Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Guide to collecting fish

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Guide to collecting fish

    I figure I should share some background from my collecting experience... Collecting is terrible. In freshwater systems, it’s bloody cold, muddy as hell, and you smell about like you look by the end of it all. Unfortunately for my girlfriend, I love it.

    Unfortunately, collecting requires some pretty specific equipment if you plan to do anything outside your county. Fortunately, it’s all pretty cheap and anyone with a fish tank probably has most of the supplies.

    The biggest piece of equipment I use is a bag seine. This is the one piece of gear that most people don’t have. I use one from work or borrow one from the school. If you don’t have access to a seine, you can still use a classic dip net with a fine mesh. Things just tend to take longer and you have to be more subtle. Even if you're using a seine, having a dip net is still recommended. When startled, most fish will retreat into obscure holes and divots under roots and other such cover. Seines will either just pass over them, or get snagged on it. Having a dip net lets you get into smaller places. Collecting madtoms is virtually impossible without one, because the little buggers love the tree roots. While I’m talking about nets… a cast net is nice to try from time to time. I find that most cast nets don’t have a mesh size small enough for aquarium fish. Unless you are a pro at using one (I’m certainly not), cast nets are more headaches than useful. They get snagged ALL THE TIME, and if you mess the first throw up, most of the fish are all hidden away, and out of reach during your next attempts. If you have a seine, it’s not worth the effort to even carry a cast net.




    You'll see in the picture, I have my seine net. It's pretty standard seine net. The dip net is a welded metal frame, with a rugged, fine mesh netting. After breaking 2 of the old cheap ones, I bit the bullet and got a really nice one. A standard net will work as long as the mesh size is small enough, but you have to remember to be gentle.


    Other personal equipment: Wading booties! I would never recommend the classic rubber boot. 75% of my seining is done in mud that easily comes past my knee. Whether it is in estuaries, rivers, creeks, or backwaters, I am always up to my a@$ in mud (literally…). Once mud gets past the top of your rubber boot, you will never find it again. I invested ($20 at walmart) in a pair of neoprene wading booties. They zip snug in front, and they have Velcro at the top, so you don’t slip out of them. They also have a very thick hard sole, so broken glass won’t go through. Nothing makes a trip worse than losing a boot and having to walk through oyster beds barefoot.


    The only other equipment necessary is something to keep your fish in. I use a standard 5 gallon bucket, rinsed and clean. I also have a lid so water and fish don’t go all over my car. I’ve modified a cheap lid so I can fit airline tubing through the top. I simply drilled a hole large enough for the tube to fit through, then flamed the hole so a jagged corner won’t cut the tubing. This allows me to run a pump in my back seat, while just the tube and air stone go into the bucket. For long trips, I have a similar lid, but with holes large enough for a powerhead to fit through. I run my little maxijet in a bucket with the diffuser tube attached. This circulates and aerates the water. I only use that when my trip is over 2 hours.


    75 planted (Being Renovated)
    Endlers
    gobies
    lots of nanos

  • #2
    Most of my collecting is done in roadside ditches and narrow creeks, often with steep banks, and I usually go collecting solo, so a seine wouldn't help me any. I use a commercial grade swimming pool net which is called a "Leaf Rake" in the trade, so to speak, attached with a quick connect to an extension pole which extends from 8 to 15 feet. My nets have strong metal rims and very tough and fine mesh so sticks, grass and most trash is either pushed away or if picked up doesn't cut my net. The poles and nets are normally available at Pool Supply stores. The good nets are pricey but since I use mine in my work, I have to have a good one. Don't buy a flimsy net.
    Have Net Will Travel

    Comment


    • #3
      I collect mostly on bayous....and small creeks......yeah I get allot of weird looks!!!
      HALA MADRID!!!!

      Comment


      • #4
        Good tips. I am just getting into natives myself, and I have already realized that cast nets are of limited utility. In our local mud puddles it is often impossible to see what lies beneath the surface, and rocks and tree limbs quickly shred your average Academy-bought net. They are probably best used to catch large shiners and other top water dwellers in deep pools.

        Anyone with experience collecting on the SW side of town? Bayous and lakes in the Oyster Creek system in Sugar Land seem pretty unremarkable, and the nice looking oxbow lakes are largely on private property. We do have a lot of spotted gar though! I would love to get my hands on some Fundulus sp.

        Comment


        • #5
          If you have time and good wheels I would suggest trying along Hwy 59 through Rosenberg, there are 4 or 5 small creeks which cross under the Highway. I am further out and know lots of spots out in Wharton and Matagorda counties but the one I really want to check out is across the Brazos river from you, just before the FM 762 exit on 59 and then the one just before FM 2218.
          Drive the back roads , and look for bridges and culverts with even a little water.Get a good net with fine mesh and as long a handle or pole as you can work with. I caught 3 Fundulus chrysotus the other day in a little creek no more than 4 ft wide.
          Last edited by riofrio; 03-03-2010, 10:39 AM. Reason: spelling
          Have Net Will Travel

          Comment


          • #6
            killi is dutch (I believe) for ditch. Gives you a few hints as to where to find them. Most of the creeks in and around rosenberg/sugarland are the same body of water, Oyster Creek. They have some good stuff in them, including some nice clams.
            75 planted (Being Renovated)
            Endlers
            gobies
            lots of nanos

            Comment

            Working...
            X