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Fisheries Cross Country '13

Started by Guest_NateTessler13_* , Jan 26 2014 12:15 PM

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#1 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 26 January 2014 - 12:15 PM

In 2013, I worked for an environmental consulting firm located near Cleveland, OH. As a consultant, you spend a lot of time on the road working for various clients. Due to my background in fisheries and aquatic ecology, I got assigned to work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the National Rivers and Streams Assessment (NRSA). The NRSA was designed to provide regional and national estimates of the condition of rivers and streams. This assessment includes all size streams, from small headwater streams on up to large rivers like the Mississippi River. The project involves participation from federal, state, and tribal agencies (and consulting firms) nationwide. I know several NANFA members are involved with this assessment and have been involved with past nationwide assessments of rivers and streams. The 2013 field season marked the beginning of the second time this assessment has occurred. For more information about the NRSA and results from the 2008-2009 NRSA, please view these links:

http://water.epa.gov...g/riverssurvey/

http://water.epa.gov...iant_130314.pdf

One of the challenges of conducting a nationwide assessment with so many participants, is making sure the data is being collected in similar fashion throughout the nation. Only if data is collected using similar methods can we begin to compare data across the nation. That's where I come in...my job was to be a nationwide trainer, training state, federal, and tribal agencies (and consultants) in the methods of the NRSA. I was responsible for training crews to follow the NRSA protocols for assessing in-stream and riparian habitat quality, collecting fishes via electrofishing and seining, collecting macroinvertebrates, collecting periphyton, collecting fecal indicator samples, collecting water samples, among many other aspects of the assessment (of which are escaping my memory right now). In addition, after training was complete, I was tasked with visiting with field crews to ensure they were adhering to protocols. My work on this project and several others enabled me to work (and sample fishes) in fourteen different states in 2013. I'll use this thread to highlight some of the more memorable trips.

Late March: eastern Oklahoma

Those that would be training crews nationwide were invited to attend a training session in which the protocols would be discussed in detail. This train-the-trainers session was held in Wagoner, OK (about 40 miles southeast of Tulsa). Prior to this trip, I hadn't spent a lot of time in the Southern Plains/Temperate Plains Region. It was interesting to view the countryside and observe the impacts of cattle ranching on the landscape. Also, on the first day I set a goal to see an armadillo (a live one...not roadkill - more on that later). We spent most of our time at the training going over the finer points of the protocols, however, one day we finished up a bit early and I had the better part of an afternoon to myself. So, I set out to find some fish. A Google search of "Fishing in eastern Oklahoma" guided me to the website of the Gore, Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce (http://www.goreok.net/). Apparently, Gore is the "Trout Capital of Oklahoma"...certainly an idea that seems a bit out of place in the warm, dry, relatively flat landscape of the area. Northeast of Gore, a bottom -draw dam at the southern end of Tenkiller Lake feeds the Illinois River (Arkansas River tributary) with water cold enough to sustain a year-round trout fishery. The Illinois River and its tributaries are the only streams protected as "Scenic Rivers" in the state of Oklahoma (if I'm not mistaken). I arrived at this stream about 1/2 mile below the Tenkiller Dam with about two hours of sunrise to play.

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The waters of the Illinois were clear and cool. To my surprise, large mayflies and caddisflies were emerging from the stream all around me. Much to my chagrin, I left all my dry flies at home because in the Midwest we still had snow on the ground, so emerging insects seemed far off. In eastern Oklahoma, spring was beginning to arrive, however. I waded the stream for about two hours and caught a few brown and rainbow trout. I must have seen over one hundred fish rising to eat bugs. In addition, I saw one large dead longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus) nose down in the substrate. It appeared someone had caught it, broken its snout, and jammed it into the substrate. Unfortunately, this practice is not uncommon among those unaware of the role of the gar in the ecosystem. With the last few rays of sunshine remaining, I heard what sounded like a bull in a china shop going through the woods. To my surprise, I got a glimpse of a nice sized armadillo walking clumsily through the brush; a fitting ending to a pleasant afternoon. Although I didn't get much time to play in the water in Oklahoma, I enjoyed my trip there. If you ever find yourself in eastern Oklahoma, I recommend visiting the Illinois River.

