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Collecting in SC in December

Started by Guest_gzeiger_* , Oct 31 2014 02:57 PM

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#1 Guest_gzeiger_*

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Posted 31 October 2014 - 02:57 PM

I'm likely to have just one afternoon back in South Carolina in December (probably the second). I'm hoping someone can give me a good tip for where to find a couple things I've been missing. We can meet too if you're interested, but not required. Anywhere between Jenkinsville and Charleston, reasonably accessible from I-26.

I'd specifically like to find a couple fat sleepers, melanistic golden topminnows and an American eel. I might also be interested in a couple tadpole madtoms or Enneacanthus sunfish, but these are lower priority and I wouldn't keep them if I can get the others.

Any help is appreciated.

#2 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 31 October 2014 - 07:09 PM

Wow, an eel. That is not the run of the mill quest. I sure would like to net one myself. I have never seen one. Good luck.

#3 Guest_gzeiger_*

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Posted 01 November 2014 - 09:26 AM

I know two fairly reliable places to get little ones, but it's been a while and I'm not sure this will be the best time of year for them. They are awesome, but mine escaped in the process of moving. I left him in a lidded bucket at my parents' house while we were unpacking, and they took the lid off to look inside

It just looked like a bunch of plants I guess, and they didn't even realize there was a fish in there.

#4 Guest_gzeiger_*

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Posted 01 November 2014 - 07:18 PM

I'm relatively confident I can find the eel, although I will have limited time. The places I could find them reliably in the past are relatively distant from where I'll be, though, and I was hoping for a tip to save some driving.

I'd really be very grateful for help with the sleepers though. They are fantastic fish. I've only caught two in my life, and I killed them both in a filtration malfunction years ago. I caught them in different places, both of which I fished any number of times without ever finding another one.

#5 mattknepley

NANFA Member

Smack-dab between the Savannah and the Saluda.

Posted 01 November 2014 - 07:54 PM

I might be able to join you on Sunday afternoon of that weekend; Saturday would be a no-go in most likelihood.

I'm pretty much useless for knowing low-country locations for fish, but what I lack in knowledge I make up for in bad luck. At least so Dustin and Stephen claim! I bet one of those two, or Harry could help you out whenever they get back on here...

Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."

#6 Guest_sbtgrfan_*

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Posted 02 November 2014 - 07:04 AM

Unfortunately, I can't help with the eel or the fat sleepers. It's been a long time since I came across an eel here in SC, so I can't give any location on that though I know they are found in the coastal plain. I've also never seen a fat sleeper, so I have no location for them but you're more likely to find them in the brackish waters near Charleston I think. The golden topminnows should be relatively easy to come across though. I don't have locations on hand right now, but when I get the chance I will look them up for you if Dustin doesn't beat me to it.

I think I work the weekend of Dec. 2nd, otherwise I would be happy to join you. I'll recheck my work schedule though.

#7 Guest_gzeiger_*

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Posted 02 November 2014 - 12:03 PM

December 2 is a Tuesday, actually. I'll arrive Sunday afternoon, have a job interview on Monday, and then exploring Tuesday until my plane leaves.

Golden topminnows are easy to find pretty much anywhere, but I never managed to catch a melanistic one. I'm hoping there might be a localized population somewhere. Dustin gave me a tip once years ago, but it was a place I already frequented and I only ever saw one black-spotted fish there in over two years of regular visits (and couldn't catch it).

#8 Guest_sbtgrfan_*

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Posted 02 November 2014 - 02:32 PM

It sure is a Tuesday isn't it. I must have been looking at the wrong month or year. I'm ready for a day off tomorrow, for sure... That means I may be able to join you if you're not going too far and want some company (I'm in Charleston).

I missed the melanistic part too. My bad. This has been a hectic weekend... I can't point you in that direction. I think I've only ever seen one maybe two here in SC.

Let's hope Dustin comes through and can help you, cause I sure was no help!

#9 mattknepley

NANFA Member

Smack-dab between the Savannah and the Saluda.

Posted 02 November 2014 - 07:17 PM

I was just assuming the 2nd was a weekend, too. A Tuesday might be workable. Keep me in the loop, please!

Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."

#10 Guest_gzeiger_*

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Posted 02 November 2014 - 07:43 PM

The best places I know are over around Goose Creek, especially for eels and including Dustin's tip on Fundulus chrysotus. I might try to grab some frozen bloodworms for bait. Maybe that would help catch a specific topminnow by sight. There is also a fairly reliable population of melanistic Gambusia if you're interested in those.

#11 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 02 November 2014 - 08:02 PM

Get the Job! Then you'll have lots more opportunities to hunt for melanistic Fundulus and test out just how much bad luck Matt can convey.

#12 Guest_gzeiger_*

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Posted 03 November 2014 - 02:45 PM

I intend to of course, but I have several interviews in widely scattered places, so who knows where I'll end up. Maybe North Carolina, New Jersey, or Illinois.

#13 Guest_Dustin_*

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Posted 03 November 2014 - 03:00 PM

The spot near Goose Creek is the best spot for all of those species that I have. I was there a week ago and caught an eel, a fat sleeper and several melanistic chrysotus. We also caught gobs of bluefin killies, Heterandria and bluespotted sunfish. It's about 10-15 minutes off of the interstate though.

#14 Guest_gzeiger_*

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Posted 03 November 2014 - 06:31 PM

Any tips on where exactly to look for the sleepers? I caught one once in the swamp on base near there, but never in that river. Are they in the anacharis, or the emergent weeds over to the left of the dock, or somewhere else? Always lots of Lucania and Heterandria there, but I don't recall ever catching Enneacanthus either. I was only dipnetting though, so maybe the sunfish I saw further out could be taken with a seine?

#15 Guest_Dustin_*

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Posted 04 November 2014 - 09:17 AM

To be honest, that was the first fat sleeper I have ever caught in SC so I am by no means an expert. It was caught nearer the shore. In Costa Rica, where they were abundant, I caught them in stream margins tucked up in the vegetation.

I have always caught Enneacanthus there dipnetting but they seems to be seasonal in abundance. They are very abundant at the moment and should still be by the time you get there unless this recent cold snap has caused them to move. I have only dipnetted there. Too much vegetation to seine and it gets deep out at the margin of the veg.

#16 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 04 November 2014 - 11:38 AM

If sleepers hide in root mats, branches and holes along the banks, I wonder if hook & line might be more effective? Might get eels that way too.

#17 Guest_gzeiger_*

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Posted 04 November 2014 - 10:12 PM

I hate to hook a fish I'm going to keep as a pet. Anyway, with the number of sunfish and bass and shiners and everything, I can't imagine throwing a hook out there and hoping to get a sleeper.

I'm really hoping for a very small eel, too. I think I can catch one if I end up going to the place I'm thinking of. I think I am going to try baiting the net with bloodworms.