MINNOWS AS BAITS 



OF the thirty-three hundred species of 

 fish inhabiting the fresh and salt 

 waters from Greenland south to 

 Brazil, one-half, at least, are classed 

 by the fisherman as " minnows,' ' and as such 

 would be used, when obtainable by him, as baits to 

 lure larger and choicer fish. In New England 

 and Canada, those selected as lures are compara- 

 tively few in number. In the salt waters of the 

 coast, the mummichug or " killy " are most fre- 

 quently used, and the small cyprinoids in fresh 

 waters, both fluvial and lacustrine. Of the latter, 

 the most prominent is the species popularly known 

 as " redfins." We have often been at a loss to 

 distinguish at sight the typical species of these 

 little pests of eastern trout streams, particularly if 

 those waters have been fished for a long period, in 

 which case the chubs and redfins get control of the 

 brooks. 



The typical and largest redfin in eastern waters 

 is the Notropis cornutus. It grows to a length of 

 eight inches, but its average length is about three 

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