Native Fish Collection Interest

[DelawareJim]

We could also try in the lower eastern shore. Plenty of fish in the canals and drainage ditches; either small aqaurium types or just good eatin'!

American Eel, Herring, Blueback Herring, Alewife, Gizzard Shad, Eastern mudminnow, Redfin Pickerel, Golden Shiner, Spot Tail Shiner, Creek Chubsucker,
Brown Bullhead, Pirate Perch, Mosquito Fish, Banded Killfish, Mummichog, White Perch, Bluespot Sunfish, Blackbanded Sunfish, Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Bluegill,
Largemouth Bass, Yellow Perch, etc.

Cheers.
Jim

[Sonny Disposition]

Delaware Jim, the eastern shore is a good location for small, slack water acid water natives. If you know of a location, it would be worth considering. We want to keep the travel time short, if we can. (The same species at the Po and Ni Rivers, that's why I suggested it.) I'm leading a trip to the eastern shore for the PVAS convention. I don't want to visit the same spot twice in one year, for fear of having too large an impact on the local population, which is why I didn't suggest it.

Kris W., if the consensus is Little Bennett, I'll check the state bait collecting regs, and when I apply for the permit from the State, I'll suggest limits similar to what you're allowed to collect as bait. It's true you need to keep several members of a species, so they can form shoals, but they're also more numerous than darters and sculpins, so you can take more without having too large an effect on the population.

Also, Kris. Pumpkinseed sunnies are in the area, but they aren't numerous. They're found in the northeast, and Maryland is right at the edge of their range. It may be that the pumpkinseeds that are here are introduced from other areas, and the populations haven't really expanded. Or it may be that the introduced bluegills are hybridizing them out of existence. You can definitely take them on hook and line. They're very similar to longear sunfish in temperament and husbandry requirements. Only they grow bigger, and, as such, conflicts between dominant and subdominant fish tend to be fatal faster. A really big pumpkinseed will reach 12 inches in length. Like longears, a spawning male will destroy your carefully landscaped setup.

I've taken them at several locations in the tidal Potomac, and once, during a drought, at Widewater (3-4 miles down river from Great Falls, on the Maryland side.) Again, just isolated specimens, not in any numbers.

[krisw]

All very good to know, thanks Bob! That's interesting about the Pumpkinseeds. Perhaps, I'll just look for the longears then. Eitherway, they're both pretty looking fish! Now, I have a couple months to figure out where the heck I'm going to put any of these.

[mab]

Eels - yummy!!!!

[FrannyB]

This sounds so interesting as some of the fish make my stomach grumble a tad; however, I would be interested in the mosquito fish and any other little crap stuff that could be cultivated to feed my fish. Also, this could be good practice for those destined to go to SA.

[Sonny Disposition]

Franny, most natives are hard to cultivate. (Needless to say, I'm not a fan of feeding wild-caught fish. A good way to introduce diseases.)

Go up to Scales and get some Rosy Reds. Years ago one of the NANFA people did a study for a state agency and found out they out produced everything else.

http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Live%20Food ... innows.htm

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/rosies.htm

[Spine]

Now, I know how I'm going to become a millionaire. I'll collect mosquito fish and sell them on the west coast. Here's a neat article I read in the Wall Street Journal Friday.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1208978 ... side_today

[Sonny Disposition]

Watch out, mosquito fish can become serious environmental pests in their own right:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01577.html

[magsdez]

BF (Scott) and I are interested in attending as well. He's been saying he wants to do a local tank, though I doubt we'll keep anything. No more room for another tank.