Quote Originally Posted by Troutsource View Post
Matt, thanks for the note. The fish I caught looked pretty much exactly like the the juvenile Sacramento Pikeminnow here (on the same UCD web site)

They really didn't look at all like the hardheads photos.
They could very well be small Sac Pikeminnow... Have to check that upper lip margin. Its the only sure diagnostic! I have sorted through hundreds of juvenile Hardhead/Pikeminnow back in my days working as a Fish Tech on rotary screw traps on valley rivers. I got to where I could usually ID them by sight, but in the early days I looked at a lot of upper fish lips lol! Here is another link to check out: http://fishbio.com/field-notes/wildl...e-you-attached

Sac Pikeminnow definitely eat juvenile salmonids. Its actually perfectly natural as the these species have co-evolved in the valley for thousands of years. What is unnatural about current Sac Pikminnow/salmonid relations is that the way we have altered the landscape and especially flow of our rivers has given Sac Pikeminnow (and other predators) an unfair advantage.....Check for that frenum next time you are out there hooking native minnows instead of steelhead. And, while you are at it, I hope you hook into a couple nice steelhead too Matt