NANFA-- May 10 CAS/NANFA (long version)

Nick Zarlinga (njz_at_clevelandmetroparks.com)
Thu, 8 May 2003 20:47:58 -0400

OK folks, here is the long awaited itinerary of this Saturday's trip. I
just went out last night to make a route and boy was the water high.
Weather is a bit iffy for the next few days so we may have to be a bit
creative. Due to the number of people that we will expect, my plan was to
stay in some of the larger tribs of the Grand River system but since the
water was rushing pretty good, we may have to try to find some small quieter
tribs if the water doesn't go down. That unfortunately means that there is
a good chance that we won't be able to get into that longear habitat. Looks
like we will play it by ear (didn't even realize that was a pun until I
reread this!). Anyhow, get out your Delorme and here we go.

For those of you to the south and west, we will be meeting in the parking
lot of the office building across from Bob Evans on Rt. 91 and Interstate
422 in Solon. From the south, 77 or 71N takes you to 271N which takes you
to to 422E and then off on the Rt 91 exit in Solon. We will be meeting there
at 9am. Here, we will carpool so if you have a vehicle that can take a
group, it would be helpful. We will all pitch in a couple of bucks for gas.
Then we will be heading out to Ashtabula County. Our destination is Rotary
Park on Rock Creek (a Grand trib) in the town of Rock Creek. This is
located on p33 (C5) of your Ohio Delorme. It is North of Rt 6 on Rt 45.
Heading north, the park is just over the river on the east side of the road.
For those of you coming from the southeast, you can meet us here at 10am.
Here we will spend an hour or two and "get our feet wet" for those who are
not familiar with seining. We will be doing some instructions and
edumacating on the different types of fish that we will find. Last year we
got some phenom colors on the darters and of course, the main attraction at
this location last year was the adult lamprey we caught.

After Rock Creek, we will then head north on 45 about a mile or so to
Riverdale Rd. It is just past a sign that says "Glenbeigh" on your left.
Turning down Riverdale will put us on Rock Creek again at the Riverdale
covered bridge. We will do some sampling here. In the past, this place was
trout perch heaven and mussel madness. This is side road parking but there
should be enough room.

Next we determine how the water is moving. If it is fast at these two
places, then we scrap the next two and just go to smaller tribs. West on
Riverdale we will cross Trumbull Creek. We can stop here time depending but
if the water is flowing slower, we need to continue west to State Rd north.
This will lead us to the Harpersfield covered Bridge. This is longear
heaven. Yesterday, the water could have moved a house so unless things go
our way, we won't get to this location. At this point, we need to check our
time but there is another location further upriver at 528 and the Grand.
Here there are three parks: Riverview Park, Hidden Valley Park, and
Hogsback Park. They are all in the same short stretch of the river so we
will only need to hit one of them.

Expect an all day trip. We will stop for lunch when we can so it might be
wise to have some snacks to hold you over. Have your fishing liscense and
any equipment that you will need. We will have some extra nets and stuff so
don't worry if you can't find yours. It would be very helpful if you let me
know that you are coming. My cell phone number is 440-781-6675 so call me
even if you are running late. It would also be helpful if you took care of
breakfast and pottie breaks before our 9am meeting time. Any other
questions, call me, email me, or whatever. Hope to see you there!

Nick Zarlinga
Aquarium Biologist
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
216.661.6500 ext 4485
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