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Lumber/Yadkin Watersheds - NC 6/9/07


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#1 Guest_drewish_*

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Posted 15 June 2007 - 02:48 PM

Uland and I had the opportunity to lead a group trip on the Saturday of the convention. It turned out to be a large group so Dustin Smith co-lead and took half of the group while Uland and I took the other half. The whole group met at a decent sized lake where we had room for the entire group and then split up afterwards. Dustin and Mark Binkley joined us later in the day after their group had dissolved. I was somewhat surprised that our half of the group was still intact but every member wanted to keep trekking. If anyone in the group feels we left a species out, please say so.

It is personal preference not to name smaller waters especially when they have listed fishes, but you can PM me if you want the names or locations.

As for the species found :

Gum Swamp Lake, Lumber watershed
Aphredoderus sayanus, Pirate Perch
Enneacanthus chaetodon, Blackbanded Sunfish
Enneacanthus gloriosus, Bluespotted Sunfish
Erimyzon oblongus, Creek Chubsucker
Etheostoma fusiforme, Swamp Darter
Etheostoma mariae, Pinewoods Darter (listed as SC)
Etheostoma serrifer, Sawcheek Darter
Notropis cummingsae, Dusky Shiner
Lepomis gulosus, Warmouth
Lepomis macrochirus, Bluegill
Lepomis marginatus, Dollar Sunfish
Micropterus salmoides, Largemouth Bass
Esox niger, Chain Pickerel
Umbra pygmaea, Eastern Mudminnow
Fundulus lineolatus, Lined Topminnow
Gambusia holbrooki, Eastern Mosquitofish
Ameiurus sp.

"Muddy Creek", Lumber watershed
Notropis cummingsae, Dusky Shiner
Esox americanus, Redfin Pickerel
Aphredoderus sayanus, Pirate Perch
Gambusia holbrooki, Eastern Mosquitofish
Lepomis auritus, Redbreast Sunfish
Lepomis macrochirus, Bluegill
Lepomis gulosus Warmouth
Micropterus salmoides, Largemouth Bass

Big Mountain Creek, Yadkin watershed
Aphredoderus sayanus, Pirate Perch
Noturus insignis, Margined Madtom
Notropis chiliticus, Redlip Shiner
Notropis altipinnis, Highfin Shiner
Notropis hudsonius, Spottail Shiner
Nocomis leptocephalus leptocephalus, Bluehead Chub
Lepomis auritus, Redbreast Sunfish
Lepomis macrochirus, Bluegill
Micropterus dolomieu, Smallmouth Bass
Micropterus salmoides, Largemouth Bass
Etheostoma flabellare, Fantail Darter
Etheostoma olmstedi , Tessellated Darter
Percina crassa, Piedmont Darter

"Beautiful" Creek, Lumber watershed
Anguilla rostrata, American Eel
Notropis cummingsae, Dusky Shiner
Erimyzon oblongus, Creek Chubsucker
Ameiurus natalis, Yellow Bullhead
Noturus insignis, Margined Madtom
Esox americanus, Redfin Pickerel
Esox niger, Chain Pickerel
Umbra pygmaea, Eastern Mudminnow
Aphredoderus sayanus, Pirate Perch
Acantharchus pomotis, Mud Sunfish
Enneacanthus gloriosus, Bluespotted Sunfish
Lepomis auritus, Redbreast Sunfish
Lepomis macrochirus, Bluegill
Lepomis marginatus, Dollar Sunfish
Etheostoma olmstedi, Tessellated Darter
Etheostoma mariae, Pinewoods Darter (listed as SC)
Percina crassa, Piedmont Darter
Elassoma zonatum, Banded Pygmy Sunfish

Unnamed Creek, Lumber watershed
Notropis cummingsae, Dusky Shiner
Noturus insignis, Margined Madtom
Esox americanus, Redfin Pickerel
Elassoma zonatum, Banded Pygmy Sunfish

Pictures can be found at :
http://gallery.nanfa...umber drainage/
http://gallery.nanfa...adkin drainage/

#2 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 15 June 2007 - 04:20 PM

Man, I wish I could have gone on that trip Sunday, but I was just too pooped to pop.

#3 Guest_drewish_*

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Posted 15 June 2007 - 04:53 PM

We saw lot of the same fishes, but the group insisted on going after mud sunfish. Luckily the "by-catch" were also desirable species.

At least we got one :razz:

Posted Image

#4 Guest_rnbwdarter_*

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Posted 15 June 2007 - 05:49 PM

What kind of darter did I catch at the creek? That was the Fantail wasn't it? I caught some YOY bullheads at Gum Swamp, I think someone said they were black bullheads.

#5 Guest_edbihary_*

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Posted 15 June 2007 - 08:38 PM

There were Pirate Perch in Gum Swamp Lake also.

Thanks to Drew, Uland, and Dustin for leading the trip!

#6 Guest_drewish_*

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Posted 15 June 2007 - 08:46 PM

What kind of darter did I catch at the creek? That was the Fantail wasn't it? I caught some YOY bullheads at Gum Swamp, I think someone said they were black bullheads.


There are reports with brown and yellow bullheads but no blacks in the vicinity. I'll at least add the genus. Thanks

There were Pirate Perch in Gum Swamp Lake also.

Thanks to Drew, Uland, and Dustin for leading the trip!


Yup, forgot those, thanks.

#7 Guest_teleost_*

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Posted 15 June 2007 - 11:10 PM

There were Pirate Perch in Gum Swamp Lake also.

