A swamp (?) darter (guessing based on location, a pond):
And a small catfish:
Hunting for banded sunfish
Started by
Guest_wispfox_*
, Jun 21 2014 06:42 PM
13 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_mikez_*
Guest_mikez_*
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Posted 22 June 2014 - 10:46 AM
Nice! That's one heck of a big ole swamp darter. Catfish is brown bullhead. A redfin pickerel and banded sunny would have given the four basic species for that habitat before human disturbance.
You are doing it right, based on what you're catching and I can tell by the bits of "rockweed" [don't know the real name] that you are up against the boulders, the darter suggests one of the harder bottomed spots, maybe under train trestle? You were Right There! Don't know why none turned up...
You are doing it right, based on what you're catching and I can tell by the bits of "rockweed" [don't know the real name] that you are up against the boulders, the darter suggests one of the harder bottomed spots, maybe under train trestle? You were Right There! Don't know why none turned up...
#3
mattknepley
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- NANFA Member
- Smack-dab between the Savannah and the Saluda.
Posted 22 June 2014 - 09:25 PM
Swamp darters are neat little fish. Not the flashiest of darters, but they're fun to watch. If those bandeds keep giving you the slip, give a couple swampies a try.
Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."
#4
Guest_wispfox_*
Guest_wispfox_*
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Posted 23 June 2014 - 04:51 PM
mikez: really, that's big? Hmm, I should measure my hand and figure out the actual size, because my hands aren't very large. 
(Mind you, I have no idea where any rulers are, which is annoying, because I would have preferred to have one _with_ me rather than having to measure my hand)
And I suppose it's good I was in the right spot, if frustrating. I did only catch two fish while dipnetting, though. Good to know about hard-bottomed areas! I actually began to suspect that soft bottom would, at the very least, make it very hard to catch a fish without squishing it into all the muck.
mattknepley: noted! Poor thing seemed mostly just very confused. Sort of an orange-brown in the sun, though, which surprised me and made me doubt my ID. (sadly, the sun didn't stick around for the photo!)
(Mind you, I have no idea where any rulers are, which is annoying, because I would have preferred to have one _with_ me rather than having to measure my hand)And I suppose it's good I was in the right spot, if frustrating. I did only catch two fish while dipnetting, though. Good to know about hard-bottomed areas! I actually began to suspect that soft bottom would, at the very least, make it very hard to catch a fish without squishing it into all the muck.
mattknepley: noted! Poor thing seemed mostly just very confused. Sort of an orange-brown in the sun, though, which surprised me and made me doubt my ID. (sadly, the sun didn't stick around for the photo!)
#8
mikez
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- NANFA Guest
Posted 21 January 2015 - 08:51 AM
In places where there's not tons of cover, you may grab a few in one scoop when you hit those prime weed clumps or whatever. The only time I see them in "groups" is when you probe the leading edge of rising water, in my area usually a new or improved beaver dam is the cause, and you might get a whole bunch of young of the year or little ones from the year before. They seem to sense the rising water and follow it, in inches of water or less, as a way to colonize new water bodies. That explains why researchers trapping salamander larvae in seemingly fish-less vernal pools so frequently end up with banded sunnies in their traps.
Mike Zaborowski
I don't know, maybe it was the roses.
I don't know, maybe it was the roses.
#10
gerald
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- Wake Forest, North Carolina
Posted 21 January 2015 - 11:49 AM
IME adult Enneacanthus are usually solitary, except in winter they may congregate more. That might be partly an effect of fewer good plant patches to hide in, as well as less need to defend a territory in winter.
Don -- How and when do they die? Still in the collecting bucket? Or 1-2 days after getting home? Any visible fin edge erosion or bacteria/fungus damage on fins & body ?
I think one of the reasons fish can be "fragile" is because we hold them in our hands admiring them too long. Get them from net to cooler/bucket as quick as possible, and admire them later after they're recovered from collecting shock. If you need to look at them longer stream-side to make a positive ID, use a bag or flat-sided container, not your hand. Salt may help too (i use 1 teasp in 2 gallons), especially when collecting in low-conductivity water. Frightened fish can lose their blood salts quickly (an effect of adrenaline release) -- salted water can reduce the loss.
Don -- How and when do they die? Still in the collecting bucket? Or 1-2 days after getting home? Any visible fin edge erosion or bacteria/fungus damage on fins & body ?
I think one of the reasons fish can be "fragile" is because we hold them in our hands admiring them too long. Get them from net to cooler/bucket as quick as possible, and admire them later after they're recovered from collecting shock. If you need to look at them longer stream-side to make a positive ID, use a bag or flat-sided container, not your hand. Salt may help too (i use 1 teasp in 2 gallons), especially when collecting in low-conductivity water. Frightened fish can lose their blood salts quickly (an effect of adrenaline release) -- salted water can reduce the loss.
Gerald Pottern
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Hangin' on the Neuse
"Taxonomy is the diaper used to organize the mess of evolution into discrete packages" - M.Sandel
#11
mikez
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- NANFA Guest
Posted 21 January 2015 - 01:01 PM
Wow, fragile is the last thing I would have thought of in regards to banded sunfish. I called them "indestructible" in other threads here and I meant it.
They seem to tolerate very marginal habitat, I mentioned vernal pools above which are not uncommon places for them to turn up despite being small stagnant and subject to heat and cold fluctuations not found in larger bodies of H2O. Another place they turn up frequently around here is in the tiny fire ponds that are dug in low spots to provide H2O for fighting fires where there is no public water. These also are tiny and stagnant, often just a big hole bulldozed in a swampy spot.
I've kept many over the years and found them, well, indestructible. JMO, yer milage may vary.
They seem to tolerate very marginal habitat, I mentioned vernal pools above which are not uncommon places for them to turn up despite being small stagnant and subject to heat and cold fluctuations not found in larger bodies of H2O. Another place they turn up frequently around here is in the tiny fire ponds that are dug in low spots to provide H2O for fighting fires where there is no public water. These also are tiny and stagnant, often just a big hole bulldozed in a swampy spot.
I've kept many over the years and found them, well, indestructible. JMO, yer milage may vary.
Mike Zaborowski
I don't know, maybe it was the roses.
I don't know, maybe it was the roses.
#12
gerald
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- Global Moderator
- Wake Forest, North Carolina
Posted 21 January 2015 - 05:35 PM
Tolerance for exteme conditions in nature isn't always a good predictor of susceptibility to collection-induced stress. Several times I have seen Gambusia stress out and get "fin rot" within a couple hours after collecting, when small sunnies, umbra, swamp darters, and other fish in the same container did fine.
Gerald Pottern
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Hangin' on the Neuse
"Taxonomy is the diaper used to organize the mess of evolution into discrete packages" - M.Sandel
#13
mikez
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- NANFA Guest
Posted 21 January 2015 - 06:05 PM
Tolerance for exteme conditions in nature isn't always a good predictor of susceptibility to collection-induced stress.
True enough. I threw that in thinking it supported my experience with an extremely hardy and adaptable species. You won't find many other species surviving in those conditions I described.
I should keep quiet and let others talk, just happens to be a species I have grown up with and handled an awful lot over the years.
Mike Zaborowski
I don't know, maybe it was the roses.
I don't know, maybe it was the roses.
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