Darters bring bright colors to streambeds in region
Jim McCormac
On April 12, I participated in a fishing trip unlike the usual wet-a-line affair. Anthony Sasson, freshwater conservation manager for the Ohio Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, assembled an epic cast of characters.
The aquatic dream team included Andrew Boose of Metro Parks, fish maven Brian Zimmerman, Ohio State University doctoral student Dan Symonds and biologist Laura Hughes.
Our fishing hole was a remote section of Little Darby Creek in southwestern Franklin County. Because our guides had collecting permits, our fishing gear was unconventional. In addition to a large two-man seine, we employed an electro-shocker. The latter device lays down a low-voltage current that temporarily stuns fish, allowing them to be captured, tallied and released unharmed.
We caught an array of fish, including stonerollers, scarlet shiners, stonecat madtom (a small catfish), golden redhorse, smallmouth bass and many others.
Thanks largely to Hughes' talents, we saw dragonfly nymphs, case-bearing caddisflies whose tubular pebbled retreats resemble fancy jewelry, and a whopper common map turtle.
Seeing all of these was great, but our primary targets were the warblers of the underwater world: Darters! These small members of the perch family lack swim bladders, thus they lack buoyancy and remain on the stream bottom.
Rainbow darters can be found in streams statewide, as long as there is good water quality.
Because of their low profile in the stream, darters mostly go unnoticed. Nonetheless, there are about 150 darter species in North America, a number surpassed only by the minnow family. Once introduced to darters, one will never look at streams the same way again.
Many species of darters are insanely colorful, their scales tinged with hues that would embarrass even
the brightest of tropical birds. The brilliance is short-lived however — males brighten for a short period during spring breeding season.
Sasson and former Metro Parks aquatic guru Mac Albin discovered the fishy bounty of the Little Darby riffles years ago. At least a dozen darter species occur within a short stretch of stream, and we found most of them on our visit.
Our darter catch included greenside AROUND AND ABOUT
Garden art
What: Jean Magdich’s newest artwork and a garden tour and plant sale, plus other craftsmen displaying their wares
Where: Hocking House Fine Craft Gallery and Art Gardens, 29580 Big Pine Road, Logan
When: 10 a. m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and next Sunday
Details: 740-385- 4166 or www.hocking house.com
Drop- in discovery
What: crafts and a scavenger hunt, plus walking the trails with nets to explore the local insect fauna
Where: Preservation Parks of Delaware County: Deer Haven Park, 4183 Liberty Road, Delaware
When: noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and next Sunday
Details:
and banded darters, resplendent in coats of emerald-green. Variegate darters dazzled with showy, multicolored patterns. Rare spotted darters were stippled with bright-orange stickpins. Tiger-striped logperch darters were comparatively elephantine, at 6 inches long.
My favorite: the numerous rainbow darters. The name says it all. Newcomers to stream ecology are preservationparks. com METRO PARKS
Call 614- 891-0700 for more information; call 614-508- 8111 to register. For events at Inniswood Metro Gardens, call 614-8956216 to register. For a complete listing of programs, visit www. metroparks.net.
Creek adventure What: Where: When: Geocaching 101 What: Where: When: usually stunned to learn that such a fish would occur in Ohio waters. Rainbows lurk in streams nearly statewide, as long as water quality is good.
To have darters, and many other fishes, healthy waters are required. This means protecting streamside habitats. Central Ohioans are fortunate that our Metro Parks organization is a leader in stream conservation. The Nature Conservancy works locally and statewide to safeguard land and water on behalf of all Ohioans.
These organizations help protect the warblers of the underwater world. Birdhouse gourd What: Where:
When: Details: Fun in the sun What: Where: When: Details: Submitted items must be received by 9 a. m. the Monday before intended publication. Send items to comingup@dispatch. com or Becky Kover, The Dispatch, 62 E. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43215.