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What is it? North GA

Started by Guest_Assault0137_* , Nov 16 2013 04:16 PM

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17 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_Assault0137_*

Guests

Posted 16 November 2013 - 04:16 PM

just found this stream near my house http://waterdata.usg...wis/uv?02217274 and i found some minnows in it. no idea what they are, and i wasnt able to find them on http://fishesofgeorgia.uga.edu/ any help? so far i have found only these fish and some crawfish, and i could really care less about the crawfish unless i find enough to eat

dont worry, he's alive
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#2 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 16 November 2013 - 05:08 PM

That watershed site says that you are near Auburn Georgia... I am just over here towards Athens... not far away at all... that is almost certainly a yellowfin shiner (Notropis lutipinnis).

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

#3 Guest_Dustin_*

Guests

Posted 16 November 2013 - 06:12 PM

Yep. Michael knows his backyard fish better than most anyone.

#4 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 16 November 2013 - 06:27 PM

http://www.nanfa.org...utipinnis.shtml

Here are some all hopped up in breeding season.

#5 Guest_Assault0137_*

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Posted 16 November 2013 - 10:28 PM

So... My backyard fish will look like THAT? When is their breeding season?

#6 Guest_gerald_*

Guests

Posted 16 November 2013 - 10:36 PM

probably late March to early June -- sometimes even later. Look for big piles of gravel (1-2 feet across) right at the transition between a pool and a riffle. Those are bluehead chub nests (a bigger minnow, aka hornyhead to some folks), and the yellowfin shiners (plus other shiners, dace and chubs) usually spawn on the bluehead's nests. Interestingly, the chub who built it doesnt seem to mind sharing.

#7 Guest_Assault0137_*

Guests

Posted 16 November 2013 - 10:47 PM

Thanks! Weeks ago, I tried a DIY minnow trap baited with rasin bread(has worked before, but not on these fish). Well, I didn't catch anything. What should I use

#8 Guest_Skipjack_*

Guests

Posted 16 November 2013 - 10:55 PM

A seine.

#9 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 17 November 2013 - 08:39 AM

I say you should use a telephone... and call me... I can bring the seine and help you catch fish... we were just out yesterday at McNutt Creek just south of Athens and caught 14 different species. One of my responsibilities as the regional rep is to be helpful to new fish people like you. I will post some pictures soon

And yes, yours could look like that... this guy came from stone mountain area this summer/fall.
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And this link is a video of the chub nest action that Gerald was describing;

Let me know if you would like some help, and I would be more than happy to come over and make sure that you get a chance to see some fish. We can start a discussion here, or you can use the PM function to talk more privately about a specific location.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

#10 Guest_Assault0137_*

Guests

Posted 17 November 2013 - 09:18 AM

I think I might wait a bit before actively getting involved in NANFA, I've got alot to do this year and next if I happen to get into GCMST... After all, I am only 13.
Don't think you have squandered your time educating me about these awesome shiners, I really appreciate your help. if this engineering think doesnt work out, who knows, I may get a job related to all of this! I've loved all kinds of water since I was a toddler in Louisiana, and it may fit me well.

#11 Guest_gerald_*

Guests

Posted 17 November 2013 - 06:20 PM

That's one of the things I love about internet forums. ... the surprises of who is who. In this case a 13-yr old with the thoughtfulness and writing skills of a better-than-average adult. I figured you were probably a grad student at some university. Kids with good observation skills can give useful advice to researchers, with neither one knowing their age and education diffreneces. I saw a greeting card recently with two dogs at a computer and one is saying to the other: "online, nobody knows I'm a dog". Glad to have you join us!

#12 Guest_Assault0137_*

Guests

Posted 17 November 2013 - 08:29 PM

Thanks Gerald! Yeah, these forums sure are surprising... On one of the fish forums i like, the most respected member is a 12 year old girl who is the Betta fish mastermind. The world sure is weird in unexpected ways...

#13 Guest_Assault0137_*

Guests

Posted 20 November 2013 - 06:14 PM

I found 6 shiners in a minnow trap i left for 24 hours and baited with a ripped up peice of white bread. They were all 2-2.5 inches, and the minnows swimming around the trap were considerably smaller, closer to 1 inch. Is 2.5" the biggest they get? Also, they seem to have lost some color on their fins, now only their tails are a weak red and their fins are a light yellow. Maybe they have better color in warmer water...

#14 Guest_Assault0137_*

Guests

Posted 20 November 2013 - 07:54 PM

One more thing: I scouted the trail for about 200 feet in either direction and found no bluehead chub nests... I'll take a closer look over thanksgiving break, but I don't think I'll find one.

#15 Guest_fundulus_*

Guests

Posted 20 November 2013 - 08:03 PM

The bluehead chub nests are likely gone, and certainly unoccupied, until probably March around 'lanta when the next breeding season begins. A lot of minnows tend to hang out in size-specific schools, so part of one school may have gone in to your trap and another was attracted by the commotion/smell.

#16 Guest_Skipjack_*

Guests

Posted 20 November 2013 - 08:04 PM

Ohh. Gerald told you to look for them in March through June. You are right, probably won't find anything but remnants this time of year.

#17 Guest_gerald_*

Guests

Posted 20 November 2013 - 08:18 PM

Adult yellowfin shiners get up to about 3 inches. Not much color normally from end of spawning until the following spring. In an aquarium they might color up anytime of year, as Matt's greenheads just did.

#18 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 20 November 2013 - 08:34 PM

yes to all of that... I would have gone a little higher up to maybe 4 inches, but that is tail and all... like this guy... he was rather a brute.
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And are you saying that the wild ones have lost some color... I would agree... it was cold recently and they are slowing down... this guy was from this past weekend... they were a bit slimmer and a bit less colorful than in the summer time... not as many bugs fallin' in the stream.
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... and yes, in a room temperature aquarium, you can never be sure what you might see. They sometimes color half up in the matter of a few seconds if they like the menu offerings that evening...
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or this pair (photo shot at the same time as above)
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How do you not love a fish like that? Or cruise over to Matt's thread about his greenheads (maybe?) a closely related fish... that colored up for him based on what he thinks was a few degree warm up in the house (I still am not convinced it was not just because he fed them well for three days in a row... they are very food motivated)... its like the beagle version of fish keeping.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin