I got my Pennsylvania-legal 4-foot seine from Jonah's Aquarium late last week (nice net), mounted it to brailles, and then got sick. I took the week off last week to use up my unused vacation days, and I had intended to spend part of my Christmas vacation using the seine. I had hoped to explore two or three streams, had I not gotten sick. But I did get out for an hour or so Sunday afternoon to my local stream (Turtle Creek) to use it.

The stream, which empties into the Monongahela River, was historically impacted by acid mine drainage (AMD) along its entire length, as well as industrial use in its lower ~1/3. A formerly unreclaimed strip mine near the headwaters was cleaned up a few years ago by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the stream has become clean again for its upper ~2/3. Its one major tributary, Brush Creek, has not yet been cleaned up and brings in AMD which as a result affects the lower ~1/3 of Turtle Creek. But even though the upper portion is now clean, and stocked with trout in season, it surely doesn't have the diversity of species it once had. And until that downstream portion is cleaned up (in other words, until the tributary Brush Creek is cleaned up), I can't see any fish re-colonizing it by swimming upstream from the Monongahela River. I think the few species that are currently in there survived the polluted era in unaffected small feeder streams, and recolonized Turtle Creek after it was cleaned up.

Portions of the stream flow through some community parks, through which access to the stream can be obtained. When I got my dipnet a few weeks ago, I went to one of these parks and poked around in the vegetation along a few hundred feet of the stream banks. I found the following species:

• blacknose dace
• creek chub
• yellow bullhead
• central stoneroller white sucker

A short list, I realize, but considering the history of the stream, I was pleased to find that much. I had only explored one short reach, and I felt that with a seine I might find more even in that reach. And I will hopefully find more in other portions of the stream.

So now that I have a seine, I went back to the same reach with my two youngest daughters on Sunday. (The older two are not really interested.) I still need to get them some waders (see the thread I started about children's waders), which I hope to do around tax refund time, so they used rain boots. Dragging a seine was a little much for the 8-year-old, but worked out okay for the 10-year-old. In addtion to the same fish I found before with the dipnet, I found a few fantail darters. So the updated species list is:

• blacknose dace
• creek chub
• yellow bullhead
• central stoneroller white sucker
• fantail darter

When my daughter complained about the water being too deep and overtopping her rain boots, I sent her via the bank to a shallower place just upstream, and tried to push the seine upstream alone to meet her. Man, was that difficult! Even with a 4-foot seine in shallow water, it was extremely difficult to push that seine upstream alone. I definitely need to get them some waders (which, as I wrote above, I hope to do around tax refund time, with a trip to the Cabelas store in Wheeling), and/or find an adult seining partner locally. Of course, if any of you are local to southwestern Pennsylvania and want to seine together, let me know. If you want to visit from a little farther away, such as my new Ohio friends, you are also welcome, and I have a nice leather sectional if you want to stick around overnight.

Of course, this is just the beginning. Now that I am equipped, I intend to explore other clean sections of that stream. And I know that there is a great deal of diversity in western Pennsylvania and border states, waiting for me to find it as I venture beyond my hometown and vicinity.

I'm extremely happy you had a chance to get out with your new net even if in an AMD creek. Nothing like the getting a new net, attaching the brails and heading out to the water. It's a bonus that you found darters, catfish and minnows with your youngster. Now file that return and get cracking on some more suitable darter gear for this springs' colors.

A central stoneroller white sucker from Turtle Creek.

I can add a species to your list from here at my computer because the above picture is a white sucker not a stoneroller.

At first I thought this was a stoneroller also, but as I looked closer, the Dorsal/pelvic placement is wrong, a stonerollers pelvic fin is below or just in front of the dorsal, a white suckers is behind the dorsal.

A central stoneroller white sucker from Turtle Creek.

A white sucker from the University of Minnesota.


It looks like we have a winner! Thanks for pointing that out. Corrections have been made above. Maybe I'll yet find a central stoneroller there. I'll keep looking.

Oops. Two major tributaries. I forgot about Abers Creek. Smaller than Brush Creek and no AMD, it comes in from the north just upstream of the park where the sucker came from. You can see its mouth from the park. Silly me.

was extremely difficult to push that seine upstream alone.

Yeah it is... So run it downstream, you'll do a 1000 times better I don't know how the convention came about that you had to work your butt off to see a 1/5 of the fish you would working less, but it is as it is. We'll have to get out in the field (and I need to make some video) and I can show you how to effectively work a seine by yourself. I use an 8' by myself all the time, although in heavier discharge, I think that a 6' would be my best tool. I'm also not getting any younger

Great to see people willing to do what it takes to get their kids OUTSIDE!

Todd

Okay, so I went back to the same stream a couple times since the earlier post above, yesterday, and two weeks ago (okay, 15 days ago).

