Jack, Warren, and all of the other afficienados of the Duck River who haunt this site.
I think that at least one or two fish that I have taken from Duck might have been Fliers.
http://www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/fish/bream/flier/
I need to check more closely next time I catch one.
I probably need to start carrying my digital camera more often, too.
Ed
Wow, they sure do look like crappies. It would be too easy to mistake a flier for a crappie but it looks like they might be sport for a dry fly since it appears they like terrestrial insects.
We have them too!
I also noted in the guide, that we have 18 species of panfish. No wonder I’m confused sometimes!
Kirk
Very interesting. Thanks for posting.
First time I’ve heard of this species. I’m sure I’ve caught them before here in North Carolina. Just always lumped them in with the other bream.
bobbyg
Ed,
It is not likely the fish you caught in the Duck River are fliers. All known collections of fliers in Tennessee have been in West Tennessee, in Kentucky Reservoir and westward. Here’s how to quickly tell the difference between fliers and crappies: Fliers have 11-13 spines in the dorsal fin, while white crappie have 5-6 spines and black crappie have 7-8 spines in the dorsal fin. Hope this helps!!
Thanks for posting that Flier. I never knew they even existed and I’d never distinguish them from a crappie.
They list one of the names for the fish as Goggle-Eye, but everyone I know calls Rock Bass goggle-eyes (and they are loads of fun on a fly rod, when you can find them).
Confusing…
Gary,
Thanks for the update. I’ve got to remember to take a camera with me next time I get out. There are actually several interesting fish in our waters. One is a tiny “sunfish” that I have never been able to key out. I’ve only seen 4 of them and that was 2 pairs in the same, shallow pool. Both were guarding the next, or so it seemed. The were 3-5 " long and very elongated for bream. Thet certainly didn’t look like greens, at least not to me. Just another reason to carry my camera.
Ed
Ed,
Tennessee is indeed blessed with a plethora of fish species. Last time I checked, there were some 400 different species of fish in our state. I was fortunate to take my ichthyology course from Dr. David Etnier at the University of Tennessee more years ago than I really wish to think about! As part of my job in the past, I have sampled fish in many of the waters of Tennessee, as well as waters of the other states in the Tennessee Valley. I have often come upon surprises; fish that were living in areas no one had ever collected them from before. Things like white catfish, snail bullheads, and several species of darters and minnows. Sure made the job interesting!
As to the small Lepomids you saw, there is no telling just what they were. They may have been redbreast sunfish, longear sunfish, or even orange-spotted sunfish, but who knows without getting them in hand to check? As an aside note for your interest, we have a population "boom" of needlefish that have appeared here on Kentucky Reservoir, primarily in the New Johnsonville area. In my opinion, it is obvious they came up the Tenn-Tom waterway from the Gulf. Back in the early 1990's, I collected the first known records of striped mullet in Kentucky and Pickwick Reservoirs. I also collected inland silversides at that time. Both of these species also likely came up the Tenn-Tom. I certainly miss those fun times of field sampling!
Gary
Link doesn’t work.
Should work now.
Kirk