Tiny black fish in the Kawarthas, or are they frogs?!

[tangerineman]

Hi there, on the north shore of a lake in the Kawarthas, near shore, there were hundreds of tiny black fish late yesterday afternoon. By small I mean probably 1/4" long, all hanging out in an area maybe 3' x 3'....would these be fish, and does anyone know what variety...or are they frogs? I know we have Bass in our lake, but they are already guarding the rocks on the same shore. I assume they would have hatched already.

Maybe that should be my (other) question. When do Lake Bass hatch? (Large or Small mouth, I'm not sure)

Much thanks and kind regards!

 

[Dave Bailey]

I'm guessing tadpoles of some sort, last week up near Gravenhurst I saw lots of them in Hardy lake. Or they could be "tadpole madtom" catfish, Noturus gyrinus. Their venom, contained in the spines, is apparently one of the strongest of any animal in Ontario, fortunately they are small and don't inject much, but it can be quite painful.

 

[tangerineman]

Whoa! Had to look up the "tadpole madtom" catfish, and fingers crossed that's not them!

Perhaps they are tadpoles, though I would have thought I'd have noticed their unique shape. They seemed to look just like teeny tiny fish.

Much thanks!

 

[Christopheraaron]

Ya, without a doubt tadpoles. You won't see bass in very large schools like that. The bass are starting to hatch and will finish soon I'm sure.

 

[Dozer]

Could be American toad tadpoles if they are really small or possibly bullhead catfish babies? Both typically swarm in groups in shallow water

 

[staffman]

My guess would be bullhead catfish babies as troutddicted guessed.

 

[Bolcheck]

Ya, without a doubt tadpoles. You won't see bass in very large schools like that. The bass are starting to hatch and will finish soon I'm sure.

Hey Chris, I'm not sure how you know without a doubt that their tadpoles without some sort of photo/video evidence. It could be a number of species that tangerineman noticed.
And yes Bass fry can be in large schools until they become green and then they disperse from the nest area. This of course depends on temperature/ silting of the redd and predation of eggs.
Here's a good link to a PDF on Smallmouth Bass http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/stdprodconsume/groups/lr/@mnr/@letsfish/documents/document/stdprod_095205.pdf

Hey tangerineman here's vid of Smallmouth Bass fry just last week here in Ontario, did they look anything like the fry in the video?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or_fMmJ0V7k&feature=youtu.be

 

[tangerineman]

Esoxtrout, thanks so much for those links. I think you're right on, I think they must be Bass. Just out on the water and I noticed similar schools close to shore in various rocky areas. They are too stream-lined to be tadpoles.

The adult Bass have been patrolling our shore for the past week or two. There are several small rocks in the water off shore. If you stand in the shallows, say knee depth or so, you risk getting a little nibble on at the back of your leg.

Interesting to me is that these adult Bass were completely absent since I noticed the fry 2 days ago. Reading the PDF you attached, the larger the adult the longer they protect their young. The Bass at our shore are only 5" - 8" long, so small, and they seem to have left.

I've been on this shore my entire life and this is the first year I've noticed the fry.

Much thanks!