Trip report, 4 Aug-7 Aug 2001 Sipsey Fork, Winston County, Alabama. Tony and I arrived on site late Friday night, unfortunately we'd forgotten Bruce's directions, and after dropping Tony off at a motel on Smith Reservoir, I drove around looking for the gang, finally gave up and set my tent up somewhere off a dirt road in the Bankhead NF. Rained a little that night, but not bad. I was up by 6am, had coffee in Double Springs by 6:30, and was at the site by 7. I snorkelled until 8:30, drove over to the motel and picked Tony up, and drove back to the site. We waited a bit, then started to sample. By 11, most of the gang was there: Patrick Vinas, Casper and son Coby, Steven, and Bruce. We sampled and snorkelled for much of the afternoon, then headed towards the campsite. Species list included: Campostoma oligolepis Cyprinella callistia Cyprinella venusta Notropis asperifrons Notropis stilbius Hypentelium etowanum Minytrema melanops Moxostoma duquesnei Fundulus olivaceus Ambloplites ariommus Chaenobryttus gulosus Lepomis cyanellus Lepomis macrochirus Lepomis megalotis Micropterus coosae Micropterus punctulatus Etheostoma sp. cf. bellator Etheostoma douglasi Etheostoma stigmaeum Etheostoma whipplei Percina kathae Percina nigrofasciata Percina shumardi Percina sp. "Sipsey darter" The campsite was along Borden Creek, in an area of nice-sized secondary growth hardwood forest. While the gang sampled the creek, I got some lunch going, with excellent assistance from Coby. Pork chops, with spiced potatoes, mushrooms, and onions. Steve had brought red-hots, baked beans, and cream sodas. A few illicit beverages were consumed to thumb a symbolic nose at Winston County. I took Tony back into town to his motel, and met the gang back out by the river. After hanging out by the fire for a while, Casper, Coby and I walked about a quarter-mile of stream, looking for snapping turtles or fun stuff out and about. The full moon made for easy mid-stream walking, except for a couple problematic rocks... Borden Creek, Winston County, Alabama Campostoma oligolepis Cyprinella callistia Cyprinella venusta Notropis asperifrons Notropis stilbius Phenacobius catostomus Fundulus olivaceus Ambloplites ariommus Lepomis macrochirus Lepomis megalotis Micropterus punctulatus Etheostoma sp. cf. zonistium Etheostoma douglasi Etheostoma stigmaeum Etheostoma whipplei Percina kathae Percina nigrofasciata Percina shumardi Next morning, I drove into town and picked up Tony, then brought him back to the campsite in time for omlettes with fresh chanterelles, courtesy of Casper. Excellent! We headed out, deciding to try a fun cold-water site a bit to the south first... crystal clear water, and minimal silt- it's amazing how an intact watershed will retain sediment, leaving the stream's gravel silt-free... Hendricks Mill Branch at mouth, Blount County, Alabama Campostoma oligolepis Cyprinella callistia Luxilus chrysocephalus Notropis chrosomus Notropis stilbius Cottus sp. cf. carolinae Etheostoma douglasi Percina nigrofasciata Tony and I parted ways with Casper and Coby, and headed east on I-20... The first site was deep and turbid with lots of debris to catch the seine on, but still some fun stuff... Tallapoosa River at CR 21 SSE of Heflin, Cleburne County, Alabama Campostoma oligolepis Cyprinella callistia Cyprinella gibbsi Cyprinella venusta Luxilus chrysocephalus Notropis stilbius second site here was shallow and fast, with better gravel... Tallapoosa River at CR 18 WNW of Bell Mills, Cleburne County, Alabama Campostoma oligolepis Cyprinella callistia Cyprinella gibbsi Cyprinella venusta Luxilus chrysocephalus Notropis stilbius Phenacobius catostomus After a successful expedition, we hit classic southern BBQ for dinner, which was superb. Monday morning, we braved the remains of the tropical storm and headed north out of Tuscaloosa... first site was shallow, sandy, but with pretty good diversity for such a small stream... Tyro Creek at CR 55 ESE of New Lexington, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama Ichthyomyzon gagei Campostoma oligolepis Luxilus chrysocephalus Lythrurus alegnotus Nocomis leptocephalus Notropis baileyi Notropis stilbius Semotilus atromaculatus Erimyzon oblongus Moxostoma poecilurum Ameiurus melas Noturus leptocephalus Fundulus olivaceus Lepomis cyanellus Lepomis megalotis Etheostoma stigmaeum Etheostoma swaini Etheostoma whipplei Percina nigrofasciata Not enough redfin darters here, so we headed back north, winding up at Natural Bridge, where the weirdest thing was all the pirate perch- this site is really close to the Fall Line (the edge of the old Mississippi Embayment), so there was an interesting mix of upland and lowland stuff here. New River at Natural Bridge, Winston County, Alabama Ichthyomyzon gagei Campostoma oligolepis Lythurus alegnotus Nocomis leptocephalus Semotilus atromaculatus Erimyzon oblongus Aphredoderus sayanus Lepomis cyanellus Lepomis megalotis Etheostoma lachneri Etheostoma nigrum Etheostoma stigmaeum Etheostoma whipplei Percina nigrofasciata We then headed west, to try a site I've hit several times before. It's normally better than this, but we were both getting pretty tired by this point. Buttahatchie River at US Hwy 43 S of Hamilton, Marion County, Alabama Campostoma oligolepis Cyprinella callistia Cyprinella venusta Notropis ammophilus Notropis stilbius Pimephales vigilax Etheostoma rupestre Etheostoma stigmaeum Percina kathae Percina vigil And so it ended. I had a busy morning on Tuesday, and it took longer than anticipated to prep his fish, so despite a desperate drive to the airport, Tony missed his flight, and opted to stay at a motel near the airport. All in all, a hectic trip, but many cool fish were captured and observed. Thanks to all who participated, and especially Tony for being such a patient ichhyologist-in-training.