>From: Prizma_at_aol.com
>Reply-To: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
>To: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
>Subject: NANFA-- o hi o NANFA 2001 (2)
>Date: Mon, 3 Sep 2001 12:18:04 EDT
>
>...Kentucky Arrow Darters. What a fish... i had seen a couple in Pat's tank
>and Mark Otnes was keen on collecting a few. Mark shared w/ me his maps,
>plans and locations so off we went bright and early... boy he is a early
>riser! And what a winding drive! Those Kentucky Appalachian twisty roads go
>on forever. We checked several locations hi-lighted in the gazateer by
>those
>in the know to no avail. We were able to snorkle a few sites... but no
>Arrows, but good viewing at a couple places... some neat Fantails. Some of
>the sites were really trashed out but still held a lot of species. Pat said
>the Arrows were in tiny streams, under big rocks, and way back a mile or 2
>hike upstream and was kinda like looking for Crawdads. Well i think they
>are
>a myth! :) We had a lot of fun, but it was a bit tiring and frustrating
>cause
>of limited time and knowledge... we should have put in a call to Mr. Pat.
>Toward the end of the day we crossed a good stream and i got back in.
>Greensides, Emeralds, Snubs, Freckled Bellies ( like Duskies ) and, lo and
>behold another Varigated Darter. I caught a specie of each to ID and let
>most
>go back to the beautiful flow. Ive got three in a cooler to establish in a
>tank later. The Emerald or Banded, a red dorsaled snub and the Freckled(?).
> It was getting dark so we split up, headed south 2 ways and geared for
>our
>rendevous the next morning at the Emory in upper TN. We had hoped to meet
>w/
>Ranger Rob for a day of snorkling but he had been called off for a fire
>fight. After talking w/ the ranger on duty he put us in touch w/ Ranger
>Steve
>to the north at BIg South Fork. He was hesitant to share information with
>us
>not knowing our intentions and lectured and expressed his concerns
>markedly.
>I assured him we were just observing at this protected location and would
>not
>take nets into the water. He invited me to participate with him on surveys
>at
>BIg South Fork and i eagerly look forward to this in the future. Talking w/
>another ranger we were able to hike upstream of Nemo's landing about a half
>mile. Then we snorkled and bouldered upstream for another 1/2 mile.
>Immediatly we observed Tangerine Darters. This is so typical... almost
>everytime it is the first species seen and always a welcoming treat. They
>were everywhere... but the majestic ones, in beautiful color, were the
>dominate males found just below big rapid flows. Tangerines are always so
>inquisitive... readily approaching you. I lay in one spot for 15 minutes
>feeding the Tangerines, White Tails and Torquoise Shiners crushed Asian
>Clams. The White Tails were the abundant shiner and some of the males were
>still in partial breeding color. I also ran into a 2" lounging Long Nose
>Gar
>at the outflow of a large pool. We also saw a lot of Shad cruising by us in
>hi-speed formations. Fish poop carpeted the pool substrate, i can only
>guess
>what was depositing it, probably the shad or maybe carp... it was in vast
>more quanities than the fish we saw. We also came across the frame work of
>a
>railroad car encrusted in rust. Kind of a odd site in beautiful waters. An
>old coal mining relic i reckon. As for my notes we also saw Telliscope,
>Stripe, Warpaint and Emerald Shiners, Greenside, Bluebreast, Log perch and
>Redline Darters, Hog Suckers, Stonerollers, Long Ear Sunfish, Red Horse,
>some
>very black Bass (?) and many species we did not know. I still did not see
>any
>Gilt Darters here yet saw lots about 5 miles downstream this summer. Also
>no
>breeding colored Tourquise shiners were seen... but i saw enough of them to
>ID them easily in the future. The former name Spot Fin Chubb is also
>appropiate as they were often bottom grazing on algaed stones. Nets and
>baggies would have been handy to help ID some of the darters but that was a
>no-no here and i had no desire to spend time in the local clanger. I sure
>wish a skilled IDer was w/ us. We, i once again plunged my body into
>recesses
>and big flows looking for Olive Darters. No luck... i want to see one of
>them! They probably would not do well in a aquarium since they inhabit such
>torrents. im gonna have to wrangle Dave, JR or Ed to show me. I did return
>to
>the plunging waterfall site that i collected 3 fishing poles, a tackle box
>and a roll of duct tape from. This time i got a small confederate flag and
>couple of diving masks but it looks like someone had a head on collision w/
>a
>rock while body surfing the chutes...CRACK! right down the middle. I may
>rig
>the rebel battle flag as a dive flag for my next trips up north:) We
>visited
>another site... Rock Creek and also saw a very handsome Dusky Darter,
>several
>Red Ear Sunfish and a couple odd Darters... as well as a big 6 or 8"
>MudPuppy. At first i thought it was a HellBender but it had the big exposed
>gills at the head. Ive never seen one near that big. It was in Rock Creek
>at
>the highway but it was kinda creepy, silted, trashed out but vegatated and
>lots of critters under big stones. My ears are hurting a bit now tho...
>hum.
> Mark was eager to retire for the day but i talked him into checking out a
>couple more sites for future reference and returns. This coal mining issue
>has me really thinking how much that has greatly reduced species in some
>watersheds. We did find one more crystal clear site at Jett Bridge but w/
>my
>limited snorkle time i only saw a few species and only one darter. However
>there were some really cool plants creating a under water utopian forest.
> What a week! I had to get home and ready for work Wednesday but Mark
>still
>had 3 more days of exploring. Im eager to hear of his experiences! What a
>guy... very pleasant and quick to jump in his car and explore descending
>from
>the great north lands of Dakota. We are hoping to get a trip in this spring
>for some breeding colors and snorkling.
> As usual the NANFA gathering was a blast. Educational, good people, lots
>of
>fun, some good food... but i sure missed Bessie's cooking :), new places to
>see and experience. I want to especially thank Pat Johnson and his family,
>and Mark and Susan Binkley for their overnight hospitality. I would like to
>return it one day. Thanks to Rob for organizing such a good time... i sure
>wish i could have brought my family and arrived for a few days in advance
>to
>hike and explore the caves, waterfalls and formations. The Hills are very
>beautiful and a real treasure to you local folk. Ranger Quackinbush, Mark
>Smith, Mike Wolfe, and all the speakers... thanks for sharing your time. I
>appreciate Nick teaching us his techniques for creating cool realistic
>habitats for our fish... maybe i can get up there one day and see his work
>first hand. Im gonna have to invest in that full body chemical suit ahead
>of
>time tho :) I was especially glad to see, thank and talk w/ our founder
>John
>Bondhus. I told him how happy ive been to meet so many fishheads who are
>just
>as eager to get in the water as i. I told him how i couldnt get my regular
>friends to pull sienes, get mucky and snorkle and he said that is why he
>started NANFA. That made me smile. He also told me of his spring fed
>ponds...
>which is what i searched for several years until finally settling in a home
>adjacent to South Chickamauga Creek and a cement pond in the front yard. A
>really good guy. We are indebt to him... all of us!
> I missed seeing Elmer, BG, Ray Katulla, Dave Neely, Jay, Martin ( last
>year's host ) and the Aussie Unmack. But we did get 3 Brits from across the
>water... boy were they excited. I hope they got home w/ no leaks in their
>baggage!
>That is about it... there may be enough time and warmth to get in the water
>a
>couple more times before the year's season is out... maybe i can get down
>to
>Florida :)
>Thanks everyone for making a great experience!
>casper
>
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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
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/ nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
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/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org
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