Now some of you might think of the animated sitcom based on a propane salesman. Others would think of the childhood game where you raced each other up a hill to see who was the best. For the underwater world, it is in regards to a mighty minnow. The River Chub (Nocomis micropogon) was described in 1865 by famed researcher and scientist Edward Drinker Cope. Nocomis is from the Ojibwe word nokomiss meaning grandmother, and micropogon means small beard, referring to the small barbel on the corners of its mouth. These exciting fish are one of the largest native minnows east of the Mississippi River; they can reach lengths upwards of 13 inches!
River Chubs are found in medium to large rivers with moderate-high gradients. They prefer systems with swift-moving waters over gravel, cobble, boulders, or bedrock. Riffles, runs, and deep pools are utilized habitats where large rocks serve as hiding places from predators.
Aquatic insects are the primary forage of these fish. They'll hide behind the rocks and wait for food to drift by, then dart out and grab it. They have also been observed to follow schools of various suckers and eat the insects that are released from the disturbed sediment.
Come springtime, the River Chub becomes one of the most important fish in the stream. Males develop an enlarged head with large tubercles on their face (old ones can be seen on the individual above). These tubercles are thought to serve two purposes: the first is to attract females, and the second is to defend their spawning territory from other fish.
Photo credit: Freshwaters Illustrated
For the spawn, male River Chubs are underwater construction workers that build nesting mounds. They establish an area next to a boulder, above or below a riffle, with substrate dominated by large gravel. The males pick these stones up with their mouths and move them over to the nesting site. Throughout the spawn, their nests can become a foot-tall and more than two feet wide! These large mounds are utilized not only by the River Chubs but by many other smaller minnows. Freshwaters Illustrated has a wonderful archive of photos that demonstrate the incredible schools of fish to be found around these mounds. Due to the myriad of species that spawn over these areas, there is a high possibility of finding new and unique hybrid fishes!
The range for River Chubs spans from northern Michigan down to north-central Georgia and over into Appalachia. The image from Fish Map shows the waterways that they currently (grey) occupy and the ones where they have historically (red) been found. When found, they are one of the most common fish species to occur. They are however highly intolerant to pollution and high amounts of siltation that cover their preferred habitat.
The best way to observe these beautiful minnows is to get in the water, one way or another. If you're an avid angler, then try your hand at catching some on hook-and-line. The best presentation would be to drift a nightcrawler or redworm around the larger rocks/boulders you find in the stream. The other option to see them is to go snorkeling; just remember to dress appropriately for the temperature. When snorkeling in the streams, show extreme patience and let the fish come to you. Look around for the mounds they build and find out why they are the true king of the hill.
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