My next trip for the NRSA project was in Sacramento, CA in early April. I'll continue with that one later.

#2 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 26 January 2014 - 06:49 PM

Early April: central California

In early April I was part of a training session for the NRSA project in the Sacramento area. Two days of the training were spent on and around the American River (Sacramento River tributary) in Folsom.

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Much of this river system is impacted by dams, and I believe the impoundment located in Folsom is known as Folsom Lake. The waters were deep, clear, and cool. Canyon walls (as pictured in the background) lined portions of the river/impoundment. The condition of the water (deep and clear) coupled with the bright sunshine made for unproductive electrofishing conditions. We did end up catching a small variety of fishes including:

Sacramento pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus grandis)

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This species of minnow grows to be over 3' in length. As they increase in size, their diet switches from mainly small macroinvertebrates to other fishes, large macroinvertebrates, and even rodents. I was really hoping to see a large specimen. This was the biggest one we encountered. We also caught a number of small fish, likely age 1.

Sacramento sucker (Catostomus occidentalis)

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This was one of the most common species collected. A few adults were ~16" in length. This species brings to mind the white sucker (Catostomus commersonii) I'm much more accustomed to seeing. This fish had a noticeable yellow hue to its scales, as compared to the white sucker.

Wakasagi (Hypomesus nipponensis)

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Prior to seeing these in the livewell, I had never heard of this species. This member of the smelt family (Osmeridae) is native to lakes and estuaries in Japan. According to sources cited on the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species website (http://nas.er.usgs.g...x?SpeciesID=794), this species was intentionally introduced by the California Department of Fish and Game as an experimental forage fish for trout. Unfortunately, it is now hybridizing with the Federally Endangered delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) in California.

I believe we also encountered several non-native Centrarchids in that portion of the river/impoundment as well, including largemouth bass and bluegill sunfish. It's no secret that large portions of the West have fish communities featuring (or even dominated by) non-native gamefishes. Although the West doesn't have high species diversity, it certainly is home to unique and interesting fishes (such as the Sacramento pikeminnow).

Next up...northeastern Ohio for a little fly fishing, and then down to Atlanta for some electrofishing.

#3 Isaac Szabo

NANFA Member

Marble Falls, AR

Posted 26 January 2014 - 09:54 PM

Thanks for sharing this Nate. I enjoyed reading about some of what you've been up to lately. That pikeminnow is pretty cool. I'm looking forward to more.

#4 Guest_fritz_*

Guests

Posted 26 January 2014 - 10:20 PM

Nate-
great stuff! Please write something up for American Currents. I will be bugging you!

Fritz

#5 Guest_Kanus_*

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Posted 27 January 2014 - 01:04 AM

Awesome to see some of my "hometown" fish species I grew up catching. While it has a tiny fraction of the diversity of this side of the country, there are some wild fish out there. Pikeminnows are cool. It's a shame to see yet another introduced species out there interfering with natives though. That is one I have never heard of. If you hit the right places in and around Sacramento, you can find Bigscale Logperch, a Texas species that apparently was a hitch hiker with some bass shipments from texas. When I was 11 or 12 I was incredibly fascinated with the tiger-striped fish that made its way into my minnow trap (sometimes in considerable numbers). First darter I ever kept...

#6 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 27 January 2014 - 06:25 PM

Thanks for sharing this Nate. I enjoyed reading about some of what you've been up to lately. That pikeminnow is pretty cool. I'm looking forward to more.

Thanks for following the thread, Isaac. I have some fantastic trips to the Pacific Northwest to share later on.

Nate-
great stuff! Please write something up for American Currents. I will be bugging you!

Fritz

Sound good to me. Perhaps I could work on shrinking this thread down to a two-three page summary for American Currents?

