Fish ID

[JoeyM]

I'm anxious to start canyon fishing. I was just going through old pics.

Who can ID these things?

These were tiny fish swimming in our slick overnight at the edge. scooped up from the side of the boat. the first one was about 1/2 the size of the second one, and was probably about an inch long.

[backman]

2ns one is a baby mahi - I've netted bazillions of those.

I've also netted 2" wahoo and billfish.

I've never netted the 1st one which sure as heck looks like a baby tuna.

is there anything more fun then sending everyone off to bed and playing with a dipnet and a hydroglow in 800' of blue water?

[rirockhound]

better questions:
were you already out there this year...
And????? report?

[JoeyM]

better questions:
were you already out there this year...
And????? report?

no, just daydreaming. those were pics from last year. our first trip (unfortunately due to work) won't be til july 4th weekend if we're lucky.

[JoeyM]

2ns one is a baby mahi - I've netted bazillions of those.

I've also netted 2" wahoo and billfish.

I've never netted the 1st one which sure as heck looks like a baby tuna.

is there anything more fun then sending everyone off to bed and playing with a dipnet and a hydroglow in 800' of blue water?

a mahi? i guess i could buy that. it was fast as hell. the first fish didnt swim so fast, and often was on its side. we thought maybe it was injured or whatever, but other little ones of the same species were also somewhat slow.

here's another pic of the fast one:

[jamesytuna]

I agree 100% on the baby mahi. The first one looks an awful lot like a tiny mini skipjack.

[getreel]

Underwater lights and dip nets are the source of some great night time entertainment. Mahi fry are plentiful, small flying fish are usually in the mix, and I often see these toothy ones that I don't know what they are. Can anyone ID second pic, first is definitely a mahi.

I also think the one you have is a skipjack fry. I work with a marine biologist, I’ll get his opinion.

[turbor2]

Second one looks like a Cuda.

[getreel]

Second one looks like a Cuda.

That was my thought too, but the dorsal is wrong as well as breeding grounds. This is what I got back from my marine biologist collegue.

"Right on with the dolphin; the skipjack appears correct too but would have to confirm that the forebrain is pigmented. Cuda is giving me trouble; teeth are right but fry of that size should still be in the estuary / mangrove habitats. Also check out the dorsal fin; seems long for a cuda. Do you have a shot of the whole fish?"

I have him intrigued, so he is researching further.

I have seen these fish in the lights on many occasions. They are not baby wahoo or sennets and I think I can rule out barracuda. The dorsal on this fish runs most of the length of the back. It has a forked tail, so that rules out ribbonfish or cutlassfish. They do behave agressively in the lights. Anyone?

I'll make it my mission to get better images this season. This was from a August Veatch trip drifting in the deep in warm water.

[rirockhound]

That was my thought too, but the dorsal is wrong as well as breeding grounds. This is what I got back from my marine biologist collegue.

"Right on with the dolphin; the skipjack appears correct too but would have to confirm that the forebrain is pigmented. Cuda is giving me trouble; teeth are right but fry of that size should still be in the estuary / mangrove habitats. Also check out the dorsal fin; seems long for a cuda. Do you have a shot of the whole fish?"

I have him intrigued, so he is researching further.

I have seen these fish in the lights on many occasions. They are not baby wahoo or sennets and I think I can rule out barracuda. The dorsal on this fish runs most of the length of the back. It has a forked tail, so that rules out ribbonfish or cutlassfish. They do behave agressively in the lights. Anyone?

I'll make it my mission to get better images this season. This was from a August Veatch trip drifting in the deep in warm water.

Juv. Kingfish?