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Columbia Chub
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The Columbia chub occurs in the streams and lakes of British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon, chiefly in the Columbia River basin and waters about Puget Sound.
In the Columbia basin it ascends in Clarks fork at least as far as Flathead Lake, and in Snake River to Shoshone Falls.
In the Snake River this minnow is one of the most abundant fishes, and is locally known by the misleading names "fresh-water herring" and "whitefish" and, at one place, they are even called trout. The name "whitefish" for this minnow is rather more than local in its application, as it is used not only on Snake River, but at Flathead Lake and perhaps elsewhere. At the salmon fisheries along the Columbia and Snake rivers it is quite abundant, and, after salmon fishing has begun, schools of 30 to 50 or more can be seen at any time. They are particularly attracted by the offal thrown into the river when the salmon are dressed, and by throwing a few salmon eggs into the water, good-sized schools could be called up at any time.
This fish seldom attains a greater length than a foot, and is, like most members of the family, a bony species; nevertheless, it possesses some importance as a food-fish. At some places in the Columbia basin it is served as "whitefish" at the hotels, and elsewhere it is peddled over the country as "trout" or "fresh-water herring." It takes the hook readily and possesses considerable game qualities. The best bait seems to be salmon spawn, but it will bite at almost anything, a piece of liver, a grasshopper, or a fish's heart or eye. It will fight vigorously for a time, and large individuals will often continue the fight until brought to net.
Head 4 2/5; depth 4 1/2; eye 5; snout 3 1/2; D. 8; A. 8; scales 12-77-7; teeth 1 or 2, 5-5, 2 or 1. Body moderately slender; head bluntly conic; interorbital space broad, convex; mouth horizontal or nearly so, the maxillary not reaching front of eye; suborbital bone wide; preorbital elongate; teeth hooked in the young, some of them becoming blunt with age. Colour, dark olivaceous above, yellowish silvery on sides, white or pale beneath; a dark or reddish lateral band, below which is a pale stripe, under which is a dark stripe which extends about to vent; fins pale; belly and sides with much red in breeding males.