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Southeastern Oklahoma End of March


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#1 catfishcain

catfishcain
  • NANFA Guest

Posted 10 January 2015 - 08:53 PM

As promised here are some photos from my first trip to the SE corner of my state last year at the very end of March. All the fish shown in the pictures were caught hook and line. In a total of maybe 3 or 4 days hitting spots from right along the Oklahoma/Arkansas state line to the Blue River in more south central Oklahoma. I apologize a head of time for the quality of the pictures. There not as good as the ones I posted from my November trip. KiamichiParkCreek2.JPG KiamichiParkCreek.JPG This first location was located in Antlers along the Kiamichi River where 271 crosses the river. There is a small city park there with a boat ramp to the river and a small little feeder creek that flows from a pond on the edge of the park to the river. This creek was loaded with fish. I seen or caught sunfish, shiners, stonerollers, darters, and topminnows. HighlandStonerollerAntlersOK.jpg Campostoma spadiceum (Highland Stoneroller) this was the first Highland I caught but certainly not the last. It came from the spot shown above with the tree limb in the water. There were a few of them schooling along the bottom amongst the leaves. Usually anglers talk about how hard it is to catch a stoneroller hook and line. But I have found that the Highland is extremely aggressive when it comes to taking a baited micro hook. After looking at all my pictures though this is sadly the best quality photo I have of a Highland. The good news is I kept one for my aquarium from this trip so ill be able to post more photos of this species if people would like. SteelcolorShinerAntlersOK1.11.JPG Cyprinella whipplei (Steelcolor Shiner) this guy also came from the creek shown above. OrangebellyDarterFemalesKiamichiParkCreek.JPG Etheostoma radiosum paludosum (Orangebelly Darter females) I seen a couple male darters at this creek but couldn't get a hook set when they struck the bait. I did manage to catch both these females from the same small hole which is shown above below the riffles. GoldenShinerMcKinneyCreek.JPG Notemigonus crysoleucas (Golden Shiner) this shiner was actually caught from a small road side pond/swamp just to the east of McKinney Creek on Highway 3 a couple miles from the Arkansas border. The only other thing I caught here were Western Mosquitofish but I have wanted to go back with a net. Because it looked like a perfect place to catch pygmies and other topminnow/killifish species. LittleRiverFeederCreek1.2.JPG LittleRiverFeederCreek1.4.JPG North of Idabel where road D4615/N4625 crosses the Little River there is an old city park that has a closed gate. Through this park there is a small creek that flows into the Little River. This creek was also loaded with various fish species. I seen sunfish, bass, topminnows, shiners, darters, and stonerollers. Probably the highlight of this creek were the Orangethroat Darters which could be found all throughout the creek and were in full spawning colors. OrangethroatDarterMaleLittleRiver1.25.JPG OrangethroatDarterMaleLittleRiver4.6.JPG Etheostoma spectabile pulchellum (Orangethroat Darters). SteelcolorShinerLittleRiver1.1.JPG Cyprinella whipplei (Steelcolor Shiner) from the same creek shown above. Within this creek I caught both Steelcolor Shiners and Blacktail Shiners. BlacktailShinerLittleRiver.JPG Cyprinella venusta (Blacktail Shiner) BlackstripeTopminnowLittleRiver1.5.JPG Now I believe this is a Fundulus notatus (Blackstripe Topminnow) but I could be wrong. This guy was also caught from the creek north of Idabel. In fact this exact topminnow has been inhabiting my aquarium since I caught it. BlackstrippedTopminnowCoonCreek1.3.JPG This topminnow was caught from a different creek, Coon Creek in Broken Bow where road N4690 crosses the creek. BluntnoseMinnowEastBoktukloCreek1.13.JPG Pimephales notatus (Bluntnose Minnow) caught from East Boktuklo Creek north of Broken Bow Lake. BlueCreek9.JPG Blue Creek north of Broken Bow Lake. This creek was full of large Bigeye Shiners and Orangebelly Darters. Catching darters at this spot was a snap. Because they would be gathered at the base of the small waterfall and as soon as you allowed a baited micro hook to plunge to the bottom of the waterfall. They would consume the bait within 15 seconds. OrangebellyDarterBlueCreek.jpg Etheostoma radiosum radiosum (Orangebelly Darter) from Blue Creek shown above. OrangebellyDarterBiosD'ArcCreek.JPG Etheostoma radiosum paludosum (Orangebelly Darter) from Bios D'Arc Creek south of Ada on highway 377. RiverOtters.JPG River Otters crossing a road on the upper Glover River. As soon as I pulled up to this location. I got out my car and started taking pictures of the location as I usually do on my fishing trips. And to my surprise right after I took the first pic I noticed something trying to swim upstream in the river. I watched for a second trying to figure out what I had saw when all a sudden I seen 4 little heads pop up in the water. Right away I knew what they were because I had just seen one a couple weeks before at the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks, OK. Within a minute of spotting them they all crossed the road and were out of sight forever.
Walter "Levi" Cain
catfishcain

