Crappie minnows/Fatheads, Whats the differrence???

[Capt'nJosh]

Over a couple of cocktails in the icehouse someone asked what the difference is? None of us were able to come up with anything other than the size of the minnow. Can anyone shed some light on our discussion?

[Guest]

Nope, because you're right.

A fathead is an older Crappie minnow to put it simply.

PCG

[Steve Foss]

Is a pro crappie guide a younger pro walleye guide?

[Guest]

Walleye??? What's a Walleye?

[Guest]

just like a catfish is an old bullhead

[Guest]

Carp are "Wild Fish"

[Valv]

I thought carp was goldfish grown up !!!

Hey, why they call it Northern Pike ?

Is there a Southern Pike ?

[Guest]

In the south, Pike are called "jack" and are not as widely appreciated as they are up here. My buddy in Florida sends me pics of his fishing trips, and he keeps getting these skinny bass. They look...sickly. He also sent me a shot of a gar that took his minnow.

Is a gar a pike from a bad upbringing?

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RobertC

[LundExplorer]

Up north they call em "Chubs" while farther south they're called "Fatheads"...are they the same?

[Valv]

You guys up north are all messed up, I call "chubs' my wife
They are Fatheads !!!

I was just kidding !!!

[Capt'nJosh]

I called my wife Fathead once....

...once

Capt'n

[Guest]

try and tell her you'r kiddin

[Guest]

Let's not ask what a tuna caserole is then.

PCG

[Valv]

I did it once and she picked me up by the hair on back of my neck... you know that spot which grows into a small tail in the middle of your neck, very soft.... OUCH !!!

It's kinda like when she asks: "do I look good ?"...Man, that's the BIG trouble question, if you say Yes, she says I'm lying to get out of trouble, if I say No....I AM in trouble...there's no way out !!!

[This message has been edited by Valv (edited 12-31-2002).]

[Steve Foss]

Just looked this up in my fish/minnow guide, because I've always wondered, too.

There a lots of species of chubs. Fathead minnows are not chubs. They are their own species. But up north alot of folks just say "let's get a coupla scoops of chubs, doncha know?" and what they mean, and what they get from the bait shop, are fathead minnows.

To confuse matters further, I've seen a few small creek chubs mixed in with fatheads now and then, and some bait shops sell the actual creek chubs, which look different than fatheads.

Hope that helps . . .

You can catch creek chubs in small creeks and rivers using little hooks and pieces of worm, and they grow to six inches and longer. Where you can get them, they make good bait.

How we doing so far?

Yes, this catfish used to be a bullhead when he was a boy, and is bullheaded still, according to Mrs. Catfish.

[This message has been edited by stfcatfish (edited 12-31-2002).]

[This message has been edited by stfcatfish (edited 12-31-2002).]

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[jt24]

You can catch creek chubs or river chubs like i like to call them in drainage ditches in southern MN. Look under any culvert in the road or where its deeper and your almost sure to find them. I used to catch alot of them and use them for bobber fishing for big pike. They are the wildest kind of chub i have ever seen. Will out last a sucker any day and wont die when they see the hook like shiners do. lol Make sure to put your lid on your bucket or cool good because these little devils will jump out. Sure is fun catching them with a little hook if ya got the time. I have caught some up to eight inches or better and could just as well eat them.

[Surface Tension]

Just make sure you dont use Guardian Crappie minnows.

[Steve Foss]

Well, ST, what are you talking about? Predators absolutely target guardian crappie minnows, because if they can take out the minnows that guard the school, the school is at their mercy. Come on, man, wise up. You know as well as I do that sacrofish are a reality (that's a joke, for those of you who are inclined to take this too seriously).

