Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1912-05-26
MORE THAN HUNDRED
KINDS OF NINNOWS
But THERE ARE ONLY 4 DOZEN
OR SO OF THESE KINDS GOOD
IN BAIT BUCKET.

The person who goes to the die
tionary seeking information as to just
what the word "minnoW' means viii
find that the minnoW is "a small Eu-
ropean cyprinOid fish, common in
gravelly streams and becoming only
about three inches long. In America
Il any Of the small species of the family
/ iCyprinidae, or of the killdshes Oaml-
/ ly Gyprinodontoidacr) also errone-
ously or loosely any Of the various
other small fishes including the young
of various larger fishes See also
mud minnOW.'
Having seen also mud minnow, the
investigator win know that mud min,
now is "any small fish of the genue
umbria allied to the pickerels, as L.
lima of the Mississippi valley" and
that they live in the mud at the
cold streams and ponds
If he continues his search he win
learn, however, that the minnow is
not necessarily a small fish, but that
there are minnoWs in western Ameri-
can waters that grow to a length Of
four and even five feet while in our
eastern rivers one species of m,nnoW
comes to the size of u foot and a
half and has been taken of a weight
of five pounds.
Minnow, as archaeological lnvest-
cation establishes, is the common
name for the members of an uncom
monty large Cyprinldae, the structur-
al characteristics of which are the
same whether the member of tn
family be two inches or five in length.
In North America the family is rep
resented by no less than forty gen ,ra
and 1870 species There Is scarcely a
stream or lake that has not from two
to thirty species Of the family and
the popular nomenclature Of each Is
as varied as the localities In which
they abound.
different Species" says DR.. Every
man, an ichthyologist who has made
minnow life a special study. will be
found in different streams, some pre-
ferring those with colder water, rocky
bottom and swiftly flowing current,
while others have chosen the streams
whose water flow more slowly and Is
warmer, and whose bottom is Of mud
or sand or fine gravel. And in the
same stream several species win seek
out different parts, some preferring
the quiet reaches, some the patcheg
of aquatic vegetation. while others
delight to dwell in the shadows OF
the rifles upon the gravel bars, VIII "a
the water flows swiftly and is well
aerated The lakes and ponds have
a similar distribution of species
If the person looking up informt-
ton bout minnows Is a fisherman.
however, It will not be the scientf G
classi1ication that viii interest him 80
much as the possibilities Of the min
now as a bait fish. lie win find that
although there are nearly $50 Naric-
tics Of minnOws IN our waters, and
Notwithstanding the wide range u
their habitat, there are not many
more than dozen Of them that ha> e
any value I'm the bait pail.
a knowledge of this fact might c1-
plain why it Is that the fisherman
who uses live bait fish for black ba.s
and other game fish SO often fishes a !
day i'm vain. To the average fisher
man ii has always been the belief
that "a minnow Is minuoW" go long
as II is small fish and Is alive. ana
consequently a natural prey for game
fish. The truth is that while there
are minnows that dwell with imrur
ity among the most voracious Of gam
fish, fishermen will bait tn ir hooks
with them In that water day after
day.
Every observant angler must have
noticed that while creek or river min
nows are effectice with bass In ponds
where the minnows native to these
ponds will not attract those fish tO