Native Fish Trip - Pick the one you'd like to go on

[Sonny Disposition]

Hello Fellow GWAPAnians:

This is just to follow up about collecting trip options, per the last meeting. We’ll tentatively schedule a collecting trip for Saturday, August 9, which, I think would be the date of the CCA meeting if there was a CCA meeting in August. Please look through the list below and pick one trip that you would like to attend. The sooner we hear from you, the better. Remember, if we pick a trip requiring a permit, I’ll need time to apply for the permit.

Disclaimer: (Sorry folks, but it’s necessary). If you attend the collecting trip, you are responsible for your own safety and the safety of those in your party. If you exercise common sense and good judgement, drowning or injury is unlikely but cannot be ruled out entirely. However, neither myself nor the members or leadership of the Greater Washington Aquatic Plants Association will assume any liability for your safety. (Again, sorry to have to say that.)

Here are some links to pages describing precautions to take while wading:
http://www.agfc.com/pdfs/free/wadingsafetips_bro.pdf

http://www.flyfishingoutfitters.com/p/p.aspx?mlid=1084

http://www.articlealley.com/article_161851_32.html


License trips (no permits required, just a fishing license for those who are of age).

Pennyfield Lock on the C&O Canal of the Potomac River (http://www.mcmullans.org/canal/PennyField.htm), outside Tobytown Maryland, is an excellent spot to collect longear sunfish (Lepomis megalotis). Per my talk to the GWAPA members, longears are a colorful, mid-sized Lepomis sunfish that seldom grow larger than 5 inches in length. Longears are like mid-sized cichlids, territorial and a little on the aggressive side. They dig nests in the gravel, and males tend eggs and fry. If you forgot they look like, you can find some photos at the NANFA gallery, http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/farm ... peltastes/

Potomac River Snakehead Hunt
Along with the Northern Snakehead, Channa argus argus, the Potomac River and its tidal creeks and bays are home to bluegill, pumpkinseed, redbreast, and redear sunfish, and the eastern banded killifish, fundulus diaphanus, http://www.jonahsaquarium.com/JonahSite ... anus01.htm. We’d start at the parking lot on Little Hunting Creek, on the George Washington Parkway, and seine in the Potomac River and in Little Hunting Creek. Although they aren’t numerous, I’ve collected bluespotted sunfish in Little Hunting Creek (http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/families/bluespotsun.html). We’d work our way south along the GW Parkway, to Route 1, to Pohick Bay Regional Park.

If we get a snakehead, we'll have to euthanize it on the spot, as this species is illegal to transport alive.


Permit Trips – These would require me to apply for a scientific collection permit to the State of Maryland, and so might take a little time to arrange.

Little Bennet Regional Park-http://www.mc-(mncppc.org/Parks/facilities/regional_parks/little_bennett/index.shtm). Lot’s of clean, fast-flowing upland streams. Some neat native minnows (Rosyside dace, http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/families/rosysidedace.html), Longnose dace (http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/families/longnosedace.html), fantail darters (http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/families/fantaildart.html) and mottled sculpin (http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/families/mottled.html). There are few native plants growing in these streams. These fishes are best suited to a cool basement aquarium; in fact, the sculpins might succumb to temperatures past the high 70s Fahrenheit.

Paint Branch Creek, University of Maryland Campus, College Park-Lots of banded killifish and satinfin shiners (http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/families/satinfin.html). Males develop white edging on their fins during spawning season. Also miscellanouse Lepomis sunfish and other minnow species.

Cedarville State Forest/Zekiah Swamp Run/Mattawoman Creek- Zekiah Swamp run is a slow-moving, acid water, heavily vegetated coastal stream with bluespotted sunfish, warmouth, flier and redfin pickerel. The latter are extremely shy lurking predators that will hide from anything they can’t eat. They’re also extremely cannabilistic. (http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/families/redfin.html)

This trip would probably have the kind of fish that would be most amenable to a soft water planted tank. However, this trip is also a Little difficult logistically, as much of Zekiah Swamp is on private land. We’d be limited to a few spots within Cedarville State Forest and to publicly accessible portions of Zekiah Swamp at bridges that cross Route 5 and other thoroughfares.

[Spine]

I'm all for option #2 Potomac River Snakehead Hunt. Its close and has a lot of the fish we all want, especially the bluespotted sunfish.

[krisw]

Bob,

Thank you for offering to organize this for us!

Of course, the most interesting one to me sounds like it would be the most difficult:

Zekiah Swamp

If that's logistically impossible, I'd say:

Potomac River Snakehead Hunt
Pennyfield Lock
Little Bennet Regional Park

Of course, I'd be happy to go along with whatever the majority is interested in, as well!

[Sonny Disposition]

Kevin, the only problem with option number two is that there aren't very many bluespotteds in Little Hunting Creek. We'd be lucky to get a half dozen. If that's what we settle on, I'd recommend the attendees voting on someone who could take all of them, try to breed them, and, if successful, giving the F1s to the others who wanted them.

[marge618]

I'm all for option #2 Potomac River Snakehead Hunt. Its close and has a lot of the fish we all want, especially the bluespotted sunfish.

Sounds good to me too.

Later,
Marge

[ingg]

I am up for whatever, just along for the fun.


Bob, I do have a source for a small colony of the pygmy sunfish from Florida, those blue and black ones. Would you be confident in being able to breed them? Pm.me if you would.

[Jeff120]

I have no preference, just along for the fun as well. Dont have any tanks I can put these fish, but it would be a fun experience.

[pmk00001]

I know a spot right near Mt. Vernon where I can almost always get loads of Bluespotted sunnies. I've actually got four Bluespots that I wouldn't mind giving away if anyone was interested. Two are about full grown and two are almost, they are pretty tame, I got them when they were babies. They chow on frozen food.

[Ltrepeter2000]

I would love to pick these up from you and give them a try. I had highlighted these after the last meeting as one I wanted to give a shot. I could take them next week as I am almost finished setting up the new fish room. Let me know.

Thanks
Rob

[magsdez]

I'm game for which ever site wins. I'm thinking about doing a local theme landscape type tank and would like suggestions. I'll make a new post though, so I wont highjack this one