COMMON NAMES: Brook silverside, Skipjack

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Labidesthes sicculus

IDENTIFICATION: Brook silversides are slender, translucent, pike-like, fish. The head is long and flattened above with a long pointed snout. The mouth is relatively large. They have two dorsal fins positioned above a long anal fin. Their overall coloration is pale green, sometimes olive with a transparent body with a silvery lateral band along the sides.

RANGE AND HABITAT: The brook silverside can be found across the state. It prefers clear lakes with weeds and bottoms comprised of clean sand, gravel or organic muck. Stream populations are usually associated with small, clear, upland brooks. They are not tolerant of turbid waters.

LIFE HISTORY: Brook silverside spawn during the spring and early summer in and around vegetation, but also occur over gavel in moderate current. Each egg has an adhesive filament that functions as an anchoring device. Young silversides grow rapidly and they usually attain their maximum length in the first year. Adult fish are well adapted to feeding in surface water. They feed on microcrustaceans, insect larvae, and small flying insects.

ADULT SIZE: Brook silverside average 2.8 to 3.8 inches in length.

FISHING METHODS: There are no known methods for catching brook silversides.