Three weeks ago, it rained all weekend, Thursday through Monday, often heavily. Two weeks ago it was exactly the same thing. The water in the stream was high (at least 2 feet higher than normal), extremely swift, and very brown with sediment. I wanted to get in there, if for no other reason, to collect some feeders. I know there is some disagreement on this, but I prefer wild-caught feeders. Store-bought feeders, if kept in an aerated bucket for use over several days, are so filthy you have to change the water daily, and many die anyway. Wild-caught feeders are clean and hardy. They seldom require a water change before being given to the pickerel, and none die.

Anyway, I needed some feeders and was a little short, so store-bought were out of the question at the time. During a brief hiatus in the storm two Saturdays ago, I ventured into Turtle Creek looking for feeders. I picked a spot further downstream of my previous spot in the park. I had noticed on my way to my mechanics place, when I took my van for its annual inspection as required under Pennsylvania law, that there was a little access road leading to a gas well down the street from the mechanics place. It looked like I could park down that road by the gas well, and walk right up to the stream from there. So I did. I did not take the children this time. With the water so high, it would overtop their rain boots (buying them waders is still on my financial agenda). Besides, I'm sure they would have a struggle with the swift water. The spot is a little bit upstream of the confluence with Brush Creek.

I ventured into the water, and worked my way downstream from my entry point. At this location, there is a somewhat permanent sand and gravel bar about 8 feet from the shore, held in place by vegetation. Even though it was submerged due to the high storm flow, I could see the top of the vegetation growing on it. It provided enough protection for the shoreline that the water was flowing slowly and calmly along the shore, even though it was a raging torrent in the center of the stream. (Believe me, I was not stupid enough to try to wade out into the thalweg!) There was lots of overhanging vegetation, logs, and undercut banks. I worked these cover areas with my dipnet, and found plenty of feeders. It was a subset of the species list I found before: blacknose dace, creek chubs, and white suckers. No darters or catfish this time. A couple creek chubs and white suckers were large, and I threw them back, both because they were unsuitable feeders and because I want to keep breeding adults in the stream to preserve the population. Just the same, it was a very productive hour before darkness set in and the rain returned. I went home with enough feeders to last me a week and a half.

I returned to the same spot yesterday. The water level had gone down to normal flow. I could have brought the children this time, but they had spent the night at their grandparents so I went alone. The weather had been below freezing for about a week and a half. It got up to 38 degrees yesterday, and is back into the 20's today and for the extended forecast. So I got one warm day to go out. (I know some of you rebs may not see 38 as a warm day. But when you get accustomed to highs in the 20s, 38 is very warm and comfortable. I was pleased.) I worked my way upstream from the entry point this time instead of downstream. Yesterday was not so productive as two weeks earlier. Much of the vegetation that was overhanging, due to the drop in water level, was no longer submerged. There was still a significant amount of overhanging vegetation and undercut banks to provide fish cover. But due to the cold weather we have experienced lately, there was a lot of ice along the shoreline, limiting access to these cover areas. And of course, breaking the ice scared the fish away. I did see one swimming away as I broke some ice, plunged my dipnet in quickly, and got it! But typically, I wasn't able to get many feeders this time. I will be gong to the LFS tomorrow

Even where I did have access to ice-free cover areas on the bank, there were not so many creek chubs and blacknose dace as last time. So where did they all go? Surely I did not exhaust the supply two weeks ago. There were plenty, and I only worked one small section of the stream. I'm sure I missed a lot. And I did not work the same section this time. I have no doubt the fish were there. Some were probably hiding under the ice. But I theorize that most of them were most likely out in the flowing portion of the stream, and would have been taken with a seine. I suspect I found so many when the water was high two weeks earlier, because they had taken shelter from the torrent by hiding along the bank. The flow was fairly gentle yesterday, and there was no need to seek shelter. Does this make any sense?

The big surprise yesterday was that the species list for this stream grew larger. I found two juvenile pumpkinseeds in there. I read in Chapter 4 of Coal Mine Drainage Prediction and Pollution Prevention in Pennsylvania that some of the fish I found tend to be the first fish found in streams recovering from AMD. So this is a further sign of the stream's recovery. I only hope the trend continues. So now the species list for the stream is:

• blacknose dace
• creek chub
• yellow bullhead
• white sucker
• fantail darter
• pumpkinseed

Let's hope this list continues to grow.

Here are some photos of the larger of the two pumpkinseeds. It is about 2.5 inches, snout to caudal peduncle.





I have this theory that I should find more biodiversity in the mouth of this stream, due to the influence of the Monongahela River. The Monongahela River is too deep to wade with a seine or dipnet, and due to the industrial nature of the valley here in Allegheny County, access points are few except at public boat launches. I intend to look for some access points this spring, though, hoping to dipnet along the shore or find some backwaters that I can wade. Anyway, I figured that there should be some fish from the Monongahela River in the mouths of streams like Turtle Creek. However, the lower Turtle Creek valley is just as industrial as the Monongahela River valley. I found one possible access point on Google Earth, hoping to get in there and wade downstream past the USS Edgar Thomson Works to the mouth. But alas, I found a fence along the road, and a gate across the road. There appears to be no way to get in the stream anywhere near the mouth to test this theory, although I will try to figure out another spot. Anyway, does this theory make sense?

was extremely difficult to push that seine upstream alone.

