need you to identify my fish!

[soundoffreedom]

I'm very new to fishing, and caught the following in the Manahawkin Bay off of Long Beach Island, NJ on 7/1/07. I apologize for the photo being post-cleaning. The fish's back tail was longer on the bottom portion, shorter on the top. Large but relatively flat eyes, good size jaw. In total length the fish was 15 inches. Any idea what this is? It has beautiful coral-pink flesh.

[allen]

Looks like a member of the herring family to me. Bunker maybe??

[floridadeckie]

looks like a big shad. prolly a big bunker

[rhett121]

Did it look like this when it was still whole? This is an Atlantic Croaker. I don't know anything about them. But was browsing some pictures of saltwater fish.

[soundoffreedom]

I am familiar with croakers . . . and I am very confident it was not that.

At first glance, I thought I had a small striper, but those 5-6 vertical bars are throwing me off. The tail did look more shad-like. Could it have been a hybrid of some kind? Is that even possible?

[Capt. Bret]

They moved in here (CT) a few years ago, and can be caught on small lures, especially at dawn and dusk when they can be found feeding on small fish. They often come airborne in their pusuit of the bay ancovies, siversides, etc. Average size seems to be about 12-16 inches around here.

I'm not having luck uploading the image that I found, but try a Google Image search for Hickory Shad, or paste this..

http://www.printsoldandrare.com/denton/057df.jpg

Good luck!

Capt. Bret

BTW these guys make EXCELLENT live bait for Striped Bass, and Mako Sharks.

[jake61198]

I live on Long Beach Island, and your fish is a herring. I'd suggest pickleing it if you want to eat it.

[Jamisjockey]

Let me get this right. You caught a fish you weren't sure what it was but you HARVESTED IT ANYWAY?

Probably not the smartest policy. Next time you don't know what a fish is, photograph it and release it.
I'd have loved to heard the BS excuses you'd give the game warden when busted with an out of season, undersized or illegal catch.

[Capt. Bret]

Soundoffreedom.....
How did you catch this fish? Was it on a lure, or bait of some kind? Or did you catch it with a net?

The members of the herring family ( including the shads) can be difficult to distinguish from each other. After catching litterally 10's of thousands of herring for an environmental impact study a few years back, I was fortunate enough to learn the best ways to tell them apart. The main way ( without cutting them open) is their fin placemant.

On an Atlantic Herring, the base of the 1st dorsal is 1/2 the distance back on the fish. On a Bluback Herring or Alewife Herring, the base of the first dorsal is forward of the 1/2 way point. The best way to tell a Blueback from an Alewife is under a microscope.

On another note, The Atlantic Herring spawn offshore, and eat mostly plankton, bu can be caught on sabikis and tiny lures, at times. The Blueback and Alewives spawn in fresh water (April-May in these parts), and eat plankton. RARELY will you catch one on a lure. Not saying it hasn't happened, but the are traditionally caught with dip nets while spawning.


Over the last 6-7 years we have caught thousands of hickory shad on small lures (tiny jig heads with white grub tails, kastmasters, sabikis) and the coloring on this fish is a DEAD RINGER for a Hickory Shad. OF COURSE, it will be impossible to tell with 100% accuracy due to the fact that the head and tail have been removed. By the way, I had never seen a Hickory Shad in 36 years of fishing until they showed up one spring about 7 years ago, in schools that were acres across. They have been back every year. Where were they all those years? Your guess is as good as mine.

BTW, the first few years there was no bag limit, but now there is a 6 fish/person/day limit in CT.

Don't let Jamisjockey get you down. It's real easy to flame someone with their first post. I'm just trying to help. It is a good idea, however to pick up a fish ID book such as Peterson's Guide to Atlantic fishes. Most Borders, Barnes and Noble, or Aquarium gift stores carry it, and it can be priceless when it comes to Fish identification. I don't leave the dock without it. Also, it's a good idea to go to your state environmental dept website, print out the current regs, and stash them in your tackle box for a quick reference.

Good luck,
Keep fishing!
and Tight lines,
Capt Bret:

[Jamisjockey]

Don't let Jamisjockey get you down. It's real easy to flame someone with their first post. I'm just trying to help. It is a good idea, however to pick up a fish ID book such as Peterson's Guide to Atlantic fishes. Most Borders, Barnes and Noble, or Aquarium gift stores carry it, and it can be priceless when it comes to Fish identification. I don't leave the dock without it. Also, it's a good idea to go to your state environmental dept website, print out the current regs, and stash them in your tackle box for a quick reference.

Good luck,
Keep fishing!
and Tight lines,
Capt Bret:

I'm not trying to be an ass. I do a lot of fly fishing and nothing aggravates me more then someone keeping fish that are out of season, undersized, or illegal. Its like walking onto a stretch of catch and release water and seeing someone fishing with a bobber and worm and two trophy class trout on a stringer.
My point, simply put.....if you don't know what the fish was, it probably isn't a good idea to keep it. You're risking a fine or a ticket. You could be harvesting a species that is struggling. use your head, not your stomach.
Get a good book or chart for ID'ing fish. Keep it on your boat.
Good luck,

Edit: I just reread my first post. Hardly a flame. A bit snippy, sure.