Jump to content


threw out some minnow traps yesterday and caught stuff overnight....


33 replies to this topic

#21 Guest_daveneely_*

Guest_daveneely_*
  • Guests

Posted 07 March 2008 - 11:08 PM

Oops, sorry, confirming Tom's ID of silverjaw minnow. My bad.

Dave

#22 Guest_macantley_*

Guest_macantley_*
  • Guests

Posted 07 March 2008 - 11:39 PM

ill keep trying, i guess a piece of glass i can use as a seperation device would be nice, my camera is a kodak easy share 753, ive also got an older argus camera but neither are good at getting certain items into focus, they are just point and shoot with auto focus, id love to know where i can get a very cheap digital camera that i could use to better focus the pictures.

on another note, my brother said we'd take a 1.5 or 5 gallon tank with us when we go fishing, we can put the fish into the tank and ID them, if they are either rare, sick, or too large we will throw them back.

he's also worried about using the creek fish as feeders, he said they could have heavy metals or other things in them that my south american fish wouldnt be able to handle well, he told me this after throwing about 5 of them in the 125 gallon south american tank, they were gone in 10 seconds.


there are about 15 or so of the fish down in the 20 gallon sump tank, thats where im pulling the feeders from.

one of the dace's is about 3-3.5" long he/she is too large to be used as a feeder.

on a non-related note, a 6 year old upside down catfish that i saved from a friend is actually growing back his completely missing fins, ive had him for a week on sunday, when i took him out of his old tank i found out that the heater in the tank was leaking voltage and "electrified" the tank, after putting him in a 29 gallon tank with guppies and convict baby's he's doing fine and growing his fins back, he's covered in ich right now which is one thing he DIDNT have before i got him, but im treating him and hoping for the best, all his fin area's were just little stubs, it was sad.

matthew

#23 Guest_JohnO_*

Guest_JohnO_*
  • Guests

Posted 08 March 2008 - 06:52 PM

One suggestion I can make... try to angle the flash so it isn't parallel with the glass, that reduces the glare.

As for catching darters... I caught a lot when I was a boy growing up on a farm. Dip net and patience. At least in my creek, they love to hide under flat rocks. I positioned a large dip net a couple of inches away from a likely looking rock, lift up the corner of the rock nearest the net, and a good deal of the time, they dart out into the net. The ones that dont, some times I can shoo them in with my hand. Got quite a few sculpins like that, too. You have to be ready to whip the net out of the water, because they don't always stay in the net. I found the larger darters in 8-16" of creek water. I used a face mask and snorkel for the deeper ones.

I suppose you could use a seine, but that tends to disrupt a lot of habitat. I like to get them one at a time, lets me pick which ones I want, and doesn't muck up the bottom for the ones I don't. Found a couple of water snakes like that, too. That always livens up the day.

#24 Guest_Newt_*

Guest_Newt_*
  • Guests

Posted 10 March 2008 - 01:13 PM

Macantley-

You can probably get reports on the metal levels in your local streams from the EPA or WV Division of Environmental Protection; there is a report called 303(d) that lists metal levels in various watersheds. If metal levels are low in your local streams, then you can probably safely use creek fish as feeders. Storebought feeders have their own problems (parasites, pathogens, poor nutritional value).

Probably the best route, if you have a lot of fish, is to raise your own feeders: guppies, mosquitofish, and fathead minnows (e.g. rosy reds) are all fairly easy to raise in the home; if you have a pond, you caould also raise larger feeders such as golden shiners or goldfish. And you can have more control over water quality and nutrition than with wild or storebought fish.

#25 Guest_macantley_*

Guest_macantley_*
  • Guests

Posted 10 March 2008 - 08:53 PM

Macantley-

You can probably get reports on the metal levels in your local streams from the EPA or WV Division of Environmental Protection; there is a report called 303(d) that lists metal levels in various watersheds. If metal levels are low in your local streams, then you can probably safely use creek fish as feeders. Storebought feeders have their own problems (parasites, pathogens, poor nutritional value).

Probably the best route, if you have a lot of fish, is to raise your own feeders: guppies, mosquitofish, and fathead minnows (e.g. rosy reds) are all fairly easy to raise in the home; if you have a pond, you caould also raise larger feeders such as golden shiners or goldfish. And you can have more control over water quality and nutrition than with wild or storebought fish.



well, the quality of feeders at the local place is VERY poor, lots of disease, ive only got a few of them to actually give viable fry.....

im not going to raise the feeders at home cause the creek is 1/4 mile from my house and its just easier to catch them with a little net.

the creek feeders are free and easy to get, my fish havent died yet, so i may just keep feeding them the creek fish once a week, they get flakes, pellots, and other odds and ends on other days.

matthew

#26 Guest_Sal_*

Guest_Sal_*
  • Guests

Posted 13 April 2008 - 05:00 PM

Ok, so i went back to the creek today, this time with a $3.99 toy net that i purchased at gander mountain (kinda like a dicks sporting goods), i purchased two of those dip nets, one broke on the first scoop, the other one lasted longer, but its already starting to rip.

anyway i got about 3-4 dozen fish, approx 5 darters but im not really sure what kinda darters they are, they are not colorful.
anyway here are some pictures,

matthew

Posted Image
Posted Image
Posted Image

anyone need me to take more photo's and try to get better shots of the fish?



