Striped Darter

I went down to Mckee KY last tuesday. Like most streams here in KY, I couldn't find and moving water, mostly just pools in dried up creekbeds. I parked anyawys and aws pokin around in some pools. Shiners and fantails...was about all I found. However and a bit I saw a good sized darter shoot under a rock. Using advanced strategy I put my small net down and he swam in. When I first caught him I though it was an ashy darter but I realized it is a striped darter. Anyways here he is.




Mean Muggin


I haven't had the chance to get a good shot in the tank, he's still in the hiding stage.

Ive been so far into sunfish mostly of the small variety, but now am starting to get really interested in darters, are these really as easy to catch as you make it sound?? what equipment would you reccommend before i even start. Plus i gotta trade off some sunfish to make room for darters now

A sturdy dipnet and good boot is all you need to catch many of the darters, like striped darter, that hang out under slab rocks and boulders. The rest depends on what you're going for and where it lives. Some species are easier to target with a small aquarium net, snorkel, and face mask, others need a carefully worked seine.

Josh,

The habitat you're describing, small streams with interuppted flow, isolated pools, isn't an area where you'd find ashy darter.

Catching darters is the easy part. Finding them is the hard part.

First, you have to find a stream that will have darters. Generally speaking, they like shallow creeks, and clean water. One reason so many of them are threatened or endangered is the clear, shallow streams they like are getting silted up from coal mining, clear cut logging, industrial development, or suburbanites dumping gobs of fertilizer on their yards.

The easiest to get are those in the riffles - the rapids. Water doesn't have to be deep there, a couple of inches is fine. Put the net down in the riffles, and start moving rocks directly upstream. Some times called kick seining, the darters you scare up will be swept down into the net. That will get you the darters that like riffles.

Some darters prefer pools and more tranquil water. Look for pools with lots of small rocks for the darters to hide under, typically you won't find them on a sandy bottom. Walk along the edge of the creek, and look down, if there are darters in the pools you should see them shooting around. Unlike minnows and shiners, darters move in a sprint and stop motion. They can be hard to spot, until you learn what to look for - hiding is their business, and they're good at it. To get those darters, I use a fast drag. Put the net out as far as it will go, then pull it toward yourself quickly, being sure to keep the edge of the net in contact with the bottom. Also, prowl around pools that have a tree that has fallen into the stream. Some of the percina darters like to hang out there.

Also, as darters like moving fresh water, be sure you have good power filtration on the tank, and regular water changes are a must. I have a spring fed creek on my farm (full of rainbow and fantail darters), so I always change with creek water.

Keep in mind that locale is everything. The further into the mountains of Appalachia you can go, the more interesting and varied the darter you will find. There are darters in the flatlands, but they don't tend to be as colorful as the mountain stream darters. In central KY, I have seen only rainbow, fantail, greenside, and johnny, though banded are supposed to be there too. All quite pretty in breeding colors, but not as spectacular as what can be found in the mountains. I've found at least 10 varieties in the Red river, including the pretty and delicate emerald darter, the bizarre frecklebelly darter, and the dark and gruff looking variegate darter.

Darters are delightful in a well kept tank. Very animated, lots of personality, usually well behaved, and they don't get too large. Typically, anything over 3" is a whale, though some of the percina can get larger. Stack some flat rocks in the tank to give them hiding places. After a while, they'll stay out in the open, and they quickly learn what a cup full of bloodworms is, and come running for feeding time.

Josh and I use pool cleaning nets you can get at wal-mart. Not the most durable, but you can get them anywhere a wal mart exists, they have a very fine mesh, and they have a straight edge, great for sweeping the bottom. For sure, you want a fine mesh net, not a fishing dip net with heavy mesh. If the mesh is big enough, the pointy nosed little darters will get stuck in the netting. Also want a net that has a thick frame, as you'll be dragging it over rocks a lot.