Went Dipnetting...again...check This Out

[trojannemo]

hey guys. i went back alone today to CB Smith Park in Broward (florida) to try and catch some more Blue Spotted Sunfish.
the day went great, only thing missing was the sunfish i wanted to get, but i caught many many fish.
i'm actually impressed by the variety of fish I found. the area i covered was only between 100-150 feet from one point to the other, and it yielded all the fish below plus whatever i didnt catch!
I plan on going back and doing another section of the same waterway...
by the way, most of the fish were released after i took the pictures. i really dont have space for more fish, so i think i'm just going to go, catch, take picture, and release.

anyways, on to the pictures!

the location:

barred cichlid - any idea who this is? this guy's body is round, yellow instead of gray, and has more stripes, and no spot on the caudal fin...

lucania goodei - there was a crazy amount of big, colorful males. very few females.

these are all the ones i brought home:

fundulus chrysotus - usual variety we catch

then i also caught these guys - looked like the chrysotus but as you can see, having much nicer colors - same fish?

no clue what this is - a sand darter? or a goby? caught maybe 4-5 of these only

marbled mosquitofish (gambusia sp.) - very few of these seen, this is the only one caught

male molly - this guy had blue in the caudal fin - i had seen them before but this is the first and only catch

sunfish (?) - caught 3-4 of these guys

is this the blue spotted sunfish i went looking for? the bigger ones i caught last time were darker and the spots looked different. if not, then what is this fish?

and now for my favorites of the day...jewels! these fish are amazing! i just bought one from a store on thursday, and it can't even come close to the colors these wild fish had when i just took them out of the water. i think the pictures speak for themselves:

jewel 1 - bold blue spots, very noticeable

jewel 2 - i was impressed by the red...

jewel 3 - but this guy made me scream like a little girl for the camera...it was amazing to see this red shining at me from my net

those three i brought home to my parent's tank...
lastly, some pictures of different fish together. these were caught at the same time:

jewel + sunfish

jewel + fundulus chrysotus

besides the above i also caught mosquitofish (gambusia affinis), shrimp, and a tiny crayfish


hope you enjoyed the pictures...

comments, questions, and help with the IDs of the fish welcome!

 

[snowflake311]

That's pretty cool. looks like There are some nice fish in that little stretch of water. You live in FL so many of these fish are intruduced to the wild by people that get bored of them right? So what are the laws on doing this dippnetting? Since these are not native fish does anyone mind you taken them?

It must be kind of fun to collect your own fish and really cheap.

 

[karigupi]

Thank you for sharing your pictures, what a beautiful catch, as before I am madly jealous! lol

The last three that you brought home are lovely, but my favorite is the marbled mosquitofish

 

[Luke_emma_23]

lovely fish!!
get nothing as pretty as them here in England!!
last time i went fishing all i got was a 32Ib carp, bit too big for the tank tho!!!
Emma

 

[Haych]

he is GORGEOUS

i would love him, or is it a she

also, is it a cichlid? if it is, is it a girl lol

must be so much fun to be able to go fishing and get your own, couldnt do that here lol

 

[bae1994]

im mega jelouse

 

[Gill]

The Colors on the Jewels is amazing, So lucky to be able to do that.

 

[trojannemo]

thanks for the comments.

it is legal here in florida to dipnet as long as you have a florida freshwater fishing license. with the exception of a couple of fish, everything else, native or exotic, is ok to take home. most of these fish the state actually sees as bait fish!

it is awesome to catch fish and take home. i bought a jewel at a store, and caught 3 wild ones. likewise my parents had bought a salvini at a store, and then i caught 3 wild ones! but it's only an alternative if you want to have either an "exotic wild caught cichlid" tank or a "native" tank. unfortunately i keep rainbows and angels, and those arent in the canals

Haych:
the fish is an african Jewel Cichlid, something bimaculatus...dont know how to tell the sexes on these...

snowflake311:
most exotics are introduced that way, someone releases them into the waters and they survive and usually take over. sometimes they escape from the farms upstate and they make their way through the canals. either way, it ensures that we have a kickass selection of ornamental fish in our canals. one could really just have a tank of wild-caught fish and save all that money

 

[BangkokBulldog]

What fantastic photos!
Great to see some of the fish you get over there.

 

[drobbyb]

Very nice catch! Such nice colors on those wild fish. You are lucky to have such a resource.

 

[Bigjakee]

What a way to spend a day! Must be so interesting to be able to do that and not know exactly what you'll end up with...

Sorry but I think I hate you...



Keep the pics coming!

 

[Rex740]

That one pic is a sand darter, not a goby. I am having feeding difficulties with mine. I am curious to know what the red spotted fundulus is though. Anyone have any idea? And next time I will go with you to CB smith, I want to get some black and white gambusia.
Did you keep the darters?

And try to go on MSN messenger today.

 

[three-fingers]

Very interesting, great pics .

 

[VictorMeldrew]

Fantastic qaulity pics, perfect

 

[llamalord305]

I'm very jealous. I feel I am missing out on this living here. I think I can get a net, but, I must ask, what are your strategies? Just stick it in and hope for the best, or by sight, slowly from a different angle...?