Montana Outdoors magazine Photo by Eric Engretson This story is featured in Montana Outdoors May–June 2008 The burbot is unlike any other fish in Montana—or the world, for that matter. Also known as ling, it is the only freshwater member of the cod family and is closely related to Atlantic cod, haddock, and pollock. Some biologists speculate that the burbot was once a saltwater cod before becoming landlocked millions of years ago during a continental shift or flood. If that sounds farfetched, consider this: The burbot is the only freshwater fish to spawn in midwinter—and at the exact time saltwater cod spawn. Appearance The burbot looks something like a cross between an eel and a catfish. It is marked by a single barbel on its chin (the fish’s name comes from barba, the Latin word for “beard”). The slender fish has tiny, imbedded scales that give it a smooth feel. The body is cream or pale green with dark brown or olive green mottling. Slow for a fish, the burbot uses its camouflage to hide from minnows and other small species.

When they swim close enough, it grabs them with its massive mouth, which is lined with several rows of tiny teeth. The burbot has a disturbing habit of wrapping its body around an angler’s arm like an eel. Range Burbot are primarily a fish of northern waters, including those of northern Europe. They are found in clean, large rivers and deep, cold lakes. In Montana, burbot inhabit the Missouri, Big Hole, Beaverhead, Ruby, Madison, Yellowstone, Milk, Poplar, Bighorn, lower Clark Fork, and lower North Fork of the Flathead rivers. Reproduction Witnessed only by a handful of biologists and ice anglers, the burbot’s spawning ritual is nearly mythical. In early February, the fish move from the depths of rivers and reservoirs to shallows over mud flats or sandy shoals under the ice. The fish then congregate in a living glob of up to a hundred or more intertwined bodies that move in and out of the quivering sphere, releasing eggs and spawn. The great North Woods author and naturalist Sigurd E.

Olson once witnessed the spectacle through a large ice hole and described it as “a struggling, squirming mass of fish, the long brownish snaky bodies twisting around each other, the entire contorted mass turning over and over, beating the water to a foam.” Feeding Burbot are voracious predators that will eat about anything they can find—primarily fish but also frogs, snakes, and even baby swallows that fall into the water. Their tendency to bite lures and bait makes burbot easy to catch. The fish are most active at night, and anglers do best using a minnow-tipped jig. In addition to their catchability, burbot are great to eat. The meat is dense, flaky, white, and free of bones (though it becomes rubbery and inedible after being frozen and thawed). Like that of cod, the burbot’s liver is rich in vitamins A and D. French connoisseurs prize the foie de lotte de rivière (liver of river cod) poached in white wine. Management A native Montana fish, the burbot may be declining in number from overharvest as well as dams, which restrict river migration.

Recent studies of burbot on the Missouri River show a distribution similar to that of rainbow and brown trout. Burbot numbers are highest near Holter Dam, progressively declining downstream. On the lower Yellowstone River and its tributaries, FWP biologist Matt Yeager is in the last year of a four-year study that tracks burbot to see where the fish go during different times of the year. This baseline information will help biologists in the future better understand how factors such as water temperature and river flow affect burbot movement and populations. Tom Dickson is editor of Montana Outdoors. Burbot Lota lota pout eelpout freshwater cod lawyer lush ling poor man's lobster maria loch Burbot, like all codfishes, spawn in the wintertime. Some populations migrate out of their home lake and into connected tributary streams to spawn, while others spawn on rocky reefs and shoals right within their home lake. A single lake may harbor both migratory and non-migratory populations of burbot. Male burbot make a "drumming" noise by rubbing special sound-producing muscles against their swim bladder. Their mating call sounds almost exactly like a grouse drumming.

Spawning burbot form a tight, wriggling ball of males and females. Eggs are deposited randomly from the spawning mass. Noted wilderness writer and conservationist Sigurd Olson encountered the spawning burbot in the winter of 1945: "It was February and the mercury was down far below zero. We had come in the middle of the night to watch the spawning of the eelpout, those brownish, eel-like deep water fish that thrive in the coldest lakes of the north ... As we neared the upper reaches of the Burntside River, we could hear the rapids murmuring through the dark. It was at this spot we would see them for they need shallow water, gravel and sand for their breeding. Not until we were within ten feet of the bank did we shine our lights, and then saw such a sight as few have ever seen—a struggling, squirming mass of fish, the long brownish snaky bodies twisted around each other, the entire contorted mass turning over and over beating the water into foam ... I had seen that night a primitive picture that I could never forget, a picture of what might have taken place in some cold primeval pool millions of years ago.

There was life in the raw obeying the great urge to reproduce, the one implacable law of creation." Sigurd F. Olson The timing of this spawning event can be difficult to predict. In general, it occurs between the beginning of January and the end of March, with southern populations spawning earlier than those farther north. There is much speculation with regard to exactly what natural phenomena stimulate the burbot to migrate and spawn, including full moons, dark moons, equinoxes, water temperature regimes, and day length. Establishing solid run-timing is essential for mastering your local burbot population. All that can be said with certainty is that spawning happens in the wintertime over a period of 1-2 weeks. The smaller males begin arriving in the river several weeks before the spawn. In the days just before and after the spawn, the large females appear. During this time, rivers with good burbot runs can positively fill up with fish and spectacular winter angling can be had. Burbot eggs are very small. A large female can produce several million eggs during a single spawn. Young burbot live in shallow water, often curled up under flat stones in riffles or on the tops of rocky reefs and shoals in lakes.

