An article that angered me

I read an article about sea lampreys in Lake Michigan from the Herald-News Review in Laporte County, Indiana.  Here is the link: HNR article

It angered me to no end.  The following is my submitted response.

"To whom it may concern,

     I am writing in response to the article entitled “Pest Control” from the October 18-24, 2010 edition of The Herald News Review.  During the course of my education, my focus has always been fish and fisheries.  This traditionally has involved educating the general public on so-called “trash fish”; this would include our native species of chestnut and brook lampreys.  Although invasive species present a problem across the entire country, I am disgusted by the way this article was written. 

     Not only was there no mention of the benefits of our two native species (lampreys are indeed a species of fish), but U.S. Fish and Wildlife representative Michael Twohey seems to be inciting a witch hunt on lampreys everywhere with his extremely unnecessary comment about eels being associated with lampreys.  Just because a species of fish is not aesthetically “pretty” to us, does not disqualify it from having a beneficial role in its particular niche.  The wanton waste of fish already extends to bowfin, gar, and suckers which are all native species and serve a well established purpose in their environments.

     The sea lamprey problem in Lake Michigan is of concern; however the use of lampricides in Trail Creek does not seem like the greatest answer to the problem.  Trail Creek already has a severe shortage of bait fish and food sources.  Now, U.S. Fish and Wildlife may have just successfully killed another source of food for this fishery, lampreys that are naturally supposed to be here (assuming there were any in there to begin with).  We already have to stock streams and the lake with trout species because we have decimated indigenous populations.  

     This seems to me to be yet another dropped ball by our local, state, and federal wildlife and fisheries authorities.  Indiana has quite a few beautiful and unique fish and wildlife areas and reserves.  The problem is it also among those states that tolerate the most pollution.  The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has so far managed to ruin our environment by its political pocket lining (BP in Whiting, for example), looking the other way as corporations poison our state’s soil, water, and air. 

     Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes are considered a national treasure, yet the levels of pollution in them are entirely out of control due, in no small part, to lack of education of outdoorsmen and the general public.  So when I read comments like Mr. Twohey’s, I feel that I need to sarcastically thank him for setting fisheries education back several years.  If this person speaks for a federal authority, I feel assured that this federal authority needs to hire more people who are willing to educate people correctly and not incite fear amongst outdoorsmen of creatures that are vital to an ecological balance.  Good job guys, another dismal failure."

 IDEM, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management is a sick and terrible joke.  It may as well stand for It Doesn't Even Matter.

>{{}};>  Bluegill

Introduction to Channel Catfish

Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) are one of the varieties of freshwater catfish found in North America.

One of the very interesting facts about catfish is their ability to taste. Catfish sometimes live in murky environments, feed in the dark, and have a vast expanse of water to cover to find food. They have adapted a very cool feature…..they have taste buds in their skin!!!!! The entire body of a catfish acts like a tongue; they can literally taste the water. They can taste the skin on your hands when you handle them. Along with a well developed lateral line their skin helps them find food from quite a distance away. This is why the most tried and true method of catching catfish is to throw something stinky on the bottom and wait…and wait…and wait. Channel catfish will feed on live prey such as dying small fish or minnows (fish that eat other fish are called "piscivorous"), crayfish (crawdads), and possibly even large aquatic bugs. A researcher by the name of Len Kring from Iowa State University also once told me that in the face of starvation, channel catfish may also eat aquatic plants. This, then, would actually qualify them as being omnivorous.
Contrary to popular belief, most of the catfish found in the United States are NOT poisonous!! The barb that accounts for the first ray of each dorsal and pectoral fin is actually just that…a sharp and spiny piece of tissue, not an injector of poison. Species called the Tadpole Madtom (Notorus gyrinus) and the Stonecat (Notorus flavus) DO actually have barbs in their fins that deliver an irritant that is said to be very painful.

