34 replies to this topic

[Dustin]

It is indeed luck when I catch one.  I'm always surprised.  I did hit a spot earlier this year that was packed with juveniles though.  Probably caught 20 or so in short order.

[itsme]

Sadly I did not look at the forum the last few days so I never connected with Tim. I did sample some nice looking pinewood Carter's at gum swamp pond. Didn't keep them though. I have had a great time got banded pygmy sunfish, black banded sunfish, flier, dollars, warmouth, creek chub sucker, margined madtoms, pirate perch, Red fin pickeral, blue gills, redbreast, blue spots, gambusia, swamp Carter's, sawcheek darters, eastern mudminnows, lined topminnows, tesselated darters, fantails, piedmont darters, bluehead chubs, redlip shiners, dusky shiners, fieryblack shiners, whitefin shiners, maybe a tiny highback chub. A couple other silvery shiners probably satinfins and eastern silvery minnows. Two little stinkpot turtles, a bunch of neat eastern newts with red lines instead of just red spots.
Might try Drowning creek for some swampfish since its only 2 miles from my hotel. Heading north tomorrow with a couple stops near Durham.

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Dang, I think you did all right!  Couldn't have done much better than that!

[Doug_Dame]

SKS caught 2 mud sunfish in one seine haul in the Tallahassee area in Fla a few years ago. Only ones I've ever seen. I don't recall that anybody really wanted 'em at the time, I think we dumped 'em back. No keepers of sunfish on the team that day.

 

Lucky Dustin needs to get out more, to share his magic.

[taldridge0321]

SKS caught 2 mud sunfish in one seine haul in the Tallahassee area in Fla a few years ago. Only ones I've ever seen. I don't recall that anybody really wanted 'em at the time, I think we dumped 'em back. No keepers of sunfish on the team that day.

 

Lucky Dustin needs to get out more, to share his magic.

Agreed haha. I've been trying to get him out for awhile now.

[gerald]

To find muds, pretend you're hunting for dwarf waterdogs ... dig into the leaf litter, branch piles, and roots, then haul it up on shore and pick through.  They're not up in the water column, at least not when humans are nearby.  (But they do get very tame and personable in captivity).

[keepnatives]

I'm doing a repeat of a couple years ago with more playing around and less stops but should be fun.  If anyone would like to join in I'll be staying in Pinebluff and collecting within a half hour on Thursday and Fri this week.  Coming in Wed night leaving Sat am.  So, full days Thursday and Friday. 

[gerald]

Bummer ... i'll pass you on the highway.  Heading to Bethesda MD for a family gathering those days.  Good luck!  Maybe Tim Aldridge?  Check with him on facebook if he doesnt reply on the NANFA forum.  On second thought, post your itinerary on the NANFA facebook group  -- there's a bunch of NC folks on there that dont use the forum.

[Doug_Dame]

I'm doing a repeat of a couple years ago with more playing around and less stops but should be fun.  If anyone would like to join in I'll be staying in Pinebluff and collecting within a half hour on Thursday and Fri this week.  Coming in Wed night leaving Sat am.  So, full days Thursday and Friday. 

 

Ooooh, have fun. 

[keepnatives]

First day done never saw more black banded sunfish and stinkpot turtles oh and dambusia but the females had a very blue spot behind their head and some were huge. Redlip shiners were almost everywhere not swampy and lots of white fin shiners and the other Cyprinella not white fin or fiery black I forget green fin or satinfin? Also highfins I think with some redish color looked cool. Blue spot sunfish and lined topminnows seemed in less abundance then normal and of course bluegills, fliers and warmouths. Going out tomorrow as well.

[Matt DeLaVega]

Sounds like a great day Mike. I'd like to see blackbanded sunfish. Maybe see them at SC convention?

[keepnatives]

Well, I'm vaccinated and hear southern waters calling me, so I'm making one of my favorite outings to North Carolina (southern waters for us NY'ers )  Will be leaving here early Friday morning April 9th hoping to make it to first site in Oxford NC area (Crescent shiners) by 4 PM sample between there and Durham/Raleigh area till tired or dark then overnight at the Sleep Inn by the airport. May head back north to previous area Sat. morning then or possibly first thing Sat. head southwest to Rockingham area for some acid water stuff.  Sat. and Sunday minimum at Pine Inn in Pinebluff. Sunday to the west a bit for some mountain shiners and associates.  Possibly Monday around hotel and a bit south east to explore for more swampy things on way home or may just spend another night and head out Tuesday. If you're in the area and would like to meet up message me, preferably by Thursday evening and I can give you my cell # and where you can meet up.  Got an extra bed at Pine Inn if you want to spend the weekend.  

[gerald]

How did it go, Mike?  Were any locals able to meet up with you?  Sorry I couldn't.

[keepnatives]

Drove down all day Friday made it to my first site near Oxford about 4 pm but as I did so did the lightning so I just headed for the hotel for a good night's rest.  Saturday morning I met up with a friend who moved to the area over 20 years ago and went to her messianic congregation had some lunch with some of her friends.  Then headed south to the Rockingham area and collected in the rain got some Blackbanded sunfish saw Bluespotted Sunfish, Redfin pickerel, Warmouth, Dollar sunfish, gambusia, pirate perch, bluegills, eastern newts?, shrimp, painted and red eared slider turtles and hundreds of thousands of small black tadpoles.  Next day hit the streams, water was high and fast sampling limited to a small sandbar or 2 at each site but got some of each target species though small juveniles which were difficult to ID so mostly brought a couple coolers of various silver minnows. Monday headed home and stopped at one site while heading north and again high water limited collecting to small juvies of mt redbellies, crescent shiners, rosefin shiners and rosyside dace.  Really wanted some larger crescents and mt redbellies so I cautiously measured the depth of a run I could get to and since it was less then neck deep I took the seine to the top and pushed into the run and literally ran into/with the rushing water and cut up the side after a few feet and managed a few to several adults of both species each of 3 runs. Drove the rest of the way home arrived about 11:20 pm that night ran an extension cord to the car to run the pump.  Had done water changes on previously caught fish the next mornings and salted them as well so the fish were in good shape.   Only lost 4 under 1 inch fish total up to today and all still looking good.  While at Hitchcock creek some newlyweds and friends stopped by to share my lone small sandbar for photos they got some great shots.  I might have gotten into a couple.   Was a great time.  A closer look confirmed target fish despite at first looking like generic silver minnows so got some redlips, fieryblacks, white fins and hifin shiners

[gerald]

Excellent!  I was worried you'd get hampered by high water, but it sounds like you got your targets despite it.  See any Pinewoods darters in the sandhills? Any Mud sunfish? Little whitefin and satinfin shiners can be tricky to distinguish. 

[keepnatives]

Excellent!  I was worried you'd get hampered by high water, but it sounds like you got your targets despite it.  See any Pinewoods darters in the sandhills? Any Mud sunfish? Little whitefin and satinfin shiners can be tricky to distinguish. 

yes don't know for sure but usually in the spot I was get many more whitefins than satins good chance I got both. Plus every other silver minnow.

No darters but wasn't really trying for them.  Also no pygmies or swampfish either though I tried some nice looking spots and searched buckets of debris, mud and  plants.