After the lecture, I drove south a few miles and followed directions to
Trammels fork. This first site Klaus recommended was dry so I kept going.
I drove about 15 miles from i-65 and cametowhat I think was trammel fork.
I'm not sure because the river isn't marked.
I jumped down an embankment with my nets and went at it.
I have never tried to seine by myself, but I brought my seine anyway. I
have now learned that one-man seining is not for the faint of heart or arms.
I am pretty sure I didn't collect any SRBD, but I have a bunch of dace-like
fish I keep hoping will color up for me.
I caught my first sculpin, a 6 inch banded. This critter had a huge mouth
and prickles like a beard around its mouth. I was tempted until I wondered
what to feed it.
I collected a few splendid darters. Both male and females are very
attractive. Both fish are pretty much white on the sides and belly with
about 7 black blotches on the side that kind of run together into a line.
The male has red stippling on its belly.
I caught a darter that I think is a river darter. I first thought it was a
juvenile sculpin, but later realized it wasn't. It's still an attractive
fish.
I caught a few fundulus catenatus, which I brought home and accidently fed
to a rock bass. The bass was bigger than I thought and is now in a different
tank. I also caught and released a few fundulus, probably notatus.
I also caught a few redhorse (maybe silver?). One fish was just a couple of
inches long, so I kept it. IT fits nicely in my 90 gallon darter/stream
tank.
On my way back to the car, I cought the largest crayfish I have ever seen.
The thing was as big as my hand. Literally. The spread clawswere exactly as
wide as my hand span (9 inches). It was absolutely beautiful. I have no
idea how it got so big without being eaten by a raccoon, but I put it back
for another chance.
Anyway - I had a great time collecting even though I don't think I caught
what I was looking for. I learned how to seine by myself although 2 man
seining is more productive and less painful. THe site is worth visiting if
you're in the area. Giveme a call and I'll try to join you.
Geoff Kimber
Lexington,KY
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