43 replies to this topic

[taldridge0321]

[taldridge0321]

[taldridge0321]

[taldridge0321]

[taldridge0321]

[taldridge0321]

[sbtgrfan]

Post 18 creek chub, darters appear to be swamp darters

[Matt DeLaVega]

I caught two of these in the same location. They were a little larger than any previous Darters I have caught. I kept them and now they are in my Koi pond.

Don't keep them until you know firmly what they are. What if I told you they were a federally endangered species and you just incriminated yourself. Think about it? There are at least a couple of wildlife officials here on the forum. They aren't. They are swamp darters right? Sure you get the point. Don't keep them if you are not sure.

 

 And no self respecting darter is going to be happy with fancy carp as roommates.

[taldridge0321]

Don't keep them until you know firmly what they are. What if I told you they were a federally endangered species and you just incriminated yourself. Think about it? There are at least a couple of wildlife officials here on the forum. They aren't. They are swamp darters right? Sure you get the point. Don't keep them if you are not sure.

 

 And no self respecting darter is going to be happy with fancy carp as roommates.

Makes sense. There aren't any Koi in there, just local species, Mosquitofish, Shiners, etc. And to let you know I was pretty sure they were either Swamp or Tessies, I'm not an idiot sir.

 

Semper fi,

Tim Aldridge

[taldridge0321]

Don't keep them until you know firmly what they are. What if I told you they were a federally endangered species and you just incriminated yourself. Think about it? There are at least a couple of wildlife officials here on the forum. They aren't. They are swamp darters right? Sure you get the point. Don't keep them if you are not sure.

 

 And no self respecting darter is going to be happy with fancy carp as roommates.

Don't try to rain on my parade dude lol, I had a good day fishing and don't really appreciate your tone in this message. I understand the laws sir. Have a nice evening.

[Josh Blaylock]

8 or 9 years ago I brought home Greenside Darters and didn't know what they were. The NANFA powers chewed me out. Now I'm on the other side and also understand your side.

However, please do not keep any fish that you cannot properly identify. Matt is right, you live in a state with a large fish diversity and plenty of T&E species. It's important to know what you have before bringing them home.

I understand your frustration, I was in the same boat. But, these rules apply for the all fish, and it's best for you and the fish to know.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Dustin]

The reason why we are so particular is that there are protected species out there, even in your area, and you need to be familiar with them before bringing anything home.  This is a safeguard for you and for us as we don't want to be seen as condoning the take of protected species.  

 

Matt is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet and wasn't speaking up to embarrass or call you out.  This brings to light one of the primary issues with on line discussions; the inability to infer voice inflection and intent.

[Dustin]

Also, the darter you caught is not a tessie or a swamp.  It is a Carolina darter, Etheostoma collis, which is a species of special concern in NC.  

[Matt DeLaVega]

Sorry, I stand by what I said, however I certainly did not intend on raining on your parade. I think Dustin's info illustrated the importance. Neither of us knew. looked like a swamp to me. I also should have put one of those smiley things after my koi comment, as that was entirely meant as a joke. You will get to know me I am a staff member here, and I am a pretty fair guy. My wording may not always come off perfect, but I mean no harm. Let us put this behind us. Never happened. Matt

[sbtgrfan]

Also, the darter you caught is not a tessie or a swamp.  It is a Carolina darter, Etheostoma collis, which is a species of special concern in NC.

What's the giveaway on this one that I missed? I've been striking out lately, maybe I need to get in the field more...

[Matt DeLaVega]

I am not down there so they are both foreign to me, but they almost look like species that most need to ID by drainage. Kind of like the Kentucky orangethroat complex. I bet Dustin has a trick.

[taldridge0321]

No problem Matt, my bad as well. Was my bday today and was so thrilled to have caught some Darters that I got a little excited. I apologize if I sounded like a jerk. I absolutely love this site, I have had so much help from all of the staff, and of course Dustin with helping me id the huge and confusing Minnow family.

 

Tim

Sorry, I stand by what I said, however I certainly did not intend on raining on your parade. I think Dustin's info illustrated the importance. Neither of us knew. looked like a swamp to me. I also should have put one of those smiley things after my koi comment, as that was entirely meant as a joke. You will get to know me I am a staff member here, and I am a pretty fair guy. My wording may not always come off perfect, but I mean no harm. Let us put this behind us. Never happened. Matt

[Dustin]

Swamps are more slender and have obvious blotches on the side. Carolina's are thicker and heavily mottled to the point that the blotches are no longer obvious. They are closely related. If you see the two side by side there is no mistaking them based on body shape alone.

[Dustin]

Oh, and happy late birthday Tim.

[taldridge0321]

Oh, and happy late birthday Tim.

Thanks man, and thanks for the help with the id's fellas. Of course you guys are right, I will be more careful in the future about bringing stuff back for my pond. I rarely keep anything for the pond but I created this shallow area just for Darters and I just happened to catch two nice Darter's yesterday.