What fish is this?

[cpirnie3]

Was exploring around some marshes near the coast here in SE Texas and found a TON of these guys washed up on shore. Also saw schools of these in the muddy shallows. Probably saltwater or possibly brackish. What fish is this? Any ideas?

DSCF2159.jpg

Thanks,

[barberking12]

shad

[Mandocruz06]

Good bait for reds..

[barberking12]

Good bait for reds..

+1

[cpirnie3]

Wow. Thanks for the quick replies guys. Well I found a great spot to collect bait apparently. Here's the spot. Pretty beautiful in a way.DSCF2158autobalanced.jpg

[brandon_rss18]

Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus)

[Ballinxalex]

Shad I catch these at lame Livingston to go fishing all the time

[eklikewhoa]

I could never keep these alive to take home...

[Ballinxalex]

Me too it's like they die instantly a min out of water with bubbler they just die so easy Best bait for lake fishing

[Sea-agg09]

Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus)

Props for scientific names, and you are correct sir.

Me too it's like they die instantly a min out of water with bubbler they just die so easy Best bait for lake fishing

These guys are incredibly sensitive. I can seine them up by quite literally the thousands in Galveston, but they are all dead by the time the net hits the air. They are still good bait if they are decent size. These guys are the bait-ballers of the shallow gulf. All predators know these guys = big meals.

[cpirnie3]

Too bad they die so quickly. I wonder why that is... Looking at them in the water, i was thinking it would be cool to keep a small school of them. Regardless, thanks everyone for the responses. I've been meaning to go fishing with my little girl. Now I've got the bait :)

[BrAin]

Best way to keep alive is oxygen. Would make a neat school in a tank. They love algae on rocks

[cpirnie3]

Ever kept them in an aquarium BrAin? Reading online it seems they are generalist planktivores. That would present a challenge Also, in this small size, I wonder if they would do best in brackish or full salt. I don't have a tank that would accommodate their adult size but I think it would be an awesome undertaking. Thoughts?

[alexrex20]

Good luck keeping them alive 'til you get home.

[cpirnie3]

Good luck keeping them alive 'til you get home.

That bad huh?