9 replies to this topic

[JLSherwood]

Hey everyone,

 

I'm Josh from East-Central IL. I've been a NANFA member for a few years now but have not been on the forum. I am an ichthyologist for the INHS that works primarily with stream fishes. 

[Jconte]

Welcome! I'm from West-Central IL, but have been to the other side of the state to collect Longears. I'd like to collect steelcolor shiners in the future, so if you have any suggested locations, I would appreciate it!

[lilyea]

Josh - welcome to the forum!  In addition to working with stream fishes in general, do you have any specific areas of interest?  Do you keep fish yourself?  I am always amazed at the variety of the interests and expertise of fellow NANFA members and how some of us keep many different fishes and others only enjoy them in nature.

 

Bruce

[swampfish]

Welcome. My wife, Carie, and I both were in INHS. She retired from it and I retired from the U of I Crop Sciences Dept. We still live south of Champaign. I keep primarily native minnows and topminnows. 

 

We will both be at the Champaign Area Fish Exchange semi-annual auction at the Garden Hotel at the junction of I-74 & Lincoln Ave. in Urbana tomorrow, Jan 26. She is the club President, and I am the Treasurer and primary auctioneer. We will sell several hundred non-native fish tomorrow as well as plants and equipment. Stop by if you get the chance.

 

Phil Nixon

pnixon@illinois.edu

[JLSherwood]

Thanks for the welcome! 

Jeffrey, I've only ever ran across Steelcolors in the Vermilion River Basin (Wabash-Ohio) and there are some good Forest Preserves that can get you access to some good habitats. Beware though, almost everywhere I've gotten them in the Vermilion has been alongside Spotfins, so be ready to count some anal rays. I don't think I've seen anywhere around here that you can find 1 without the other (I could be wrong though). 

Bruce & Phil, I've never really gotten into keeping them myself. I blame my lack of attention span! I primarily perform assessments prior to roadway construction (largely around Chicago) but also work with threatened and endangered species in Illinois, finding gaps in life history or habitat that are needed to conserve species. 

If any of you are on Twitter, I try and post articles and pictures from field work on there (@J_L_Sherwood). 

[Jconte]

That's ok, as I love Spotfins too! I can collect Spotfins on this side of the state but there are no Steelcolor shiners.

[blakemarkwell]

Hi Josh,

 

Welcome to the forum. I'm based in central Illinois and spend a decent amount of time in Vermilion County looking for amphibians, fish, and various plants. I don't keep natives myself, but I like to celebrate their nuptial displays with my eyes.

 

We should meet up something this spring/early summer and get in the water together.

[Chasmodes]

Welcome to the forum, Josh!

[Redfin]

Welcome to the forum!

I primarily perform assessments prior to roadway construction (largely around Chicago)

 

The assessments prior to roadway construction sounds really interesting.  What type of stuff do you find in the Chicago area?

[BenCantrell]

Welcome to the forum! We emailed back and forth years ago about stream fish in Champaign and Vermilion counties.