Awesome to see some of my "hometown" fish species I grew up catching. While it has a tiny fraction of the diversity of this side of the country, there are some wild fish out there. Pikeminnows are cool. It's a shame to see yet another introduced species out there interfering with natives though. That is one I have never heard of. If you hit the right places in and around Sacramento, you can find Bigscale Logperch, a Texas species that apparently was a hitch hiker with some bass shipments from texas. When I was 11 or 12 I was incredibly fascinated with the tiger-striped fish that made its way into my minnow trap (sometimes in considerable numbers). First darter I ever kept...

I didn't know populations of bigscale logperch existed near Sacramento. Do you think the species is established and reproducing out there, or were your captures rare occurrences?

#7 Guest_daveneely_*

Guests

Posted 27 January 2014 - 07:36 PM

Very well established. They're common even down in the Sacramento Delta. I had about a dozen of them in a single cast net throw a few years back.

#8 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 27 January 2014 - 08:06 PM

Mid-April: northeastern Ohio

If I had to pick only one time of year to be in and around the water in northeastern Ohio, it would be mid-April. The snow melt and rains of March and early April, along with the increasing length of day, trigger the spawning migration of many of the fish species of Lake Erie. During this time of year, the shale and sandstone lined streams of northeastern Ohio get a large influx of lake-run rainbow trout (steelhead), smallmouth bass, walleye, white bass, longnose gar, northern pike, white sucker, silver redhorse, and many other species. Usually this is the time I look for any excuse to play hookie and go play in the streams. Many fishermen in the area know the streams really starts to come alive in the spring when the white suckers arrive in numbers:

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The white sucker is usually the first to arrive. At times these fish are so numerous in the river, you cannot drift your bait through a run without snagging into one. I think its a blast to catch them, and their spawning activity seems to draw the attention of hungry trout.

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After the trout spawn, they begin to migrate downstream back to Lake Erie. Usually around the time they're leaving, large lake-run smallmouth bass show up in the lower ends of this rivers to spawn.

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If the water happens to be low and clear in the spring, it's possible to see schools of quillback (Carpiodes cyprinus) and silver redhorse (Moxostoma anisurum) jockeying for position in the shale and sandstone runs that provide spawning habitat for both species.

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Below is a picture of a silver redhorse I caught and released in the Vermilion River (located about 40 miles west of Cleveland) a few years ago. The fish weighed a little over 10 lbs., which would have made it a State Record, had I been aware the state of Ohio keeps records for redhorse. Oh well...

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Even if the fish aren't biting, the steep shale walls along many of the region's waterways surely make for an excellent background for a walk in the woods. For example, the middle reaches of the Vermilion River:

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Or some of the smaller streams that feed the area's many Scenic Rivers:

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The area has certainly come a long way since the days of the Cuyahoga River catching fire. Thanks to environmental policies such as the Clean Water Act and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, and the efforts of numerous agencies, universities, watershed groups, and environmental stewards, many of the streams of northeastern Ohio are a great place to wet your boots and enjoy nature once again.

Next up, northern Georgia in early May...

#9 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 29 January 2014 - 08:37 PM

Early May: northern Georgia

I found myself heading to Atlanta for another NRSA training session in early May. During this training, I was to instruct crews on the protocols for fish collection for the nationwide survey. This meant I was going to be spending a lot more time in the water playing with fish, as opposed to training crews on other aspects of the survey. To demonstrate all the methods of the protocol, we needed to visit a site that could be electrofished via boat, and an additional site that could be waded. Our boat site was the upper portion of the Ocmulgee River (Altamaha River tributary - Atlantic Ocean drainage). We launched our boat at the State Route 83 Bridge north of Juliette. We made several passes through a 500 meter length of river with the electrofishing boat. The trainees took turns netting fish, especially those that have never had the privilege. During our sampling, we collected:

American eel (Anguilla rostrata) - one really large adult was collected next to the boat ramp. I then stood by, amused, watching the trainees try to remove the slimy creature from the livewell when it was time to practice counting/ID'ing/recording data. Usually the guy or girl that drops the eel in the boat is the one that buys the first round of beers that night...because eels are pain to get out of the boat.
Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) - one that weighed approximately 20 lbs. This fish made a great sacrifice for practice getting a fish tissue sample.