[Guest]

The first fish I caught was a sacrofish. I observed some other fishers at a distance one day during my fifth summer. Stole a diaper pin and thread from my grandmother. Tied pin to thread, thread to stick. Squatted next to bank were I saw the young of the year flats swimming around. Laid diaper pin on bottom of lake with no bait. Being self taught I was unaware of the bait thing. Watched those flats swim around all
day until dusk when my Grandad fetched me. I dejectedly yanked out my diaper pin and impaled a 3 inch 'gill through the side which I triumphantly displayed to my grandad who could only shake his head. That was a sacrofish. Next day my grandad went to the hardware store and bought a tin of shot, hooks and some line. He cut me a long sapling and showed me how to rig up and use bait (bacon and pieces of hot dogs). Kept me out of my grandmothers hair as I massacreed the bullheads and pannies.

[Matt D]

Sorry I was outta town when this one came up ... right up my alley!

1) Yep, "Crappie Minnows", "Fatheads", "Chubs", "Rosy/Ruby Reds", "Tuffies", or anything else your favorite bait shop likes to call some variety of them are all a single species, the Fathead minnow (Species: Pimephales promelas). Different names are based on either size or color, but they're all the same. Technically, they are not Chubs in the proper sense as this name is typically reserved for certain species (e.g. Creek chub, Speckled chub, etc.).

I once got into an lengthy debate with my uncle who knows everything about fish and fishing (so he thinks!) and was adamant that there was such a thing as a "walleye minnow" or a "sucker minnow". He had the misconception that any small fish was a minnow and was quite surprised (and argumentative) when I informed him that a Carp is a minnow!

I'm not saying we should stop calling small fatheads "crappie minnows" -- I still do when I ask for bait. Just wanted to provide a little ammo for argument when your fishin' buddy has had one too many and thinks he knows more than you do!

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Best FISHES,
Matt

[fiskyknut]

I remember my first Walleye too. How bout a lively chub of some kind dragging around some shiner or fishbelly?

[swampman]

hi everybody! i am new to board looks like a cool site. i was in the wholesale bait buisness for a long time, my dad longer yet 40 years, so this is something i have a little knowledge about.crappie minnows fatheads same minnow diffrent size.MATT D (tuffies ) impressive nobody calls them that around here got to get south aways before you hear that term.someone stated earlier that a fathead was a older crappie minnow yes and no depends on the lake. some lakes rarely produce minnows big enough to be graded as fatheads while in another lake if conditions are right they can grow to fathead size in a couple weeks. any bait questions anyone has i will do my best to answer. good fishing!!!

[Guest]

Were is the best place to find and trap crappie/fathead minnows?

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FISHSTUNNER

[swampman]

as a general rule it will be a landlocked lake or pond so you dont have fish in that body of water. any amount of game fish will eventually eat up the minnow population.minnows can get along with bullheads to a certain degree.anyway look for a body of water at least 3-4 feet deep with a max of 10-12 feet. thats a general rule anyway.

[LundExplorer]

Yep I thought the whole Chubs thing was a misnomer from the Northland... just like "Army Worms"...

Here is another one:

What is the correct pronunciation of SAUNA

a. Sawn-ah
b. Soww-nah

I'd say "b" like the traditional Iron Range Finlander, but then hey I grew up in Hibbing...

TL

[DTro]

Hey lund, I grew up in Cook, and it's definately B. I gave up and use A around here (metro). Sometimes I slip up and use A up there. Omigosh you want to hear a room fall silent. Not only that, but I've also got that cites accent now. Could probably be a whole new thread........

[Matt D]

It's B. We had an exchange student from Finland when I was younger, and I think she was pretty certain of the pronunciation. We visited her in Helsinki a couple years later and they had a SOW-na in their house (everybody there does!).

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Best FISHES,
Matt

[Enids Hubby]

Hey Lundexplorer I'm also a Hibbing native and 1/4 Fin . And yes it is option B
And remember what the city people call army worms , they are tent back caterpillars. To bad we all can't talk ranger style

[Steve Foss]

Know a bait wholesaler in NW Minnesota who has his best luck trapping fatheads on small muck-bottomed lakes.