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Since I am not going to be able to make it to the ALA convention I am thinking about doing a little collecting trip on Friday. I'll be heading south but I'm not sure how far but I'm really wanting some pygmy sunfish so that would require about 3 hours away. Of course this translates to a pretty long day but if anyone is interested in going you are more than welcome.
My target species are slough, cypress, and maybe orangebelly darters as well as the pygmy sunfish and if I'm really lucky some bantam sunfish.
Michael

I might be able to go. What time are you looking to leave and get back?

I was thinking of being gone by 7am or so. We would probably get back late evening if we tried not to hit too many places.
Michael

That would be fun!! Have to work ----- BOO

I love the pygmy sunfish, too bad for me...............

How late is "late evening?"

If you ask nicely, they might bring back a couple pygmy sunfish for you.

Mouser

really looking for the blue ones
Elassoma gilberti

Late evening would likely be at least 8 or 9.
You will actually find quite a lot of blue on most of them except for zonatum. You would find it much easier to get evergladei or okefenokee than you will gilberti. If you do want zonatum I would be glad to bring some back for you.
Michael

I won't know until this evening if I'll be able to go or not. I'm working on my taxes. If I make significant progess, then I can go. If not, I'm going to have to stay home to work on them more.

Wow, I have never heard of the Elassoma Gilberti before. I googled them and they are gorgeous. I like blue fish. I have been thinking of trying to find the okefenokee and set up a tank for them. I can't seem to find them, though. I have found the evergladei on aquabid. Sadly, the zonatum you are likely to catch is my least favorite. Their colors are too bland.

Perfect fish for Michael. Denny

Color is not everything you know! They have great patterning. Remember though that those blues you see are:
1. Breeding colors. They don't look like that all the time. In fact when Kevin and I were collecting in Florida you could hardly tell evergladei and okefenokee apart.
2. Somewhat an artifact of flash photography. The blue just doesn't pop out like that under normal aquarium lighting and pygmy sunfish do not enjoy a brightly lit tank.
If you want to try and find okefenokee you can contact Paul Sachs: http://www.aquaculturestore.com/fwverts.html He's a really nice guy and fun to go collecting with.
Michael

Looks like I'm clear to go. Just let me know a confirmed time and meeting place, and what I should bring. Or give me a call to work out the details. My number is in the Filing Cabinet if you don't have it handy.

It's not too late for anyone to join us.

I am tempted, since I am off tomorrow, but I had already made plans with a friend to go bike riding tomorrow afternoon. Maybe next time.

We'll tell the fish you said hi.

Well, we were gone for 15 1/2 hours. Anybody still wish they would have gone?
No pygmy sunfish. The spot we usually get them at had nothing but it also did not have the usual masses of hornwort we always catch them in. Mike got quite a few interesting tiny inverts and we got several cool plants.
I collected a darter species I've never gotten- Dusky Darters, a Percina species. We also caught on fish that upon the quick glance before it fell out of the net may have been a Leopard Darter. They are federally listed as threatened but are not supposed to be south of the lake on the Cossatot river according to the US Fish and Wildlife site so it may or may not have been. Even with a better look I wouldn't even have considered bringing it home, just in case it was a Leopard so it was fine that he fell out of the net so quickly!

We also netted a musk turtle and juvenile water snake.

And, as always, the conversation was never dull.

one of my customers found orange belly darters in the stream behind walgreens in bella vista cool little fish

I sure hope that what they found were orange throat darters. Orange belly darters don't live in this part of the state but they look somewhat similar if you don't know what to look for.
Michael

thinking about going to find one to get a better look anyone interested or know what to look for when out collecting to make
it easier

someone tried to sell me baby trout and said they werent trout been fishing long enough to know better

Any time you want to collect, just post away. Most of us will take the time to come down or up or sideways to join someone collecting.

Kevin