Little orange Tennessee "Minnows"

Here's a not very good picture of one of the schools of orange "minnows"
we found in several of the streams. Although the picture sucks, you can
see their color.

Willi

On Mon, 28 May 2007 17:41:00 -0600, Willi
wrote:

Here's a not very good picture of one of the schools of orange "minnows"
we found in several of the streams. Although the picture sucks, you can
see their color.

Willi


We've got a half to full acre drainage pond out back of our house
that's full of the little buggers. I'm sure the folks who dump them
just can't bear to kill anything, but neither do they seem to be able
to bear to think about the consequences of the dumping.
--

r.bc: vixen
Minnow goddess, Speaker to squirrels, willow watcher.
Almost entirely harmless. Really.

http://www.visi.com/~cyli

"Willi" wrote in message
...
Here's a not very good picture of one of the schools of orange "minnows"
we found in several of the streams. Although the picture sucks, you can
see their color.

Are they goldfish? I caught a 3 pounder once dip-netting off Lake Erie, with
the fancy double tail and large eyes. They are native in places here. It
is illegal to use them for bait because they quickly multiply and in small
ponds become the dominant species. They will interbreed with carp leading to
some interesting color patterns. I've seen carp in multi-colors, bright
red, white and black, sometimes tri-color. Most folks would call them koi.
In one study of English carp, 1/3 were found to be crucian x goldfish
hybrids. With the current invasion of multiple exotic carp species, I would
expect some strange and hard to identify fish to begin appearing.

Pepperoni

Willi wrote:

Here's a not very good picture of one of the schools of orange "minnows"
we found in several of the streams. Although the picture sucks, you can
see their color.

Willi

------------------------------------------------------------------------


i learned they were tangerine darters...apparently, they are unique to
that area's tennessee cold water drainages. read a report by one
scientist hoping to sight them on a trip on the hiwasee...so, we were
fortunate to have seen them. it was an interesting trip for me...i
walked up on a bear on the hazel creek trail and we saw a coyote on the
bank of the hazel creek outlet to fontana. seeing such things always
enhances the trips for me.

jeff

"Pepperoni" wrote in message SNIP

Are they goldfish? I caught a 3 pounder once dip-netting off Lake Erie,
with the fancy double tail and large eyes. They are native in places
here. It is illegal to use them for bait because they quickly multiply
and in small ponds become the dominant species. They will interbreed with
carp leading to some interesting color patterns. I've seen carp in
multi-colors, bright red, white and black, sometimes tri-color. Most
folks would call them koi. In one study of English carp, 1/3 were found to
be crucian x goldfish hybrids. With the current invasion of multiple
exotic carp species, I would expect some strange and hard to identify
fish to begin appearing.

Goldfish used to be a popular smallmouth/walleye bait on Lake Erie. They
were never native but an angler introduced, exotic species that has thrived.
It would be interesting to see a three pound fantail though!
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com

"Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers" wrote in message
...
Are they goldfish? I caught a 3 pounder once dip-netting off Lake Erie,
with the fancy double tail and large eyes. They are native in places
here. It is illegal to use them for bait because they quickly multiply
and in small ponds become the dominant species. They will interbreed with
carp leading to some interesting color patterns. I've seen carp in
multi-colors, bright red, white and black, sometimes tri-color. Most
folks would call them koi. In one study of English carp, 1/3 were found
to be crucian x goldfish hybrids. With the current invasion of multiple
exotic carp species, I would expect some strange and hard to identify
fish to begin appearing.

Goldfish used to be a popular smallmouth/walleye bait on Lake Erie. They
were never native but an angler introduced, exotic species that has
thrived. It would be interesting to see a three pound fantail though!

They fish them commercially for the pet trade. That was a beautiful fish,
caught with a dip net (April-May) in the warm discharge from the nuclear
plant off Lake Erie. Bright red-orange. Evidently, they are doing well in
Erie. He was about 18 inches long and about 4 inches thick.

Right now, I'm fishing carp. The cold water slows their reaction time
enough that even an old dude with arthritis can whup 'em. I get 'em piled up
below a wall dam. Flatheads follow them in to feed on spawn. The flatheads
get released above the dam, the carp support a large community of raccoons
and skunks. I see little beady eyes watching me from the bushes when I
begin to fish.

Pepperoni

On Tue, 29 May 2007 08:23:53 -0400, jeff
wrote:

Willi wrote:

Here's a not very good picture of one of the schools of orange "minnows"
we found in several of the streams. Although the picture sucks, you can
see their color.

Willi

------------------------------------------------------------------------


i learned they were tangerine darters...apparently, they are unique to
that area's tennessee cold water drainages. read a report by one
scientist hoping to sight them on a trip on the hiwasee...so, we were
fortunate to have seen them. it was an interesting trip for me...i
walked up on a bear on the hazel creek trail and we saw a coyote on the
bank of the hazel creek outlet to fontana. seeing such things always
enhances the trips for me.

jeff

Oh, wow. I had no idea the U.S. had any native fish that colour.
Interesting experience.

Bears are always fun to see and it's all too seldom that I've seen
them. They're usually moving quickly away when I do. Coyotes are
cool in some ways, scary in others.

Nice to see the wildlife without having to peer through a fence or
over a moat at them.
--

r.bc: vixen
Minnow goddess, Speaker to squirrels, willow watcher.
Almost entirely harmless. Really.

http://www.visi.com/~cyli

Cyli wrote:

On Tue, 29 May 2007 08:23:53 -0400, jeff
wrote:


Willi wrote:


Here's a not very good picture of one of the schools of orange "minnows"
we found in several of the streams. Although the picture sucks, you can
see their color.

Willi

------------------------------------------------------------------------


i learned they were tangerine darters...apparently, they are unique to
that area's tennessee cold water drainages. read a report by one
scientist hoping to sight them on a trip on the hiwasee...so, we were
fortunate to have seen them. it was an interesting trip for me...i
walked up on a bear on the hazel creek trail and we saw a coyote on the
bank of the hazel creek outlet to fontana. seeing such things always
enhances the trips for me.

jeff


Oh, wow. I had no idea the U.S. had any native fish that colour.
Interesting experience.

me either...i suspect the males become the vibrant orange color during
spawn and are otherwise a more suitable muted and safer color that
blends with the stream surroundings. that neon orange was like an "eat
me" sign. the females were more difficult to see against the bottom.


Bears are always fun to see and it's all too seldom that I've seen
them. They're usually moving quickly away when I do. Coyotes are
cool in some ways, scary in others.

Nice to see the wildlife without having to peer through a fence or
over a moat at them.

indeed...though it is a bit disquieting to meet a bruin unexpectedly in
his/her living room without any assurance s/he might not desire a closer
inspection. fortunately, this one had promises to keep and, after
stopping and sniffing the air, it looked disgustedly in my direction and
took off across the stream before i could recover my senses (and bowels)
and get the camera out of my pocket. it's been a tough foraging season
in the mountains this year, so the bears are a bit restless and moving
nearer the park camping areas and some of the communities near the park.

i forgot to mention the huge pileated woodpecker that landed within 20
feet of me...those are big and beautiful birds.

jeff