Tactics Burbot naturally feed on ... anything. Although their most common food is other fishes (including smaller burbot), they will also eat crustaceans, amphibians, and even birds and squirrels. In essence, anything in the water is fair game for a hungry burbot. Burbot will take both live bait and artificial lures. Bottom-fishing tactics that work for catfish will also work on burbot. Large minnows or smelt, both alive or dead, are good options for bait. Burbot will also take nightcrawlers. Lures such as jigging rapalas, heavy jigging spoons, and swedish pimples work wonders on burbot when fishing through the ice as well. To find them, look for deep water with a rocky bottom. Burbot are predominantly nocturnal, so concentrate your burbot fishing efforts at night. This might not hold true during their spawning run, however, so keep an open mind and start your fishing foray in the daytime. Top is my favorite open water rig - the half hitch rig. Dacron is the ideal leader line but braid works well too.

A single half hitch helps a ton but with a whole baitfish I usually use 3-4 half hitches working from head to tail. That really holds the smelt when the rips are trying to rob you blind. The bottom one is my favorite ice set line rig. Glow spoon with a smelt chunk on circle hook dropper. Jig it occasionally, otherwise let it sit and flip around in the mid water column currents. Hasn't been a high percentage rig but it has taken a fair number of burbot and has saved the day for me a least a couple times. Tony Schollmeier Burbot can be strong fighters once they reach a certain size. They are not above retreating into a crevice or under a log once hooked, so be sure to tighten your drag when fishing for burbot in heavy cover. In late May I head to the Deh Cho region to fish the mighty Liard River. Longtime Roughfishers have seen most of following pics. Some of the most exciting fishing I've ever had. My personal best fish was 17 lbs and 41 inches landed last year. I've caught several others over 10 pounds the last few years.

Fishing the Liard for burbot is bait fishing in this chocolate brown water. My usual setup is a three-way swivel rig still fished from shore with a cisco threaded through the lips on a large Gamakatsu hook and as large a weight as I can comfortably cast from shore. Burbot are extremely adept at finding the bait. I've chummed the water by tossing cut pieces of cisco into the river from shore and found ever single piece in the burbot I've caught after cleaning them later. As far as subarctic fish go, they are the best eating around in my opinion. Mike B Ice Fishing Burbot | Strategies for Freshwater Ling Cod Ice Fishing Burbot (Fresh Water Ling Cod) Ice Fishing Burbot (Fresh Water Ling Cod) The burbot is arguably one of the ugliest creatures to inhabit our local waters. Ugly to the point that it is unimaginable how anyone could have ever decided to try and eat one! 😯 But thank goodness someone did because if you can get beyond their appearance they are one of the tastiest morsels that you can pull from the depths. This article is about ice fishing burbot, but first, a bit of information about them …….

Ice Fishing Burbot (Fresh Water Ling Cod) | History .. Burbot is one of many common names for Lota lota, the only freshwater member of the cod family. It has a variety of other names across North America but in B.C. is often referred to as eelpout, cusk, freshwater cod or ling cod. Ling cod, however, is a saltwater fish unrelated to the burbot. At first glance burbot look like a cross between a snake and a bullhead! They have a long body tapering to a rounded tail, a flat head with a long snout and a large mouth. They have a barbel on their chin and nostrils and two fins on their back … the first behind its head quite short and the second much longer. Burbot vary in colour from very pale to very dark, but are usually olive coloured with mottled, darkish markings on the back and sides and a yellowish or dusky coloured belly. The Burbot is protected by a heavy covering of mucus which gives it a smooth and slippery feel when handled. Burbot are found in many lakes and rivers throughout British Columbia.

They usually spends their time on the bottom in the deep cool areas of these lakes and rivers, and have been caught as deep as 200 meters. Burbot are predators. Their diet includes whitefish, kokanee, juvenile salmon, suckers, stickleback and perch, crayfish, fish eggs & shrimp. Younger fish feed on aquatic insects. They are primarily nocturnal feeders that slither their way up from the depths to forage & hunt by ambush locating their prey first by smell, then by vibrations as the prey nears. Finally, when the prey is close enough, they make a rapid, close-range attack. They will continue to feed right through the night and can therefore provide hours of fishing action and fun! Unlike any other Canadian freshwater fish, the burbot spawns in mid-winter (January through March) usually under the ice. They spawn at night, in shallow water up to one meter deep, over sand or gravel. Spawning usually takes place in lakes but occasionally in rivers. Female burbot can carry more than a million eggs. These eggs hatch after about 30 days and then go through a larval stage before growing into a fry.

In BC, burbot live to a maximum age of about 20 years. Some anglers would rather cut their line than handle these slimy creatures but the truth is that burbot are fun to catch, typically large, and make a fine meal when properly prepared. They are often referred to as the poor mans lobster and many anglers have discovered that they are excellent for fish and chips. Here’s how to fish them ………… *** regardless of where when and how you plan to fish Burbot, please check the regulations before heading out to be sure you are in compliance with the rules for your area. Ice Fishing Burbot (Fresh Water Ling Cod) | How to … As mentioned, burbot prefer cold, deep water and for this reason lakes and rivers are most productive when they are frozen. Burbot will also seek shallower water in the winter because the deeper water becomes oxygen depleted and offers less food. Most will move into water 25 feet deep or less therefore placing them at comfortable ice fishing depths. Add to this the fact they they are nocturnal creatures and the stage is set for some evening ice fishing fun!

