Johnsfolly

13) Brown Bullhead, Ameiurus nebulosus, caught in Pocomoke River

12) White Catfish, Ameiurus catus, caught in Pocomoke River.

Looks like some great tester pizzas!

Locally still have to catch pumpkinseed, green, redear, and warmouth sunfish. Then have to focus on bluespotted sunfish and fliers. Have to travel to find coppernose bluegill, redspotted, spotted sunfish, and bantam. Also white crappie. Lots to catch still. Hardest will be the bantams. Bluespotted may be a problem since we only saw one last year where they were common the year before.

I haven't caught one yet this year either. Will happen soon.

Want to see that too 😁

Freaking awesome! You hit the right time and place for some insane fishing! Congrats! I would love to see a photo of that quillback.

Nice rainbows! Those stream bred fish look great!

So you have left overs from your steamed shellfish meal, what do you do with the steamed clams, mussels, and snow crab leg meat? Mix it with cheese sauce made with Kerrygold aged cheddar, milk, butter, and some sherry. Then into cooked shells, topped with more cheddar and panko. Cook for 15 to 20 mins. Serve with steamed snow peas with garlic powder and black pepper. Oh add a couple of leftover coconut shrimp😉.

They don't squirt blood from its eyes. However when I caught my first toadfish, I found out that they have teeth as well .

Marty those fish were all released. Just had them on the stringer for the photo 🤣

I love them all even this guy

I understand what @Ham is saying. It can become such a grind to try and figure out what fish to go for and where to go to get it. Then you invest hours of driving, gas, and money, to get to a location and not catch that new fish. That was a big reason for me not to pursue a total species goal last year after hitting 82 species the year before. I just focused upon a few new lifer targets. I didn't have to think about what new fish could I catch right after Christmas because I still needed a couple more species to hit my goal. If I wasn't planning these Florida trips I would not be going for 100(+) species for this year. Also you can just miss out on the fun of slamming a bunch of stupid fish on any given trip.

Referring to the colorful ones. Most of my fish are bland in comparison to those koi.

The recent publication by the University of Washington (UW) in the scientific journal Science was a major breakthrough in understanding the challenges wild-run salmon face. Every Spring and Fall, millions of Salmon up and down the West Coast voyage from the Pacific back into their native rivers and streams to spawn. Unfortunately, significant numbers of Coho Salmon never make it to the spawning grounds and instead go belly-up and perish for no apparent reason. This has puzzled scientists for decades. The cultural and economic impact of this die-off has only worsened with time and could threaten the future of wild Salmon overall. The breakthrough at UW was identifying the acutely toxic compound to the Salmon: 6PPD-quinone. The compound, 6PPD, starts as a tire additive designed to prevent tires from breaking down and aides in meeting federal safety guidelines. These important compounds are known as antidegradants and can protect tires from anything from sunlight to oxygen to extreme temperatures. In the very process of protecting tires from oxidation, 6PPD is transformed into 6PPD-quinone, which was unknowingly toxic to Coho Salmon. As tires wear, the worn rubber is continuously deposited on roadways. This deposited material invariably makes its way into waterways through runoff from rains. Although rain naturally dilutes the runoff, the 6PPD-quinone was found to be toxic at the low concentrations found within streams and rivers. Can you believe this biologist BS. Who can even confirm that there were any coho salmon in those rivers before runoff from tires entered the river.

Love seeing all the variety. That gets me excited as the year progresses. Hoping to get to fish some of those species that we haven't caught yet. I hope that some of the fish that I catch inspire folks to go to a new place or try different techniques. I also hope to let people see fish that they may have never even heard of before.

@Smalliebigs congrats on hammering those toads! Great day indeef!

I have big plans for briny fish. May be behind now but we'll see how things look come June😉

I tied this guy last night. Worked well for yellow perch 👍

That's a giant!

Did they kick you out of the buffet after catching all their koi? Seriously cool fish. Did you catch those locally, aka your locally?

They are hard fighters. They are able to use the current as well during the fight. Both Livie and Sue enjoyed catching decent shad. We're still learning how to catch these fish, but I foresee more March trips to NC to start the year off with some shad. I'll get after them here in MD or PA in April and May😉

JF 11) Redbreast sunfish, Lepomis auritus Not a big one but will catch better ones later in the year.. Only fished about 25 mins due to darkness. Also caught a decent yellow perch.

They're wrinkly and rare, and the biggest ones can grow up to 2.5 feet long. Missouri's population of endangered hellbender salamanders recently got another boost from the St. Louis Zoo, Missouri Department of Conservation and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to help them survive in the wild. After hatching and raising a bunch of hellbenders at the zoo, more than 1,000 of the slippery salamanders were released into Ozarks streams and rivers in southern Missouri that provide suitable habitat for them. They'll seek out submerged flat rocks to hide under and ambush their prey of fish, crayfish and small invertebrates. They also, hopefully, will breed new generations of wild hellbenders. Since 2008, and including the most recent effort, MDC and the zoo have teamed up to raise and release more than 8,600 hellbenders into Missouri waters. "We want them to join the wild hellbender population," said Lauren Augustine, curator of herpetology at the St. Louis Zoo. "All are tagged before they're released, and MDC does surveys to see how they are doing." Neither the zoo nor MDC would say where exactly the hellbenders were set free. There's a reason for that. They're trying to prevent unscrupulous wildlife poachers from catching and selling hellbenders to people who want a rare, endangered and exotic pet. "Some people want to have rare and unique species in their collection," Augustine said. "It has been an issue. That's why we keep their release sites so secret." For the record, it's a crime to catch and sell hellbenders. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, hellbenders are the official endangered species of Missouri and the largest aquatic salamanders in North America. Missouri is the only state that has both subspecies – the Ozark hellbender and the eastern hellbender. A population assessment showed all hellbender populations have an above 96 percent risk of extinction over the next 75 years unless the population increases. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, both the Ozark and eastern hellbender populations in Missouri have declined more than 70 percent over the past 40 years. To slow endangerment of the amphibians, the Saint Louis Zoo began raising hellbenders from eggs. Every year, they are released to Ozarks rivers based on when they were hatched. MDC State Herpetologist Jeff Briggler says the process was different this year due to the pandemic. “The restoration team’s priority was to reduce contact and maintain social distancing among individuals,” Briggler said. “To achieve this, animal transfers from the zoo staff to the state herpetologist occurred in open-air parking lots.” Briggler said crews who released hellbenders were reduced and limited to two individuals per boat. MDC says in addition to breeding efforts, the zoo has also been head-starting juvenile Ozark and eastern hellbenders, hatched from eggs collected in the wild, for future release. Once the captive-bred larvae are two to eight years old, they can then be released. In 2001, the Ozark Hellbender Working Group of representatives from state and federal government agencies, public universities and zoos in Missouri and Arkansas launched a number of projects to combat the Ozark hellbender’s decline. These included egg searches, disease sampling and behavioral studies. The adult hellbender is one of the largest species of salamanders in North America, with its closest relatives being the giant salamanders of China and Japan. It has a restricted range and is only found in the cold-water rivers of south-central Missouri and north-central Arkansas. Hellbenders have broad, flat heads, small lidless eyes and pronounced skin folds on the sides of their body. They can live for more than 25 years. Large rocks on the river bottom provide refuge and nesting sites. Anglers using crayfish, worms or small minnows might occasionally catch a hellbender. Anyone who hooks a hellbender should remove the hook as gently as possible and immediately release the salamander back into the water.

Livie 11) American Shad, Alosa sapidissima, a Lifer for her . She got the stink on!