Read the article with FishingTheSpot: the minnow fish
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See the fishing tripsThe Minnow fish
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The Minnow fish belongs to the Cyprinidae family. The minnow is a small fish with a length of 4 to 10 cm (maximum 14 cm) and a weight of 3 to 10 g (rarely more than 13 g). Life expectancy is 4 to 5 years (maximum 11 years). Reproduction takes place from April to July or from one region to another. Depending on size, the female lays between 200 and 1000 eggs. It can be fished all year round.
It moves in benches. It is often accompanied by trout of the same size and young salmon. The body is shaped like a spindle. The head has a rounded snout, the mouth is terminal (the upper jaw slightly protrudes from the lower jaw). The back is dark green, the upper part of the flanks is light brown with large black-brown spots (sometimes linked to form stripes), while the lower part is yellowish green with silvery highlights, the belly is creamy whitish (in spawning season, it is copper red in males). The lateral line usually only extends to half of the body. The caudal peduncle is compressed laterally. The fins are rounded and transparent. The caudal fin is clearly indented; the ridge is quite high.
The Minnow fish lifestyle
The minnow is an omnivorous and voracious fish. It feeds on small aquatic animals of all kinds (worms, small mollusks, fry, insect larvae, etc.), winged insects, algae and plant detritus. By consuming them, it is responsible for the loss of large quantities of eggs of other species. Its wider diet gives it the advantage in its food competition with trout.
In June-July, at the time of breeding, the minnow migrates to gravel bottom waters where it forms large banks. The male dresses in his bridal attire: the belly, pectoral and ventral fins turn red, the back and front part of the body are dark or even black. The female, much duller in color, lays between 200 and 1,000 eggs (depending on her size) in several stages. Eggs are 1 to 1.8 mm in diameter. They are either glued to the stones or present in the interstices of the stones in shallow water. The incubation period is 5 to 10 days (60 °C x Days). At hatching, the larvae are 2.5 mm long. They remain sheltered between the stones until their vesicle resorbs. At one year, the minnow measures 3.5 to 4 cm. Her sexual maturity is reached at 2 - 3 years of age.
The Minnow fish habitat
The minnow is a kind of accompaniment to trout. It will occur in habitats similar to this one: clear, clear and shallow waters, small streams and fast rivers with gravelly bottoms.
It is present throughout Europe except in the Iberian Peninsula, southern Italy, Greece and Norway.
The Minnow fish angling
The ideal technique is fishing with a small rod, a light plug and small worms in the shallow current borders (less than one meter).
It can also be fished with two hooks, a technique often used to quickly catch a large number of minnows. Very easy to catch, prefer barbless hooks, you can unhook them more easily.