Burbot, at least in our experience, rarely run hard when hooked and therefore your standard ice fishing rod or simple spool of line matched to the size of fish in your area will suffice. The terminal tackle can be as elaborate as you like but with burbot we like to keep it simple. Ice jigs, spoons, spinners, glo hooks, rattlers or just plain large hooks and bait will all work. Also, since you need to fish near or on the bottom, weights should be added about 18 to 24 inches above the bait. In BC, at the time of this writing, any chunk of meat from any creature other than a fin fish is legal and works well. Roe also works as do chicken livers, squid and worms. And, it seems with burbot, that quantity is more important than quality so to enhance your odds at enticing one of these voracious carnivores be sure your bait is large! Last but not least, if the bait alone doesn’t do the trick it can be a good idea to try and attract their attention visually through movement via jigging … and as a tip, burbot seem to like their food big but their motions slow.

😉 Ice Fishing Burbot (Fresh Water Ling Cod) | Iceless … In British Columbia’s Thompson-Nicola Region 3, we know of only four lakes that offer the opportunity to fish burbot – Nicola, Douglas, Mamit & Kamloops Lakes (if you know of others please let us know in the comments section below). And of these four, only one, Kamloops lake, has a retention quota while the remainder are (at least currently) catch & release only waters. A further anomaly with Kamloops lake is that it’s low elevation rarely allows it to freeze up enough to offer safe ice fishing opportunities. So, to take advantage of it’s close proximity and abundant, retainable freshwater cod supply, you have to fish them from shore. The gear to shore fish open water burbot is quite different from the regular ice fishing equipment as you will need a rod with the ability to cast out from shore and into to deep water. We’ve been using our salmon rods rigged with 20 – 30 lb mainline but any casting rod with a capable reel will work. Other components of the setup include snap or barrel swivels, egg sinker weights, 8 – 12 lb leader and a good bait hook.

The rigging consists of the egg weights slid onto the main line before the swivel is tied on. Next a 3 – 5 foot leader is tied to the swivel and a hook attached to the terminal end. Finally, the hook is baited and you’re ready to go! The bait is the same as for traditional burbot ice fishing, big and stinky, and we have had good success with squid, eel and chicken livers. So now that you’re rigged up the only thing left to do is cast out, let everything sink to the bottom, reel in the slack until the line is tight with only a slight bend in the rod, and wait for a bite. 🙂 Ice Fishing Burbot (Fresh Water Ling Cod) | Tips & Tricks .. Winter is already cold but sitting in it through the wee hours of the morning makes it feel even more so. Be sure to dress appropriately and bring something to sit on to insulate your body from the cold ground. You will need both hands to play a fish so if fishing at night a headlamp is a must! A rod holder is helpful. The perfect amount of weight is just enough to hold bottom while maintaining a slight bend in the rod.

Burbot bites are not hard and fast so pay attention to the rod tip for any slight movements. When fishing at night, bring a flashlight to illuminate your rod tip so that you can see it well enough to notice the slightest twitch. A bell on the rod tip can be helpful as well. If you go a while without a bite try reeling up a bit to slide the bait into a different zone or try casting to different locations until you find a spot that works. When you do get some action do not set the hook right away but instead grab the rod and hold on until you feel that the burbot is consistently on the bait before striking. Bring a bonker to humanly kill any burbot that you intend to keep. And, here’s a video ……. (thanks Evan!) So that’s it folks! There’s really not a lot to it so whatever your preconceptions set them aside long enough to give ice fishing burbot a chance … we’re sure that even the loudest critics will be cracking a smile and licking their lips after battling and battering a lunker!

… and on that note, if you get lucky be sure to try Mamma Rosa’s Simple but Delicious Fried Burbot Recipe where you’ll not only learn how to cook but also how to skin a burbot! 🙂 *** for more ice fishing strategies please hit up & review our ice fishing category here! Like our stuff? Subscribe by best way to catch eelpout freshwater ling cod bait The Greatest Fish You’ve Never Seen The Greatest Fish You’ve Never Seen A look at some fascinating though little-known species. By Tom Dickson. Illustrations by Joseph Tomelleri This story is featured in Montana Outdoors July–August 2002 Fish intrigue me. I’m awed by their sleek shapes, colorful variations, patterned scales. Even more, I’m drawn to their mysterious allure. Scientists, who have scrutinized every gland and gesture of mule deer and mallards, know surprisingly little about the state’s finned fauna. And no wonder. Beneath the dark surface of rivers and reservoirs swims a world few people can ever see, much less study. Sure, anglers know about game fish—trout, walleyes, and the dozen or so other varieties sought for flesh and fight.

But the majority of Montana’s 84 species, ignobly named “forage fish” or “rough fish,” remain unnoticed beneath the hulls of passing boats. These rarely seen creatures range in size from tiny darters smaller than your pinkie to white sturgeons big as a park bench. Some are drab colored, like the washed-olive smallmouth buffalo; others, like the Iowa darter, dazzle the eye with their spawning colors. Collected here are several little-known native fish I find particularly fascinating. A few are visually stunning. Others behave extraordinarily. All of them, combined with the state’s other fish species, make up a large portion of Montana’s extensive underwater ecosystems. White Sturgeon Montana is fortunate to be home to three fascinating sturgeon species—the white, the pallid, and the shovelnose. All three look like a sucker-shark hybrid (if such a thing were possible). A sturgeon’s long, rubbery snout is shaped like a bullet. Its suckerlike mouth projects down from the underside of its snout and, like a vacuum tube, sucks crayfish, nymphs, and other small aquatic animals the fish eats.

