I recently got in the water to help document the presence of the Creek Chubsucker (Erimyzon oblongus) in the Blanchard River drainage. Here's a report of the trip:
Location: unnamed trib. to the Outlet Ditch of Springville Marsh, near Findlay, OH.
Water Level: USGS gage data showed stream flow in the nearby Blanchard River to be at 35 cubic feet per second and gage height at nearly 1.0 feet. This is almost exactly at normal levels for this time of year. The water in the ditch had the perfect amount for sampling. Lots of undercut banks and pools that had depth of nearly 1.0 meter.
Water Quality: The water was quite clear, except for an undetermined orange liquid on the sand and in the water. There was also some oil on the surface of the water which is cause for concern.
Water Temp.: 12.7*C
Substrate: The substrate in this trib. is made up of fine sand and gravel. There is dense vegetation which constitutes roughly 90% of the available cover. There is a very low amount of siltation on the gravel as well. This is probably due to the low riparian zone that only totals 5-10m on both sides of the stream/ditch.
Collected:
- Grass Pickerel (Esox americanus vermiculatus)
- this picture is of the largest pickerel that was collected that day. We probably caught more that 20 Grass Pickerel in 2 hours of seining here. Most of the pickerel were very tiny (less than 10mm). I have seen them that small earlier in the year, it seems that there were two spawns of Grass Pickerel this year. The fish pictured here is an adult that was probably nearly 7 inches long. - Central Mudminnow (Umbra limi) - We only collected 2 Central Mudminnow today. Normally they are quite abundant here.
- Orangethroat Darter (Etheostoma spectabile)
- caught lots of these. We probably saw over 100 Orangethroats on the bottom of the stream. The fish pictured is a male. - Johnny Darter (Etheostoma nigrum) some of the largest Johnny Darters in the state live in this stream.
- Rainbow Darter (Etheostoma caeruleum) only 1 was found in the stream. Normally these are restricted to the higher gradient (or at least where the river is larger) Blanchard River. It was odd to see them this far up one of the feeder streams.
- Central Stoneroller Minnow (Campostoma anomalum pullum) - found a lot of these in the ditch. Most of them were covered with Black Spot Grub.
- Creek Chubsucker (Erimyzon oblongus)
- this is a picture of one of the largest Creek Chubsuckers I have ever seen in the ditch. It is probably 4 inches long. Over 20 of these fish were seen during our 2 hours sampling. One fish was brought back as a voucher for the Ohio State University Natural History Museum because this species has no record from this area at the museum. Lots of small ones were seen, indicating a good year class. - Creek Chub (Semotilus atromaculatus) often the most common fish caught in this stream.
- Silverjaw Minnow (Ericymba buccata) only occurred underneath the bridge that we got in the water at.
- Redfin Shiner (Lythrurus umbratilis)
- Golden Shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas)
- Blackstripe Topminnow (Fundulus notatus) very common in this low-gradient stream.
- Bluntnose Minnow (Pimephales notatus)
- Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus)
- Rock Bass (Ambloplites rupestris)
- Green Sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus)
- Northern Longear Sunfish (Lepomis megalotis peltastes)
- Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio)
- Tadpole Madtom (Noturus gyrinus)
- Yellow Bullhead (Ameiurus natalis)
- Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) only 1 small one, probably 4 inches long.