trojannemo
Fishaholic
hey guys. i've been meaning to take a trip to Broward and check out the dipnetting action.
finally managed to go today, was only there for about one hour, but in that hour caught a lot and got a lot of information to share.
species collected or seen:
- bluefin killifish
- gambusia (normal and melanistic)
- sailfin molly (normal and melanistic - YES YOU READ RIGHT - PICTURE BELOW)
- least killifish/livebearer
- jewel cichlid
- mayan cichlid
- salvini
- ghost shrimp
- crayfish
- ramshorn snails, trapdoor snails, trumpet snails
- tadpoles!
- sunfish (possibly bluegill - pictures below)
- unidentified bass-like juveniles (pictures below)
what I didn't see that I expected to see from my previous trips to this spot:
- jaguars
- black acaras
- spotted tilapia
- tadpole madtoms
- fat sleeper gobies
noteworthy information:
- vegetation is growing well and densely. there are a variety of plants (notably cambomba-like and hornwort-like plants), but the one type dominating the area is the valisneria americana
- the gambusia, least livebearers and bluefin killifish that were caught were for the most part all unusually large and plump
- whereas I usually catch 1-2 crayfish, this time caught more than 20, ranging from new hatchlings to a 4-5" specimen with one inch claws.
- in this spot i usually catch jaguars and black acaras, at least 3-5 each trip. today didn't even see one of either species. likewise for tilapia.
- netted two mayans (3" and 5") but saw at least 3 10"+ specimens
- at least 3 big catfish are under the tunnel
- there are much bigger fish in that area than the 10" mayans, as more than once something BIG splashed...i'm thinking maybe huge oscars or something along those lines.
- caught several, and i mean at least 10-12 specimens of an unidentified species of fish (for me anyways), looking like juvenile bass but i can't tell which kind, if they are bass.
- saw melanistic gambusia, but actually collected a mostly black melanistic MALE sailfin molly (picture below). in the year that I've been dipnetting with the club i've never heard of a melanistic molly? is this a rare event?
now on to the pictures:
the unidentified bass-like fish...what is it?
bluefin killifish (male/female)
one of the crayfish (not the biggest!)
female gambusia
one of 3 jewels i caught. the other two were very young juveniles!
mayan cichlid, smallest of the two collected
the best looking of the two salvinis collected. this beauty came home with me
and last but not least...male sailfin molly (melanistic!!!) - this guy came home with us too
-------------
on a less pleasant note, when i crossed to the other side where I go under the bridge, we noticed there were a lot of fishing lines that looked to be stuck and had just been left there. at one point Mary noticed there was a big fish basically in front of us in the plants, it looked to be stuck or caught on something, so i get it out with my dipnet and what do you know, it's got a hook going through its mouth, attached to one of those lines that looked to be abandoned. the fish was very much alive but had some injuries, maybe from trying to break free of the hook or from being nipped at by other fish.
the line had been tied to an iron bar and left (most likely with bait) in the water. i cut the line at both ends, removed the hook from the sunfish and released it.
then I thought I should try to cut the other two lines that were "stuck" so no other fish would get hooked, and much to my surprise when I pulled on the lines both had sunfish hooked! :evil:
same procedure, cut the lines and unhooked both fish and released:
all three were between 6-8 inches and just gorgeous, specially the last one, which despite having been hooked by the biggest hook was the easiest to free and the one with least injuries:
i dont know who thought this was a good idea, but I find it cruel and dangerous, and i wouldn't be surprised if it is illegal. i took more pictures than what i'm posting here, of each step and each fish before and after, kept the lines and the hooks, and will report this to the FWC, as I want this moron caught :evil:
anyways, i had a fun time in that one hour I was there. and I feel like I did something good by releasing those fish and removing those lines, so all in all it wasn't a bad use of a morning
i know it's a lot of information to digest and a lot of pictures to load, but if you make it this far, please comment! I need help identifying the bass-like fish, want more info on the occurrence of melanistic sailfin mollies, and on the legality of leaving fishing lines hooked and baited in the water like that.
i hope you enjoyed the read and the pictures
finally managed to go today, was only there for about one hour, but in that hour caught a lot and got a lot of information to share.
species collected or seen:
- bluefin killifish
- gambusia (normal and melanistic)
- sailfin molly (normal and melanistic - YES YOU READ RIGHT - PICTURE BELOW)
- least killifish/livebearer
- jewel cichlid
- mayan cichlid
- salvini
- ghost shrimp
- crayfish
- ramshorn snails, trapdoor snails, trumpet snails
- tadpoles!