Diversity of Cyprinids was low here. I don't really recall collecting any minnows here (besides the one common carp).
Notchlip redhorse (Moxostoma collapsum) - common in swift water in the middle of the river channel.
Redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) - the most common sunfish encountered.
Bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus)
Redear sunfish (Lepomis macrolophus) - several really large ones (~12" long). One of the big sunfish was going to be our sacrifice for fish tissue training until we caught the carp. I'm glad we got the carp, because there was much debate about which fish to sacrifice prior to the carp being caught.
Spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus)
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- this was the largest of the spotted bass we encountered. We caught several young fish that looked as if they were spotted bass x shoal bass hybrids.
Shoal bass (Micropterus cataractae)
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- this species was introduced into the Ocmulgee River in the 1970s. It likely hybridizes with the spotted bass. There was a lot of debate about which species we were seeing. Not having much experience with shoal bass, I went along with the word of the other biologists on site. I don't know that I'm yet 100% convinced of the identity of the fish pictured above.

I'm sure we caught other common species, but I didn't keep detailed records from this site, as I was more focused on providing instruction to the group.

Our next day was spent at our wadeable training site at Noonday Creek (Little River tributary - Etowah River drainage) northwest of Atlanta.

More on that soon...

#10 Guest_UncleWillie_*

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Posted 30 January 2014 - 09:11 AM

I am really enjoying your write-ups, Nate! That spot on the Ocmulgee is exactly where I spent the last three years when working for UGA / USGS Coop unit. My project was between Lloyd Shoals Dam and Juliette Dam, and I am all too familiar with that 30 km reach of river. You got a pretty good representation of what is in that part of the river (although the carp surprises me - we only caught 4 in 2 straight years of sampling!). Two other introduced species are quite common there as well - longear sunfish and flathead catfish.

I must say, I am not entirely convinced of that shoal bass. They are certainly there, especially upstream near Wise Creek and 40-Acre Island. The farthest downstream I have found them is about 9 km upstream of Hwy 83. But that fish of yours a lot like the red eye bass up there. We actually have confirmed one red eye bass X spotted bass hybrid.

#11 Guest_Mysteryman_*

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Posted 05 February 2014 - 01:21 AM

What a great job you have, Nate! I am more than a little envious.

#12 Guest_NateTessler13_*

Guests

Posted 06 February 2014 - 05:56 PM

I am really enjoying your write-ups, Nate! That spot on the Ocmulgee is exactly where I spent the last three years when working for UGA / USGS Coop unit. My project was between Lloyd Shoals Dam and Juliette Dam, and I am all too familiar with that 30 km reach of river. You got a pretty good representation of what is in that part of the river (although the carp surprises me - we only caught 4 in 2 straight years of sampling!). Two other introduced species are quite common there as well - longear sunfish and flathead catfish.

I must say, I am not entirely convinced of that shoal bass. They are certainly there, especially upstream near Wise Creek and 40-Acre Island. The farthest downstream I have found them is about 9 km upstream of Hwy 83. But that fish of yours a lot like the red eye bass up there. We actually have confirmed one red eye bass X spotted bass hybrid.

I'm glad you're enjoying the write-ups. There's plenty more coming. What kind of project were you working on in that area? Now that you mention it, I do remember seeing longear sunfish there as well.

I've only seen a few redeye bass in my day. They've been mostly adult fish ~8-10" and have had a fair bit of turquoise coloration on their face. I'll have to take a closer look at the fish in question. Do you have a pic of the redeye x spotted bass?

What a great job you have, Nate! I am more than a little envious.

Haha...a great job I "had". I left the consulting firm about two months ago to pursue a career in state service.

#13 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 06 February 2014 - 06:51 PM

Early May: northern Georgia (continued...):

As I mentioned in a previous post, the portion of the training in which we were required to visit a wadeable stream occurred at Noonday Creek Park, north of Marietta. Noonday Creek Park is located approximately 25 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta. Noonday Creek flows through this park before it dumps into Lake Allatoona to the northwest. Somewhere in Lake Allatoona, the waters of Noonday Creek join the Little River. Also below the surface of Lake Allatoona, the Little River joins the Etowah River. The Etowah River then flows southwest until it meets up with Oostanaula River (pronounced "oo-stuh-NA-luh"), forming the Coosa River prior to entering Alabama.

