NANFA-- Colochee Creek trip
Roselawn Museum (roselawn_at_mindspring.com)
Mon, 30 Apr 2001 16:03:58 -0400
Yesterday, several of us met at Colochee Creek, 22 miles south of Ft.
Benning, GA. Jonathan (my stepson) and I got there about 11am and got in
the water while we waited for the others. We were joined by Patrick Vinas
and his daughter Karin (GA), Doug Dame (FL), and Bruce Stallsmith (AL). It
never ceases to amaze me how streams change from one trip to the next.
Recent torrential rains had flattened the area. Evidence of high water was
very noticeable, with packed leaves and other debris in trees fifteen feet
above our heads. The water was also wider & shallower. I'll leave the
species report to Bruce, but I did want to mention that we caught madtoms
(freckled, I think) this time, unlike my other trips there.
Although the diversity was not great, the banter & exchange of ideas was
excellent. I was astounded to see that Doug had a leash-trained collection
bucket. (I gotta' get one of those!) We had to go nearly a mile upstream
from the bridge before we encountered the first real riffle. From this
point, the stream was in better shape, and we immediately began to find
topminnows. The sandy bottom in this section provided some comedy relief,
suddenly giving way under foot, causing me to sink in up to my hip in a flash.
Patrick left us early on to explore a nearby swamp in search of a bowfin.
Since he was under a time limit, he headed home from there (without the
bowfin).