All sturgeons have a long, cylindrical body that ends in a sharklike tail. And, like a shark, the sturgeon is a prehistoric fish. Modern specimens look exactly like those in 100-million-year-old fossils. The name sturgeon comes from a Germanic root meaning “to stir” or “to poke around,” referring to the way the fish stirs up river bottoms when feeding. Though all sturgeon species are remarkable creatures, it’s the white that most captures the imagination. For one thing, it is the largest freshwater fish in North America. The species ranges from Alaska to southern California, and specimens caught in the early 1900s weighed more than 1,500 pounds and measured over 15 feet long (Montana’s state record, however, was a relatively small 96-pounder caught in 1968). For another, Montana contains the only naturally land-locked population of white sturgeon. This sub-population of white sturgeon is found only in 168 miles of the Kootenai River from Kootenai Falls, 31 miles downstream of Libby, north to Kootenay Lake in British Columbia.

Scientists believe this population was cut off from the rest of the Columbia River drainage by glaciation 10,000 years ago. That formed the falls, which prevented white sturgeon—an anadromous species that ordinarily lives part of its life in the Pacific Ocean—from moving downstream to the Columbia River. Water pollution in the 1950s and ’60s caused the white sturgeon population to decline, but what really hurt the fish was the construction of the Libby Dam in 1975. This altered historical water level regimes needed for sturgeon spawning, blocked their upstream movement, and trapped nutrients that previously had fed the ecosystem downstream. So low did the population drop that it was put on the federal endangered species list in 1974. Burbot The burbot—also known as ling, ling cod, and lawyer—can’t forget it’s the only freshwater member of the cod family. This close relative of Atlantic cod, haddock, and pollock is one of the few freshwater fishes to spawn in winter—the same time ocean cod spawn in the Atlantic Ocean. The catfish-shaped burbot is marked by a single barbel on its chin and a mottled pattern of brown blotches on a yellow background.

Slow for a fish, the burbot uses its camouflage to dupe minnows into swimming within striking distance. Though considered a game fish, the burbot is often disdained by anglers put off by the fish’s habit of wrapping itself around their arm like an eel as they try to remove the hook. One friend refers to burbot as the “ish of fish.” Seen only by a few biologists and ice anglers, the burbots’ spawning ritual is almost mythical. In early February, they move from the depths of rivers and reservoirs to shallow water over mud flats or sandy shoals. The snakelike fish then congregate in a living glob of from a dozen to a hundred or more intertwined bodies that move in and out of the quivering sphere, releasing eggs and spawn. Noted north woods author and naturalist Sigurd E.

Olson once witnessed burbot spawning through an opening in the ice and described the spectacle: “We…saw such a sight as few have ever seen—a struggling, squirming mass of fish, the long brownish snaky bodies twisting around each other, the entire contorted mass turning over and over, beating the water into a foam.” Burbot are primarily fish of northern waters—including those of Europe—though some occasionally turn up as far south as Missouri. Most swim in clean, deep lakes and rivers. Scientists have found them as deep as 1,000 feet in Lake Superior. Like that of the cod, the burbot’s liver is rich in vitamins A and D. French connoisseurs prize the foie de lotte de rivière (liver of the river cod), either poached in white wine or made into pâté or canapés. The meat is codlike, too—white and bone-free. Mottled Sculpin This little fish, which looks like a cartoon bullhead, is well known to fly anglers, who use deer-hair-and-feather imitations (such as the Muddler Minnow and Marabou Muddler) to catch trout.

The mottled sculpin’s scientific name, Cottus bairdi, comes from the Latin word for fish and S.F. Baird, who headed the U.S. Fish Commission in the late 1800s. Like its nearly similar-looking Montana cousins—the spiny, shorthead, torrent, and spoonhead sculpins—the mottled has an oversized head that tapers down to a small body and tail. Adult mottled sculpins average about 3 to 4 inches long, though some monsters over 6 inches have been reported. In Montana, mottled sculpins are found primarily in clear, fast-flowing mountain streams in the Missouri, Saskatchewan, and Yellowstone river drainages. They live in riffles, feeding on midge and caddis fly larvae and also trout eggs and fry, though not to the point where trout populations are harmed. Mountain Whitefish The strike indicator pauses, up goes the rod tip, and now you’re directly hooked to 18 inches of muscular mountain whitefish roaring downstream.

Related to trout, salmon, char, and grayling, the mountain whitefish is one of three whitefish species (lake and pygmy whitefish are the others) that swim in Montana waters. Like the trout that inhabit the same streams and rivers, the mountain whitefish has a long, muscular body that ends in a small head. Unlike trout, however, the whitefish has a lipped mouth, which it uses to slurp up midge and caddis fly larvae from the river bottom. Because of its mouth, many anglers mistake the whitefish for a type of sucker. Mountain whitefish are found on either side of the Continental Divide. They stick mainly to clean rivers, and their presence indicates good water quality. Conversely, their disappearance warns of water pollution. Some anglers express disappointment to learn they’ve hooked this common river fish rather than a trout—apparently because whitefish take bait and lures more readily than trout do and are thus less of a challenge. Yet the whitefish fights hard, grows to over 3 pounds, and in swift current can take a fly line into its backing. Blue Sucker Here is an aristocrat among warmwater fish.

With its elegant shape, striking coloration, and acute sensitivity to pollution, the blue sucker seems more like a trout than a sucker. But sucker it is—one of nine species in Montana. Like all suckers, the blue is named for the toothless, lipped mouth it uses to pick up food. In clean, fast-flowing waters, the blue sucker pokes its elongated head among stones in search of scuds, mayfly nymphs, and other invertebrates it chews in its throat (pharynx) using broad molars called pharyngeal teeth. Though sometimes confused with the exotic carp, an import from Germany, suckers are of no relation to that oversized minnow. Suckers are found only in North America, except for those swimming in China and northeastern Russia, where scientists believe the fish migrated millennia ago across the Bering Strait. North American suckers can be grouped roughly into four categories: the buffaloes, the carpsuckers (no relation to the aforementioned exotic), the redhorses, and the suckers—one of which is the blue.

