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Citico Creek, TN Sucker Spawning


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#21 Guest_gzeiger_*

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Posted 27 April 2009 - 11:18 AM

At what point did "carp chili" sound like a good idea?

#22 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 27 April 2009 - 11:20 AM

Wow...that video is awesome. I'd bet that's what the Maumee would look like underwater right now if it wasn't for the obvious sediment loading.

#23 Guest_smbass_*

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Posted 28 April 2009 - 06:23 AM

Hey I just had J.R. point out where the Citico video was on YouTube (duh!) Check this out!

http://www.youtube.c...re=channel_page

Marcus, yeah I hear you on the funding part! Maybe it would be more interesting to catch up with us on the last day and then bust over to the Lower Duck with us for a snorkel adventure?

Todd


I'll be there and would love to snorkel with you guys on the duck.

Brian

#24 Guest_farmertodd_*

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Posted 28 April 2009 - 06:55 AM

Sweet! We should have quite the after-party! :)

Todd

#25 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 28 April 2009 - 09:58 AM

The Smallmouth Buffalo are in full spawn out on the Maumee River. I fished yesterday afternoon and could see them rolling all over the place. I caught 2 myself, they were probably at least 8 to 10 lbs. in size, fully tuberculate. Seems the succession of Catostomids out there is White Suckers come in the earliest (water temps. around 40*F or so), followed by the Shorthead Redhorse (water temp. around 45*F), the Quillback are in full throttle at around 50*F, and the Smallmouth Buffalo run the show when the river hits 60*F. I know there's a lot more to it than temperature, but it's what I could measure and observe this year on the river.

#26 Guest_farmertodd_*

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Posted 28 April 2009 - 01:30 PM

Great observations. That seems to be similar to what Jim is seeing on Citico. That means the goldens and silvers are next!

Man, I wish we could peel away all that silt.

Edit: Wait a sec... Do we have bubalus in the Maumee? I thought they were all cyprinellus?

Todd

Edited by farmertodd, 28 April 2009 - 01:34 PM.


#27 Guest_Casper Cox_*

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Posted 28 April 2009 - 06:47 PM

I'm glad Todd is eager to expand his culinary experience with roadkill. Last year after running down a squirrel and headed back to camp, a rabbit darted in front of the van, and Todd promptly yelled out "Speed Up!"
:)

Yes Redhorse is delicious. Clean, sweet, delightful. I have yet to try "scoring" but have been quite content, tho time consuming, to pre-cook and pick out the bones... and then on to redhorse patties.
Pressure cooking is an old timers way of dealing with the y bones but you have to be experienced and setup for that operation. I wonder about how a hand crank sausage grinder would work but that may end like Dave's food processor comment.

I returned to the Citico Buffalo spawn site a couple days after the run with Jim Herrig, an aquatic biologist with the Cherokee National Forest. There were still a few running but mostly we were seeing Redhorse easing upstream. Most disturbing was the carnage. Piles of Buffalo were left to rot on the banks. Carcasses had washed into pools and were hung in submerged snags. Slaughter. We were told of a pickup loaded to compressed suspension and bound for the hog troughs.

Attached File  CiticoBuffaloRunCarnage.jpg   309.42KB   1 downloads

Most are caught by throwing out a grabbling style heavy duty treble hook and jerk snagging the flesh of the fish. I picked up about 3 dozen of these hooks and a couple arrows from the creek as we walked using the viewers.
Jim wanted to see what becomes of these eggs so we were looking for activity of predation. The substrate was covered, covered with eggs. An inch deep in most places with rocks barely sticking above. Jim estimated there were 50,000 Buffalos spawning in this 2 mile stretch of creek. We observed Redlines, Logperch, Speckled, Snubs and Greensides but none had big, fat bellies. We were told that Trout come up after the Redhorse to eat the eggs but Jim has yet to have seen evidence of that. He suspects most are simply washed down to the reservoir below and a recent visit and email note that many eggs have turned white and are dead. Perhaps some of those Rainbows should be caught and see what they are eating.
Ed Scott made it up and he shot this neat photo of a Redline but he is saving his best photo for National Gee Oh Graphic as pronounced it.

Attached File  CiticoBuffaloRunRedline.jpg   125.1KB   2 downloads

Pretty cute.

After Jim left, Ed and i headed downstream to collect a few Buffalos for the table. We swatted away the flies and rinsed off the scales down by the creek...
Just kidding!
We collected a few "fresh" dead ones from the cold water and he cut them up for his troutline project. We found a River Carpsucker among the dead, photoed and post butchered it, thus added some more documented diversity to the Citico Sucker Run.
While crossing back i saw a fish swimming raggedly downstream toward Ed and i called out and Ed jumped in and hand caught the mortally wounded Buffalo. I put it into the cooler, tail hanging out, for the trip home.

Attached File  BuffaloCasper.JPG   1.05MB   1 downloads

We finished up the day by hunting down Dry Land Fish on the banks of the tribs. I suspect we collected about 4 or 5 dozen by staying near the Poplars and Mayapples. They have been releasing golden clouds of spore of late and ready for the knife. The next night we had a mini feast of Buffalo, Walleye, brown rice, fresh salad and a big heaping of pan fried yellow Dry Landers, also oddly known as Hickory Chickens to those in the Carolinas.

Wednesday morning we were bound for the Cheese State and another great spawning... but im putting that in an upcoming American Currents!
:)
Casper

#28 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 29 April 2009 - 07:23 AM

Great observations. That seems to be similar to what Jim is seeing on Citico. That means the goldens and silvers are next!

Man, I wish we could peel away all that silt.

Edit: Wait a sec... Do we have bubalus in the Maumee? I thought they were all cyprinellus?

Todd


I was knee deep in bubalus on the Maumee on Monday. In fact, the pair of bubalus that I have on display at Bass Pro came from Orleans Park. They are common in that stretch during late April, but their presence may be seasonal.
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#29 Guest_farmertodd_*

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Posted 30 April 2009 - 09:50 AM

Nice write up Casper :) National Gee OH Graphic huh? lol

Well I'll be danged Nate. I hadn't caught one before, part of why I wrote up that little ditty yesterday that was in the email :) I just looked and EPA had them too. Infrequent, but had them. Man, Fishes of OH, Great Lakes and the Peterson needs some updating. I have the old edition of Fishes of the Great Lakes, so I don't know if Gerry addressed that?

Todd




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