Went out this past weekend with Teleost (Uland). was a camping/ sampling trip.
We both left early Friday morning, and after 5-7 hour drives we met up at horseshoe lake. I was really excited, as I do not get to hang with Uland everyday. We greeted each other and wasted little time getting in the water. the first location was horseshoe lake. Wow! beautiful place. Tons of aquatic vegitation, the most obvious, the towering cypress, and the lotus. We attempted to collect below the spillway, but it was a quick drop off into muck. I do not like muck, but Uland insists on throwing me in it! We bagged it, and got up in the lake itself. There we found fantastic orange spotted sunfish, grass pickerel, warmouth, shad, and many others( the list will follow).
Next we hit Lake creek. When we walked up to a beaver dam below a bridge, we were amazed to see the amount of gar stacked up below the dam. Obvious spotteds, and shortnose. We jumped in, and netted many gar, and a large bowfin, around 18 inches. Also got some beautiful longears, and a plethora of tadpole madtoms.
Next we hit afew other places on the lake, and got central mudminnow, and elassoma zonatum, as well as pirate perch.
Drove to our campsite, set up tent, and went on to a shallow bottoms lake. Walked a great distance to good collecting because of road closure. Saw Flier, Bantam, and more.
Walked back, some billy had stolen my shoes out of the back of my truck! Took me a while to get over it. On our way out we found a nice snake. E. obsoleta, black ratsnake. Uland has some pics of it as well.
Hit our campsite, Lots of drinks, and fantastic curry chicken chicken made by Sue, Uland's wife. Then the whippoorwills began to call, ruined Uland's night. He had a hard time blocking them out as he tried to sleep.
I have started this thread, and am sure Uland will follow with additional info, and some really great photos (as usual)
Shawnee National Forest
Started by
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, Jul 02 2007 04:24 PM
20 replies to this topic
#2
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Posted 02 July 2007 - 05:11 PM
Horseshoe lake is a large oxbow of the Mississippi river. As Matt indicates, the lake is lined with cypress and Black gum trees. These surroundings although difficult to sample properly, were quite a pleasant change from my northern existence.
First stop:
Dorosoma cepedianum ?
Notemigonus crysoleucas
Ameiurus natalis
Esox americanus vermiculatus
Labidesthes sicculus
Gambusia affinis
Lepomis gulosus
Lepomis humilis
Lepomis macrochirus
Micropterus salmoides
Pomoxis annularis
Pomoxis nigromaculatus
(Lepomis humilis male and female below)
The next stop was the spillway of the lake itself. This is a muddy little creek also with young cypress taking advantage of the fertile creek.
Dorosoma cepedianum?
Lepisosteus oculatus
Lepisosteus platostomus
Amia calva
Cyprinella lutrensis
Notemigonus crysoleucas
Ameiurus natalis
Noturus gyrinus
Labidesthes sicculus
Lepomis gulosus
Lepomis megalotis
Pomoxis annularis
Pomoxis nigromaculatus
The last stop in the area was a shallow part of the lake filled with hornwort and lotus. This location will be burned in my mind for a long time.
Umbra limi
Aphredoderus sayanus
Elassoma zonatum
We then traveled north in the bottomland along the Mississippi River to another richly vegetated shallow lake (shall remain unnamed).
Umbra limi
Esox americanus
Aphredoderus sayanus
Gambusia affinis
Fundulus dispar
Centrarchus macropterus
Lepomis symmetricus
More photos and information as I process it.
First stop:
Dorosoma cepedianum ?
Notemigonus crysoleucas
Ameiurus natalis
Esox americanus vermiculatus
Labidesthes sicculus
Gambusia affinis
Lepomis gulosus
Lepomis humilis
Lepomis macrochirus
Micropterus salmoides
Pomoxis annularis
Pomoxis nigromaculatus
(Lepomis humilis male and female below)
The next stop was the spillway of the lake itself. This is a muddy little creek also with young cypress taking advantage of the fertile creek.
Dorosoma cepedianum?
Lepisosteus oculatus
Lepisosteus platostomus
Amia calva
Cyprinella lutrensis
Notemigonus crysoleucas
Ameiurus natalis
Noturus gyrinus
Labidesthes sicculus
Lepomis gulosus
Lepomis megalotis
Pomoxis annularis
Pomoxis nigromaculatus
The last stop in the area was a shallow part of the lake filled with hornwort and lotus. This location will be burned in my mind for a long time.
Umbra limi
Aphredoderus sayanus
Elassoma zonatum
We then traveled north in the bottomland along the Mississippi River to another richly vegetated shallow lake (shall remain unnamed).