As is the case for many warmwater species, central Montana marks the western range of the blue sucker, which is found throughout the Missouri-Mississippi river system east to Pennsylvania and south to the Gulf of Mexico. The fish is uncommon in Montana, though occasionally one is caught by a lucky angler fishing the Missouri or lower Yellowstone (the state record, an 11.46-pounder, was landed near Miles City in 1989). Freshwater Drum Space limits listing the amazing traits of this remarkable fish. Ranging from mid-Canada to Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, the freshwater drum boasts the largest north-south range of any North American freshwater fish. It is also the only freshwater member of the drum family, which includes the ocean fish served as “blackened redfish” popularized in New Orleans restaurants. This silver, bass-shaped fish is known to scientists as Aplodinotus grunniens. Anglers call it sheepshead, croaker, and thunder-pumper. The name in Louisiana is gaspergou (from the French casburgot—literally, “to break a clam,” referring to its ability to crush mollusks in the heavy molars that line its throat).

Among the drum’s other extraordinary features: The ability to grunt. By vibrating a unique set of muscles and tendons against its balloonlike swim bladder, a male drum creates a grunting sound in spring during breeding season. The sound is thought to attract females from a distance. A lateral line extending to the end of the tail, rather than just to the base, as on other fish. This allows the drum to pick up extra vibrations and better locate food and enemies. An oversized otolith. This white half-sphere of rock-hard calcium, found in the inner ear of all vertebrates, is especially large in freshwater drum. Smooth on one side, rough on the other, the otolith floats on cilia and helps the fish stay balanced and oriented in murky water. Eggs that float on the water surface until they hatch, sometimes traveling for miles on rivers or wind-swept lakes before the tiny fry emerge. The uniquely buoyant eggs may help account for the drum’s continent-wide range. In Montana, drum are found only in the lower Missouri and Yellowstone rivers and in a few tributaries. Excellent table fare, drum can be filleted and prepared like a walleye or bass.

Shortnose Gar To call a gar a living fossil is no exaggeration. The long-beaked fish today found finning lazily in the backwaters of the lower Missouri River differs little from those that darted among the tree trunk legs of brontosauruses wading prehistoric swamps. Like its relatives the longnose and alligator gars, both found in the lower Mississippi River drainage, the shortnose looks like an armored tube of muscle. Covering the cylindrical body is a sheath of interlocking diamond-shaped plates that bend and flex as the fish moves. Hard as tooth enamel, gar “scales” were once used by some American Indians to tip their arrows. A gar can actually breath air by taking oxygen from the atmosphere into its gas bladder, allowing it to survive in water practically devoid of oxygen. This indomitable fish has been known to live 24 hours or more completely out of water. Rare in Montana, the shortnose gar can occasionally be found in the Fort Peck dredge cuts, where, on hot summer afternoons, an angler might see its trademark snout break the water surface as the fish gulps a mouthful of air and then submerges.

Females lay bright green, poisonous (to humans) eggs in shallow weedy bays and backwaters that warm to over 70 degrees. The young often lie in groups at the water surface, looking like floating black matchsticks. Gar favor warm, slow-moving water where they can spend sunny days eating young carp and other minnows dumb enough to swim within reach. Tom Dickson is editor of Montana Outdoors. Know your fish - Winnipeg Free Press Winnipeg Free Press A guide to 11 of Manitoba's 95 species of freshwater fish Posted: 04/20/2013 1:00 AM | Comments: Tweet Email Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 19/4/2013 (1371 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Walleye Goldeye Also known as: Pickerel The goods: The walleye, a member of the perch family, is the most valuable commercial fish in Manitoba and the most sought-after sport fish. Commercial catches in Lake Winnipeg are tightly controlled by provincial quota.

Fishers delivered six million kilograms of walleye to the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation (FFMC) in 2011-12 and were paid $3.19 per kilogram. The FFMC exports most of its walleye to the U.S. Midwest restaurant market and also into Germany, Poland, Belgium and France. How valuable is it? In 2004, DNA tests commissioned by Minneapolis TV station KARE 11 found Twin Cities restaurants selling European zander, a relatively inexpensive fish, in place of the "Canadian walleye" listed on their menus. Sauger Sander canadensis Also known as: Baby pickerel The goods: A slightly smaller cousin of the walleye, sauger looks and tastes so similar it is sold as pickerel or walleye to the same markets in Canada and elsewhere in the world. Sauger are more common in the Red and Assiniboine rivers, while walleye are more common in lakes. Fishers delivered 200,000 kilograms of sauger to the FFMC in 2011-12 and were paid $2.19 a kilo for the fish.

How to tell sauger from walleye: The easiest way to discern the difference is sauger have black spots on their dorsal fins while walleye don't. Lake whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis Also known as: Whitefish The goods: Lake whitefish, a member of the salmon and trout family, is the third-most-important commercial fish in Manitoba. A good source of beneficial fatty acids, whitefish are among the most nutritious freshwater species in the world, but have fallen out of favour as a staple of the Manitoban diet. Fishers delivered 3.8 million kilograms of lake whitefish to the FFMC in 2011-12 and were paid $1.18 per kilogram. The Crown corporation exports the fish to the U.S., Russia, Finland, Poland, Germany, Latvia, Sweden and Iran. Not all whitefish look the same: Lake whitefish are prone to a high degree of genetic variability and also come in many different shapes, sometimes within the same lake. One study found six distinct breeding populations in Lake Winnipeg's northern basin.

