NANFA-- New Experience

Ipchay61_at_aol.com
Sat, 17 Jan 2004 19:51:56 EST

I can now mark another item off of my "Must Do in My Lifetime" list.

Dustin Smith and I went down to the lower third of the state to do a fish
survey for a new nature trail. The consultant and city manager that are
organizing the trail had asked us to come down back in June, which we did, and again
in the winter. We did the winter part today and stopped by one of our old
sites to get a baseline on how things looked, the size of the pygmy sunfish and
just do a little collecting before we went to work on the trail. The temp was
around 40 degrees and the water was cold (please, no comments from the northern
guys) and we were in waist deep water trying to seine for taillight shiners.
Suddenly Dustin jumped! "Something hit me in the leg three or four times" he
said. Right then I got bumped...hard......on the inside of my right leg,
then twice more on my left leg. We saw something quickly move in front of the
seine so we lifted it up. Flopping there in the seine was an almost two foot
long male bowfin! That thing was colored up nicely too! I guess it's
true...bowfin will attack a person. At least we're both believers now.

Chip Rinehart
West Columbia, SC

p.s. For his trouble, this bowfin will now relax in pampered comfort at the
Riverbanks Zoo. Please be sure to visit him and say hi when attending the
2004 Convention in Columbia, SC
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