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Favorite Samplings?


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#1 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 14 February 2007 - 01:03 AM

I keep records of everytime I hop in the water. I am rather new to the hobby/science of fish collecting though. I have been going at it in depth for about the last year and a half. In that last year and a half I have sampled in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. I have been to some great streams, and some not so great ones (as we probably all have). I am still in the process of going through all my data in my notebooks that I have records of my trips, and thought it'd be worthwhile to post some information from some of my more interesting/fun trips. Hopefully other people will post some of their favorite outings too. Unfortunately so far I don't have pictures from my outings. I do go sampling with smbass quite often and he, along with his wife, take some excellent pictures of what we find out there. If he would like to post some pictures of some fish we caught on these trips, that'd be great, but if not, I'll post up lists. You guys know where to find pictures anyways. So here it goes---the first of many...

Date: 10/14/06
Location: An infamous tributary to the Scioto River in central Ohio. (We're supposed to keep exact locations somewhat secretive, right?)
Collected:
  • Spotted Darter (Etheostoma maculatum)
  • Tippecanoe Darter (Etheostoma tippecanoe)
  • Bluebreast Darter (Etheostoma camurum)
  • Variegate Darter (Etheostoma variatum)
  • Banded Darter (Etheostoma zonale)
  • Greenside Darter (Etheostoma blennoides)
  • Johnny Darter (Etheostoma nigrum)
  • Blackside Darter (Percina maculata)
  • Logperch (Percina caprodes)
  • Rainbow Darter (Etheostoma caeruleum)
  • Spotted Sucker (Minytrema melanops)
  • Golden Redhorse (Moxostoma erythrurum)
  • Northern Hogsucker (Hypentelium nigricans)
  • Central Longear Sunfish (Lepomis megalotis megalotis)
  • Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)
  • Orangespotted Sunfish (Lepomis humilis)
  • Rock Bass (Ambloplites rupestris)
  • Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu)
  • Stonecat (Noturus flavus)
  • Brindled Madtom (Noturus miurus)
  • Grass Pickerel (Esox americanus vermiculatus)
  • Blackstripe Topminnow (Fundulus notatus)
  • Brook Silverside (Labedesthes sicculus)
  • Sand Shiner (Notropis stramineus)
  • Mimic Shiner (Notropis volucellus)
  • Rosefin Shiner (Lythrurus ardens)
  • Rosyface Shiner (Notropis rubellus)
  • Spotfin Shiner (Cyprinella spiloptera)
  • Bluntnose Minnow (Pimephales notatus)
  • Ohio Stoneroller Minnow (Campostoma anomalum anomalum)
  • Stripe Shiner (Luxilus chrysocephalus)
  • Silver Shiner (Notropis photogenis)
  • Suckermouth Minnow (Phenacobius mirabilis)
  • Gravel Chub (Erimystax x-punctatus)
Quite a place to fish, wish all spots were like this. :shock:

#2 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 14 February 2007 - 01:17 AM

Here's another one that was interesting;

Date: 05/16/06
Location: A small tributary to the Illinois River (just south of it, not far off interstate 55 I believe) in north-central Illinois.
Collected:
  • Slenderhead Darter (Percina phoxocephala)
  • Blackside Darter (Percina maculata)
  • Logperch (Percina caprodes)
  • Johnny Darter (Etheostoma nigrum)
  • Banded Darter (Etheostoma zonale)
  • Central Stoneroller Minnow (Campostoma anomalum pullum)
  • Redfin Shiner (Lythrurus umbratilis)
  • Bluntnose Minnow (Pimephales notatus)
  • Striped Shiner (Luxilus chrysocephalus)
  • Creek Chub (Semotilus atromaculatus)
  • Blackstripe Topminnow (Fundulus notatus)
  • Orangespotted Sunfish (Lepomis humilis)
  • Pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus)
  • Green Sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus)
  • Rock Bass (Ambloplites rupestris)
  • Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)
  • Northern Hogsucker (Hypentelium nigricans)
I liked this spot mostly because I had never seen Slenderhead Darters before. I found them at the top of a riffle at the very swiftest part. The females were very gravid too. Also, I had never seen Redfin Shiners with such brilliant bright red fins besides there. (Inseiner assisted in this collection)

#3 Guest_ashtonmj_*

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Posted 14 February 2007 - 09:21 AM

I might as well start my day off with a little reminiscing. This is really two spots, but its in one long bend where a couple shoal island riffles complexes are in the Little River, TN. I guess I should give the disclaimer that I wasn't out collecting or anything like that, I was doing work, so I had an unfair advantage of electricity strapped to my back. Not the most pristine habitat, a little too much cattle and now home development in the area, a somewhat small river, and a soon to be overwhelmed WWTP, but here's what I found.

