Fishing Ontario Canada

 

Distribution in the area:

Faraday Lake, Limerick Lake, Lower Paudash Lake,

Name:

Notropis, from the Greek, "back keel"
cornuta, from the Latin, "horned"
Common name because it's, well, common.
Other common names include: Creek Shiner, Dace, Eastern Shiner, Hornyhead, Redfin Shiner, Rough-head, Silver Shiner, Silverside, Skipjack

Taxonomy:

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata, animals with a spinal chord
Subphylum Vertebrata, animals with a backbone
Superclass Osteichthyes, bony fishes
Class Actinopterygii, ray-finned and spiny rayed fishes
Subclass Neopterygii
Infraclass Teleostei
Superorder Ostariophysi
Order Cypriniformes, minnows and suckers
Family Cyprinidae, carps and minnows
Genus Notropis, the eastern shiners
Also known as Luxilus cornutus

Description:

One of the largest of the native shiners.

Length:

Up to 8" , averaging 2½"-4"

Coloration:

Olive-green with bluish reflections on back and sides belly silvery breeding males tinted with pink over their entire body with dusky dorsal and tail fins. one of a few minnow species having darkpigmentation behind scattered scales, giving the appearance of missing scales.

Body:

Stout and robust moderately compressed laterally scales along the sides elevated, diamond shaped in appearance broad mid-dorsal stripe, along the top of the back, subtended by 2 or 3 narrow, parallel stripes
dorsal and pelvic fins of 8 rays
pectoral fins of 15-17 rays
anal fin usually of 9 rays

Head:

Head, eyes, and mouth seem noticeably large in comparison with similar species
mouth large, terminal, and nearly horizontal
no barbel
pharyngeal teeth strongly hooked, on sturdy arches in a 2, 4-4, 2 pattern

Habitat:

Both warm and coldwater streams; in the latter, it may be found in the same waters as trout.
Prefer clear water and reach their greatest abundance in the upstream tributaries of major interior rivers.

Foods:

Both plant and animal material.
Feeds at or just below the water surface, primarily on insects.

Uses:

Common and readily caught, it is a popular bait minnow
Important forage for game fish.
Takes a fly readily and is often caught by beginning fly fishermen.

Reproduction:

Spawns in spring in riffles over gravel, with some males excavating their own small nests. Commonly spawns over the nest of a Creek Chub or River Chub as well.
Hybridizes regularly with other minnow that spawn at the same time.