Umbra limi
Esox americanus
Aphredoderus sayanus
Gambusia affinis
Fundulus dispar
Centrarchus macropterus
Lepomis symmetricus
More photos and information as I process it.
#6
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Posted 02 July 2007 - 11:05 PM
Thanks for your words of encouragement Dave. I had lots of trouble with focus this trip. I guess I should practice what I preach and use the tripod no matter how cumbersome it might be. You live and you learn......
We saw the gar stacked in an inconvenient location. It wasn't reasonable to haul the gar up to the car and sure as heck wasn't bringing the camera down into that mess. We'll just have to go down this fall sometime. The only gar we caught (shortnose) near the car was emaciated and didn't make a good subject.
The first hour of the whippoorwill song was great, the second hour was mediocre and the last two hours........ I could have used the sleep.
Now on with the report!
After a poor nights sleep and a pot of coffee we had a short drive to a completely different type of water to sample. The Mississippi River over the years cut steep bluffs in the nearby hills. We sampled the bottoms below and soon to see what fishes lived above the bluff. We drove to the top of the ridge and sampled the very first creek on the other side. The valley was rather wide for the volume this creek delivered and the stream base appeared to be chert of small yet uniform size. Both Matt and I agreed this was a location we could have spent the rest of the trip sampling and just plain having fun.
Our first stop in the creek produced:
Campostoma anomalum
Lythrurus umbratilis
Pimephales notatus
Noturus exilis
Fundulus olivaceus
Cottus carolinae
Lepomis megalotis
Etheostoma caeruleum
Etheostoma flabellare
We drove a bit further down the creek to see:
Campostoma anomalum
Cyprinella lutrensis
Lythrurus umbratilis
Notropis boops
Pimephales notatus
Noturus exilis
Etheostoma caeruleum
Etheostoma flabellare
Both Matt and I were excited to see bigeye shiner and slender madtom for the first time. We also noticed how red the rainbow darters and redfin shiners were.
stream shots:
Blackspotted topminnow:
Banded sculpin:
Bigeye shiner
Male redfin shiner
Female redfin shiner
Longear sunfish:
Slender madtom:
Rainbow darter:
We then traveled East and stopped in a lowland stream that makes it's way a good many miles to the Ohio river. We found a few neat things....
Noturus gyrinus
Aphredoderus sayanus
Etheostoma gracile
Elassoma zonatum
We have one more day to report. I'll get to it as soon as possible. If you see any incorrect ID's, please let me know!
You're gonna kill me RichardUland..special request get me those Gar pics
We saw the gar stacked in an inconvenient location. It wasn't reasonable to haul the gar up to the car and sure as heck wasn't bringing the camera down into that mess. We'll just have to go down this fall sometime. The only gar we caught (shortnose) near the car was emaciated and didn't make a good subject.
The first hour of the whippoorwill song was great, the second hour was mediocre and the last two hours........ I could have used the sleep.
Now on with the report!
After a poor nights sleep and a pot of coffee we had a short drive to a completely different type of water to sample. The Mississippi River over the years cut steep bluffs in the nearby hills. We sampled the bottoms below and soon to see what fishes lived above the bluff. We drove to the top of the ridge and sampled the very first creek on the other side. The valley was rather wide for the volume this creek delivered and the stream base appeared to be chert of small yet uniform size. Both Matt and I agreed this was a location we could have spent the rest of the trip sampling and just plain having fun.
Our first stop in the creek produced:
Campostoma anomalum
Lythrurus umbratilis
Pimephales notatus
Noturus exilis
Fundulus olivaceus
Cottus carolinae
Lepomis megalotis
Etheostoma caeruleum
Etheostoma flabellare
We drove a bit further down the creek to see:
Campostoma anomalum
Cyprinella lutrensis
Lythrurus umbratilis
Notropis boops
Pimephales notatus
Noturus exilis
Etheostoma caeruleum
Etheostoma flabellare
Both Matt and I were excited to see bigeye shiner and slender madtom for the first time. We also noticed how red the rainbow darters and redfin shiners were.
stream shots:
Blackspotted topminnow:
Banded sculpin:
Bigeye shiner
Male redfin shiner
Female redfin shiner
Longear sunfish:
Slender madtom:
Rainbow darter:
We then traveled East and stopped in a lowland stream that makes it's way a good many miles to the Ohio river. We found a few neat things....
Noturus gyrinus
Aphredoderus sayanus
Etheostoma gracile
Elassoma zonatum
We have one more day to report. I'll get to it as soon as possible. If you see any incorrect ID's, please let me know!
