How to Identify Minnows
While most people hear the term "minnow" and think of a small fish, there are some very large members of the minnow family. There are more than 2,100 different species of minnows in the world with 230 types living in North America. Minnows belong to the Cyprinidae family and the typical minnow has a set of teeth down in its throat rather than in the jaw like most fish. It can be perplexing to try to identify minnows but you can distinguish some of the more common types by certain markings and features.
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Instructions
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Discern shiners by their scales, which reflect light to make the fish "shine." Most shiners are only 2 to 3 inches long but some types such as the golden shiners can reach a foot in length. Shiners have one fin on the top, which is soft. The eyes, mouth and head of a shiner will seem large when compared to the rest of its body.
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Make out a chub by its stout and cylindrical body. These are chubby minnows and some kinds, like the creek chub, can grow to 10 inches. Remember that chubs live in flowing water, existing in creeks, streams, brooks and rivers.
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Know a fathead minnow from its color, which is olive on the back with yellow on the sides. Fathead minnows are a commonly sold as bait that anglers use to catch a variety of game fish. Look for a dark line along the sides of this minnow.
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Recognize the fallfish by the scales on its sides, which have a triangular bar in the front corner. Fallfish can be as big as a foot and a half but most are around 9 inches long. They have an olive-brown back and silvery sides with a whitish belly.
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Identify the common carp from its great size. This fish frequently weighs more than 10 pounds, and somestates have record carp that exceed 40 pounds. Observe the bronze-scaled body of a carp and notice the two sets of barbells around the mouth, which aid the carp as it feels along the bottom looking for food. You will see that a carp has a long dorsal fin and the anal fin has an orange hue to it.
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