Tadpole Madtom from http://tolweb.org/Noturus_gyrinus/69905

 Stonecat from http://pond.dnr.cornell.edu/nyfish/ictaluridae/stonecat.html
The barbs on a channel cat can do some damage though if it decides to get frisky while your hand is near them.
Channel catfish have been known to crush a spinner bait, but typically the old standard is to bring a lantern, chicken liver, and some beer and wait by the side of the river bank for that rod to start jerking. Other baits to use are cut bait, crayfish, dough balls, or a variety of artificial baits that are loadable with an artificial stinky scent. Channel cats live in lakes and rivers, and are a great catch in either. Cleaning them for eating proves a bit of a challenge for a beginner, as they don't have scales and their skin must be peeled away from the meat. Catfish are known croak sometimes when held out of the water, and this species is no different.
Well there is a little bit about channel catfish, I hoped you learned something and more to come on Bluegill's Blog


>{{}};> Bluegill


To read more about the biology of these fish, try: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/cfwru/projects/completed/catfishBMP06.pdf or http://www.docstoc.com/docs/49670183/IOWA-COOPERATIVE-FISH-AND-WILDLIFE-RESEARCH-UNIT or http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2109.2010.02509.x/abstract or try this one for about 26,000 articles about them in Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&q=ictalurus%20punctatus&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=ws

Bowfin at Amazon.com

Food study of the bowfin and gars in eastern Texas, (Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. Technical series, no. 6)

An evaluation of the selectivity of certain chemicals to bowfin, Amia calva, in the Suwannee River

Continued evaluation of the effects of bowfin, Amia calva, removal on the Suwannee River Fishery

Food habits of bowfin, Amia calva, in Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge, and other locations in southern Louisiana

Some observations of food selectivity by northern pike and bowfins in aquaria (Michigan Department of Conservation. Research and development report)


Food habits of bowfin in the Black and Lumber rivers, North Carolina: Final report (Coastal fisheries investigations)


Osteology of the bowfin: Amia calva, Linneaus (Occasional papers of the Institute of Florida Studies)


Amiiformes: An entry from Thomson Gale's Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia

The development of the hypophysis of Amia calva


The natural history of Amia calva Linnaeus

Bowfin Anglers

I ran across this cool website about other people who are as passionate (crazy, retarded?) as me about bowfin.  It's called the Bowfin Angler's Group.  And you all thought I was nutz!!!!!

Bowfin Natural History

BOWFIN OR DOG FISH
Amia calva, Linnaeus, 1766

For inquiries contact Alan Richmond, Biology Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA


Millions of years ago the family Amiidae contained many species and had nearly a global distribution. Gradually members of this very ancient lineage became extinct until today only a single species, Amia calva, remains. Amia's distribution is restricted to North America, covering the majority of the Mississippi basin, extending east along the Gulf Coast, covereing the entire peninsula of Florida and extending north up the Atlantic Coast to the Pennsylvania/New Jersey section of the Delaware River. As with many North American aquatics, Amia migrated east through the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River basin into Lake Champlain.


This interesting fish was introduced into the Connecticut River drainage of Massachusetts in the 1980's when specimens began to appear in Lower Mill Pond and Nashawannuck Pond in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Presumably some individuals migrated down the Mahan River into the Oxbow of the Connecticut River. Individuals were occasionally reported from the Oxbow of the Connecticut River in the 1980's. In July, 1987, an adult specimen was caught in the Connecticut River off the southern end of Second Island in Sunderland, Massachusetts. To date this is the northern most record of Amia in the Connecticut River of Massachusetts.


Amia is an easily recognized fish. It has a single continuous dorsal fin that runs from the mid-body almost to the tail. Amia's tail has a single lobe and appears to be nearly circular. There is frequently a black spot at the base of the tail near the dorsal edge. Amia has a rather large head with two barbels projecting anteriorly from its nose. Unlike most of the other fish, Amia's swim bladder functions much like a lung, allowing this fish to gulp air when dissolved oxygen levels become dangerously low in the weed beds where it lives.