Yeah it is... So run it downstream, you'll do a 1000 times better I don't know how the convention came about that you had to work your butt off to see a 1/5 of the fish you would working less, but it is as it is.

I think the theory is that if the fish are swimming with the current to escape your net, they have a better chance of succeeding. It makes sense, but if you can push the net faster downstream... I'll try that sometime.

We'll have to get out in the field (and I need to make some video) and I can show you how to effectively work a seine by yourself.

I'll be looking forward to that, most likely on the March collecting trip.

I'm also not getting any younger

I hear you there. I will be 43 in less than five weeks. The numbers just keep going up...

I think the theory is that if the fish are swimming with the current to escape your net, they have a better chance of succeeding.

Yeah check it out... Swimming upstream for them is nothing. They worked those physics out somewhere in the Mesozoic

Todd

Yeah check it out... Swimming upstream for them is nothing. They worked those physics out somewhere in the Mesozoic

Todd

You should try the official Peter Unmack technique: run downstream as fast as you can with your seine. It works better with two people, of course, but by yourself it's the "Death or Glory" approach. The trick is to avoid slippery surfaces, or tripping....

Back when I was in college I would stand downstream with a seine and have several friends charge me kicking and dragging their feet. The fish would really pile into the seine.
When alone I would build a crude weir out of rocks and place the seine at the base of the V with a few rocks or a handfull of gravel in it to hold it in place. I would then charge the seine dragging my feet and lift the front out of the water when I reached it. It is a good method for catching darters and sculpins in really fast water.
Keith C.

I went back there with my daughter (who now has waders) earlier this evening (or should I say yesterday evening, since it's now after midnight) to collect feeders. I have never seen the water so low. It has seemed to me like a normal spring so far, I was unaware of any rainfall deficit, so I was shocked at how low the stream was. The Pennsylvania DEP Drought Information Center is showing the drought status as normal throughout the Commonwealth. Anyway, I came home with plenty of feeders. What makes this trip noteworthy, though, is that I found bluegills in there this time. So the species list for the stream has grown again.

The updated species list for the stream is:

• blacknose dace
• creek chub
• yellow bullhead
• white sucker
• fantail darter
• pumpkinseed
• bluegill

I found some pretty breeding male creek chubs, with lots of blue in them. I also found some very large, very nice looking white suckers. I wish I had my camera with me. Maybe I'll go back later in the week with my camera, and try to find them again.

it's the "Death or Glory" approach.

That's hilarious. Many times I've been almost in full sprint to catch that school of big Striped Shiner...too many times it's been death though...haha.

I collected some feeders recently, and, as usual, kept them in an aerated bucket (with water changes every day or two, as needed) while I gradually dispensed them to the fish. The last time I scooped feeders out of the bucket, I noticed that one seemed a bit different. I put it in the photo tank and photographed it. Here it is:



What a pleasant surprise to find largemouth bass in this stream! Of course, this is a mixed blessing to me. I am pleased to see further evidence of the stream's recovery. However, now, when I collect feeders, I can't just indiscriminately throw anything small and minnow-sized and -shaped into my bait bucket. I now will have to carefully examine every fish before throwing it in there. There is no shortage of small creek chubs, and, to a lesser extent, blacknose dace and white suckers. It is a very productive place to collect feeders. Now that I know there are sport fish in there (and if there are juveniles, there must be parents), though, I must be careful when collecting feeders.

So, once again, the species list for the stream has grown.

The updated species list for the stream is:

• blacknose dace
• creek chub
• yellow bullhead
• white sucker
• fantail darter
• pumpkinseed
• bluegill
• largemouth bass

Bad news for my local stream, Turtle Creek. Last week's storms have caused a wastewater treatment plant to fail in a major tributary, creating an ongoing sewage discharge into this recovering stream. It is unsafe to enter the stream, but when the problem is repaired and it is safe to enter, I will go in there with a seine and see what kind of fish may have hopefully survived the disaster. The following is an excerpt from this article in the local paper:

http://www.yourmonro...ut-sewage-creek

Storm put sewage into creek
Stay away from Abers Creek.
Allegheny County Health Department issued a warning for Plum and Monroeville residents to stay away from the creek after a torrent of sewage emptied into the creek when Plum Municipal Authority's treatment plant was put out of commission by last Thursday's storms.
"At this point, Plum isn't functioning at all," said John Capor, general manager of Monroeville Municipal Authority.
Sewage from about 500 homes is being dumped into the creek, he said.
Monroeville Municipal Authority is in the process of running a temporary line between the municipality and Plum so sewage can be pumped to Alcosan.
Capor said he wasn't sure how long that process would take.


ALCOSAN (Allegheny County Sanitary Authority), by the way, is a regional wastewater treatment facility, located downstream in Pittsburgh. Monroeville discharges to it. Plum treats its own sewage in several small plants located throughout the borough, even though it is upstream of the ALCOSAN plant. To me, this is a reason why Plum should be part of ALCOSAN.

That's unfortnate.