SOME IMPORTANT BAIT FISHES 



the pond and left until consumed. 

 Additional food should not be added 

 until tlie tirst lias been cleaned up. 



Even with good artificial feeding, 

 suckers held over winter in hold- 

 ing ponds will be thin the following 

 spring. The best way to fatten 



them is to place the fish in shallow 

 natural ponds that have a good sup- 

 ply of natural foods. Fish that are 

 about 2.5 inches long will soon grow 

 to pike-bait size and those that are 

 3.5 inches will increase to bass-bait 

 size by June or July. 



FATHEAD MINNOW Pimephales promelas 



Also called Tuffy Minnow. 



MALE 



.^,.'«f'"^''"'?***^*' 



# 



.-4^m^ 



FEMALE 



LIFE HISTORY 



Description. — First obvious ray 

 of the dorsal fin thickened so that 

 it stands out; mouth small, termi- 

 nal, and upturned; scales small and 

 crowded behind the head; back 

 rounded and arched; lateral line 

 only on anterior half of body. 

 Breeding male with black head; 

 soft swollen pad on top of neck re- 

 gion ; bleeding tubercles on snout 

 and under the chin. Lining of body 



cavity black ; intestine two to three 

 times body length. 



The males are larger than the fe- 

 males and reach a maximum length 

 of 31/^ inches. 



Range. — The fathead is generally 

 distributed throughout southern 

 Canada and in the Ignited States 

 from Lake Champlain west to the 

 Dakotas and south to Kentucky and 

 the Kio Grande River. In north- 

 ern AVisconsin and Michigan, it 



78 



