Back bay report/stupid question Fish ID
 

Figured I would cover all the bases in one title, lol....hit our honey hole in the baaaaaaaaaack of raritan bay again tonight...a little slower than last week, not many snappers around, but got to tousle with a couple rat stripers...good fun on freshwater gear...here's one of the first ones we got tonight...
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l1...926_184125.jpg
Later on in the evening, using the same swim bait down drifted along the current, Bubba hooked up with this guy....I am 99% sure its just a skinny striper, but the kid thinks it may be a herring? you can see how iridescent it is in the pictures, and the lines are not very pronounced...the fish was also dropping scales left and right, and didn't have what looked like a 'normal' striper dorsal along with a smaller mouth...also not the dot behind the gills...what do you guys think? (was about 14-15 inches, and attacked a soft plastic swimbait...here's the pics..

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l1...926_192758.jpg
looks more like a striper to me in this pic..
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l1...926_193045.jpg but you can see the scales rubbing off already, too...although the fish looks dead there, he was released and swam off, although I know that getting sand on the little guy wasn't the best thing for him...

Re: Back bay report/stupid question Fish ID
 

Nice job guys. Herring is my vote!

Re: Back bay report/stupid question Fish ID
 

hickory shad for sure

Re: Back bay report/stupid question Fish ID
 

Hickory Shad, its that time of year you find them in the back waters

Re: Back bay report/stupid question Fish ID
 

Hog bait!

Re: Back bay report/stupid question Fish ID
 

I've caught some BIG
Bass chunking shad.

Re: Back bay report/stupid question Fish ID
 

Shad for sure

Re: Back bay report/stupid question Fish ID
 

Yes shad.

Re: Back bay report/stupid question Fish ID
 

awesome! He will be pretty psyched to have shown up dad, and be able to cross another fish off his list...

Re: Back bay report/stupid question Fish ID
 

1 more vote for hickory shad. In the fall, I have caught many of them mixed in w/ stripers.

Re: Back bay report/stupid question Fish ID
 

Tough for a positive ID unless you broke open it's stomach and noted the color of the stomach lining... I don't think it's body is deep enough for a hickory shad.
Here is a image that may help.

Re: Back bay report/stupid question Fish ID
 

Definately some sort of Shad.... We caught a few years back right off Officers but it was much later in the fall.