Think of your local urban creek. How many fish species do you think it has? If you're like most people, you're probably thinking, "not many." I know I did. When I first inspired by the ExtremePhillyFishing Youtube channel to lifelist fish species, I selected a local (Longview, TX) creek to explore, Grace Creek. I took one look at it and thought, there are probably just mosquitofish and a couple of sunfish species.
I've been surprised at how many fish are in this little creek. I've mostly been getting game fish species so far, but I've been working on the microspecies lately. Only a small fraction of fish species are game fish; most fish are microspecies, or tiny fish.
Earlier this week I tried fishing with a Tanago hook, a tiny Japanese hook designed for catching microfish. I caught one species that I managed to photograph, the Blackstripe Topminnow. After a lot of work, I caught a Blacktail Shiner. I didn't know the darn things can jump really high and far for their size. I put the fish in the photo tank and before I could close the lid, it jumped out of the container, over the bank, and into the creek. I stared at the empty tank, wondering if I really just saw that. I didn't catch the fish again.
I came back the next day, intending to wade the creek with a minnow net, hoping it would yield more species than the Tanago hook. I swept through the vegetation along the creek bank and was excited about what I caught---my first darter, the Slough Darter. I saw a school of tiny silver fish and incorrectly assumed that they were baby Blacktail Shiners because some of them had some black near their tails. I managed to catch one of them in my net. Aha! This species wouldn't escape me this time! It turned out that this was another species of shiner. I don't know what it is and need to go back and catch more for better pictures.
My list of Grace Creek species so far:
Spotted Bass
Largemouth Bass
Bluegill
Longear Sunfish
Green Sunfish
Black Bullhead
Yellow Bullhead
Channel Catfish
Longnose Gar
Western Mosquitofish
Slough Darter
Blackstripe Topminnow
Unknown shiner species
Seen, but not photographed:
Spotted Gar
Bowfin; this one was caught, but escaped while I was reeling it in
Blacktail Shiner
Unknown panfish species---possibly the Flier
As I search for the microfish, I expect that list to get way longer. According to the Fishes of Texas website, Gregg County has 70+ species, mainly micros.
I really want to catch a Pirate Perch, simply because it's called a Pirate Perch. ;p
The spot I last fished at has the perfect habitat for the Blacktail Redhorse---deep, slow moving water with a sandy bottom. I've seen one at the nearby Lake Gladewater, but I've never caught one. This is another one I really want to catch. Wish me luck!