The Official North American Native Fish Collecting Thread

[divemaster99]

Went seining at my favorite feeder creek today to try to find a good bottom feeder for my Green Sunfish's tank and did not leave disappointed. I caught all the usual catch other than three species but discovered a new species in this spot that I'm excited about. Catch today included...

-60-80 Johnny Darters
-15 Silverjaw Minnows
-15 Redside Dace
-5 Creek Chubs
-7 White Suckers
-1 Mottled Sculpin
-2 Green Sunfish (New Species)

And I took home the smallest white sucker for her tank. Currently in a 10g quarantine tank with my YOY Bluegill from Erie.

 

[fatboy8]

I thought this thread was supposed to be about collection techniques? Has anyone been electrofishing?

I've done both my university had both the back pack shockers for streams and then we had an 18ft flat bottom shocking boat. Probably one of the most fun school related things I did

 

[BrookKeeper]

I've done both my university had both the back pack shockers for streams and then we had an 18ft flat bottom shocking boat. Probably one of the most fun school related things I did

Where did you go to school? We have a couple of backpack units, but have to call on state resources for the boat...

 

[fatboy8]

Mansfield University of Pennsylvania where the Fisheries Biology progarm all started

 

[divemaster99]

Anybody do any seining, trapping, dip netting, electro fishing, etc lately? I've still got to hit some local feeders that I've been meaning to since April but the problem is to get to them you have to crawl in a pretty tight culvert under a main road so you really need very low water levels. No rain in the forecast so maybe next week .

 

[predatorkeeper87]

Anybody do any seining, trapping, dip netting, electro fishing, etc lately? I've still got to hit some local feeders that I've been meaning to since April but the problem is to get to them you have to crawl in a pretty tight culvert under a main road so you really need very low water levels. No rain in the forecast so maybe next week .

I havent done any since I caught my grass pickerel (RIP channel cat snack...) and my madtom at a feeder creek I never knew existed less than a mile from my house haha.

 

[BrookKeeper]

I did some electrofishing in the North River (Potomac drainage) yesterday, as well as last wee k. Caught a northern water snake, can't say why I didn't take pictures of that. Chubs all daym I think all bluehead and river... sculpin and long nose dace in great numbers in the riffles, collected something like 18 and 57 respectively within 15 seconds shocking about 4'x6' area in riffle above three posted dip nets. White suckers in clumps of high density, largest over 24", a few northern hog suckers with a monster 18" or so, a yellow bullhead around 12", margined madtoms, cutlip minnows, redbreast sunnies, green sunnies, rock bass, smallmouth, largemouth, shiners... (not definitively identified, but clearly what I thought were all common shiners must have been at least partially fallfish... I didn't take the camera out more than twice, but this guy was worth it! Pulled him up from the bottom of a deep hole below a strong riffle, the same one we spilled all the sculpin and dace out of. He probably enjoys the macro and fish sampling that we do just above his pool... more so than he enjoyed the sampling efforts IN his pool, as you can tell from the picture he took it a little hard. Spent some time nursing this one back, but eventually he made a strong departure. The only other pictures I took the entire time were of a 1.5" largemouth bass.




I used a Halltech backpack for the first time, anyone else have experience or pointers on the brand?

 

[WeedandFish]

Is this a sterlet sturgeon? It looks more like a shovel nose sturgeon.

 

[BrookKeeper]

Is this a sterlet sturgeon? It looks more like a shovel nose sturgeon.

View attachment 1141939

Ventral view is helpful in identifying sturgeon.

 

[WeedandFish]

Is that the bottom where the mouth is?