Menhaden?

[patindaytona]

Caught about 7 or so large pinfish and a few of these. Menhaden I believe...right? The menhaden were sitting in my bucket of water about 20 minutes or so in 90 degree heat at most. Do you think they are still ok as cut bait (spoiled?) Seems like the saltwater should preserve them that long.
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x50/patindaytona/xxxxx-5.jpg

[mantriumph]

looks like a bluefish

[hokieboy]

Thats not menhaden. That there is a blue runner. Often confused with a bluefish.

http://marinefisheries.org/FishID/jackblue.html

Will work great as cut bait. Really good live bait but since its dead now will work fine for cut bait. REal bloody fish.

[NTKG]

thats a bluefish. and its fine for bait. waters got a real high specific heat 20 min is def ok.

[hokieboy]

Might have been a bluefish. Did it have teeth?

[dha123]

That looks like a blue to me and is that a flea in its gills?
any ways i wouldnt eat it, and if its spoiled i guess just add it to the chum bucket.

[NTKG]

thats not a bluerunner. its definatley a bluefish and its a parasite in the gills.

[patindaytona]

You're right, it is a blue. I checked out it's teeth. And that IS a parisite...:eek:
So, this is good cutbait for reds..anything else bite on this?

[sand flea]

I'd stake pretty much anything on that being a bluefish, but the real way to test is to check for teeth. If it has chompers like a piranha, it's a blue. (And that's the nastiest effin' sea louse I've ever seen on its gills. Blech.:--| )

Blue runners have teeth, but nothing like a bluefish. They are members of the jack family and look like this.

http://www.floridafishandhunt.com/articles/wildlife-information/fish-identification/saltwater/fishlarge/bluerun.jpg

Menhaden are schooling filter feeders that look like this:

http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/jd/jdweb/fishing/fishll/yelmen1.jpg

[RuddeDogg]

That looks like a blue to me.

[TreednNC]

u can see the toofers in the pic

[dha123]

I hear blues are good for catching (i assume ur fiishin in florida) shark, cobes, heads for reds, strips for flounder and chunks for big bluefish (cannibals)

[SkunkApe]

With all do respect, that is not a Bluefish. I'm sure exactly what it is...but look at the tail. Blues have a very pronounced V. That fish doesn't. Compare the pix...
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/pc8bba02e0614132f9d2be6b43fd95c60/e94519b5.jpg

[okimavich]

Looks like a blue and a louse to me.

http://x4d.xanga.com/2fed0af208d3780667948/m54958108.jpg

[patindaytona]

It's a blue alright. I checked it's teeth..sharp! This thing is only about 6 inches long. I thought it was a menhaden. Caught it on a sabiki rig. I never saw a blue so small before.

[SkunkApe]

It's a blue alright. I checked it's teeth..sharp! This thing is only about 6 inches long. I thought it was a menhaden. Caught it on a sabiki rig. I never saw a blue so small before.

Then I stand corrected. I couldn't see the teeth in the pic, and have never caugt a Blue that small, so I would assume the larger they get, the more their tail forms a sharp vee. I don't know everything...but my wife sure does:D :D

[Carolina Rebel]

I've caught a ton of blues about that size in the cast net before in 2-3' of water in the inlet. Definitely a blue.

Far as using him for bait, if the Fla. law says don't do it, don't! Game wardens are sneaky. If there is a size limit on the fish, this is why they don't want you cutting them up. Game fish with no size limit, you can generally do what you want with them long as they were caught on hook and line, but if there's a size limit they've gotta be intact.