#7
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Posted 03 July 2007 - 04:11 PM
Just for curiosity, where is this place? Okay, I've got Mississippi valley, what state?
Sounds like a fantastic time. I'd love to do a trip like that. A little too remote for me, though, right now, to drive to the Mississippi valley. I'm glad you had a great time. Fantastic photos.
Sounds like a fantastic time. I'd love to do a trip like that. A little too remote for me, though, right now, to drive to the Mississippi valley. I'm glad you had a great time. Fantastic photos.
#8
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Posted 03 July 2007 - 04:29 PM
Just for curiosity, where is this place? Okay, I've got Mississippi valley, what state?
Sounds like a fantastic time. I'd love to do a trip like that. A little too remote for me, though, right now, to drive to the Mississippi valley. I'm glad you had a great time. Fantastic photos.
Ed,
All fish were sampled from the state of Illinois. Shawnee National Forest spans the entire southern tip of Illinois (from the Mississippi River to the Ohio River).
The drive there was long but we actually sampled locations that were pretty close to one another.
Shawnee link here
#10
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Posted 03 July 2007 - 07:00 PM
You're gonna kill me Richard
We saw the gar stacked in an inconvenient location. It wasn't reasonable to haul the gar up to the car and sure as heck wasn't bring the camera down into that mess. We'll just have to go down this fall sometime..
Oh well... I'll live...Maybe....Good to know you pinned the location for Spotteds so we will be there this fall for sure..
#14
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Posted 04 July 2007 - 12:04 PM
I forgot to add that we sampled one more small creek very close to the Ohio River in Hardin county before we set up camp for the night. There we found:
Campostoma anomalum
Cyprinella spiloptera
Hypentelium nigricans
Cottus carolinae
Etheostoma caeruleum
Etheostoma squamiceps
The next day was out last so we hoped to see some of our remaining target fish. We sampled an upper section of a larger creek not far from our campsite while still in Hardin county. This creek was cool, had heavy tree cover and the stream bed was slab rock mixed with medium and small rocks.
We found a nice list of fish here:
Lamprey ammocoete
Campostoma anomalum
Cyprinella spiloptera
Luxilus chrysocephalus
Lythrurus umbratilis
Semotilus atromaculatus
Hypentelium nigricans
Forbesichthys agassizi
Ambloplites rupestris
Lepomis cyanellus
Etheostoma caeruleum
Etheostoma kennicotti
Etheostoma squamiceps
I hope the larval lamprey (which most likely Lampetra aepyptera) and the spring cavefish photos make up for the failure to attain decent photos of gar.
At this time both Matt and I needed to think about heading home but we couldn't resist one more creek on the way. We stopped at a small tributary of the same creek that contained Slough darters. There we found:
Ameiurus natalis
Aphredoderus sayanus
Gambusia affinis
Etheostoma gracile
Etheostoma proeliare
Etheostoma spectabile
Odd mix of fish but we were able to add new fish to the list.
Matt and I then headed off to my favorite smokehouse for a nice meal. It was a great time getting in the water with a friend over these three days. I've never had anyone to help sample this part of the state and found the time well worth it. Hanging around the campfire discussing fish at night is almost as fun as sampling. Thanks for the good time Matt and extra thanks for the Cincinnati chili on Saturday night
Campostoma anomalum
Cyprinella spiloptera
Hypentelium nigricans
Cottus carolinae
Etheostoma caeruleum
Etheostoma squamiceps
The next day was out last so we hoped to see some of our remaining target fish. We sampled an upper section of a larger creek not far from our campsite while still in Hardin county. This creek was cool, had heavy tree cover and the stream bed was slab rock mixed with medium and small rocks.
We found a nice list of fish here:
Lamprey ammocoete
Campostoma anomalum
Cyprinella spiloptera
Luxilus chrysocephalus
Lythrurus umbratilis
Semotilus atromaculatus
Hypentelium nigricans
Forbesichthys agassizi
Ambloplites rupestris
Lepomis cyanellus
Etheostoma caeruleum
Etheostoma kennicotti
Etheostoma squamiceps
I hope the larval lamprey (which most likely Lampetra aepyptera) and the spring cavefish photos make up for the failure to attain decent photos of gar.
At this time both Matt and I needed to think about heading home but we couldn't resist one more creek on the way. We stopped at a small tributary of the same creek that contained Slough darters. There we found:
Ameiurus natalis
Aphredoderus sayanus
Gambusia affinis
Etheostoma gracile
Etheostoma proeliare
Etheostoma spectabile
Odd mix of fish but we were able to add new fish to the list.
