Mark (airbrn1187) and I had a chance to get in the water on Sunday. We first stopped in Indiana in a small backwater of the Kankakee River. We found pickerel (Esox americanus vermiculatus) and Northern starhead topminnows (Fundulus dispar) abundant and a few Central mudminnow (Umbra limi) as well.






The next stop was a bit more diverse. We went a further away form the river and sampled a sand/silt ditch.
We found:
Campostoma anomalum central stoneroller
Cyprinella spiloptera spotfin shiner
Lythrurus umbratilis redfin shiner
Nocomis biguttatus hornyhead chub
Pimephales notatus bluntnose minnow
Catostomus commersoni white sucker
Ameiurus natalis yellow bullhead
Noturus gyrinus tadpole madtom
Esox americanus vermiculatus grass pickerel
Umbra limi central mudminnow
Aphredoderus sayanus pirate perch
Labidesthes sicculus brook silverside
Fundulus dispar northern starhead topminnow
Fundulus notatus blackstripe topminnow
Lepomis cyanellus green sunfish
Lepomis megalotis longear sunfish
Etheostoma microperca least darter
Etheostoma nigrum johnny darter
Etheostoma zonale banded darter
Percina maculata blackside darter






Our last stop took us further away from the river and West. The stream was rocky and flowing.

Campostoma anomalum central stoneroller
Cyprinella spiloptera spotfin shiner
Luxilus chrysocephalus striped shiner
Lythrurus umbratilis redfin shiner
Pimephales notatus bluntnose minnow
Catostomus commersoni white sucker
Ameiurus natalis yellow bullhead
Fundulus notatus blackstripe topminnow
Lepomis cyanellus green sunfish
Lepomis megalotis longear sunfish
Etheostoma flabellare fantail darter
Etheostoma spectabile orangethroat darter



I had a great time and happy to get in the water again with Mark. I look forward to a long season of pleasant weekend weather and company.
I'm sure I missed a few so jump on in Mark and let me know if I missed something.

Beautiful pictures as always!!!

Todd

Awesome photos. Bad timing though.
I grabbed a few shots in the field the other day thinking I might post them. I wasn't very pleased with my pics but once I saw your's, I realized I can't pollute the forum with shots like the ones I took.
You should build yourself a spreader bar and get a couple of cheap remote flash units to kill those shadows.

Thanks Todd
Mike, go ahead and post them! And I'll email you about equipment. Every year I try and tackle a new issue with my photos, and shadows are my priority. It's sad it takes so long to improve quality.

I'll post a picture of the spreader bar I made for my film camera. Real low tech and cheap money.
Not sure how digital cameras trigger remote flashes. With the analog camera, a phone jack connected to as many $20.00 flash units as you needed. There must be some way to do that with digital.

I'm so jealous. It will prob be another month here before its warm enough to hit the water.

Wow! Stunning pictures as usual and nice variety of fish too. Sounds like y'all had a good day. I'm hoping to get out collecting soon and find some local minnows and darters to get my 30 gallon stream tanks started. Right now I just have some fathead minnows, an alabama shiner, a small snail bullhead and now a couple brindled madtoms(thanks Nate!).

I hope I can get to the point where I can take pictures like that, but I guess you gotta start somewhere. What kind of camera are you using?

Thanks Steve. I recently started using a Canon Rebel XT. I can say that I have much to learn.

You know though... What I have always completely admired about Uland's photos are the exceptional detail he captures with a $135 camera and a photo box you can build for $20. It's got to be the most efficient thing I've ever seen in the field and the fish completely benefit from it. It almost seems sinful to suggest spending a cent more to get 10% "better"

I know I crossed a line with my indoor shots... But I'll never drag that rig outside, no matter how much easier it may seem to make things. For one, I can't afford to replace any of it lol

Todd