Fish collecting methods demonstration

There's going to be collection trip this Saturday. Several methods will be demonstrated; minnow trap, dip net, seine, rod and reel, and electro fishing. I suggest anyone who's interested in seeing a variety of local fish to attend and even participate. Be sure to have your fishing license if want to participate. Only legal method of fishing at this location is with rod and reel. The only way to use another method is if you are with the group and participating in the demonstrations. I plan to bring some acrylic tanks for everyone to view the fish and I'll also have some battery powered airpumps to keep the fish happy. Be sure to read the regulations carefully if you plan to take anything home!

Here's some pictures of what the location looks like. Follow this link.
https://picasaweb.google.com/117594717545531645059/CollectionTrip?authkey=Gv1sRgCPXsx5DA4bn4ZA


Here more info from the JRAS email.



Hello all,

Below please find your personal copy of the James River Aquarium Society, Inc's (JRAS's) SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013 Native Fish Field Trip Invitation:

What: James River Aquarium Society's (JRAS's) Native Fish Collection Field Trip to
When: Saturday, September 28th, 10 AM - 3 PM, with a 30-40 minute BYO lunch break in the middle.

Where: Powhatan Lakes, the northernmost lakes of the Powhatan Wildlife Management Area, Powhatan VA. (Note: We are STILL holding our usual monthly meeting on Wednesday, September 25th at DGIF)


Turn right here Onto Bell Road / Route 684 for initial meeting area


Arrive approximately here at your Powhatan Lakes destination

Directions to our Initial Meeting Place at Powhatan Lakes:

1) Use the following link to let Google Maps show you driving directions to within 200 yards of our meeting site: https://maps.google.com/?sll=37.575529,-77.997230, or

2) Use the raw GPS coordinates: 37.575529,-77.997230 to plug directly into any mapping device such as Garmin, Apple Maps, Mapquest, etc. to get the same directions / do the same thing.

3) We recommend that you download and print the following map of Powhatan Wildlife Management Area: http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wmas/maps/powhatan.pdf. We will be moving to Sunfish Pond, Bass Pond, Bream Pond and a Beaver Pond not otherwise marked and this map can help you navigate to keep up with our group once you get there. We will bring printouts of these maps with us, but latecomers might not get the maps unless you print it beforehand.

3) Cardinal directions from the West End of Richmond would be: State Route 288 (Bypass) South to Exit onto State Hwy 60 (Midlothian Turnpike heading West/Anderson Highway- right by WestChester Commons. Go 16.4 miles West on Midlothian Turnpike/Anderson Highway before taking a right onto Route 684 / Bell Road.

When you take a right onto Route 684 / Bell Road there will be a convenience store / gasoline station named “Hi and Buy” [located at 4601 Anderson Hwy, Powhatan, VA 23139] across the road to your left and also Route 601 / Lockin Road to your left. Taking the correct right onto Bell Road will take you past a moldering abandoned building to the right at this same corner intersection.

Go 1.8 miles on Route 684 / Bell Road until you take a left onto Rural Route 625 / Powhatan Lakes Road.

Go 1.5 miles on State Route 625 / Powhatan Lakes Road and then turn right at the end of the road. Go 0.2 miles where we will be initially meeting on the boat ramp.

Here's more from the email. The pictures didn't come through.



About Our Field Trip Leader/Speaker:

Johnathan Harris is a fisheries biologist who received both his BS (2002) and MS (2006) degrees in Fisheries Science from Virginia Tech. Originally from Virginia, he has worked in a variety of locations as a biologist including Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Nevada, and North Carolina. He returned to Virginia in 2007, to manage public waters in the piedmont of Virginia with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

About This Native Fish Collection Field Trip Field Trip Program:

During our July 2013 Program, “Collecting and Keeping Virginia's Native Fishes for Aquariums,” Johnathan “John” Harris went over in detail the many species, methods, and laws necessary for collecting native and introduced fish in Virginia. John discussed native and introduced fishes that thrive in aquarium settings and briefly described methods for keeping native fishes.

This July program was a planning session for our Native Fish Collection field trip set for this Saturday, September 28th on-site at Powhatan Lakes, the northernmost two lakes of Powhatan Wildlife Management Area, Powhatan, VA. Our collection efforts will begin at our initial meeting place about 200 yards West of the end of State Route 625’s main parking. [Directions to this site are found below and on the attached maps.]


Native Fish Collection Methods


Powhatan Lakes Shots from Last Sunday’s Scouting Trip by Victor and his crew


Sunfish Pond




Brail Netting Dip Netting Sein Netting


Backpac Shocker Grumpy

Redfin darter, Etheostoma whipplei


Rainbow Darter Male, Etheostoma caeruleum