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Participants: Nick and Linda Zarlinga, Todd Crail Photographs and text by Todd Crail The Intro: I had invited the Zarlinga's over to see the "wet prairie project" in the back of my sub-suburban yard because Nick had expressed a mutual Zarlinga interest in it (it didn't hurt I was right on their way home :). As it was only 11:30 when we all parted ways on the shores of Lake Erie (from the 2002 NANFA Convention), we had some day to burn. I couldn't think of a better place on the way home to hit than Ten Mile Creek. I've never had the opportunity to work that stream with another experienced native folk, as this is the stream that I sacrifice all seining virgins on ;) Picture this... Busy sprawl road right off the Toledo Ohio Beltway and we pull into a Kroger Grocery Store parking lot. A ravine of sorts is apparent beyond the over grown sumac, but what is down there? We see from the street bridge a litter strewn stream with these really nice riffles. Looks like another garbage infested Hell that may have been Heaven in an earlier day?  Ten Mile Creek, Sylvania, Ohio We had a great collection for a headwater in this region. With certainty, it wasn't a stream in Sumatra or the Rio Negro... But did we see some fantastic native fish. Confirmed sightings or capture: Central Stoneroller - Campostoma anomalum White Sucker - Catostomus commersoni Blackstripe Topminnow - Fundulus notatus Grass Pickerel - Esox americanus vermiculatus (saw prolly 20, just grabbed one for its toothy grin and then sent it on it's way :) Orangethroat Darter - Etheostoma spectabile (by the troves) Johnny Darter - Etheostoma nigrum (funny story here) Green Sunfish - Lepomis cyanellus Striped Shiner - Luxilus chrysocephalus Blackside Darter - Percina maculata Bluntnose Minnow - Pimephales notatus Creek Chub - Semotilus atromaculatus Mystery Cyprinid - ??? sp. Floating Green Alien Head - Galaxius atlargeus ;) The Fish Stories: So we confirmed 12 species, which isn't bad for two guys with, well, both possessing unfavorable equipment (let me say mine didn't even make it out of the van :) The Johnnies perhaps made the greatest story here. We had to be quite a sight. We couldn't catch them on flat bedrock! I'm sure Linda was enjoying our endeavors :) At one point, we were trying to get one to swim into the seine (we were taunting them with an aquarium net from inches away and they wouldn't move) and of course, their cohorts were swimming right out from under the seine! Back and forth back and forth they would go. It was pretty frustrating. I think the one featured in the photo just finally felt pity that we were carrying this much extra cranial mass and couldn't nab even one. Sigh. So he took a nice pic and it was back in the drink for him :) Linda located an alien. It was of the most spongy material and had big long eyes like that thing on the front cover of Communion. But we’re not sure what water body it was from…. ;) The grass pickerel were bonus round for me. Usually, Ten Mile is clouded up with phyto blooms. However, due to the drought this year, I suspect that it's not been as infested with lawn and field fertilizer as usual and it was exceptionally clear. As a result, I saw that toothy grin (with a darter in tow) immediately as we entered the water. What a neat fish! I didn't think there were any real predators up in this stream, but I guess nature has a way of working itself out in every situation. My only hope is that somehow, a crayfish predator makes way up there. We're talking complete havoc when the seine comes up :) The Eye Candy: If you see anything that has been identified incorrectly or know what that mystery cyprinid is, please drop me a line at tcrail@northshores.com and let me know. Thanks! |
