8 replies to this topic

[mattknepley]

Six Mile Creek, Greenwood County, SC

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The chubs came out of a 2' deep pool snugged up to the culvert. The darters came from water 1/2" to 6" in depth, mostly. There were tons of them. As my experience with Carolina darters (Etheostoma collis) has always been, these guys liked shallow water with heavy vegetation or tree roots.

I originally called these chubs rosyfaces, (Hybopsis rubrifrons) but might they be highbacks (H. hypsinotus)? I know these darters are Carolinas, but a little voice in the back of my mind keeps pointing out the spots on the caudal peduncle and the slightly larger first dorsal than Carolinas usually have and wants me to call at least one of 'em a swamp darter.

The pictures aren't so hot, as is my usual condition, but do show details for fin spine/ray counts etc., especially of some of the fish who weren't the object of the picture at the time of its taking. FWIW, only one chub seems to have the prerequisite 8 dorsal spines to be either rosyface or highback. Can't count, apparently. Sometimes the backs look arched sometimes they don't...

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[mattknepley]

Thanks, everybody.

I never did see a barbel on those chubs, but if they are that small, then no wonder. I'm still thinking they're rosyfaces, but I guess the jury's out.

Tesselateds never entered my mind for those darters, Gerald. They sure do look like the ones in Fritz's book, though. I never thought of them because the tessies I'm used to seeing in these parts are usually much lighter colored than the ones in his book. I've been there a couple times and never once thought "tessie". Now I gotta go back up there and be a little more careful. I wonder if there are both of 'em mixed in when there wasn't before. The water level is waaay down from this summer (more on that later)maybe they've moved in together for the winter? The stream is in the Saluda drainage.

The water level isn't much deeper in the runs from what I've seen, but the area immediately below the culvert is much larger and deeper in the spring and during moderate/heavy rainfall. This is at least the second culvert to go in these past few years. The road had a reputation for flooding right there, and has washed out at least one previous bridge. Apparently part of the "problem" is that there is a spring in there somewhere that had managed to not be found up until the instalation of this last culvert. I met the old man who owns the property,and his son who grew up on it, during this last adventure. They both indicated that there used to be a good sized pool/pond below where the culvert lets out now. They used to catch warmouth and even "jackfish" (redfin pickerel)when the son was a kid. He's probably in his late forties-early fifties now. In May I got a large, tubercled creek chubsucker out of there. No sign of him this time around.

When I get another chance, I'll have to make it up there and do a much better job of photographing the locals so as to put this to bed. Gee, too bad. I have to go play with fishes again...