> hi everyone.
> im back to see, hear and share what has been going on!
> the spring has been good in se tennessee... lasting long. flowers are
still
> in bloom. water has warmed enough to snorkle. ive been able to wander
central
> alabama and see species unknown to me. my son and i were able to rendevous
w/
> bg in centreville alabama and snorkle w/ rainbow shiners itching to spawn.
> for the first time i witnessed spawning mounds created by illusive blue
head
> chubbs. clean gravel mounds just downstream of riffle runs. pretty cool.
> rainbows are stunning but even more blasting were ones i viewed in ft
payne 2
> weeks later. they were blazing! each one seemed to carry unique color and
> pattern marking where as the ones in centreville were more uniform. the
> rainbows were among honcho pastel spectrumed striped shiners and
hornyheaded
> stonerollers working pits in the clean gravel. both species were moving
> stones w/ their mouths deepening the pits. the rainbows were flickering
> about. upstream was a mass of hoover hog suckers settled w/ their heads to
> the stream flow. sunfish were dashing thru the activity. i snapped some
> photos w/ bg's underwater camera he has let me play with but they in no
way
> equal the reality of the day. i will give it another shot this weekend
when
> some of the tn valley nanfa fellas meet up at the paint rock. also a great
> site.
> last sunday i was able to see for the first time rosyfin shiners
beautifully
> marked w/ vertical irregular banding, red fins and a silver headed mass of
> intricate tuberculations. quite striking. just in a little ditch of a
creek
> flowing thru chattanooga neighborhoods. also seen were war paint shiners
and
> several species of darters. all in a flow i could barely submerge in.
> a week ago i was able to go along w/ ed scott and some tva folks to survey
a
> section of the french broad for snail darters. we came up w/ about 2 dozen
> using a 24' siene, 1 electro shocker and about 7 humans. lampreys, madtoms
> and red line, snubs and banded darters were common. the redlines being
very
> intense in coloration. snorkling was minimal cause of low visibility but i
> did get to watch a small group of redlines frolick in a area. a blue
breast
> also crossed my path. it is so much fun to settle in a spot and see what
> happens. after a minute or so they tend to ignore you and go about their
> business defending sites, chasing one another, flipping stones. pretty
cool.
> we finally got moved into the new homestead and it sure is nice. sleeping
w/
> the windows open. no sirens blarring, nor boom boxes rattling the windows.
> now we sleep to hoot owls, bull frogs and distant frieght trains. the
cement
> pond is developing healthfully. all last year initial planting have
returned
> this spring w/ vigor. cattails, arrowheads, rushes, iris, parrot grass,
> hibiscus, mint, lillies... all thriving. every creek or backwater i hit
> supplies a new plant to try. most of the fish seem to have survived the 3
day
> freeze over as well as one of two little sliders. black spotted topminnows
> skeeter across the surface. bg's longnose gar lurks along the vegatative
> edge. redbreasted and longears flash over the gravel. minnows whirl in
balls
> of fins. my goal is to get it clear enough to snorkle in. i picked up a
big
> nearly new swimming pool pump and sand filter for cheap which i will
install
> later this summer. i also plan on building a 5' tall waterfall w/ a
stepped
> flow down creek run... hopefully creating an area for spawning activity.
> get out and get wet!
> ive got my cabin for the ohio get together. i think it is gonna be a
special
> place and lots of fun. i really like the idea of it being in a rustic
> setting. the last 3 years have been downtown. im ready for some full moon
> howling country style. the activities and speakers planned are
interesting.
> im really keen on attending the aquaria background construction techniques
as
> well as rob's lighting talks. i would like to arrive a few days early and
> visit mark binkley north ways and also see pat's well water flow aquarium
> setup described in a older ac. do a little pre-exploration in those new
> parts. get into some clear water before everyone mucks it up! :)
> off i go... its late! i hope to see yall later this summer!
> casper
>
>
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