What kind of fish is this?

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FreeFloat

Contributor
Messages
1,862
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Location
Somewhere in the waters of Lake Ontario or the St
# of dives
200 - 499
What kind of fish is this?

First saw one last week at 15'. I was doing buoyancy and mask drills near the docks at the Yacht Club I belong to, when I suddenly piked underwater. Although he had been watching me closely, I guess I sort of worried my buddy (Davy Jones), especially when he saw a few bubbles come back up. (We freedive, and bubbles are usually NOT a good sign!) I relieved his fears by surfacing mere seconds later, laughing so hard I spit my snorkel out. I explained about seeing this two and a half foot long fish. He didn't believe me.

Well the other day Davy Jones and I went outside the breakwater into Deadmans Bay to find the wreck I knew had to be out there. I often see dive boats anchoring there for checkout dives. We found it all right, vis was 20', so we took turns diving it. I had an underwater disposable camera with me and this time i managed to get a picture of one of those large fishes. He was at about 15' and there were 4 or 5 more hiding on the bottom at around 20 - 25'.

Although you can't really tell from the picture, the fish's body is bluish and his fins more yellow. He's very thin sideways but quite tall and the one in the picture is around 2' long from lips to fins.

So what is it??? :confused:
 
You know, looking over the fish on that page (rather quickly), it almost resembles their drawing of a carp. It was distinctly yellow on the fins, and could have been on the belly, had I gotten under it......
 
They are similar. Any fish biologists can give us the exact species names.

But I think it is definitely a freshwater drum. Looks like a cross between a gray snapper and a jolthead porgy, with the bronze highlights.

http://fish.dnr.cornell.edu/nyfish/Sciaenidae/sciaenidae.html

Isn't free diving great in Ontario summer great? I tried to do the Alice G. up in Toby on Sunday but it went seriously cold at about 30 feet down.
 
Yes they are similar , but the carp have barbels on their mouth. and the caudal fin is slightly different .it is a freshwater drum ,like crispo says....:)
good picture....I have seen them many times , when I shore dive at the marine museum,they are huge!!!!
 
FreeFloat - glad you osted the picture and the question. Now I know what I saw last year in the Windmill Point Quarry near Fort Erie. Thanks
 

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