- sunfish (possibly bluegill - pictures below)
- unidentified bass-like juveniles (pictures below)
what I didn't see that I expected to see from my previous trips to this spot:
- jaguars
- black acaras
- spotted tilapia
- tadpole madtoms
- fat sleeper gobies
noteworthy information:
- vegetation is growing well and densely. there are a variety of plants (notably cambomba-like and hornwort-like plants), but the one type dominating the area is the valisneria americana
- the gambusia, least livebearers and bluefin killifish that were caught were for the most part all unusually large and plump
- whereas I usually catch 1-2 crayfish, this time caught more than 20, ranging from new hatchlings to a 4-5" specimen with one inch claws.
- in this spot i usually catch jaguars and black acaras, at least 3-5 each trip. today didn't even see one of either species. likewise for tilapia.
- netted two mayans (3" and 5") but saw at least 3 10"+ specimens
- at least 3 big catfish are under the tunnel
- there are much bigger fish in that area than the 10" mayans, as more than once something BIG splashed...i'm thinking maybe huge oscars or something along those lines.
- caught several, and i mean at least 10-12 specimens of an unidentified species of fish (for me anyways), looking like juvenile bass but i can't tell which kind, if they are bass.
- saw melanistic gambusia, but actually collected a mostly black melanistic MALE sailfin molly (picture below). in the year that I've been dipnetting with the club i've never heard of a melanistic molly? is this a rare event?
now on to the pictures:
the unidentified bass-like fish...what is it?
bluefin killifish (male/female)
one of the crayfish (not the biggest!)
female gambusia
one of 3 jewels i caught. the other two were very young juveniles!
mayan cichlid, smallest of the two collected
the best looking of the two salvinis collected. this beauty came home with me
and last but not least...male sailfin molly (melanistic!!!) - this guy came home with us too
-------------
on a less pleasant note, when i crossed to the other side where I go under the bridge, we noticed there were a lot of fishing lines that looked to be stuck and had just been left there. at one point Mary noticed there was a big fish basically in front of us in the plants, it looked to be stuck or caught on something, so i get it out with my dipnet and what do you know, it's got a hook going through its mouth, attached to one of those lines that looked to be abandoned. the fish was very much alive but had some injuries, maybe from trying to break free of the hook or from being nipped at by other fish.
the line had been tied to an iron bar and left (most likely with bait) in the water. i cut the line at both ends, removed the hook from the sunfish and released it.
then I thought I should try to cut the other two lines that were "stuck" so no other fish would get hooked, and much to my surprise when I pulled on the lines both had sunfish hooked! :evil:
same procedure, cut the lines and unhooked both fish and released:
all three were between 6-8 inches and just gorgeous, specially the last one, which despite having been hooked by the biggest hook was the easiest to free and the one with least injuries:
i dont know who thought this was a good idea, but I find it cruel and dangerous, and i wouldn't be surprised if it is illegal. i took more pictures than what i'm posting here, of each step and each fish before and after, kept the lines and the hooks, and will report this to the FWC, as I want this moron caught :evil:
anyways, i had a fun time in that one hour I was there. and I feel like I did something good by releasing those fish and removing those lines, so all in all it wasn't a bad use of a morning
i know it's a lot of information to digest and a lot of pictures to load, but if you make it this far, please comment! I need help identifying the bass-like fish, want more info on the occurrence of melanistic sailfin mollies, and on the legality of leaving fishing lines hooked and baited in the water like that.
i hope you enjoyed the read and the pictures
.
