Post By: TrophySeeker Posted: 10/1/2015 10:12:41 AMPoints: 107
I recently was fishing the Colorado by the Bridge outside of downtown Rifle. I caught this fish and one of the employees in the local sporting goods store told me it was a squaw fish. I can't find any info on this species and was wondering if you guys could give me some more information.
Reply by: TrophySeeker Posted: 10/1/2015 10:43:39 AM Points: 107
Thanks Christopher,
I caught him right at sunrise and thought I was snagged on a rock! He sat still for a few seconds then took off! I was looking for catfish so it was a nice surprise. A few weeks earlier I pulled a 20 inch sucker out of the same spot.
Awesome catch! I actually think it could be a giant roundtail chub (another mega minnow, just not as big as a Pikeminnow)....FishSeal do you see the smaller mouth and shorter head I see?? It appears that the mouth ends before the eye, the head is shorter, and the maxillary is relatively small compared to a Pikeminnow.
No matter what it is a nice big native minnow but I think it may be a big ol' roundtail...
Reply by: Pathway Posted: 10/2/2015 8:44:24 AM Points: 542
I learned my first lesson in sharing when my friend and I went down on the Gunnison and caught a bunch of chubs in a backwater. We took them to my buddies house to split them up when my father showed up and insisted that I give my fish to my friend. He wasn't about to deal with a bunch of old stinky chubs.
Reply by: Kolorado KingFisher Posted: 10/2/2015 10:19:48 AM Points: 82
Yes I would also agree that that is a chub species rather than a pikeminnow/squawfish. The mouth is the tell tale sign in this case, the pikeminnow has a very large gapping maw, whereas this fish has a much smaller mouth. Cool catch just the same.
I couldn't be certain at first and I didn't take time to look at it in detail, but I agree that it is a roundtail chub. The second picture definitely puts the fish into better proportion. They are still a blast to catch.
