Re: NANFA-- Paint Rock...

Bruce Stallsmith (fundulus_at_hotmail.com)
Sat, 27 May 2000 22:51:37 EDT

The Paint Rock trip went pretty well today. Steven Ellis, Casper Cox &
myself met as planned and wandered up the valley to UAH student Heather
Bower's place. We weren't able to make it up the driveway on the first try,
but after various shuttling Steven, Heather & I went down to the Paint Rock
River on the edge of her parent's property (only one rattler on the way
in...). We found Fundulus olivaceus, brook silversides, a Notropis shiner
and clouds of juvenile Notropis in that stretch of relatively high river.
And, we examined a tributary creek but the only fish seemed to be in a 10-ft
deep hole (and we didn't have one of B.G.'s throw nets).

After chasing another snake, we took off to rendezvous with Casper way
upstream at a ford across the Estil fork on Jackson County Road 175. Casper
was snorkeling as we arrived, and we realized this was THE place. A seine
netting below the ford in a chest-deep hole brought up Tennessee Shiners,
another Notropis sp., and the omnipresent silversides. The Tennessees are
amazing in their breeding colors. The shallower riffles yielded 7 different
darter species, including Greenside, Rainbow and Snubnose (and Black too? I
gotta look closer.). We found two species of Fundulus here, olivaceus as
before and also catenatus; my first viewing of the latter in Alabama. I let
a bunch of small sculpins go. We didn't find any madtoms, although Casper
suggested we come back and snorkel after dark for even better "viewing".

I brought home a bucket load of fish from this site, all of whom survived to
be introduced into my growing native community tank in a teaching lab at the
University of Alabama in Huntsville. They joined my Fundulus notti & F.
chrysotus. Now it's hopping with shiners and darters, too.

Maybe we should formally start a Tennessee Valley NANFA chapter, since this
interesting region stretches across northern Alabama, eastern Tennessee,
north Georgia, and western North Carolina and Virginia. But that's a detail
for now.

> > You bet. I'm just below you at the Bell's Ferry exit, so we'll go when
> > you're ready.
> >
> > Steven
>
>Hi Steve and list
>
>I don't have much equipment yet beside some minnows traps and a 6 foot cast
>net.Do you have a seine,i really would like to learn how to use one.
>I also have snorkeling stuff somewhere in the closet.That's fun too.
>I am currently getting my first house built with a huge basement for you
>know what.i can't wait.Right now i can't bring much home unfortunately but
>this will change in late summer.
>Currently have only one small 10 gallon native tank with a Green Sunfish in
>it.I also have a 55 GA Malawis and a 20GA with a Koi and a Weather loach in
>it.

>Best regards to the list
>
>Patrick

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