Snail darter
Blotchside logperch
Longhead darter
Gilt darter
Logperch
Dusky darter
Tangerine darter
Duskytail darter
Wounded darter
Bluebreast darter
Redline darter
Snubnose darter
Banded darter
Greenside darter
Blueside darter
Banded sculpin
Chesnut lamprey
Stoneroller
Whitetail shiner
Spotfin shiner
Striped shiner
Warpaint shiner
Tennessee shiner
Silver shiner
Roseyface shiner
River chub
Bigeye chub
Stargazing minnow
Black redhorse
Northern studfish
Mountain madtom
Longear sunfish
Rockbass
Spotted bass
Northern hogsucker

And that's just sampling the riffle/runs .... so it could go on had I done any slow deep water...
Scientific names will come after lunch when its not so cold and I'm not so still asleep...

#4 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 15 February 2007 - 02:13 PM

Wow, that's a whole mess load of darters. Wish we had places like that here in Ohio...

#5 Guest_ashtonmj_*

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Posted 15 February 2007 - 03:41 PM

That's why I left Ohio :mrgreen: The best part...it's not that big of a stream, maybe 50 feet wide on average. There are frequent records of Ashy darters too, and after I looked back I realized I got one Longhead darter and later in this year upon returning to snorkel I saw a about a dozen. 3 federall listed, 4 state listed darters in that group too. I know more species have been collected too from other peoples snorkel records and TVA water quality sampling.

#6 Guest_farmertodd_*

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Posted 15 February 2007 - 07:07 PM

I have seen a few places. If I *had* to pick a top 5 (you'll notice I start and stop with the Duck River watershed), it would be as follows:

5. Little Buffalo River, TN - Seine toss after seine toss after seine toss of nothing but monster coppercheek and redline darters. And then I moved out of *that* riffle. I need to look that fish list up. I think that's the only place I passed 30 species 1 man seining.

4. "The Outlet", OH - Ever think you could catch 3 lbs of fully colored rainbow, orangethroat and greenside darters from one "darter dance" in a gol' danged ditch? Yeah. 100 meter species record here is 24 species, in one sample event. Ridiculous. Was also one of Trautman's favorites.

3. Slough, Blackwater River SP, FL - "Damn the gators, full seine ahead!" Also, the only place I've ever caught 4 species of turtle with the seine.

2. Paint Creek, OH - The Darby has the bulk species, but Paint Creek has the scenery up in the gorge. My lady friend and I caught 27 species in 1 hour in 60 meters, 8' seine. I really wish ODNR would do a spotted darter reintroduction here. (btw Nate, are you sure that "brindled" was a brindled?)

1. Bell Buckle Creek, TN - Nothing has ever come as close to a drop to your knees, it's time for "revival", as the first time I lift a seine out of a crappy looking riffle, in a beat up creek with horrible geomorphology, silt and a foamy stench, beer bottles and subway bags strewn, in a little town called Bell Buckle, TN, and found these in my seine:

http://nomy.org/nanf...a/luteovinctum/

Church had begun.

Todd

#7 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 15 February 2007 - 07:41 PM

Those Redband Darters really are something special. Such vibrant colors. Their color pattern reminds me of Iowa Darters except Iowa Darters don't have anywhere near the brilliance in coloration of those fish. Also, in response to the question about the Brindled Madtom, yes, Brian and I specifically went and tried to catch a Brindled there by stomping through the tree roots along the shoreline after working Trautman's Riffle in search of the Mountain and Northern Madtoms.

#8 Guest_ashtonmj_*

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Posted 15 February 2007 - 09:05 PM

That day on the Duck below Shelbyville was pretty good too considering the stage and discharge we had to deal with. Really when you think of what you saw in those two days from the upper Duck tribs to the lower main stem area and the Buffalo that is a trip of a lifetime for some. Imagine if the Duck wasn't 6 feet over the banks.

#9 Guest_farmertodd_*

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Posted 15 February 2007 - 09:05 PM

These pictures don't even capture the metallic look of that teal. You really have to see it in person. Gonna be around next year, Spring Break time? ;)

Okay, good :) I once made the mistake of bringing home a "brindled" darter from Trautman's Riffle my first trip there, and of course it hit aquarium water before I figured it out, else I'd driven back the next day to release it. Fortunately, Cavender hadn't vouchered any that particular year, so it's in the collection now.

Todd

#10 Guest_farmertodd_*

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Posted 15 February 2007 - 09:28 PM

That day on the Duck below Shelbyville was pretty good too


Yeah, that day is in my number 8-6, with the barrens darter spring head and Casper's back yard snail darter finds. I had to really think about that one. Shelbyville fell from grace because the site is ugly as heck and there were freakin rainbow trout probably eating all the fish we were returning (which included a fair number of coppercheek darters). Still makes me sick to my stomach that we couldn't kill the trout, at least detain them while we finished the sample.