Cisco Coregonus artedi Also known as: Tullibee The goods: Another member of the salmon and trout family, cisco are close enough to lake whitefish to breed with their genetic cousins and are sometimes marketed as whitefish. In Manitoba, cisco is often sold as "smoked tullibee." The FFMC sells most of its cisco to the ground-up gefilte-fish market. Not to be confused with: The shortjaw cisco, primarily found in and around Lake Winnipeg. Northern pike Esox lucius Also known as: Northern, jack The goods: Found in almost every river, stream and lake in Manitoba, the northern pike is one of the most common vertebrates of any sort in Manitoba. Pike are excellent to eat but difficult to filet in comparison to walleye; as a result, the FFMC sends northern pike to China for processing. Most of that fish is further exported to France. Other export markets include the U.S., Germany, Poland and Finland. Fishers delivered 1.9 million kilograms of northern pike to the FFMC in 2011-12 and were paid 79 cents a kilogram for it.

Roe on the rise: Northern pike roe has joined whitefish roe as key exports to caviar-crazy Russia, Romania and Finland. Yellow perch Perca flavescens Also known as: Perch, lake perch The goods: Easily caught from shore, yellow perch don't show up in sufficient numbers at the FFMC processing plant to warrant their own processing line. Instead, this excellent food fish is shipped to Wisconsin, where it's processed and packaged under the Freshwater Fish label. This arrangement allowed the Crown corporation to boost the price paid to fishers to $3.75 a kilogram in 2011-12, when 300,000 kilograms were delivered. Do not go with the flow: Perch prefer water with no current whatsoever. White sucker Catostomus comersonii Also known as: Mullet Since suckers have no teeth, there's a misconception they live off other fish, as do parasites. In reality, they scoop up invertebrates from the mud at the bottom of lakes and rivers. The abundant white sucker is good to eat but often discarded as bycatch due to its low price and desirability.

The mullet that is shipped and processed is typically ground into gefilte fish or other minced products. In 2011-12, the FFMC received 1.6 million kilograms of whitefish but only paid 46 cents a kilogram for it. Most of it winds up in the kosher market in New York and Eastern Canada. Ecological importance: The white sucker is a very important source of food for other commercially important Manitoba species. Freshwater drum Aplodinotus grunniens Also known as: Silver bass, sunfish The goods: The only member of the drum family in Manitoba, the "sunfish" crushes up crayfish, snails, mussels and other invertebrates with powerful teeth. As a result of its diet, its flesh is excellent to eat but annoying to clean, thanks a line of inedible red muscle along the filet. Although it's occasionally sold within Manitoba, it isn't purchased or sold by the FFMC and often winds up dumped as bycatch. Massive range: Found all the way from Hudson Bay to Guatemala, freshwater drum are among the continent's most wide-ranging fish.

Common carp Cyprinus carpio Also known as: Carp, European carp The goods: Introduced into Manitoba in 1886, the common carp has wreaked havoc on marshes and lakes alike by disturbing sediment and uprooting vegetation as it thrashes about in shallow water. Carp are good to eat but difficult to debone and have almost no commercial value, especially since Asian carp began proliferating in the U.S. As a result, it's often discarded as bycatch. Traditionally, it was served as a pre-Christmas meal in Eastern European Catholic households or ground up in gefilte fish in Jewish homes. How destructive is it? The Province of Manitoba, Ducks Unlimited and a several other agencies spent $3.5 million this year in Delta Marsh to set up screens to prevent the largest, most powerful carp from chewing up the vegetation and suspending sediment in Lake Manitoba. Burbot Lota lota Also known as: Mariah, eelpout The goods: The only member of the cod family in Manitoba is the burbot, a freshwater fish some anglers swear is the tastiest fish in Manitoba.

Since it has no apparent scales, it's not considered a kosher fish and thus is not purchased by the FFMC, whose Transcona processing plant is certified as kosher. The only way to buy burbot is direct from a fisher within Manitoba. Nasty nickname is no joke: In some regions, this slime-covered, voracious bottom-feeder is called a lawyer. When caught, it has a tendency to wrap itself around the arms of fishers like an eel. Goldeye Hiodon alosoides Also known as: Winnipeg goldeye The goods: The goldeye is reputed to be unpleasant to eat if prepared in any manner other than smoking. Happily, it's fantastic as a smoked fish, although its popularity has declined in recent decades. Although some goldeye are caught in Manitoba as bycatch, most are imported frozen from northern Saskatchewan and then smoked in this province. After it's smoked, it'll turn to insipid mush if frozen. The red colour comes from a dye -- naturally smoked goldeye are dull brown. Fun physiology: The goldeye has teeth on its tongue. So do its relatives, which include the giant Amazonian arapaima and large tropical arawannas.

-- Bartley Kives Freshwater Cod - Lota Lota Freshwater Cod - (Lota Lota) This unique looking fish is a true member of the cod family, found only in freshwater lakes. Its delicately flavoured meat can be prepared using any cod recipe or cooking method. It is also referred to as ling cod or burbot. All Fishing Buy, Codfish family Gadidae, Atlantic cod, Pacific cod, Haddock, Pollock, Atlantic tomcod, Hake Identification, Habitats, characteristics 43' Telescopic Pole Codfish family Gadidae, Cod, Haddock, Pollock, Hake, habitats, characteristics, fishing methods. The various cod and hake are all members of the Gadidae family of codfish, that include about 25 species in 12 genera. Cod have been important in both commercial fishing and sportfishing, although their significance in both areas has diminished markedly. Species of the Northern Seas are highly valued as food. Some cod are sold fresh, but most of the catch is now processed as frozen fillets. In the early days, cod were preserved mainly by salting. Oil from the codï¿½s liver was the main source of vitamin D.

