thedude1534 wrote:
By the way, are chubs those little, scaly, silver bodied, red tipped finned guys that are in a few of the streams around here?
It sounds to me like you are talking about the mighty chub. Here's the scoop:
[color=0000CC]Creek Chub [/color] Semotilus atromaculatus
Click here for a picture:
Creek Chub
Species overview: The creek chub is one of the most common stream fishes in central and eastern North America, and it is found in all of Pennsylvania’s watersheds. Creek chubs are usually associated with transitional streams–streams that contain water temperatures typically warmer than coldwater streams and cooler than warmwater streams.
Their adaptability has allowed them to establish and maintain a statewide distribution. Creek chubs are a popular bait fish.
Identification: The creek chub may attain a length of 10 inches, but the length averages closer to four inches. The body is nearly cylindrical, tapering at the head and tail. The back is light to dark-olive, shading to silvery on the sides with purple-violet reflections above a silvery-white belly. The dorsal fin has a dark spot at the lower front corner. The head and body of breeding males are tinged with rose-purple, blue, yellow or orange. A single row of six to 12 large tubercles extends backward from the front of the snout to a point above and just behind each eye. Smaller tubercles are found on the gill cover and on the first six to eight rays of the pectoral fins.
Young creek chubs are more silvery than adults. The young also have the spot on the dorsal fin. A narrow black band extends along the middle of each side from the eye to the caudal fin base. It ends in a dark spot.
Habitat: Creek chubs prefer the deeper pools of small and medium-sized streams, but they can also be found in lakes and ponds.
Life history: Creek chubs spawn in spring when water temperatures reach about 55 degrees. Males build nests by pushing pebbles with their snouts and carrying them in their mouths. The nest is a row of gravel in line with the current flow. Males dig a depression at the downstream end of the pebble line. Some creek chub nests can be as long as about six feet. Males vigorously defend their nests. Young creek chubs feed on aquatic invertebrates. Adult creek chubs eat small fish, larger invertebrates and crayfish.
