OK, well we got flooded out and cancelled before... but the weather report for this week looks dry... and temps in about 60... so I want to try and go again... scouting for Bandfins...
Who's in...?
From and earlier email...
Fellow Georgia NANFAs,
I have just been informed by 'she who must be obeyed' that I am free on Saturday, and although it has been rather cool, I have a desire to get out in teh water.
A few other NANFAs have been recently talking about Bandfin Shiners (Luxilus zonistus) and I got to looking into them... turns out that the type locality is Suwannee Creek up here in Gwinnett County... now I am sure that a lot has changed since 1880 when these bad boys were originially described from this location... but seems to me that if you want to find them, it might be worth a try to head over that way and stop at every place the gazetter tells us that the road crosses the Creek...
Who wants to go chase shiners with me? ... I got the seine, the bucket, and the photo tank... sounds like too much of an opportunity to miss... we might be a little early in the season, but it should still be worth a try.
Scouting for Bandfins
Started by
Michael Wolfe
, Feb 14 2011 08:21 PM
8 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_smbass_*
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Posted 15 February 2011 - 10:31 AM
I caught some bandfin shiners in Northern Georgia one time years ago. Don't have an exact location but I recall the creek being named Panther Creek. This was in 2002 and I was not real good at taking notes yet but do have the date and name of the creek.
#3
Guest_Dustin_*
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Posted 15 February 2011 - 03:09 PM
I also caught some in Big Panther Creek some years ago. Check out here for details of the trip.
http://www.nanfa.org...ah/tallulah.htm
http://www.nanfa.org...ah/tallulah.htm
#5
Michael Wolfe
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- Board of Directors
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- North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage
Posted 15 February 2011 - 10:50 PM
I also caught some in Big Panther Creek some years ago. Check out here for details of the trip.
http://www.nanfa.org...ah/tallulah.htm
Well, that is another hour or so up the road... my first goal is to check out the type locality... but if we dont find any in that area... then we might have to seriously consider driving up there... I know the area well... work just 15 or 20 minutes south of there... but have never sampled there... might be fun to try.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#6
Michael Wolfe
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- Board of Directors
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- North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage
Posted 20 February 2011 - 06:20 PM
Saturday was a great day in North Georgia. Warm weather, and fish to be found. I wanted to try to find some Bandfin Shiners (Luxilus zonistus), and I though, "what better place to start than the type locality." In 1880, David Starr Jordan first described Bandfin Shiners from individuals caught in "Suwannee Creek approximately 8 miles NW of Lawrenceville). So on Saturday, fellow NANFAn Alejabdro and I started out with my Jeep and the Georgia Gazetteer and hit the type locality (excellent navigation on his part kept me turned in the right direction despite myself). And although we went to several locations on Suwanee Creek and caught a few fish here and there we could not find the 'target species' for the day. This has become essentially a part of Atlanta, and the suburban sprawl has apparently taken its toll on the habitat. We did see Hogsuckers, Bluegill, Yelowfin Shiners, Blackbanded Darter, Bluehead Chub, and Bluefin Stoneroller... but no Bndfin Shiners.
I investigated Dustin's lead (see earlier post), but this was not really an option. You see much of North Georgia's waters are designated as trout streams, and it is illegal to seine for bait (which is what my Georgia fishing license allows me to do) in a trout stream. Fortunately the Georgia DNR posts clear count by county maps of what is trout water and therefore off limits. But I got some additional information from Phil K. and based on this, I was able to identify some likely locations that were in legal to seine water. So after striking out in the type locality reagion, we headed north towards Dahlonega and found an excellent spot with easy access and according to our DNR maps NOT a trout stream.
We jumped in and tried a couple of different habitats. One or two smallish fish that may have been out target Luxilus came up here and there, but nothing much. For some reason I had it in my head that we needed to be in the fast water. But when we tried some deeper eddies right behind moving water, we hit the spot where they were all hiding and quickly had a variety of sizes... big ones that we photographed and put back to grow bigger and make more fish... and a few smaller ones that are going to have the opportunity of a rather cushy existince in my basement.
All in all a great day. Thanks to Alejandro for coming out with me... seining was difficult in a couple of the places and would have been impossible to do alone... and dip nets would not have caught these strong, fast shiners... and for putting up with all my talkativeness.
Now here's, the fish show... and one that I would like some identification of...
Note 1, as always, everything was photographed stream side... and the unknowns were returned to the water, along with the big Bandfins.
Note 2, more, and full sized photos are available in the NANFA Gallery
Bandfin Shiners (Luxilus zonistus)
Tricolor Shiners (Cyprinella trichroistia)
Riffle Minnow (Phenacobius catostomus)
Not sure what the dark spot on his dorsal fin is... magnified in the photograph, it looks to be actual pigment on the fin... it was definitely not a parasite or anything that was "on" him.
Phenacobius Face
And now the unknowns... we were in the Etowah River near Dahlonega, GA, There were lots of these and we brought some of them back to photograph. The strong spot near the caudal and the red pigment in the dorsal caught my eye, but the more underslung mouth has me confused. My best guess is Alabama Shiner (Cyprinella callista)??
I investigated Dustin's lead (see earlier post), but this was not really an option. You see much of North Georgia's waters are designated as trout streams, and it is illegal to seine for bait (which is what my Georgia fishing license allows me to do) in a trout stream. Fortunately the Georgia DNR posts clear count by county maps of what is trout water and therefore off limits. But I got some additional information from Phil K. and based on this, I was able to identify some likely locations that were in legal to seine water. So after striking out in the type locality reagion, we headed north towards Dahlonega and found an excellent spot with easy access and according to our DNR maps NOT a trout stream.
We jumped in and tried a couple of different habitats. One or two smallish fish that may have been out target Luxilus came up here and there, but nothing much. For some reason I had it in my head that we needed to be in the fast water. But when we tried some deeper eddies right behind moving water, we hit the spot where they were all hiding and quickly had a variety of sizes... big ones that we photographed and put back to grow bigger and make more fish... and a few smaller ones that are going to have the opportunity of a rather cushy existince in my basement.
All in all a great day. Thanks to Alejandro for coming out with me... seining was difficult in a couple of the places and would have been impossible to do alone... and dip nets would not have caught these strong, fast shiners... and for putting up with all my talkativeness.
Now here's, the fish show... and one that I would like some identification of...
Note 1, as always, everything was photographed stream side... and the unknowns were returned to the water, along with the big Bandfins.
Note 2, more, and full sized photos are available in the NANFA Gallery
Bandfin Shiners (Luxilus zonistus)
Tricolor Shiners (Cyprinella trichroistia)
Riffle Minnow (Phenacobius catostomus)
Not sure what the dark spot on his dorsal fin is... magnified in the photograph, it looks to be actual pigment on the fin... it was definitely not a parasite or anything that was "on" him.
Phenacobius Face
And now the unknowns... we were in the Etowah River near Dahlonega, GA, There were lots of these and we brought some of them back to photograph. The strong spot near the caudal and the red pigment in the dorsal caught my eye, but the more underslung mouth has me confused. My best guess is Alabama Shiner (Cyprinella callista)??
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
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