#2 catfishcain

catfishcain
  • NANFA Guest

Posted 10 January 2015 - 09:47 PM

I was afraid I would lose my internet connection and so I went ahead and posted what I had already uploaded and wrote. Its a good thing because when I went to post the remainder of my post I lost my connection and lost the entire second post. So without due here are the last of my post. The following fish were all caught from the Blue River where Harris Ranch Rd crosses the stream. The stream is not in the SE corner but it is east of I35 and south of I40 so it falls within the SE part of OK and was one of my last stops on my way back home from this trip. StrippedShinerBlueRiver.JPG Luxilus chrysocephalus (Striped Shiner) in full spawning colors from the Blue River, OK. RedspotChubBlueRiver.JPG Nocomis asper (Redspot Chub) a female from the Blue River. The Blue River has an isolated population of Redspot Chub. Generally they are found in the Northeastern corner of OK. Since the Blue River has no other Nocomis species, this chub must be a female since there is no visible red spot on its head. DuskyDarterBlueRiver2.JPG I believe this is a Percina sciera (Dusky Darter) due to the 3 spots near the caudal fin. However, the first dorsal fin is not typical of what I see of Dusky Darters online. DuskyDarterBlueRiver3.JPG Now this one I believe is also a Dusky Darter. And even though it doesn't have the dark colorations in the first dorsal as the one above has. Its belly does have some dark blotches which is also not typical of Dusky Darters that I see online. Both of the darters shown above were caught within 2 feet of each other with about 2-3 other Dusky Darters that shared similar markings on either the dorsal or belly. Again I apologize for the quality of photos. I caught these darters at night and did not have the lighting just right. I do have some more pics of these two darters if someone would like to see more of certain parts of these darters. But is there anyone on here that could shed some light on maybe a correct ID or an explanation as to why these darters have odd markings if they are Dusky Darters?
Walter "Levi" Cain
catfishcain

#3 mattknepley

mattknepley
  • NANFA Member
  • Smack-dab between the Savannah and the Saluda.

Posted 11 January 2015 - 06:02 AM

Great stuff, Levi! I love finding fish in tiny-little, overlooked waters like that first picture you posted. Those are some nice-looking darters. And anyplace with my favorite land critters (otters)is a lucky place indeed. This year's convention looks to be a good one!


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

#4 Sean Phillips

Sean Phillips
  • NANFA Member
  • Allegheny River Drainage, Southwest PA

Posted 11 January 2015 - 09:35 AM

Very nice fish! Wish I had the time to make that drive and back in June.
Sean Phillips - Pine Creek Watershed - Allegheny River Drainage

#5 BenCantrell

BenCantrell
  • Moderator
  • Sebastian, FL

Posted 11 January 2015 - 09:49 AM

Thanks for posting Levi! Can't wait for an epic microfishing tour through your part of the country. :D



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