The training for the day focused on methods of measuring stream discharge rates, assessing in-stream and riparian floodplain habitat quality, and demonstrating safe wadeable electrofishing techniques. I noticed this portion of Noonday Creek seemed to be transporting a lot of sediment at a high rate.

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Newly deposited sand and gravel bars were common throughout this stretch of the creek. Many runs and riffles seemed to be smothered with fine substrates and at times I would sink in knee deep in sand/gravel bars. I can't remember if Atlanta recently had a large rainfall event that would have caused this, or perhaps this is typical of this stream. Either way, an eastern spiny softshell turtle found the shifting sand habitat to provide plenty of opportunities for foraging.

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One of the biologists at the training couldn't help but pick up the turtle:

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After the turtle was placed well out of our electrofishing sampling reach, we sampled the stream with a battery powered backpack shocker.

The runs were filled with minnow species like the Coosa shiner (Notropis xaenocephalus) and blacktail shiner (Cyprinella venusta):

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^ There was certainly no mistaking the identity of this shiner. I don't think I've ever seen one with such a bold black spot. One of the biologists suspected we saw a few rainbow shiners (Notropis chrosomus) in the minnow-mix as well. Other parts of the sandy runs had Alabama hogsucker (Hypentelium etowanum) and Mobile logperch (Percina kathae):

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At first glance, I thought this was the logperch (Percina caprodes) I'm more familiar with from the North. Before tossing the fish back in the water, I got a glimpse of orange...a characteristic lacking on P. caprodes:

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We collected three or four of these in a short stretch of river downstream from the bridge. In addition to the sandy runs, we sampled a few pools and backwater eddies. The pools were home to young spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus):

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..while the colorful southern studfish (Fundulus stellifer) could be found patrolling the shallow nearshore margin for insects:

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An interesting aquatic community existed at this portion of the stream, despite what could be upstream erosion issues. After allowing the trainees to take turns using the electrofishing equipment and netting fish, we called it a day and concluded our four days of training. The trainees and my colleagues traveled home, while I took the opportunity to stay in Atlanta and visit with my old college roommate for a few days of chasing trout and hiking through the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains.

I'll post next about my two days wondering around northern Georgia with a fly rod, camera, and dependable rain coat.

#14 Guest_MichiJim_*

Guests

Posted 15 February 2014 - 11:04 AM

Beautiful as always Nate. Always look for your posts. Thank you.

#15 Guest_NateTessler13_*

Guests

Posted 16 February 2014 - 01:30 PM

Early May: northern Georgia (continued...)

After the training session concluded, I spent a few days at a friend's house in the Atlanta area. We made plans to hit a few streams in the northeastern corner of the state. As I arrived, a weather system bringing about 3" of rain to the area in a 24 hour period also arrived. We figured we'd be able to still spend time playing in the upper portions of the streams, but the lower portions were likely to be flooded. We decided to try our luck at the Chattooga River. This National Wild & Scenic River begins in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, and flows southeast to form a portion of the border between Georgia and South Carolina. The waters of the Chattooga enter the Tugaloo River before emptying into the Savannah River, and then the Atlantic Ocean. The portion of the Chattooga we visited was within the Ellicott Rock Wildnerness Area which straddles three states (North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia) and includes three National Forests. As you might imagine, this area is rather remote and pristine. In fact, this river was used as the setting for the movie Deliverance...

We headed out to the stream in the rain in my friend's Lincoln Towncar...not the best idea when you're going to be driving on dirt roads in the rain...in an area in which the movie Deliverance was set.

We arrived and found a swift, clear stream with large boulders, deep pools, and a lush forested backdrop. What more could you ask for?

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After giving my buddy a few quick casting lessons, we were in the water, and easily catching stocked rainbow trout on a variety of flies (both wet and dry).

