NANFA-- Fishwatching

Richard J Rego (newzoo_at_juno.com)
Tue, 22 Aug 2000 21:38:15 -0500

Hello list-goers,

Glad everyone had a good time at the convention, wish I could have been
there, maybe next year. Last night fellow NANFA member Brian Bastarache
and I went on a nighttime "fishwatching" trip. We went down to the
Palmer River at the Shad Factory Dam in Rehoboth Ma. There is a fish
ladder there that is packed with herring/alewives in the spring. We
decided to see what type of activity occurs in the fish ladder during
other times of the year. Rain had been scarce several weeks back, and
most falls were not flowing (as most fish ladders), but since the rain
over the last few weeks, most falls are just "peeing" over. The fish
ladder however was flowing slowly. We got there about 8:30 PM and with
flashlights in hand started at the bottom of the ladder (the ladder is
about 150-175 feet long), we saw LOTS of crayfish in every section of the
ladder, from large adults to juveniles. The most common fish species in
the ladder were Lepomis species. We saw some juvenile Micropterus (most
likely largemouth), but overall the "coolest" species were several
American Eels (A. rostrata), they were just lurking in the shallow water
of the ladder, sometimes partially submerged beneath algae, and some out
in the open. We also visited the Swansea Dam in Swansea Ma, and looked
below the fall line, mostly Lepomis. For a short spur-of-the-moment
trip, it was neat watching fish in the dark.

Rick Rego
MA/New England NANFA Rep.

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