Last weekend I made the 5 hour trip from my home in Iowa to Welch, MN to meet Jen K. and the group for the annual darter hunt. I had been invited years ago and had threatened to attend but had never quite made it. This was a spectacular event. The weather threatened to send us home but the rain held off. The water at the first collecting point was deep and cold. Eventually the sun shone nicely and the streams got shallower. It was well organized and ethical yet very informal and fun. We collected a dozen or so species - several new ones to me. I had a great time and hope to attend every year from now on. Thanks Jen, Konrad and all the MAS folks who made this trip wonderful.
MAS darter hunt
Started by
Guest_Fishwhisperer_*
, May 14 2011 08:33 AM
17 replies to this topic
#3
Guest_smilingfrog_*
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Posted 15 May 2011 - 12:10 AM
Fishwhisperer, glad you enjoyed it. I didn't travel nearly as far, but had a great time as well. I have been on several of these, and they are always very enjoyable. A fun filled day well spent.
I'll try and recall what we caught (common names only) though I'm sure I'll forget a few.
banded darter
johnny darter
fantail darter
rainbow darter (just a couple females)
common shiner
emerald shiner?
northern hog sucker
white sucker
central stoneroller
bluntnose minnow
longnose dace
blacknose dace
southern redbelly dace
redside dace
In the past we would get many stonecats, I'm hoping their absence from our catch this year was due to the higher/colder than usual water and not their absence from the river.
Also will echo the thanks to Jen for organizing this wonderful event.
I'll try and recall what we caught (common names only) though I'm sure I'll forget a few.
banded darter
johnny darter
fantail darter
rainbow darter (just a couple females)
common shiner
emerald shiner?
northern hog sucker
white sucker
central stoneroller
bluntnose minnow
longnose dace
blacknose dace
southern redbelly dace
redside dace
In the past we would get many stonecats, I'm hoping their absence from our catch this year was due to the higher/colder than usual water and not their absence from the river.
Also will echo the thanks to Jen for organizing this wonderful event.
Edited by smilingfrog, 15 May 2011 - 12:19 AM.
#4
Guest_Fishwhisperer_*
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Posted 15 May 2011 - 08:32 AM
Smiling frog, are you John or Todd? Your list looks very accurate to me. Nice work!
Yeahson, you may be in luck. Jen plans to have one, maybe two(?) more outings very soon on this darter hunt. She is monitoring the weather. One was scheduled for this weekend but postponed due to rain.
Yeahson, you may be in luck. Jen plans to have one, maybe two(?) more outings very soon on this darter hunt. She is monitoring the weather. One was scheduled for this weekend but postponed due to rain.
#5
Guest_Yeahson421_*
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Posted 15 May 2011 - 10:53 AM
Awesome! If you hear anything, I'd appreciate it if you shot me a PM. Also, wuld I have to be signed up for MAS? If so, how would I go about doing that?Smiling frog, are you John or Todd? Your list looks very accurate to me. Nice work!
Yeahson, you may be in luck. Jen plans to have one, maybe two(?) more outings very soon on this darter hunt. She is monitoring the weather. One was scheduled for this weekend but postponed due to rain.
Edited by Yeahson421, 15 May 2011 - 10:59 AM.
#7
Guest_Ken_*
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Posted 16 May 2011 - 12:20 AM
Last weekend I made the 5 hour trip from my home in Iowa to Welch, MN to meet Jen K. and the group for the annual darter hunt. I had been invited years ago and had threatened to attend but had never quite made it. This was a spectacular event. The weather threatened to send us home but the rain held off. The water at the first collecting point was deep and cold. Eventually the sun shone nicely and the streams got shallower. It was well organized and ethical yet very informal and fun. We collected a dozen or so species - several new ones to me. I had a great time and hope to attend every year from now on. Thanks Jen, Konrad and all the MAS folks who made this trip wonderful.
Where in Iowa are you from? I am in Cedar Rapids.
#10
Guest_Ken_*
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Posted 16 May 2011 - 10:57 PM
Oops
. Sorry Tom. I'm lousy with names. Had a great time hanging out.
Ken, I am in Davenport. I get up to CR regularly for Eastern Iowa Aquaria auctions.
Well next time you're gonna be up this way give me a shout. Would love getting together with someone else who appreciates natives.
#13
Guest_NVCichlids_*
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Posted 18 May 2011 - 09:50 AM
if you guys don't mind, coudl you include me in? I am from the lake mich side of wisconsin, but would be willing to drive to see some species I don't normally see (and to collect in places I have never been!)
-Nate
Also if there is an emailing sent out, I would prefer that, pm me and I will get you my email!
-Nate
Also if there is an emailing sent out, I would prefer that, pm me and I will get you my email!
#14
Guest_Yeahson421_*
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Posted 18 May 2011 - 03:29 PM
Hey, if/when you come up to the darter hunt, if you pass through the Southern tip of MN then I could show you some neat spots.if you guys don't mind, coudl you include me in? I am from the lake mich side of wisconsin, but would be willing to drive to see some species I don't normally see (and to collect in places I have never been!)
-Nate
Also if there is an emailing sent out, I would prefer that, pm me and I will get you my email!
#15
Guest_Fishwhisperer_*
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Posted 25 May 2011 - 08:54 AM
Turns out that while I was at the NANFA convention (and not checking my e-mail) Jen scheduled a trip for last Sunday. Unsure if they made it out or not. I'll refer Jen to this thread and let her handle it her way. Thanks for the interest.
#16
Guest_smilingfrog_*
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Posted 26 May 2011 - 12:07 AM
Turns out that while I was at the NANFA convention (and not checking my e-mail) Jen scheduled a trip for last Sunday. Unsure if they made it out or not. I'll refer Jen to this thread and let her handle it her way. Thanks for the interest.
We did go out on Sunday. The weather was a bit questionable but we managed to collect between the storms. Got some very nice rainbow darters and a logperch at the first site, also seined up a couple trout fingerlings, and a juvenile sunfish, and I think we may have got some bluntnose minnows there as well. We had lunch while waiting for a thunderstorm to pass, then went to the next site and got a few johnny darters, lots of banded killifish, spotfin shiners, bluntnose minnows, emerald shiners, and what we think were blackchin shiners. We didn't get any Iowa darters this year.
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