[nuthinlikeacat]

I caught a mooneye the other night out fishing the river. What can you brothers tell me about them? The thing had a hinged mouth like a crappie, and teeth like a pirahna. It's kind of an awesome looking fish!

 

[Dreadnaught]

mooneye are some of the best bait you can get, but are generaly hard to find. cut or whole!!!

 

[webster_catman]

jw but what is a mooneye i dont think ive ever seen them and i know i never heard of them, so what r they and wut do they look like

 

[drc3]

I know the striped bass guides around here say there one of the best live baits. Never used them for cats but am sure they would produce.

 

[nuthinlikeacat]

Webster....up until I had caught this one, I had never seen or heard of one either. Being they are good bait, maybe next time I will try it for bait...if it's legal in my state.

 

[Larry]

Ryan,
We used to catch them out in South Dakota fishing for walley on the Missouri river years ago. They are a wierd looking fish. Havent ever heard of them in MN. How big was it? Did you catch more than one. If I recall they are a schooling fish.
I bet they would be great Catfish bait. They bleed like stuck pigs.... can make a real mess in the boat if your not ready for it.

 

[Catfish Fever]

Ryan, The Mooneye is very similar to the Goldeye, which is also an extremely oily fish, and very good Catfish bait, cut if large, live if in the 3 to 5 inch range. The easiest way to tell the difference between the two is the dorsal. Check the attacment, describes both. An interesting note I read some time back was that in Canada, these fish are netted commercially, smoked and eaten by the folks up there. I met a guy and his wife at the boat ramp, she said she cooked them all the time. I don't believe I'd care to try them myself. They're not to hard to catch here on Milford Lake, Ks, we'll fish at the dam with worms under a float 2 to three feet deep. I also use my flyrod with small flies like an ant or moth which they will take on occasion.

 

[Dreadnaught]

here is a pic I found doing a yahoo search. there is a lot of info on them just type in mooneye and you will find it

 

[nuthinlikeacat]

Thanks for the pics and info guys.
Larry, It was the only one I caught, and I was afraid to touch it being I had no clue at the time what I was. After I checked the MN recordbooks, the State record is under 2 lbs...and this fish was very close if not at the 2 lb mark. I caught it right at the lip of a creek leading into the main river. I will try and contact the DNR again to see if they are legal to use in MN for bait.

 

[Larry]

bummer Ryan,
Hopefully there are more where that came from, It would be cool for a fellow Brother to make the record books.... regardless of what species he catches..
We never caught any real big ones out in SD. Just remember blood,blood and more blood

 

[fourteenfootcat]

HUGE MOONEYE in the Missouri River near Big Bend. Love to school. Don't love to learn. Love to bleed. Don't love to bleed on bleeding circle hooks.

I love dem fish. Best bait you can find in South Dakota for HUGE blues and flatheads....

Well...that and.... my favorite.... carp.

James

 

[Catfish Fever]

John, thanks for the Mooneye pic, I could'nt find one.
Ryan, if you'll look at both pics, you'll see the front of the dorsal fin is behind the front of the annal fin on the Goldeye, and the opposite is true on the Mooneye. This is the easiest and quickest way to tell the difference.