Matt and I then headed off to my favorite smokehouse for a nice meal. It was a great time getting in the water with a friend over these three days. I've never had anyone to help sample this part of the state and found the time well worth it. Hanging around the campfire discussing fish at night is almost as fun as sampling. Thanks for the good time Matt and extra thanks for the Cincinnati chili on Saturday night
#15
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Posted 04 July 2007 - 12:21 PM
Dang, you guys were very close to my neck of the woods. Horseshoe lake is about an hour from me. Maybe a group collecting trip next time?
Where abouts do live 4wheel?
I pass through the area and would love to get out with you.
BTW..all of the photos can be seen here: http://gallery.nanfa...is summer 2007/
#16
Guest_NateTessler13_*
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Posted 06 July 2007 - 10:51 AM
Matt and Uland strike again. Those fish just aren't safe when you guys are around. No hiding, the darter dance gets them all the time. This is a great trip report. To me, this is what summer is for. I can't wait to go on my next big trip. I'm going out a few times a week, but nothing compared to what you guys have done. I just got back from the Outer Banks in North Carolina though and have an interesting array of species to report on from those parts. Uland, I'm looking forward to Garvana and will make sure that I am free for it. Matt, I'd really like to get down to Kentucky to get some good ones. Also Uland, Brian Z. is on a fish crew working on the Indiana side of the Kankakee River, I'll be joining him in August, but he told me that they found 2 Walleye that could have easily weighed 10 pounds a piece and a 40" Northern Pike out of those stretches around where you and I sampled and found F. dispar.
#17
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Posted 06 July 2007 - 11:14 AM
Matt and Uland strike again. Those fish just aren't safe when you guys are around. No hiding, the darter dance gets them all the time. This is a great trip report. To me, this is what summer is for. I can't wait to go on my next big trip. I'm going out a few times a week, but nothing compared to what you guys have done. I just got back from the Outer Banks in North Carolina though and have an interesting array of species to report on from those parts. Uland, I'm looking forward to Garvana and will make sure that I am free for it. Matt, I'd really like to get down to Kentucky to get some good ones. Also Uland, Brian Z. is on a fish crew working on the Indiana side of the Kankakee River, I'll be joining him in August, but he told me that they found 2 Walleye that could have easily weighed 10 pounds a piece and a 40" Northern Pike out of those stretches around where you and I sampled and found F. dispar.
Excellent Nate! I can't wait to hear about your NC adventure. I'm glad to see you'll make the garvana trip (lots of fun). I might just tag along with you and Matt to KY if you don't mind. I hope y'all get a date lined up soon for the KY trip. Wow! Let me know when you guys will be in the Kankakee and I'll invite myself by force if I must
#18
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Posted 06 July 2007 - 01:09 PM
Where abouts do live 4wheel?
I pass through the area and would love to get out with you.
BTW..all of the photos can be seen here: http://gallery.nanfa...is summer 2007/
I live near Carbondale. I've got a few spots of my own, but I can see that I'm gonna have to get out more in my local streams. I'm going today to show this thread to a friend of mine that is a streams biologist down here. I think she'll be interested to see this list of fish. There are a few in that list that aren't collected very often around here it seems.
#19
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Posted 06 July 2007 - 01:11 PM
Excellent Nate! I can't wait to hear about your NC adventure. I'm glad to see you'll make the garvana trip (lots of fun). I might just tag along with you and Matt to KY if you don't mind. I hope y'all get a date lined up soon for the KY trip. Wow! Let me know when you guys will be in the Kankakee and I'll invite myself by force if I must
Haha, I'm sure that it would be alright if you happened to be in the same place at the same time as us when we were sampling. I'm not sure of all the customs and rules for the new job yet. Hopefully we can figure out a KY date...
#20
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Posted 06 July 2007 - 01:22 PM
I live near Carbondale. I've got a few spots of my own, but I can see that I'm gonna have to get out more in my local streams. I'm going today to show this thread to a friend of mine that is a streams biologist down here. I think she'll be interested to see this list of fish. There are a few in that list that aren't collected very often around here it seems.
We passed right by Carbondale. Next time we'll give you some advanced notice.
I'm sure your stream biologist friend will be able to tell you a couple of the locations we sampled by the species list alone. I should add that this was a CPR (catch photo and release) trip. Many of the fishes we sampled are state threatened or endangered. As far as an odd mix of fish....I certainly sought some of the odd locations and species. That's half the fun in my opinion.
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