across.  The surf smelt extends further back.

The coloration is different too.  The surf smelf have an almost yellow strip on their side below the midline with a very white belly.  You can sort of see it in this very bad picture.



Then again, silvers and kings look very different to me too.

Shiners are an excellent bait.  They work well for bay butts and stripers.  Up in WA they see a lot of duty as ling baits too.

-Allen

Edit: fixed up the picture link

maybe I have mainly caught topsmelt. 3" to 10".  usually on the sabiki, near the kelp. they hit in swarms.

maybe I have not caught surfsmelt after all?

image of topsmelt: