Lennon, R. E., and P. S. Parker. 1960. The stoneroller, Campostoma anomalum
(Rafinesque), in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Transactions of the
American Fisheries Society 89: 263-270.
In the early 1970s, the stoneroller was at the center of a heated dispute
between hornyhead aficionados and commercial bait collectors. The completion
of two major reservoirs in the region created a demand for a hardy bait
minnow, for which stonerollers fit the bill. Bait collectors purportedly
were able to capture several thousand stonerollers a night, alarming
stoneroller anglers who feared their fishery was being decimated. Through
the organized voice of a local rod and gun club, the stoneroller anglers got
the sale of their favored fish outlawed in five Tennessee counties. A
healthy black market in hornyheads quickly ensued. My source for this info
is:
Burkhead, N. M. 1980. The life history of the stoneroller minnow Campostoma
a. anomalum (Rafinesque) in five streams in east Tennessee. Tennessee
Wildlife Resources Agency Technical Report No. 80-50. Nashville, Tn. 84 pp.
Chris Scharpf
Baltimore
>> I'm surprised that the consensus on the palatability of stonerollers is so
>> negative. In the eastern Tennessee hill counties like Washington and
>> Johnson, the local people usually consider stoneroller to be good and
>> bitterly resent trout stocking programs because they view trout as
>> inferior to stoneroller. They call stonerollers "hornyhead" because of the
>> nuptial males' appearance. Of course, they prefer to eat large
>> individuals, and the fish come from cold, clear highland streams.
>
> Actually, I think there may be some confusion due to the common name. There
> is another "hornyhead", AKA river chub. I have eaten them, but never
> stonerollers. River chubs are pretty tasty, as I recall.
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