The flesh of the Cod is firm, white, and of good flavor, best when fresh, but only a very small proportion is consumed in this form. It is generally salted, and appears in the market under the name of Haberdine or Laberdan (Kabiljo). Description Large fish to 2 m, commonly from 30 to 100 cm, with moderately elongated body, compressed and tapering behind, moderately deep caudal peduncle. Head narrowed anteriorly, top of head lacking V-shaped ridge. Mouth moderate or large with either upper jaw or lower jaw slightly protruding in many. Teeth cardiform, subequal, or with those of one series more or less enlarged; teeth on vomer; none on the palatines. Small single barbel on the chin, which is sometimes minute, present in most species. All members of the cod family have spineless fins. Most species have two dorsal fins, some have three, others only one.

Long dorsal fin well separated into 3 parts; anal fin divided in 2 parts; caudal fin well developed, of about seven rays, truncate to forked; pectoral fins well developed, pointed; pelvic or ventral fins are short, thoracic and located far forward, commonly ahead of the pectorals. The cod family is distinguished from other soft-rayed fishes by the fact that the large pelvic fins are situated under or in front of the pectorals and not behind them as in salmon and herring. Scales very small; lateral line present. Species color is variable, usually brownish to olive, or greyish to bluish dorsally, somewhat paler ventrally, belly often white, grey, or yellowish. Habitats The cads are generally fishes of cold water, and most of them live close to the bottom. Most species live in cold waters of the Northern Hemisphere, confined to cold temperate to Arctic waters of North Atlantic and North Pacific, with few species in Southern Hemisphere.

Most live on or near bottom (a few species pelagic) over continental shelf from nearshore to far offshore, but some occur at depths of 600 m or more; early-life stages pelagic, juveniles of some species found in estuaries and shallow coastal waters. Seasonal inshore-offshore migrations common, some undergo extensive north-south migrations. Most species voracious and omnivorous predators, mainly bottom dwellers, feeding on small fish, mollusks, shrimp, crabs, squid, sea worms, and various bottom invertebrates. Spawning Fecundity in most species high, depending on size of individual; spawning occurs in colder months, usually from late autumn to spring, depending on locality and water temperature. Codfish and other pelagic species in the family produce prodigious numbers of eggs. A 20-pound female may lay 4 to 5 million eggs in a season, and a specimen of 75 pounds may produce more than 9 million eggs. Males spread their milt in the sea around the eggs and fertilize them. The eggs float freely, as do the newly hatched fish.

The young are about an inch long before they are strong enough to swim well, and the few that survive manage to get into shallow enough water for them to find refuge, feed, and grow. By the time they are three years old, they weigh roughly 5 pounds. Atlantic Cod The Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) occurs off both the European and North American coasts in cool waters and from near the surface to depths of a thousand feet or more. Smaller fish are generally closer to shore, larger ones remain in deeper water. Cod like cool waters and may sometimes follow cool currents out of their normal range. In winter, for example, they are found as far south as North Carolina. The Atlantic cod has three dorsal fins and two anal fins. The light lateral line against its dark sides is a distinctive feature. The snout is rounded or cone-shaped on top, the upper jaw projecting slightly beyond the lower. The tail is almost squared or is slightly concave. There are two principal color phases, gray and red; in both, the sides are covered with dark dots.

Pacific Cod The Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), also known as gray cod, gray goo, gray wolf, grayest or grayfish, is found on both sides of the Pacific. Off the North American coast. It occurs from Oregon northward, only occasionally straying southward. It has 3 separate dorsal fins, and the catfish-like prominent chin barbel on its lower jaw. The Pacific cod is almost identical to the Atlantic cod, differing only in having slightly more pointed fins. It is somewhat smaller on average. Haddock The Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), is closely related, and sometimes placed in the genus Gadus, found off both the North American and European coasts in the Atlantic. Haddock are bottom feeders, like cod, travel in large schools, usually found in greatest numbers in water 100 to 500 feet deep. The two most common of the several color variations are grayish green with a dark lateral line and golden brown with a yellow lateral line. Like the cod, the haddock has 3 dorsal and 2 anal fins, but it lacks spots on its body. The first rays on the leading dorsal fin are exceptionally long.

Just above and behind each pectoral fin is a large, dark blotch. Most of the catch is filleted and frozen. Some is smoked, which is called finnan haddie. The largest haddock fishery historically has been off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and in Europe, in the North Sea south of Spitsbergen. Atlantic-Pollock The Atlantic Pollock (Pollachius virens), has been the most popular of the cod family with anglers. Averaging 4 to 10 pounds in weight (but with some catches weighing more than 30 pounds), the pollock is found on both sides of the Atlantic in cool to cold waters, usually close to shore but commonly netted at depths of 400 to 500 feet. The pollockï¿½s snout is pointed, the lower jaw projecting beyond the upper; the chin barbel is very small or lacking. The broad caudal fin is forked. Because the back and sides are a greenish brown, another name for the pollock is green cod. There are no spots, however, and the lateral line is white.