Thanks to Drew, Uland, and Dustin for leading the trip!



Thank Dustin and Drew. They both worked very hard to find good sites and routes. Thank you Ed for coming along and thanks to all for gathering fish for photos and allowing me the time to snap pictures.

#8 Guest_Kanus_*

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Posted 16 June 2007 - 09:17 AM

Thank Dustin and Drew. They both worked very hard to find good sites and routes. Thank you Ed for coming along and thanks to all for gathering fish for photos and allowing me the time to snap pictures.


We also caught numerous herps.

Dwarf waterdogs, small sirens, and newts were all collected in Gum Swamp.

We also caught a few water snakes, an eastern kingsnake, as well as seeing a green anole, a copperhead, and a water moccasin.

#9 Guest_dsmith73_*

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Posted 16 June 2007 - 11:18 AM

Also got swamp darter and warmouth at Gum Swamp Lake. That was really a spectacular site.

Also we got one blackbanded sunfish and smbass got some piedmont darters at the mud sunfish spot.

Thanks to everyone that made the trip work.

#10 Guest_dsmith73_*

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Posted 16 June 2007 - 11:20 AM

Also the "dusky" shiners you got at Big Mountain were almost certainly highfin shiners instead, N. altipinnis.

#11 Guest_dredcon_*

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Posted 16 June 2007 - 01:08 PM

Thanks again to the group leaders, and the rest of the group for collecting until dark. I had a blast.

I have a couple fish to add to the Big Mountain Creek list Pirate Perch, Bulehead Chub, and Margined Madtom.

#12 Guest_drewish_*

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Posted 16 June 2007 - 02:55 PM

Also the "dusky" shiners you got at Big Mountain were almost certainly highfin shiners instead, N. altipinnis.


I wish we had more pictures from that location but we didn't take pics of species we thought we already had. Could have sworn we saw N. cummingsae but could be wrong.

#13 Guest_dsmith73_*

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Posted 16 June 2007 - 04:27 PM

I wish we had more pictures from that location but we didn't take pics of species we thought we already had. Could have sworn we saw N. cummingsae but could be wrong.


Yeah, they are pretty much indistinguishable. They just generally inhabit different stream types.

#14 Guest_drewish_*

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Posted 16 June 2007 - 10:06 PM

Thanks again to the group leaders, and the rest of the group for collecting until dark. I had a blast.

I have a couple fish to add to the Big Mountain Creek list Pirate Perch, Bulehead Chub, and Margined Madtom.


Are you thinking of the second stop? I wouldn't think BMC would have pirate perch.

#15 Guest_dredcon_*

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Posted 17 June 2007 - 11:37 AM

Are you thinking of the second stop? I wouldn't think BMC would have pirate perch.


It was the site with the colored up redlip shiners. I was surprised to see them there, but I caught about 10 from the undercut banks.

#16 Guest_drewish_*

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Posted 17 June 2007 - 12:40 PM

Cool, yeah. I didn't think they would be there and no reports have them.

#17 Guest_teleost_*

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Posted 17 June 2007 - 04:41 PM

Also the "dusky" shiners you got at Big Mountain were almost certainly highfin shiners instead, N. altipinnis.


Good call Dustin =D>

I wish we had more pictures from that location but we didn't take pics of species we thought we already had. Could have sworn we saw N. cummingsae but could be wrong.


I actually took quite a few photos from that location but the specimens/photos weren't all that good.

I also thought the shiner was N. cummingsae since they look almost identical and we saw so darn many N. cummingsae in the Lumber drainage. I did however take photos of Notropis altipinnis Highfin Shiner from Big Mountain creek. See below comparison photo.

Copy_of_Dusky.Highfin_comparison.jpg

Thanks for pointing that out Dustin, I would never have looked so closely at that Notropis.

#18 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 17 June 2007 - 05:08 PM

I've never seen either of those Notropis species in the photos above in the flesh, and from those photos it would be "interesting" to try to tell them apart. What diagnostic characters would separate them in the field, or is it largely range separation? I guess I'm directing this at Dustin more than anyone else.

#19 Guest_dsmith73_*

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Posted 17 June 2007 - 06:08 PM

I've never seen either of those Notropis species in the photos above in the flesh, and from those photos it would be "interesting" to try to tell them apart. What diagnostic characters would separate them in the field, or is it largely range separation? I guess I'm directing this at Dustin more than anyone else.


Hopefully Fritz will chime in on this at some time. If not, I will solicit a response from him. Dusky and Highfin can be found together in the same drainage or even stream. They do tend to prefer different habitats though. Dusky shiners are generally found in the coastal plain, preferring a sandy substrate and vegetation. Highfin shiners are generally found in what we call the piedmont, the area just above the fall line but not into the mountains. These streams typically have a gravel substrate with areas of possible sand and/or bedrock. These streams tend to have scarce submerged vegeation, if any at all. Another source I was using for my determination is past collection data, where cummingsae dominated the sandhills area and altipinnis, the piedmont. I was not certain that they were different but was fairly confident based on these points. If you throw ironcolor into the mix, it can get very interesting indeed.

#20 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 17 June 2007 - 06:11 PM

I've never seen either of those Notropis species in the photos above in the flesh, and from those photos it would be "interesting" to try to tell them apart. What diagnostic characters would separate them in the field, or is it largely range separation? I guess I'm directing this at Dustin more than anyone else.

They look like the same fish, except for a minor difference in the pre-dorsal scale count. How do you tell 'em apart? With most shiners I go by the head and eye, but I'm stumped on this one.



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