I also went back to the "canoe access" on our way home from Alabama in the spring. That has to be one of the best mussel beds in the world. That was another 1 hour sample record. 26 species fresh dead (most live) with a view bucket, including huge populations of two FE species. We didn't even go looking up in the quiet areas for the "junk" like grandis and ferussacianus, and I know of four other species that are there from vouchers on the ashy darter day. 32 species of mussels. There's gotta be a lot of species of fish!

Couldn't talk Jim and Phil into stopping on the way back from Alabama this December... But I did get them to go to Stan's: http://www.roadfood....aspx?RefID=3391

We're gonna stop at Henry Horton on the way to Floriday the last week of April first week of May. I'm hoping to get a lot of lure film and photos.

Just gotta face it... The Duck rules!

Todd

#11 Guest_ashtonmj_*

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Posted 15 February 2007 - 10:42 PM

I'm pretty sure we got about 35-37 in September for the Malacology class trip, maybe 40 if you tally up everyones different collections. There is some growing debate whether the capsaeformis there is one species or two, the second being a Duck endemic. I really wanna take a canoe trip down from Lillards Mill to Henry Horton, we usually do one a year for an inventory, and I wasn't lucky enough to be the 2nd person last summer. Wish you could have seen that midden I found below Columbia. I had to walk away, two more students were able to go through it and there were still shells left.

Yeah, well TWRA loves putting trout everywhere while the temps are low enough...and well...we could have. Remeber Tyler and I actually did all that collecting for voucher specimens for a seminar I was on my permit that day.

I could throw in the May 2005 French Broad sampling but that would just be rediculous approaching the 70+ species range :mrgreen:

#12 Guest_smbass_*

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Posted 15 February 2007 - 11:20 PM

I can vouch for nate that it was definately a brindled madtom and not a northern. I have been watching for them in the darby and specifically tried for them a couple times with no luck so far. Would like to photograph one stream side and release. the brindleds on the other hand are rather abundant there if you find some nice root/undercut banks.

#13 Guest_smbass_*

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Posted 15 February 2007 - 11:24 PM

My best sampling day in Ohio was a darby trip about 2 years ago where with a class group we took 41 species in a day. I honestly havn't done as much as a lot of you guys out of Ohio and I think the Black river trip at the convention last fall was my highest species count ever thus far. I think I counted 52 or 53 that day would have o go back and check my list to be sure.

#14 Guest_farmertodd_*

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Posted 16 February 2007 - 07:33 AM

I'm pretty sure we got about 35-37 in September for the Malacology class trip, maybe 40 if you tally up everyones different collections.


Yeah. Once I'm teaching, I'd like to use the Duck as a summer honors class with canoe trips and the rot. You've got pretty much every issue in North American aquatic ecology right there, and what a set of animals to make the demonstration! What I like most about it as a classroom is that you're not in some pristine area which might as well be the Amazon or a Cape somewhere else. Be really cool if I got to know some of the farmers and such. "Before any of you get too self righteous... You gonna tell him he can't make a living? You got anything to say about that Farmer John?" :)

Of course, we'll head up into the Collins Fork in the plateau or over to the Little Buffalo for some nice scenery and some history on the Natchez Trace.

Todd

#15 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 16 February 2007 - 10:40 AM

These pictures don't even capture the metallic look of that teal. You really have to see it in person. Gonna be around next year, Spring Break time? ;)

Okay, good :) I once made the mistake of bringing home a "brindled" darter from Trautman's Riffle my first trip there, and of course it hit aquarium water before I figured it out, else I'd driven back the next day to release it. Fortunately, Cavender hadn't vouchered any that particular year, so it's in the collection now.

Todd


I know that Brian has sent fish to Cavender, heck, even I gave him a Western Banded Killifish that I caught in the Portage River. I was wondering how often you guys talk to him and whether or not you guys have viewed the collection. Is he out of Ohio University or Ohio State University? Oh and by the way, I'd love to get out to Tennessee or at least Kentucky sometime to view some of these amazing fish.

-Nate

#16 Guest_smbass_*

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Posted 16 February 2007 - 10:42 AM

Ohio State University

#17 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 20 February 2007 - 09:36 PM

have you seen the collection?

#18 Guest_Brooklamprey_*

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Posted 20 February 2007 - 11:11 PM

My two favorite samplings were the Vermilion river in Il and the Upper Au sable river here in Michigan.
In short collection consisted of the following....Gars and Lamprey plus a lot of silvery things..



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