Pollock are active feeders, preying mainly on small fish but also taking crabs, mollusks, and other small animals. Anglers catch them principally by trolling, using jigs or spoons, but the smaller fish are known also to take artificial flies along inshore waters. They are strong fighters. Alaska-Pollock Alaska pollock or walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma), also known as bigeye pollock, snow cod or tomcod, is a North Pacific species of the cod family Gadidae, related to the common Atlantic pollock species of the same family. Species are widely distributed throughout the North Pacific with the largest concentration in the Bering Sea. Voracious feeders; young feed primarily on invertebrates (especially crustaceans), the adults on fish. Atlantic Tomcod The Atlantic tomcod (Microgadus tomcod) and its close relative, the Pacific tomcod (M. proximus), also have three dorsal and two anal fins, which are rounded, as are the long caudal fins. The pelvic fins extend into long filaments that may be sensory in function. These fish are generally olive brown above and lighter below, the sides heavily blotched with black.

Tomcod average less than 12 inches in length, and only occasional individuals weigh more than a pound. Hake Hake differ from cod in having the second and third dorsal fins joined to make one large fin that typically is indented or notched where the two are joined. Directly below is an indentation on the anal fin. The lower jaw projects beyond the upper, and the chin barbel is either very small or absent. The caudal fin is shallowly forked. Hake is slow growing fish with a lifespan of about 14 years. It is known to grow to about 115 cm and males and females are very not very easily differentiated. The larger South African Hake is known to prey on young Merluccius paradoxus, and cannibalism is also seen in both species. Both species aggregate to spawn ï¿½ once in early summer and again in autumn. Hake are predators, feeding on smaller fish and squid. They travel in schools, generally at the edge of the continental shelf or below, down to 2,000 feet.

Hake also undertake daily vertical migration ï¿½ they aggregate close to the bottom in the daytime and then disperse and move higher in the water in the night to feed on fish and plankton. Their eggs contain oil droplets so that they rise to the surface and float in the open sea until they hatch. Compared to cod, the flesh of hake is soft, and thus generally less appealing. Hake have nevertheless been harvested commercially in large quantities. The South African Hake (Merluccius capensis) is considered the most valuable commercial fish netted off the African coast. It sometimes reaches a length of 4 feet but averages 2 feet or less. The European Hake (Merluccius merluccius), which is similar in size to the Atlantic and Pacfic whiting, ranges from Norway southward to Africa and occurs also in the Mediterranean. European hake grow to about 100 cm (3 ft) in length and weigh about 3 kg (10 lbs) Males of this species tend to be smaller than the females.

The Silver Hake (Merluccius bilinearis), also known as Atlantic hake or New England hake, and regionally known as whiting is quite popular fish, common species off the Atlantic coast of North America, from Newfoundland south to the Bahamas, north west Atlantic Ocean from Maryland to the Newfoundland Banks, at depths of between 55 and 900 m. They grow to about 30 in (75 cm). The Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus) is the only representative in the Pacific region, north east Pacific Ocean from northern Vancouver Island to the northern part of the Gulf of California. They have two dorsal fins and a truncate caudal fin, that is is always concave. Their pectoral fin tips usually reach to or beyond the origin of anal fin. Color is metallic silver-gray with black speckling and pure silvery white on the belly. They grow to about 60 cm (2 ft) in length and weigh 1 -2 kg (2-4 lbs). The White Hake (Urophycis tenuis), ranging from Newfoundland to North Carolina, is a slender fish that may exceed 3 feet in length and weigh more than 30 pounds.

The average is about half this size. As in the hake of the genus Merluccius, the second and third dorsal fins are joined. The first ray of the first dorsal is extended into a slim filament, and the caudal fin is rounded. There is a small chin barbel, and the pelvic or ventral fins are reduced to long filaments. The back and sides are reddish, grading into yellowish gray below. The Red Hake (Urophycis chuss) occurs in the same general range as the white hake, northwest Atlantic Ocean at depths of between 10 and 500 m. The filament of its first dorsal fin is much longer, and the sides are mottled. The maximum size of the red hake is 8 pounds; the average is about 2 pounds. The Southern Hake (Urophycis floridana), which averages a pound in weight is one of several other species in the genus Urophycis that are about the size of the red hake or smaller. It has dark spots above and behind the eyes and also on the gill covers, and the first ray of the dorsal fin is of normal length.

There are round white spots at regular intervals along the black lateral line. The southern hake occurs in the Gulf of Mexico and is sometimes caught on hook and line, particularly in winter. The Spotted Hake (Urophycis regius) also lacks the long filament on the first dorsal fin, and its scales are larger than in other hakes of the genus Urophycis. The slim pectoral fin is exceptionally long, extending to the anal fin. The spotted hake is the most common species in the mid-Atlantic region. It is seldom fished for but is caught accidentally on hook and line. Commercial fishermen also catch these hake from time to time, but the fishery for hake is not large or well developed. The b>Burbot (Lota lota), also known as ling, lawyer, eelpout, and freshwater cod, is the only one species of the cod family lives exclusively in freshwater, which is found in deep, cold lakes and streams, sometimes in great abundance, from Alaska southward throughout Canada and in the northern portion of the United States. It occurs also in the cold regions of Europe and Asia. It is sometimes mistaken for some kind of catfish.

Its scales are so small that the burbot appears to be naked, like a catfish, and beneath its chin is a single long barbel. The pelvic fins are located far forward, ahead of the pectorals, directly under the throat. There are two dorsal fins. The first is short, the second long and nearly matched in length by the anal fin below. The caudal fin is small. The burbot is white or yellowish orange, mottled with black, but the coloration depends greatly on the chemistry of the water in which the burbot is living. It is not unusual for the burbot to reach a weight of 5 or 10 pounds and to measure 3 feet in length. Burbot are active predators. In most places they are considered trash fish that are destructive to populations of more desirable species, but there has been some increased interest in sportfishing for them, particularly among ice anglers. Deal of the Month

Question: Which is the only freshwater member of the Cod family?
Answer: Burbot