Bowfins seem to prefer slow, sluggish backwaters where they feed on other fishes and invertebrates. In the spring, they breed in weed beds. Males build circular nests from 15 in to about 3 ft in diameter. Unlike nests of sunfish or bass where the male clears a circular depression in the sand, Amia males often build nests in fibrous root mats, clearing away stems and leaves. One male may breed with two or three females. After breeding he continues to guard the nest until the young hatch eight to ten days after deposition. Baby Amia swim in schools and are protected by the male. They retain this schooling behavior until they are about 4 in long.


We would be interested in records of people catching these animals in the Connecticut River. We are most interested in monitoring the distribution of this species in the river and locating spawning areas.

If you have any information, please contact:


Alan Richmond

Biology Department

Morrill Science Center

University of Massachusetts

Amherst, MA 01003-5810

email: alanr@bio.umass.edu

See it all at http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/bowfin.html

The Difference Between a Bowfin and a Snakehead

Bowfin - Fish or Monster

Bowfin - Fish or Monster:............... "I had not fished for more than a few minutes when something big ate my spinnerbait. It was a 9 pound bowfin and it totally destroyed the only spinnerbait I had been able to catch bass on. I was not happy. My biggest bowfin hit a Little George jigged on an old roadbed, also at West Point, in a January tournament. I thought I had a winning bass until I saw the fish. Another bowfin at West Point broke my heart when it hit a top water plug the very first cast early one morning in a tournament. My heart was pounding from the splashing and fight of the fish until I saw it."...............Read Ronnie Garrison's whole story by clicking on the small blue title!!

     I've had this book for over 25 years.  Worthwhile to check it out.  It is more of a textbook type than a pleasure read, but it is a great book.
 
    >{{}};>      Bluegill

Bowfin Introduction

     Let's talk about bowfin, or dogfish as they are commonly called.  I LOVE BOWFIN!!!!  (as evidenced by the following photo):

Bowfin, unlike some other species of fish are native to the United States.  THEY EXIST FOR A REASON!!!!!!  They are a top, if not apex, predator in a number of waterways.  Bowfin are nearly as old as dinosaurs and still have a vestigial lung that can breathe air for roughly 45 minutes.  That's right, they can exist out of the water for quite a while. 

     They are often likened to "freshwater sharks" because of their row of sharp teeth and absolutely voracious bad attitude.  They are far from docile.  They look very much like snakeheads which are making a major impact as an invasive species in many waterways.  They are in fact related to snakeheads, but are very much suited to the environments they inhabit here in the U.S.  They are an important part of every ecosystem they inhabit, so please....I'm begging every person reading this......if you catch one, please for the love of everything sacred in the world, pleeeaaassse........DO NOT KILL THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!  They are not a nuisance, there is no such thing as a trash fish, and they put up one heck of a fight!!
     Here is another picture for identifying them if you catch one:

     The black spot on their tail is a mechanism to dodge things that eat them; it mimics an eye, therefore confusing the predator to bite their tail.  This may kill the bowfin, but it gives it a much better chance of at least living with an injury rather than dying from a bite to their real head.

     Bowfin are opportunistic feeders.  They will chase a live meal or eat of chunk of something dead.  The way I catch them (yes, I do go out seeking to catch just bowfin sometimes) is with cut bait.  Liver also works and it is possible (although I've never witnessed it first hand) to catch them with a variety of artificial lures that mimic swimming fish.

     Well, there is an introduction to bowfin.  I'm sure I will have more later on one of my favorite fish in the world.

                      >{{}};>   Bluegill

Amazon Search for "fish"

Here are some cool things from Amazon.com to check out!  There are over 215,000 results, so you may have to narrow your search if looking for something specific.  Happy browsing!!!!
Search Amazon.com for Fish