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Central/Western Mass Trip

Started by Guest_bumpylemon_* , Jun 19 2010 04:33 PM

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#1 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 19 June 2010 - 04:33 PM

Well I started out today to try and find Tessellated Darters and Spottail Shiners. I fished the French River, Quaboag River, Quaboag Pond, Lowes Brook, Quinebaug River, Westville Lake, Ware River, and various other small tribs of these rivers. I also went out to the Quabbin for some pics and to look at the beautiful Swift River. Swift River is the prettiest river I've ever seen. It's deep and you can see the bottom. spectacular.

Alright I started at the French for some tadpole madtoms. I have yet to find them. i went to one spot where they were collected and the water was to fast and to deep for me to go in alone. i dipnetted from a rock and caught nothing. i didnt expect to catch anything.
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I read that madtoms liked slow water and vegetation. where i go in oxford its completely opposite. I went down to the little river/french and the water was ALOT slower and had lots of weeds. I observed no fish and dipnetted no fish.
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so off I then went over to lowes brook....still no fish. caught a few crayfish and saw a deer.
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at this point it was still early. so i headed out to Ware, Mass to the Ware River. Its beautiful out there.
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I ended up catching....
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lots of fry of what appeared to be White Suckers,Spottail Shiners,Tessellated Darters,and Redbreaast/Pumpkinseed Hybrid. I didnt take many pics because my camera died...of course. I probably caught over 50 darters. most were under an inch and i presume to be YOY.

Edited by bumpylemon, 19 June 2010 - 05:03 PM.

#2 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 19 June 2010 - 04:34 PM

Then I headed to the Quabbin down the street for some lovely picture shots. I saw some pretty ducks that i had never seen before. maybe someone here can ID them for me.
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So i headed back and went to Quaboag Pond. Caught a few Banded Killifish. released them all. Quaboag river i struck out.

Finally I landed in the Quinebaug River. My favorite river in Central Mass. I caught 4 Redbreast Sunfish, 1 pumpkinseed and various shiners, white suckers, and a water snake. the shiners i caught are up for IDing purposes. Im guessing golden shiners and spottail shiners. there were school of 100,000 fish. Ive never seen that in MA. They were mostly juveniles but much larger than fry. a few adults were there as well. I seen some HUGE suckers swimming around.

Edited by bumpylemon, 19 June 2010 - 05:04 PM.

#3 Guest_natureman187_*

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Posted 19 June 2010 - 05:27 PM

I'd say Red-breasted Mergansers - one I don't see often.

#4 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 19 June 2010 - 05:28 PM

I'd say Red-breasted Mergansers - one I don't see often.

thanks! ya i just googled it and saw some pics but there heads weren't red like these. are they a rare bird?

#5 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 19 June 2010 - 06:37 PM

so i just looked in my mass fishes book and it shows spottails are absent from the Quinebaug drainage. sooo hmmmmm

#6 Guest_NVCichlids_*

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Posted 19 June 2010 - 06:40 PM

I catch my tadpole madtoms in water that is semi-fast flowing (might not show in the picture, but the water does move decently through here.), but I find where the grass on the shore hangs into the waters. At this location there normally is a slight undercut under the bank and taht is where the tadpoles are in the grass roots and grass itself. These two pictures show the river I catch mine at (not the EXACT location, but it shows you what its like there).
[attachment=10652:DSCN4742.JPG]
[attachment=10653:DSCN4743.JPG]

Also remember they are primairly nocturnal, so when you go out to catch them they will be in there hiding spots.

I have also found one of my tadpole madtoms where I caught rainbow darters.. I was flipping rocks and one floated down stream into my net. So if you are in the area, maybe try this?

Edited by NVCichlids, 19 June 2010 - 07:10 PM.

#7 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 19 June 2010 - 07:22 PM

I catch my tadpole madtoms in water that is semi-fast flowing (might not show in the picture, but the water does move decently through here.), but I find where the grass on the shore hangs into the waters. At this location there normally is a slight undercut under the bank and taht is where the tadpoles are in the grass roots and grass itself. These two pictures show the river I catch mine at (not the EXACT location, but it shows you what its like there).
[attachment=10652:DSCN4742.JPG]
[attachment=10653:DSCN4743.JPG]

Also remember they are primairly nocturnal, so when you go out to catch them they will be in there hiding spots.

I have also found one of my tadpole madtoms where I caught rainbow darters.. I was flipping rocks and one floated down stream into my net. So if you are in the area, maybe try this?

well thats good to know. there were alot of weeds in that river.

#8 Guest_NVCichlids_*

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Posted 19 June 2010 - 07:50 PM

well I just want to try to help you find some. They are my favorite native I have. I am now up to 6 with hopes of ending up with a dozen in the end. I am still in search of someone with some redfin pickerels though :-)

-Nate

#9 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 19 June 2010 - 07:51 PM

well I just want to try to help you find some. They are my favorite native I have. I am now up to 6 with hopes of ending up with a dozen in the end. I am still in search of someone with some redfin pickerels though

-Nate

i am going out tomorrow again for you to find redfins. im on summer vacation now so ill have plenty of time!

#10 Guest_NVCichlids_*

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Posted 19 June 2010 - 08:13 PM

if my tadpoles end up breeding soon, i might be able to offer you F1's

#11 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 19 June 2010 - 08:15 PM

if my tadpoles end up breeding soon, i might be able to offer you F1's

thanks for the offer. i dont wanna keep them i just wanted to catch them haha. i just wanted to grab one snap a few pics and release.

#12 Guest_FirstChAoS_*

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Posted 19 June 2010 - 08:51 PM

I'd say Red-breasted Mergansers - one I don't see often.

I'd say a female common merganser and her young, i think in New England redbreasts are more of a coastal species and a winter visitor but i am not sure of that.

#13 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 19 June 2010 - 09:47 PM

You're right about the mergansers, in winter Savin Hill Cove in Boston often has the redbreasts present along with brant geese.

#14 Guest_blakemarkwell_*

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Posted 19 June 2010 - 11:24 PM

Yep, that is a female Common Merganser. A neat diver to watch catch fish after fish.... wish they were my seining partner at times.

Blake

#15 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 20 June 2010 - 06:46 AM

can you guys help with these IDs? ill copy from my ID post

well I went out collecting today in hopes of spottails and tessellated darters... i think these are spottails and goldens...well i hope they are. i only found small ones.

caught in the QUINEBAUG RIVER Drainage

ill be posting a few different fish..

This fish has the black bird parasite disease just so people know as to not be confused while IDing

#16 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 20 June 2010 - 06:47 AM

im just hoping there arent any bridle shiners. they were suppose to have been absent where i was at

#17 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 20 June 2010 - 06:47 AM

there were huge schools all together. alot of common suckers. im getting nervous that these may look like bridle shiners.

#18 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 21 June 2010 - 10:34 AM

Most of them look like common shiners, Luxilus cornutus. The lone fish above the algae-covered rock could possibly be a bridle, but could also be a young spottail shiner or some other minnow, maybe not even a Notropis.