March Microfishing

[Johnsfolly]

 

Our little creek cleared up so took the girls down to explore for a bit.  The were some darters that I just could not get netted, but we did catch 3 of these little guys.  

I just call them minnows, but I'm sure somebody can tell me the exact name.  Caught them on a tiny Scud, no rod just hand fishing off a water bottle.

Welcome to our OBSESSION or my Folly!!! The best that I can tell from the first three photos is that they are likely to be juvenile or female creek chub based upon the stripe and dark spot on the front of the dorsal fin. Here are a couple of examples:

 

After church today, my girls begged me to go back down and explore the creek some more.

Armed with some muck Boots and the same tiny Scud we quickly nabbed some more minnows.  Then I spotted a darter, and was able to net him up. Also caught a different minnow with no stripes.

Caught one minnow that was almost as long as the zip lock bag, and saw one in the creek that is close to 7 or 8 inches long.  Looked like a small bass at first...

Saw a colored up water snake too.  My 5 yr old was first to spot him too.  She's got a good eye for nature so far.

So thanks John for starting another fun addiction for me and the girls!  Had a blast the last 2 days trying to chase down those monster minnows!

 

Again I believe that the middle fish is likely another creek chub. The top one is pretty difficult to id from the photo. It's also hard to tell about the darter. I would need a closer photo. I use a heavier and clearer bag (I'll PM where I get the bag; don't want to give away all my secrets ) and the super macro feature on our camera to get the close-ups that I post. The coloration leads me to guess that it is likely a male orangethroat darter that is just starting to get into his breeding coloration. Do you recall if there was an orange patch at the throat line and were two orange dots at the base of the tail, like in this photo?

 

[JestersHK]

I can see it becoming a new obsession.  I'm going to go sculpin hunting this weekend at Taney if I can.  May need some help on how to catch one of those!

Pretty sure it was an orange throat darter.  Have a blurrier up close pic that shows the throat and the tail spots.  Creek chub makes sense as there were some larger ones swimming around with them I couldn't get to bite as they spooked really easily.  Also gotta find some smaller hooks too.  Was using a tiny scud I had in the fly box, although our catching numbers did go up once I started tipping the hook with tiny pieces off a cheese stick   

Thanks for the ID, I'll add them to my new list, and I will say for those knocking or never trying this it is an absolute blast and can be very challenging.  Best part was spending the day outside away from the electronics and dumb TV, letting the kiddos get muddy and play in the water and dirt!  Girls are already asking when we are going creek hopping again...

 

[Johnsfolly]

The OBSESSION comes in as you start looking to continue to add more fish to the list. Like I said in the post, the first creek chub, green sunfish, longear, etc. are greeted with enthusiasm then you catch 40 of them instead of the red shiner that you are targeting they get real old. I am glad that you and the girls are enjoying just going out and catching any fish that is in the creek. Get some redworms and put a tiny piece on a #14 or 16 size hook and you will catch most anything except the darters. I use long shank #20 or #26 hooks for the darters. You just have to pay attention to the bite and set the hook early to avoid them swallowing the hooks. I hope that we can get the girls together. Good luck the next time you get out.

[JestersHK]

Yeah, those little chubs were quite the bait thieves lol.  I did hook almost all of them right in the upper lip, and they all live to swim another day.  I need to get some more really light tippett too as the 2lb was a pain to tie that tiny Scud on... Also instead of hand lining the second day we rigged up a cane pole to get some better reach to spook them less.

We'll get these schedules figured out and get the girls together for sure!  

[jdmidwest]

Sculpins like meat.  I have fooled around with them cleaning fish on trout streams.  They will give you a vicious strike it it is something they want to inhale.  And inhale is how they feed.

I remember some guy on Norfork Tailwater that used to catch them and put them on a hook for trout bait.

[snagged in outlet 3]

Many still do JD.  Kill it before you cast it in otherwise they will hide under stuff and you'll never get bit.  Browns love dead sculpins.