Baitfish Species

[Flukes]

For sure a great thread. Minnows (true minnows) are difficult to ID correctly.
I also fish for minnows (aiming to get larger specimens for pike bait) and I've got a bunch of tiny Japanese hooks for them (more or less the same size as the two you have shown...maybe even smaller - some hooks are really too small for the bait I am aiming for - slightly larger hooks would result in fewer dropping off the hooks as I pull them out) as well as tiny lead jig-heads. I use a telescopic cane pole (so no reel) that folks in Japan, Taiwan, etc. use for their smaller river fish and put on small quill floats (either fixed or on a slip-rig, again the Japanese style slip-rigs where they use a small, thin, rubber stopper and some slipping hardware that allow you to change float sizes really quickly to allow you to change weight, etc. Usually use a small piece of a power grub or similar but if the fish are picky, some real bait usually does the trick (garden worms, fish, even chicken, beef or pork work well as well).
Never thought too much about taking their photos...but may start thinking about doing so as well....it's pretty neat to have a library of these fish.

[Fossil Fish]

Silver shiner (Notropis photogenis). The largest Notropis species in Ontario and very limited distribution. Most similar to emerald shiner and non-spawning rosyface shiner. Both of those species have a dorsal fin that starts further back compared to the pelvic fin. The silver shiner also has a dark stripe running along the middle of the back and dark crescents between the nostrils that emeralds and rosyfaces lack.

[longfish]

Wow Fossil this thread is awesome...thank you for sharing and educating us all. I had no idea. And yes what a great resource for us all to check back to. Thank you.

Arnie