Two Days, Three New Species

For life list anglers there is no such thing as "trash fish", no such thing as "too small", and no fish species isn't worth the effort to catch. I'm not the average life lister: to get on my list a species has to be on the fly. No live or dead bait. Most would think that small fish are the easiest fish to catch. Well, they aren't. Especially not on artificial flies. Though many "micros" are quite common, it sometimes takes many attempts to catch one. For me, striped killifish and sheepshead minnows fall into that category. I'd targeted them numerous times and failed to catch them because other species got in the way, they were to skittish, or they simply never got the fly well enough for a proper hookup. Over this weekend I would successfully get both, and one other new species.

On Friday I got a bit of time in fishing the margins of an estuary which, like any healthy estuary, was just teaming with life. My confidence was high that I'd get a new species or two. I started out fishing my typical rig for small species: a size 22 midge tipped with a bit of soft plastic on the bend and one small shot just ahead of the fly on 5x tippet. Initially, I caught a bunch of two familiar species: mummichogs and banded killifsih.

mummichog

Then I got what I was looking for. Lifelist fish #88, striped killifish. I kept targeting them, hoping to get both a male and female example to photograph (male and female striper killies have drastically different patterns) but all I could get were males.

I was also plagued by Atlantic silversides. I examined each one though, hoping to see the slight variation that determined I had caught an inland silverside. I never did. I also got a couple tiny scup that did not want to be photographed.

Walking through the marsh I examined each mosquito ditches. You never know what you'll find in one of those. Today it was needlefish. Eventually I found a ton of them stacked at the mouth of one larger mosquito ditch. Catching one turned out to be a frustrating cast, which was predictable. Like gar these little guys have very bony jaws, getting a hook to penetrate is very difficult. Eventually I found a winning method: a midge trailed just inches behind a green weenie. The needlefish attacked the green weenie and, when I was lucky, got hooked by the midge. I caught a bunch. Lifer #89, Atlantic needlefish.

banded killifish

 The next day Noah and I visited the same water to get him these species. I also wanted to give sheepshead minnows a better shot. We both fished much the same manner, with small, plastic tipped midge flies, and caught a bunch of killifish. I finally got some female striped killies,. Interestingly there seemed to be as many of them as males this time. I wonder why their representation was so poor on the same tide the day before? There may not be a real answer to that.

female striped killifish

textbook mummichog

Noah's lifer striped killie. A very distinctly patterned female.

 Then I hit paydirt. A fat little marble of a fish took the midge and I somehow hooked it. My sheepshead minnow! Life list fish #90. Hitting another benchmark. I am now almost certainly going to break 100 by the end of this year.

We then went to get Noah his needlefish. It took a while, and in the process I caught a bunch more for myself. They are fun little fish with big personalities. I don't think I'd specifically go out of my way to target them again, not this species (there are a bunch more needlefish species out there), but they are hilarious little fish.

After Noah got a couple Atlantic needlefish we went back to targeting real micros again hoping he could get his own sheepshead minnow. It didn't work: I caught the only other one!

As the sun started to sink I knew there was a fair chanc we'd have a good window for getting some bass. We did find some, though not where I'd hoped and not as big as I'd hoped. There were schoolie fish ranging throughout the river. We both got a few, none particularly large but all very healthy fish. As we were paddling back to the take out we spooked a bunch on the mud flats. What they were feeding on there is anyone's guess. I only got one, on a hollow fly dragging behind the kayak. They might have been on crabs. The fact that it was dark negated effective sight fishing entirely. I don't think any were very big so it wasn't much of a loss.

Very near the take out I took the time to examine a rocky area with my flashlight. Aside from millions of grass shrimp, their eyes glowing orange, there were a couple odd fish around. Two were something I cannot identify. They were somewhat sculpin-like but to the best of my knowledge don't match any specie of sculpin in Long Island Sound. I may never know, there were only two on one specific rock. I did catch one little oddball there, a tiny oyster toadfish!

The life lister has to put a lot of effort into persuing their query. You have to be a polymaths. A jack of all trades. I can't just do what every angler knows and expect to catch every species on earth. Micro fishing may seem dull, unglamorous, and much of the time it is. But if you really care about fish you don't need to have one scream drag or get into the backing. That's thrilling, and I'll never bore of it. But I think those that get a thrill out of biology can probably get the most out of fishing: They see the big picture of these little things. Some of you may look above and see photos of fish you don't care about because they are all so small. But some will see works of art. The oyster toad, with its amazing camouflage; the needlefish, with its sleek build and mouth, perfect or eating tiny baitfish; the sheepshead minnows' and killies' abilities to sift sift through bottom materials for food. These fish are the products of millions of years of evolution. Though they don't excite me as gamefish like a sailfish or tuna would, they are no less fascinating or beautiful as parts of the natural world. And that's I won't rest until I've caught every species that I possibly can. 

If you enjoy what I'm doing here, please share and comment. It is increasingly difficult to maintain this blog under dwindling readership. What best keeps me going so is knowing that I am engaging people and getting them interested in different aspects of fly fishing, the natural world, and art. Follow, like on Facebook, share wherever, comment wherever. Every little bit is appreciated! 

Thanks for joining the adventure, and tight lines.