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I was glad we found the trout so eager to participate, as it was my friend's first time chasing trout with his fly rod. At the location pictured above, the fish were so aggressive that if I let my fly dangle in the water after unhooking a trout, I would have another one on my line before I could take another cast.

Once the action settled down a bit, we took a look at the Gazetteer to see if we could find some other spots to try. We decided on a bridge crossing near where a creek dumped into the Chattooga. The new spot provided a few rainbow trout, and one nice sized brook trout. I'm not sure if Georgia stocks brook trout in this stream, or if we were indeed near the southern limits of the native range of this species. Speaking of native fish, my friend had a fish strike his fly and he thought he missed the fish. On his back cast, I noticed a flash of silver. Turns out he had hooked a warpaint shiner (Luxilus coccogenis) and took it for the ride of its life through the air.

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While my friend continued to ply the water in search of trout, I took a seat on the bank and lit a cigar and took in the scenery. I noticed some movement in the grass along the bank. It turns out a newt was on the prowl:

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I haven't spent a lot of time learning about newts and salamanders. I come across them from time to time while working in wetlands or wading along a stream. If anyone wants to let me know a little more about this creature, I'd love to hear it.

As we left the stream with a few trout for supper, we got a little mixed up with our directions back to civilization. At one point we had to make a U-Turn and the wheels of my buddy's car got stuck in the soft ground. There we were on the side of the road, stuck, in the forest where Deliverance was filmed... When I got out of the car to size up our situation, I could swear I heard banjos off in the distance... After about 20 minutes of tire turning and car pushing, a pick-up truck drove by (with a Confederate Flag across the back window) and a few fellas jumped out and helped us out of our rut. At one point as we put the car in reverse, one of the back tires slid slightly off the ridge, down what was a 100 ft. hill. Luckily the driver slammed it in gear and got the car up onto the road again. We thanked the gentlemen, offered them some trout (they declined), and we retreated back to asphalt and civilization.

With all the rain we received that day (nearly 3"), we were very limited in our choices for exploring the streams of northern Georgia the next day. We ended up finding a section of the Chattahoochee River below a dam with very regulated flows. It represented some of the only water within a short drive that wasn't completely flooded. More on that in a bit..,

#16 Isaac Szabo

NANFA Member

Marble Falls, AR

Posted 16 February 2014 - 02:00 PM

Great stuff Nate. I'm enjoying all your posts. The Chattooga looks like a pretty river.

#17 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 16 February 2014 - 02:57 PM

I'm not great with amphibians, but that one is local... Eastern Red-Spotted Newt

http://srelherp.uga....ders/notvir.htm

And is sounds like you experienced the truth about Southern hospitality...

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

#18 Guest_Casper_*

Guests

Posted 16 February 2014 - 02:58 PM

Nate... good reading on a Sunday.
I have been in that river on my way to the Oconee State Forest for fungi. Nice snorkel stream. I sure am glad i never watched Deliverence in my youth, nor Blair Witch Project. A lot of my favored activities of life would have been altered.

That is an Eastern Spotted Newt, on its way to morphing to a Red Eft. Looks to me like you caught it between stages! I often see the Eastern Spotted Newts in back, slack waters, Conasauga and many other places. Cheoa, Tellico, Santeelah, Signal Mountain. Common. While walking through woods i often encounter their dry land stage, known as Red Efts. Their skin gets very tight and wrinkled rusty red, handsome. Tiny bright vermillion spots. Probably poisonous!
I have tried to put them during their aquatic stage in home aquaria but they quickly morphed to the land stage given that many of my old tanks had a land mass available to climb onto.
Looking forward to reading more of your accounts...

Quick Michael... i think he is more correct in the exact naming.

#19 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 16 February 2014 - 03:14 PM

The names on these guys are all over the place as is the subspecies designation... my Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia book says up that way they would actually be Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens. And yes, they do indicate that efts are rather poisonous and rather bold because of it. And these are some strange beasts... they actually start out as larva with external gills looking like a greenish salamander... then they go through the red eft stage and are entirely terrestrial... then they turn into what you have pictured there in order to return to and breed in the water... really strange life history.

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