It would have been fun to meet on that trip. I wish I could have made it to
the Current River, but I didn't have enough time. One of the locals I ran
into on the Niangua told me that was the place to go for clarity. I'm not
sure I like my Cardinal Shiners now, I brought back 3 big ones and a couple
of small ones. The big ones are very active and somewhat aggressive. I'm
thinking that they must really burn themselves out spawning, because on of
the bright males I caught I saw later was really scraped up and died a
couple of days later. I know the scraping didn't come from me, and I'm
thinking it came from furious spawning activity. I actually like the Ozark
shiners the best. They are more delicate with nice orange on the fins.
I forgot to mention I saw Stippled Darters in the Niangua River too. I wish
now that I would have worked my way even further into the headwaters of that
river. It wasn't so clear as I made my way down stream.
I'll sure make it down next Spring, especially since its a fairly easy drive
for me. I'll be down Chattanooga way late September/early October and maybe
we can hook up then.
Mark
Fargo ND
----- Original Message -----
From: "Roselawn Museum" <roselawn_at_mindspring.com>
To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
Sent: Monday, June 10, 2002 10:22 AM
Subject: Re: NANFA-- A quick trip to southwest Missouri
> Nice report, Mark!
>
> Wish I coulda' hung out with you on that trip. Did you get a chance to
take
> any pix? Just a little south, and a little over a hundred miles east of
> there is the area that Bill Hoppe is inviting us to next spring, so save
> your maps. Getting some cardinal shiners would be worth the side run for
> me. Who knows? The clarity of the water may even attract that ol' gilled
> critter just north of me. (-:
>
> Steven A. Ellis
> Kennesaw, GA
>
> At 07:16 PM 6/7/02 -0500, you wrote:
> >Hi. I had a week off from work and got the okay from the boss (Deb) to
do a
> >fish expedition for several days so I shot down to southwest Missouri.
By
> >my standards it was a quick trip (less that 12 hours). I left early
Friday
> >morning and by 3:30 that afternoon I was checking out fish spots.
> >
> >I snorkeled four different rivers - Big Sugar Creek (Neosho drainage),
Flat
> >Creek (White River drainage), Niangua River, and the Gasconade. Big
Sugar
> >Creek had great visibility and it was full of Cardinal Shiners including
> >some still in full breeding colors. What really struck me was the
absence
> >of Common or Striped Shiners. It seems like any river you go to in the
east
> >if full of one of these species or its cousins. The Cardinal Shiner
seemed
> >to be the most common fish. There were also lots of Northern Studfish,
some
> >with some good colors.
> >
> >The second day I drove to Flat Creek and on the way hit the upper part of
> >the Spring River where I found Arkansas Darters and I believe a Least
> >Darter. Flat Creek was full of Duskystripe Shiners, but most didn't
have
> >too much color. I found a Yoke Darter and a couple of Ozark Madtoms.
There
> >were tons of Rainbow and Greenside Darters and Logperch. When I got
further
> >down stream I found White-tailed Shiners. After hitting this creek I
went
> >northwest through the hills and came upon a very beautiful spring. There
> >was water running off the limestone cliffs into it and the water was
crystal
> >clear (the clearest I've ever been in). It was a absolutely wonderful
spot.
> >It was full of Southern Redbellied Dace, Duskystripe Shiners,
stonerollers,
> >sunfish, bass, Rainbow Darters, logperch, sculpins, and Ozark Shiners.
> >
> >Next I hit the Niangua River and worked my way downstream. As soon as I
> >jumped in I observed a Bluestripe Darter working the edge of the water
> >willows. The Bleeding Shiners and Ozark Shiners were still spawning over
> >gravel piles and it was wonderful to just float and observe them. I
looked
> >like crazy for a Niangua Darter, but like his cousin the Arrow Darter I
was
> >unsuccessful. I did manage to get some Missouri Saddlebacked Darters
> >though, so I was happy to see two of the three Missouri endemic darters.
> >
> >Finally I snorkeled the Gasconade, but I struggled to find clear water.
> >Oddly enough it seemed to get clearer down stream (in the Mark Twain
> >National Forest) and here I got to observe Missouri Saddled and Gilt
> >Darters. I also saw two more Bluestripe Darters.
> >
> >Altogether it was a good spur of the moment trip. Not as good as
Tennessee,
> >but not bad. I was struck by the abundance of Southern Redbellied Dace
and
> >I even came across them in the larger rivers. The other thing that
struck
> >me was the nice country in the extreme southwest corner of the state
> >(McDonald county). If there is a right was to do agriculture this has
got
> >to be pretty close. There were fields of tall grass used for hay and
this
> >appeared to be the dominant form of agriculture. There were cattle but
they
> >didn't seem to graze the land to death. There was an abundance of
> >Dickcissels and Eastern Meadowlarks and a lot of Scissor-tailed
Flycatchers
> >in the open country. Very nice.
> >
> >Mark Otnes
> >Fargo ND
> ---
> >/"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
> >/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
> >/ Association"
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-- > /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily > / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes > / Association" > / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association > / nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word > / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to > / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to > / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead. > / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org /----------------------------------------------------------------------------- /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes / Association" / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association / nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead. / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org