I have been fishing since before I could walk. My family's farm pond and the bass and bluegill it contained got interested in the environment and more specifically aquatic environs. More recently I have begun to center my fishing around catching native, wild, fishes in places where they thrive. While at Auburn University I sought out black bass all across the Southeast, ultimately traveling thousands of miles to catch these fish. Below I have some of my favorite fish from my travels from across the Southeast and beyond, fish that have memories attached to them.
Coosa Bass (M. coosae)
Caught in the headwaters of the Coosa River drainage in Alabama
Note: This fish is perhaps one of my favorite fish I have ever caught. It was so incredibly beautiful when I pulled it out of the water.
Cahaba Bass (M. cahabae)
Caught in a tributary of the Cahaba River, Alabama
Warrior Bass (M. warriorensis)
Caught in a highly impacted urban tributary of the Black Warrior River in Alabama.
Tallapoosa Bass (M. tallapoosae)
Caught in a triburary to the Tallapoosa River in Alabama
Bartrams Bass (M. coosae spp.)
Caught in the Chattooga River in Georgia/South Carolina
Note: Batrams bass aren't officially a species yet, but they will be hopefully soon!
Chattahooche Bass (M. chattachoochae)
Caught in the Chattahooche River system
Chattahoochee Bass 2
Caught in the Chattahooche River system
Altamaha Bass (M. coosae spp.)
Caught in a headwater tributary of the Oconee River, Geogria
Another redeye bass that isn't officially a species yet, but hopefully will be soon
Alabama Bass (M. henshalli )
Caught in the headwaters of the Cahaba River, Alabama. Prevalent throughout the Mobile Basin (native) and introduced widely across the Southeast and beyond, causing problems for native black basses
Guadalupe Bass (M. treculii)
Caught in a triburary of the Guadalupe River, Central Texas
Suwanee Bass (M. notius)
Caught in the Sante Fe River System, Florida
Shoal Bass (M. cataractae)
Caught in the Flint River System, Georgia
Choctaw Bass (M. haiaka)
Caught in the Pea River System, Alabama. Another species that isn't officially a species yet, these fish live in a handful of watersheds in the coastal plains of Southern Alabama between the Mobile River Basin and the Apalachicola River Basin in Georgia/Florida
Smallmouth Bass (M. dolemieu)
Caught in the Potomac River, Maryland
Hickory Shad (Alosa mediocris)
Caught in the Potomac River, Washington D.C.
Striped Bass (M. saxatillis)
Caught in the Potomac River System, Washington D.C.
Black Crappie (P. nigromaculatus)
Caught in Northern Wisconsin
Brook Trout (S. fontinalis)
Caught in a headwater tributary to the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania
Brook Trout 2
Caught in the Central Sands Region of Wisconsin
Longear Sunfish (L. megalotis)
Caught in a headwater tributary to the Coosa River in Alabama
Redbreast Sunfish (L. auritus)
Caught in a headwater tributary of the Oconee River.
Note: These atypical phenotype has been observed in a few systems in the Southeast and have caused a minor stir in the ichthyology community
Redbreast Sunfish 2
Caught in the Savannah River System in Georgia/South Carolina, fish in this system can also exhibit atypical phenotypic traits for redbreast sunfish (notice the downturned opercular flap)
Redbreast Sunfish 3
A more typical redbreast sunfish to compare to the two specimens above
Shadow Bass (A. ariommus)
Caught in the headwaters of the Coosa River, Alabama
Walleye (S. vitreus)
Caught in Northern Wisconsin, my current study organism. I included it here because I caught this one on a fly rod, which is considered more difficult than catching one with conventional fishing tackle, and the organism that I am currently working with
Blue Catfish (I. furcatus)
Caught in the Potamac River in Washington D.C., these fish are considered invasive in this river system
