Since the vast majority of my collecting/sampling is done near my home in Boone Co., MO, and since all of the streams around here harbor the same set of species, I thought I'd start a running thread with the fish that I find around here.

Lately, I've been microfishing since I've been on my own, but occasionally I take a kicknet with me, and I'm looking forward to seining with a friend later this Summer.

Some of the main creeks in the county are the Perche, Hinkson (drains the city of Columbia with its 108,000 residents), Grindstone (runs right behind my home), Gans, and Bonne Femme. I'm partial to Grindstone thanks to its proximity, but I'm also curious to see what lives in Hinkson downstream of town after a large fish kill in one of its tributaries a little over a year ago.

About a month ago, I caught just two species in Gans Creek at Rock Bridge State Park:

Creek Chub


Common Shiner


Behind our home, in Grindstone, I've found lots of fish this year, but they're all very tiny. The creek was completely dry for at least a half mile in either direction from our house for almost all of 2012 thanks to the drought.

Bluegill


Largemouth Bass (47mm)


Bluntnose Minnow (?)


Hoping to add some photos of Hinkson Creek fish in the near future....the creek seems to be doing fairly well right now, all things considered.

Edited by rndouglas, 27 June 2013 - 07:01 AM.

I live very close to you (Holts Summit) and lately have been driving over the streams passing under Highway 63. It has been a long standing interest to look into some of the streams you mention. Have you encountered Calico Crayfish Orconectes immunis in any of those streams?

Have you encountered Calico Crayfish Orconectes immunis in any of those streams?

I have not, but I also have not looked carefully at more than a handful of crayfish here over the past few years. Every crayfish I've taken the time to ID has been Northern (O. virilis). The only other crayfish I've ID'd in Boone Co. are a few Grasslands (Procambarus gracilis), but they've always been on trails after heavy Spring rains.

I've only just started noticing crayfish in Grindstone behind the house in the past couple days. They were conspicuously absent the previous few weeks; they're all tiny.

Tuesday, I stopped by Hinkson Creek for 20 minutes before I headed into work. I was rewarded with my first Longear Sunfish in over a year, and the first two Red Shiners I'd ever seen.





I'm planning to try my luck on Grindstone Creek near its confluence with Hinkson Creek tomorrow morning. Yesterday, I caught a few Green Sunfish, Bluegill, and Red Shiners in that area. I also lost two darters (presumably Orangethroated....they're they only species I've ever run into there) on the hook as I pulled them out of the water. Still looking for my first Orange-spotted Sunfish, but I know that won't come on the Grindstone.

Orange spotted sunfish are more abundant in lower reaches. You can find them upstream but they are typically on the upper end of pools that have a good amount of water coming in off a riffle. Nesting is full swing now. In some of the clearer streams I suggest using a snorkel and mask to do recon since those that bite do not always represent who is present.

There is a pretty good diversity of fish species in Hinkson. I sampled Hinkson right behind Mizzou Arena one day last spring and found 25 different species. It's an interesting fishery, being right in town like it is.