Hey guys, I signed up last night after finally deciding to try out native fish. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of info out there on the native fish of Massachusetts, so I'm hoping some of you guys can help me out .

I'll get the basic intro out of the way. My name's Nate, I'm 18. I'm an incoming senior at a voc-tech school, majoring in graphic design. I've kept tropical fish with a brief foray into salwater for six years now, so I'm not completely ignorant, but this is a whole new world to me that I (and my wallet) feel excited about.

Looks like a great forum, I'm looking forward to learning from you guys!

Welcome to the Forum. There is a fairly recent book on the fishes of Massachusetts, Inland Fishes of Massachusetts, by Karsten Hartel as lead author and published by the Audubon Society. It describes all of the 60-some species of fish found in fresh waters of the commonwealth. Where you are close to Buzzards Bay you'll find species more in common with NJ than with western Mass., such as banded sunfish, and two species of darter, the swamp and tessellated. I'm sure others will chime in who still live there.

Yeah, that's the nice thing about natives - they're free! Once you buy your books, fishing license, buckets, wading shoes, nets, seines, traps, photo tanks, coolers, and implements of DEstruction. Damn - it's no wonder I can't afford a burrito at the Taco Bell. But hey, the actual FISH are free! Not counting gasoline, wear, tear, and tires. Well hey, you can get free plants, gravel and driftwood while you're at it. And then you get into DIY filters.

After having been through all of this, there is only one challenge left for me: floating my own glass. All I need is a few gallons of mercury and a furnace hot enough to melt sand. Since furnaces are expensive, I'll be making my own. Mercury is expensive too, so I've been on the lookout for local cinnabar deposits.

Oops, this was supposed to be a welcome Sorry, I get distracted easily!

Haha, I actually have most of the needed supplies just as odds and ends from years of my entire family going on fishing trips, which definately helped my initial appeal. Since I never really went fishing for the smaller fish that I'm intrested in, and concentrated mainly on bass, I really had no idea how many different and interesting species were in my area (even though MA doesn't exactly have the widest variety). And since I have a diverse habitat within my apartment complex, with a large pond, an inlet, and a brook all within 100 ft of my building, I'm not even wasting gas .

Welcome to the forum.

A good dip net and a five gallon bucket. Depends on where you live waders are an option. I catch my fish within thirty miles or less from home. I did just get back from where my hometown in Louisiana ( Lafayette ) and I found some beautiful dollar sunfish. And I did live in Canada for a while and used no waders. All depends on how you were raised I suppose. I was raised crawfishing in water with water mocasins all around, not to mention aligators, and I wore only short pants, t-shirts and running shoes.

Welcome to the forum. It is a great place to learn. I have learned a lot in the two or more years that I have been on this site. Nice people and great knowledge in their brains. Except for Irate Mormon he will just tell you your fish will die or something in the line of his post here. All kidding aside he has a great sense of humor and we all enjoy his input. He is actually very knowledgeable as you will find out.

Kind Regards,
Daniel

And again Welcome

Hey guys, I signed up last night after finally deciding to try out native fish. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of info out there on the native fish of Massachusetts, so I'm hoping some of you guys can help me out .

I'll get the basic intro out of the way. My name's Nate, I'm 18. I'm an incoming senior at a voc-tech school, majoring in graphic design. I've kept tropical fish with a brief foray into salwater for six years now, so I'm not completely ignorant, but this is a whole new world to me that I (and my wallet) feel excited about.

Looks like a great forum, I'm looking forward to learning from you guys!

We have a graphic designer on this site that has his own business in Chattanooga. My mind is going along with my age but I am sure he may introduce himself.

Daniel

Hey guys, I signed up last night after finally deciding to try out native fish. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of info out there on the native fish of Massachusetts, so I'm hoping some of you guys can help me out .

I'll get the basic intro out of the way. My name's Nate, I'm 18. I'm an incoming senior at a voc-tech school, majoring in graphic design. I've kept tropical fish with a brief foray into salwater for six years now, so I'm not completely ignorant, but this is a whole new world to me that I (and my wallet) feel excited about.

Looks like a great forum, I'm looking forward to learning from you guys!

Welcome! I spend all the money I save on fish on fancy frozen food to feed them, since a lot of them are too finicky for plain ole commercial food. It is a lot more fun to collect them yourself, though!

We have a graphic designer on this site that has his own business in Chattanooga. My mind is going along with my age but I am sure he may introduce himself.

Daniel

That would be Casper.

Hey guys, I signed up last night after finally deciding to try out native fish. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of info out there on the native fish of Massachusetts, so I'm hoping some of you guys can help me out .

I'll get the basic intro out of the way. My name's Nate, I'm 18. I'm an incoming senior at a voc-tech school, majoring in graphic design. I've kept tropical fish with a brief foray into salwater for six years now, so I'm not completely ignorant, but this is a whole new world to me that I (and my wallet) feel excited about.

Looks like a great forum, I'm looking forward to learning from you guys!

Greetings,

I just joined as well and live in Connecticut. Probably about 2 hours away, but close relative to some on this forum.

Anway, enjoy the hobby and drop me a line (so to speak) whenever you get a chance.

My wife and I live in Willington.

Jeff