species question

[mud slug]

okay i was looking at the records area and i noticed they had goldeye and mooneye catagories. what are goldeye and mooneye? never heard of either of them. thanks

[stubblejumper]

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009541

[tbosch]

Dont know much about the mooneye but they are similar to the goldeye. The goldeye do an annual run up stream from the saskatchewan river up the red deer. They usually come up around mid july until around late september. They are smaller fish around 1lb with reflective gold eyes hence the name. If you hit them in the hopper season they are an absolute blast to catch on the fly rod. The lighter the rod the better. A couple dozen eyes a day isn't hard to do when you find the right spots.

[tchow]

According to "Fish of Alberta"(Joynt.Sullivan):

The quick way to tell the difference between the two species is to gaze into the fish's large rounded eyes. If you see only a "half-moon" of Gold at the top of the eye, the fish is a Mooneye; the Iris of a Goldeye is completely Golden.

[Alberta Bigbore]

what are goldeye?


they are tasty in the Smoker!!!:D

[Turbot]

they are tasty in the Smoker!!!:D

For those ones from the NS you don't even need seasonings! Can you believe in '76 we ate them out of the McKay River? I hear they have 3 eyes now- one gold, and the one in the middle is silver! (LOL!!)

[mud slug]

they are tasty in the Smoker!!!:D

funny niebghor said that they tast like cotten soaked in diesl fuel.

[7 REM MAG]

lol always wondered what cotton soaked in diesel tasted like i guess ill have to keep a couple goldeneyes this year, did you by chance ask how he knew what cotton soaked in diesel tasted like?

[moosehunter3-0]

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa244/moosehunter30/IMG_2551.jpg
Heres what one looks like.. caught it in the red deer river a long time ago. Im gonna go fishing for them again this year, they put up a great fight on the ultra light and are probally the worlds easiest fish to catch once you find where they are.

[Alberta Bigbore]

in Manitoba....Smoked goldeye is a delicacy. Funny thing is though... "Winnipeg Goldeye".... is trucked in from Montana?!:p



Manitoba/Saskatchewan/ & Alberta waters are great places to fish for the Goldeye. They are not pickey one bit.

[Appletree]

I'd love to pick up a few with the fly rod this year in the NSR; what kind of places do they inhabit? I'm not looking for honey hole locations, just the type of areas (riffles, holes, eddies, etc.).

[Donny Bear]

I'd love to pick up a few with the fly rod this year in the NSR; what kind of places do they inhabit? I'm not looking for honey hole locations, just the type of areas (riffles, holes, eddies, etc.).

YES:D

[mud slug]

7 REM MAG the guys from newfoundland i just figured if anyone would know it would be a newfie:evilgrin:

MOOSEHUNTER3-0 is there a fish out there you haven't caught you're making me look bad:lol: :lol:

[Piker]

I fish for them in the Oldman River and have had good along a backwater line where the current is flowing but next to it, its flowing very slowly the other direction as just beyond a point in the river. Worms,grasshoppers any nkind of bait works great.

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

Goldeye
One of Canada's most celebrated freshwater fish is the goldeye, well known to gourmets. When smoke-cured it is sold as Winnipeg goldeye and commands a high price. The goldeye (Hiodon alosoides) and the mooneye make up the mooneye family of fishes. The two species look much alike and are found only in fresh waters of North America. Both provide fine sport for anglers but because of superior flesh qualities, only the goldeye is sought by commercial fishermen.

The goldeye is a small fish averaging about 450 g in weight and 30.5 cm in length. Its body is deep in proportion to its length and is covered with large, loose scales. Dark blue to blue-green over the back, it is silvery on the sides and white over the belly. Beneath its short, bluntly rounded snout is a small mouth containing many sharp teeth on jaws and tongue. As its name indicates, its eyes are gold-coloured. Curiously enough, they reflect light as do the eyes of a cat. The colour of its eyes and the position of its anal fin, which begins further forward than the dorsal fin, distinguish it from its relative the mooneye.

Goldeye are found in both Canadian and American waters. In Canada their main area of distribution extends from western Ontario to the Rocky mountains and north to Great Slave Lake. Throughout their geographical range, they are most often found in warm, silty sections of large rivers and in shallow lakes connected to them.

Lake Winnipeg was once the largest producer of these fish, but stocks there were almost wiped out in the twenties as a result of overfishing. Today the main goldeye fishery is centred in the North and South Saskatchewan River. Commercial fishermen use gillnets. Anglers use light tackle with wet or dry flies, small spinners, or natural bait.

When fresh, the flesh of the goldeye is soft and unpalatable. However, it was noticed as early as 1890 that smoking it as the native Indians did greatly improved its flavour. As a smoked product it rapidly escalated in popularity, with demand exceeding supply since 1930.

Now, as in the past, goldeye processing is done almost exclusively in the City of Winnipeg. The fish are gutted, lightly brined, dyed an orange-red colour, then smoked over oak fires. They are marketed as whole, processed fish.

[Baitcaster]

I like the picture of the boy with his fish. Decent sized compared to what i have seen come out of the north saskatchewan near Devon.

[Turbot]

I'd love to pick up a few with the fly rod this year in the NSR; what kind of places do they inhabit? I'm not looking for honey hole locations, just the type of areas (riffles, holes, eddies, etc.).

When DonnyBear says "Yes", they really do frequent any of those types of spots at various times. I would say an eddy is especially good, or a hole below a riffle.

[Appletree]

Okey-doke; sounds like I should wait for them to show up, and then just keep my eyes open (I'll start with current edges/eddies, though), thanks for the help, guys.