Nice catch. I have a minnow trap which I wrapped in fine mesh as was after mosquito fish for fishing . Not going to use my "pet" pond mosquito fish lol.
I threw the trap in roughly 3 feet of water by cattails caught in 3 hours about 20 assorted roughly 2 inch sunfish and baby bass. So let them all go not a single mosquito fish yet they were all over the place.
I love darters but think protected in the area and this lake is so full of sunfish and bass not to mention softshell and slider turtles that cant imagine a darter .

#27 Guest_Newt_*

Guest_Newt_*
  • Guests

Posted 14 April 2008 - 10:40 AM

Mosquitofish are surprisingly reluctant to enter traps, even when the funnel is placed near the surface. Netting them is much more effective.

#28 Guest_Mysteryman_*

Guest_Mysteryman_*
  • Guests

Posted 14 April 2008 - 02:38 PM

I found one good way to get Gambusias with little effort. They do avoid wire traps, but they enter glass jars. I like to take a big gallon glass jar and jam it into the creekbed at a skinny spot, with the wide mouth pointing upstream facing the current. Then I run upstream a bit, away from the bank to mask my presence, and then I finally jump back into the stream or right next to it and make a lot of noise and motion. The fish run downstream as fast as they can, and by the time I make it back down to the jar it's totally packed with fish.

#29 Guest_Sal_*

Guest_Sal_*
  • Guests

Posted 14 April 2008 - 08:51 PM

Mosquitofish are surprisingly reluctant to enter traps, even when the funnel is placed near the surface. Netting them is much more effective.




Lol your right though I have caught them in the trap but by far I have caught much more small bass and suns to the point I no longer will use the trap .

#30 Guest_Sal_*

Guest_Sal_*
  • Guests

Posted 14 April 2008 - 08:58 PM

I found one good way to get Gambusias with little effort. They do avoid wire traps, but they enter glass jars. I like to take a big gallon glass jar and jam it into the creekbed at a skinny spot, with the wide mouth pointing upstream facing the current. Then I run upstream a bit, away from the bank to mask my presence, and then I finally jump back into the stream or right next to it and make a lot of noise and motion. The fish run downstream as fast as they can, and by the time I make it back down to the jar it's totally packed with fish.



Thanks will try that. Today someone at work told me what they feel is the single best bait for bass of any type . Roaches and Miami is famous for its robust nice size roaches.

#31 Guest_Mysteryman_*

Guest_Mysteryman_*
  • Guests

Posted 20 April 2008 - 09:04 AM

HAHAA!

Roaches as bait, eh?
Hmmm.... well, I suppose there had to be at least one good use for them.

Hmmm... roach farming for fun and profit... hmmm....

#32 Guest_Newt_*

Guest_Newt_*
  • Guests

Posted 20 April 2008 - 04:38 PM

Actually, lots of herp keepers raise roaches as live food, both the everyday American and Oriental cockroaches and some tropical species. It's apparently at least as easy as raising crickets, and the tropical species quickly die if they escape (they need temps in the 80s).

#33 Guest_Sal_*

Guest_Sal_*
  • Guests

Posted 23 April 2008 - 08:25 PM

Actually, lots of herp keepers raise roaches as live food, both the everyday American and Oriental cockroaches and some tropical species. It's apparently at least as easy as raising crickets, and the tropical species quickly die if they escape (they need temps in the 80s).



I tried roaches since the post and outstanding the second they hit the water the fish bite sadly it was big suns which I didnt want as wanted to see if bass would strike .
Not to mention the suns are spawning in area and didnt want to hook one but they were fine and all went right back in unscathed . The roaches break up fairly easy so hook them in chest area but they didnt come off in long cast . I cant fathom several casts using them they will fall apart .

I had 10 big roaches each roach was a strike as soon as hit the water but suns are good at stealing bait and hooked 3 big suns which again fine with me as was after bass

#34 Guest_Sal_*

Guest_Sal_*
  • Guests

Posted 23 April 2008 - 08:27 PM

Actually, lots of herp keepers raise roaches as live food, both the everyday American and Oriental cockroaches and some tropical species. It's apparently at least as easy as raising crickets, and the tropical species quickly die if they escape (they need temps in the 80s).



I was going to order some and breed but they cant ship to Florida thus catch my own ofcourse easier to breed than spend 2 hours with a net than wind up with 15 roaches



Reply to this topic



  


0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users