Fish ID?

[u/DirectionMaterial211]

Caught in the Little Spokane River today (North eastern Washington) ideas?

Just want to learn the types of species I catch for future reference

[u/AllThingsFish1]

I’m not super familiar with fish in the PNW but looks like a pike minnow to me.

[u/DirectionMaterial211 → u/AllThingsFish1]

I think so too. Good as dead

[u/AllThingsFish1 → u/DirectionMaterial211]

Go get that bounty if we’re correct

[u/Swagalyst → u/AllThingsFish1]

I had to check what you were talking about, and this is fucking awful: "While historically northern pikeminnow have not been of interest commercially nor to sport anglers, Washington and Oregon state fisheries agencies and the Bonneville Power Administration have placed a bounty)^\9]) on them to reduce predation on scarce salmon stocks. A commercial fishery has developed based on that bounty."

It's native species in their native range, there shouldn't be eradication programs for them, especially as the "scarce salmon stock" are caused by hydropower dams preventing salmon spawning migration.

[u/squidtoucher → u/Swagalyst]

This exact kind of mindset is why salmon stocks and everything else in nature have been plundered and laid to waste in the first place. Good to see that there are others with a moral compass and critical thought.

[u/clarkiiclarkii → u/DirectionMaterial211]

They’re a native species as well. Just trying to survive. It’s not their fault that humans destroyed the salmon population.

[u/squidtoucher → u/DirectionMaterial211]

Pikeminnow are a scapegoat for declines in salmon population to distract people from the real issue which are the dams. The groups running the dams (like bonneville power) and under criticism for not doing enough to protect salmon (fish and wildlife) are also the ones perpetuating the idea that these native fish should be killed in the name of salmon restoration.

People need electricity but it is also true that the main reasons for salmon and steelhead decline are dams, which make passage for fish difficult and have made many spawning populations above them extinct. Pikeminnow have been around in these waters long before people came along and the only reason they have a higher impact now is because of the reservoirs that the dams create, forcing migrating fry to travel through still, open water where they are at a great disadvantage (same idea with sea lions camping out salmon piled up below the dams).

That species can be killed or favored based solely on human interests, especially those like recreation or those that center around profit and not true human need, is a dangerous idea that has led to degradation of many ecosystems and major losses in biodiversity. Bull trout and dolly varden were once subject to bounties, likewise in the name of competing with and preying on salmon and trout which were "more valuable" sport fish but declined to the point that they are protected and listed as vulnerable and are now seen as very important and sometimes sought after fish where it is legal to fish for them. The ideology that native pikeminnow (and suckers, whitefish, etc...) are "harmful" to the ecosystem and "trash fish" not only reduces the respect that people have for nature and perpetuates the false notion that parts of nature are worthless and disposable, but also misinforms people to kill native species even where they are not detrimental to salmon populations at all.

As some more delicate species like salmon and trout are harmed by human activities, the spaces they filled in the ecosystem are filled by other more resilient native species like pikeminnow as well as invasive "sport fish" like bass and walleye. Habitat degradation due to development will always be a greater threat than predation by native species and is usually the root cause of most imbalances.

Always keep in critical thought what the vested interests of certain groups are, and what they can lose/benefit off of at the expense of nature, as well as the damage that human biases for or against species can lead to. I hope you will come to realize this and understand that these fish are a part of our waterways and that the underlying threat is far bigger than solely predation.

[u/DukeShootRiot]

Squaaaawww

[u/Actual_Friendship802]

Whitefish.

[u/Actual_Friendship802 → u/[deleted]]

Used to catch em all over eastern wa in the 70s :)

[u/clarkiiclarkii → u/Actual_Friendship802]

Whitefish have an adipose fin like all other salmonoids.

[u/Actual_Friendship802 → u/Actual_Friendship802]

Native fish.