Went Collecting Yesterday

[mnemenoi]

Went collecting yesterday at Buffalo Bayou and was expecting my normal retinue, sadly there was slim pickings indeed. Caught a trove of Gambusia Affinis and nothing more. I did see a few mollies, but was unable to actually capture any at all. I'll try again in a month or so and see if there is anything different about.

I'm headed to Lafayette this weekend and I'll see what I can find there, I'm hoping for some dwarf livebearer's at least...

[riofrio]

If you have any luck in LA I'd like to know where, it's on my agenda next month.
By the way,Louisiana has a reciprocal agreement with Texas which basicly says that anyone with a senior fishing license(65 or older) from either state can fish anywhere in either state as long as they obey the laws in that state. Also anyone with a fishing license in either state can fish the border waters of the other, that is namely Sabine Lake, the Sabine river, Toledo bend and Caddo lakes. That may or may not affect you too much, but for us old timers it just might. Also the literature I've read (Freshwater Fishes of Texas)says that the dwarf livebearers do occur in the Sabine river.

[Sea-agg09]

The diversity in LA is CRAZY. There are easily 5x the species in LA than in Texas. I love the darters over there. Honestly the water is still a bit cold. April will be great for collecting, but I'm not sure about march yet. The ridiculously cold weather across the country this winter may push the warming back a few weeks, but I have no idea.

[riofrio]

I've never tried LA... YET...But it's on the agenda next month, there's sure plenty of fascinating ditches and creeks, everywhere you look, I just didn't realize I could try. I'll let it be known if I attract the attention of any game warden types...

[mnemenoi]

Yeah, same here. I know a few spots in southern Louisiana that I have seen while driving to my heliport base. I figure I'll give them a shot and see what I find. Most references on the Dwarf Livebearer place it in brackish conditions, though they acclimate to fresh very well. I'll let everyone know what i come across should it be successful...

[riofrio]

Well it's been a long time since I posted anything but I feel like I should share this. On a trip to Delta Downs, I took my net and bucket to see what I could discover. Just inside the LA state line on I-10 is the welcome center and a rest area with a lake ("Lake Bienvenue") I walked over there and in the far north-eastern corner is a really shallow spot with so many different little fish I couldn't believe it I got mollies, goldspot topminnows, and dwarf killifish and other types I haven't yet figured out. So many dwarf killies I had to quit because I doubted I could keep them alive. I did bring a battery powered aerator and a cover to keep the sun off while I was in the casino. The water in that lake is brackish, but not that I could taste it. They were brought back in water from the lake and that was put in the tank at home. Everything survived the trip and made it back to Wharton OK. and for the most part are all doing fine 2 months later. If you go just park at the far east end and walk over to the lake. There are lots of tourists parked along there and nobody pays much attention to what anyone else is doing.