Hello! I am fairly new and young to the fishing community. However I have been fishing Silver Lake in Perry since I was a kid. This past summer I caught this fish. It might be obvious to others what it is but like I’ve said I’m fairly new to the scene. I looked at a list of freshwater fish in the area and it looks similar to some of them but not exact enough that I could pinpoint it. The elders of my family who have been fishing Silver Lake had no idea what this was either. Never caught anything but your typical sunfish and bluegill, perch, crappie, bass, your classic ny lake species. The fish was silver, like really silver, and sparkled in the sunlight. It had goldish brown fins, and besides the tail, only three of them. An angled bottom fin (seen in the picture) and basically the exact same shape fin but just on its top, and it’s two front little fins on either side. It’s eyes were a light yellowish color. The closest thing I saw to it during my research was a mooneye but they don’t appear to inhabit the lake according to the web. Any help is appreciated! Really curious to see what this little guy is because like I said, me, my family, and my neighbors had never caught one of these in Silver Lake.
Unknown fish? Help identifying.
- Thread starter Outdoorsy
- Start date
BennyV
Well-Known Angler
Kind of looks like a bream.
I did come across them while researching but I thought they were not native here? It also only had one underside fin not two but of course it could’ve lost it or something.
BennyV
Well-Known Angler
Could also be a white perch. I can’t see the dorsal fin.
Google "Roach fish" - popular fish to chase in Europe. Yours looks like an immature specimen. As a kid I used to catch lots of them in the Peconic River/Riverhead.
Definitely looks similar. I think my final two is that it’s either an immature roach like you said or just a golden shiner that made its way out into the depths of the lake.
wader
Well-Known Angler
this says red fins:
The roach is a small fish, often reaching no more than about 35 centimetres (14 in); maximum length is 50 cm. Its body has a bluish-silvery colour and becomes white at the belly. The fins are red. The number of scales along the lateral line is 39–48. The dorsal and anal fins have 12–14 rays. Young specimens have a slender build; older specimens acquire a higher and broader body shape. The roach can often be recognized by the big red spot in the iris above and beside the pupil. Colours of the eye and fins can be very pale, however, in some environments.
In Central and Northern Europe, the common roach can most easily be confused with the common rudd (Scardinius erythropthalmus), the dace (Leuciscus leuciscus), or the ide (Leuciscus idus).
Was going to say Rudd based on your description of the eye being yellow - but again - red fins (they are invasive):
It has been artificially introduced to Ireland, United States, Morocco, Madagascar, Norway, Tunisia, New Zealand, Canada and Spain.
Rudd have been found in the US states of Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin.[2] This list may not include all states containing an introduced population of rudd.
Rudd were reported in the United States at least as early as 1925.[4]
Morphologically, this species is very similar to the roach (Rutilus rutilus), with which it can be easily confused. It can be identified by the yellow eye colour. The eye of the roach has a big red spot above the pupil, that can be more or less conspicuous. The rudd has an upturned mouth allowing it to feed easily at the top of the water. The placement of the dorsal fin is more to the rear which is even visible in very young fish.
The roach is a small fish, often reaching no more than about 35 centimetres (14 in); maximum length is 50 cm. Its body has a bluish-silvery colour and becomes white at the belly. The fins are red. The number of scales along the lateral line is 39–48. The dorsal and anal fins have 12–14 rays. Young specimens have a slender build; older specimens acquire a higher and broader body shape. The roach can often be recognized by the big red spot in the iris above and beside the pupil. Colours of the eye and fins can be very pale, however, in some environments.
In Central and Northern Europe, the common roach can most easily be confused with the common rudd (Scardinius erythropthalmus), the dace (Leuciscus leuciscus), or the ide (Leuciscus idus).
Was going to say Rudd based on your description of the eye being yellow - but again - red fins (they are invasive):
It has been artificially introduced to Ireland, United States, Morocco, Madagascar, Norway, Tunisia, New Zealand, Canada and Spain.
Rudd have been found in the US states of Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin.[2] This list may not include all states containing an introduced population of rudd.
Invasive species[edit]
Rudd were illegally introduced into New Zealand in the 1960s and have been actively spread around the country. They have the potential to irreversibly damage indigenous ecosystems.[3]Rudd were reported in the United States at least as early as 1925.[4]
Morphologically, this species is very similar to the roach (Rutilus rutilus), with which it can be easily confused. It can be identified by the yellow eye colour. The eye of the roach has a big red spot above the pupil, that can be more or less conspicuous. The rudd has an upturned mouth allowing it to feed easily at the top of the water. The placement of the dorsal fin is more to the rear which is even visible in very young fish.
Last edited:
H
Hmmm. This fish definitely didn’t have any red anywhere on it. I doubt it’s a roach then. Definitely not a white perch as I think someone commented, as the dorsal fin was completely smooth not spiked, disappointed I didn’t get a picture with its dorsal fin.
Could definitely be one. Only thing throwing me off was it only had the dorsal and back fins and front fins. There was no set of fins on its underbelly. It could’ve been born without them or lost them or something, which could explain why I can’t seem to pinpoint it to anything. Seems like it’s similar to a lot of common species but one or two things always seem to be off.
Golden shiner
Used to catch them in Prospect park lake as a kid
We also called the Roach's
Golden Shiner = Roach. Red fins or not, that's what the locals always called them, along the Peconic River, including the old tackle shop that was just down the road from the Riverhead Resort Motel. Spent a few Summers fishing out of there, in my long-ago yoot. And I'm talking like 50 years ago, when I was really into FW fishing with the fly rod.
Good news is roach will hit tiny fly-line poppers intended for bluegills. Great fight too, for such a small fish. Even had some that jump like a LMB.
Good news is roach will hit tiny fly-line poppers intended for bluegills. Great fight too, for such a small fish. Even had some that jump like a LMB.
Didn’t know that! Guess I’m gonna go with golden shiner then. Definitely not rare but not many catches on Silver Lake apparently! Never caught one before or since.
Yes, the Fisherman's Deli. Hot stuff! Are they still there?
That would be AWESOME! At least one thing from my fishing formative years would have survived!
That would be AWESOME! At least one thing from my fishing formative years would have survived!
I think they are still there My Dads cousins wife Doris was the Lady who use to run it she was there from when I was a kid I loved fishing that river
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