The first thing I would do is check the Nanfa forums (North American Native Fish Association) for info.to all the questions you have asked; for they can all be answered by searching those forums. The second is to check the Jonahs Aquarium website for dipnets and seines (I believe they have the best dipnets available and one of the best selections of seines). There are several good reputable online native fish LFS's to buy from including Btdarters, Sachs aquaculture, Zimmermans fish and as mentioned before Jonahs Aquarium if you would prefer to buy instead of collect.Brentw132;4632831;4632831 said:
collecting natives
- Thread starter Brentw132
- Start date
That surprises me about Wisconsin, I was at a fish store in Milwaukee and they had baby natives of all kind. Pike walleye smallmouth largemouth sunfish crappy ect! It's actually what inspired to make a natives tank of my own.
Bait shops, ask the owner if you can search through their bait tanks for oddities (for a little extra cash if necessary) - oftentimes they'll let you, some will even offer to call you when new bait shipments come in!
In the Spring I walk along the shallows of my lake and look for small groups of one to one and half inch baby fish swimming in the shallows and catch them by neting them with a bucket or a spigeti strainer. As for how I cought my first native Bluegill it was during a drought where my creek that feeds my lake dried up leaving behind a five foot across four inch deep three foot wide small pool of water so I used a bucket to drain it and catch the small group of baby Bluegills and Largemouth bass trapped in it.
