Collecting trip on Sunday, the 15th of June, 1997.

B.G. Granier

Jim Parham, Bill StLaurent and I met at Covington, Louisiana, in the morning at about 9 AM to make a whirlwind tour of my favorite collecting spots around the "Florida parishes" (counties) of Louisiana. After loading Bill's nets and containers into the "Big Black Chevy Truck" that I call my "minner transporter", we struck out for our first destination - Bayou Lacombe, La. Soon after arriving at the above site, we started collecting all sorts of species like Poecilia latipinna, Cyprinodon variegatus, Lucania parva, Fundulus grandis, Heterandria formosa, lots of Dambusia (Gambusia) and Syngnathus scovelli, (the Gulf Pipefish) ! After Jim did his best Heron impression, that is: remaining completely motionless while watching the bottom of the Bayou; he came up with a colorful gobie that had red and blue colors in the two dorsal fins and long extensions of the fin rays of the primary dorsal fin! Also in sight were several schools of silversides, Fundulus chrysotus and mullets, which we could not approach near enough to capture with our nets! Bill did manage to catch a longnosed gar that is now residing in the L.S.U. Museum of Natural History, compliments of Jim Parham, who is a graduate student of NANFA member Dr. J. Michael Fitzsimons of L.S.U. The gar is alive and eating well.

After a quick pit-stop, we left the environs of Bayou Lacombe and went straight north to the Pearl River area in the hopes of getting some cold-water species (so to speak), for this area of Louisiana is known for its fishes that frequent the cooler, flowing creeks of the Washington Parish (County) part of the Louisiana.

Upon arrival at another one of my favorite collecting spots, all hands abandoned the "Big Black Chevy Truck" and hit the creek! Jim and Bill took a small seine and a bucket with them to the northwest side of the creek, while I took my net and bucket to the southeast portion of the creek. It wasn't long before I heard a lot of noise that sounded like "Ya-hoo's" and thought that they'd hit a pot-o-gold or something! Nah, they'd only just picked up some Flagfin shiners and a male Gulf darter with brilliant red markings, that's all! Meanwhile, I proceeded to fill my bucket with some of the Flagfin shiners (Pteronotropis signipinnis) and Cherryfin shiners (L. rosepinnis) and young Sharpfin chubsuckers (Erimyzon tenuis).

After an enjoyable day of collecting, Jim and I departed from Covington, bidding so-long to Bill, and drove back to Baton Rouge. Jim safely transported our fish to the basement of Foster Hall and acclimated the fish that he wanted into the waiting tanks of L.S.U.!

Bill also took the fish that he desired and acclimated them to his tanks, and even had a hatch of baby pipefish from one of the pregnant male pipefish! He found that, sure to Jim's advice, those adult pipefish really like adult brine shrimp!

I know that these two are diehard native fish fans and also hope that they will join NANFA and educate other native fish people about our need to conserve, enjoy and educate everyone that they meet about the needs of our own North American fish! I hope that they had an enjoyable time, too! I sure did!