The Fallfish 



The fallfish is much the largest of our eastern Cyprinidce, 

 ranking with the western and some European forms. Though 

 ordinarily not exceeding a foot or 15 inches in length, examples 

 1 8 inches or even longer are not rare. An example weighing 3^ 

 pounds has been recorded from Canadian waters, and several ex- 

 amples, each weighing 3 pounds, have been taken in the outlet 

 of Lake Winnepesaukee. The veteran angler, William C. Harris, 

 has taken a 2-pound fish of this species on the artificial fly from 

 Lycoming Creek, Pennsylvania. 



Many anglers who are familiar with the fallfish speak enthus- 

 iastically of its game qualities. The character of the waters in 

 which it lives and the large size which it attains would readily 

 suggest a minnow of unusual strength and gaminess. 



The common names which this fish has received are numer- 

 ous. The early Dutch settlers of New York called it corporaalen 

 or corporal, and elsewhere it has been variously called chub, roach, 

 silver chub, or wind-fish. 



Thoreau says it is a "soft fish and tastes like brown paper, 

 salted." 



Head 4; depth 4; eye 4^; D. 8; A. 8; scales 8-49-4, 18 to 

 22 before the dorsal; teeth 2,5-4,2, hooked, without grinding sur- 

 face. Body oblong, robust, little compressed; head large, convex, 

 the snout bluntly conic; mouth large, terminal, somewhat oblique, 

 the lower jaw included; premaxillary below the level of the eye, 

 the maxillary barely reaching front of orbit; eye moderate, rather 

 high up and anterior; a small barbel on maxillary just above its 

 extremity, not at its tip as in most American minnows) not 

 always evident in the young; scales large, not much crowded 

 anteriorly; dorsal fin somewhat behind middle of body, just behind 

 ventrals, or midway between nostril and base of caudal. Colour, 

 brilliant; steel-blue above, sides and belly silvery; males in spring 

 with the belly and lower fins rosy or crimson ; no spots on the fins. 



74 



