Clark's Run

Hi... these are some pictures that I took of fish from Clark's Run (a beautiful medium-small creek) in Danville, KY. Anything anyone can do with them is appreciated.










This one was dead when we found it


You can just barely see them, but this one was olive-colored dorsally and had faint medium-wide bands running down its back


This may be the same fish, can't remember for sure... it had a pale violet lateral stripe

the darter looks like a small logperch to me

whoa small logperch?!? You're in the wrong genus there killier. It's a greenside darter (blenniodes newmani ?). Second to last picture looks like a rosefin/scarlet shiner to me (can't remeber where that split is off the top of my head).

Nice Orconectes sp. crayfish ya got. Any closer/better pictures of the males gonopods?

The last two photos are probably scarlet shiners, Lythrurus fasciolaris. And the third one might be a bluntnose minnow, Pimephales notatus?

whoa small logperch?!? You're in the wrong genus there killier. It's a greenside darter (blenniodes newmani ?). Second to last picture looks like a rosefin/scarlet shiner to me (can't remeber where that split is off the top of my head).

Nice Orconectes sp. crayfish ya got. Any closer/better pictures of the males gonopods?

dang I was off and to think I have some greensides

Nice Orconectes sp. crayfish ya got. Any closer/better pictures of the males gonopods?

This is the only other one I got, though I could try to get a closer/better one for you next time I go if you'd like.

And the third one might be a bluntnose minnow, Pimephales notatus?

I don't think, fwiw, that it's a bluntnose minnow. It looked to me like some kind of sucker or chub or something... I don't think there was a lateral stripe (at least that prominent) at all. Here's another picture:


Thanks guys

looks like a White Sucker (Catostomus comersonii)

Yeah if you could get a really close up shot that would be cool! I've got a copy of Crayfishes of KY in the office. Maybe take close ups of the gonopods, the claws, and looking down on the head/carapace.

Cool... I'll try to get those pictures next time I go. BTW, I can't find a lenght estimation for scarlet shiners anywhere... anyone know how long they get?

A really monstrous scarlet shiner would be about 70 mm long, more typically adults are 45 -65 mm with alpha males tending to be the biggest.

Clark's Run is still recovering through most of its course, the sewage treatment plant there was putting ridiculous amounts of salts and chlorine into it up until sometime in the 80's (if I remember correctly). That's not to say the fish and inverts aren't coming back nicely. Wonder if anyone has studied the differences between a stream recovering from physical damage (e.g. channelization) vs. water quality pollution issues. When I was at Centre College we had a yearly philanthropy where the incoming freshmen would spend a day pulling trash out of the creek. The second year I did it (no I wasn't a freshman twice) we found a nice pile of medical waste. I didn't know my fish when I was there, but we did sample the creek for an aquatic ecology class. Besides the fish you have there I think we found creek chubs, but I don't think we caught any darters, this was in 1998. I'd say all the fish were ID'd correctly; starting from the top, greenside darter (Etheostoma blennioides), Pimephales notatus (I think it's too big to be retaining juvenile Semotilus coloration and the scale edge pigmentation is pretty defined), mud bug, mud bug, white sucker (Catostomus commersonii), Lythrurus fasciolaris, Lythrurus fasciolaris. There are some great places to sample darters around that area. Some great places to sample rockbass with a lightweight fly rod and poppers as well. For those that want some history and fishing there's an unnamed trib to the North Rolling Fork just behind Penn's store that always produced lot's of good sized rockbass. Penn's store has been in lots of papers and magazines, including Playboy, here's the link: Penn's Store

I should add that Drs. Mike and Chris Barton at Centre have been sampling Clark's Run and other streams in the area for quite a while and can probably provide a good amount of info on fishes in the area.

That's how I found out about the creek... through the "Fall Service Plunge." I'd like to do it again--I'm a freshman this year. There was a ton of junk there this year including a pile of about 20-30 tires on one bank and a picnic table half-submerged in the actual creek. It's really a shame; it's such a beautiful place otherwise. I was thinking that maybe a "meet your stream" sort of thing might get people to realize that it's a place that deserves not to be trashed? I've wanted to get in touch with the Drs. Barton but I'm a little nervous because I'm pretty beginner with fish. I'd be interested in those other sites as well... your link to Penn's store isn't working but I think I may have passed it before. Is it on 27 between the end of 34 and the county line or so? Cool to hear from an alum, by the way.

My computer skills are limited: pennsstore.com. It's just south of Gravel Switch. They switched the fall philanthropy from Clark's Run to Perryville historic sites for a couple of years I guess. The Bartons are great to talk to and are always happy to talk to a fellow fish person. All I knew when I started there were the differences between bass, sunfish, minnows, and darters, nothing more. I'll be there in early November to give a little talk about my research and experiences in grad school. You'll continue to be suprised by how often you encounter Centre alums and what a great network it is.