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Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science ( Forum Locked)
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Topic: stream study with our seine net

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lapazfarm
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Posted: May 25 2007 at 3:58pm \| IP Logged

Well, we finally got around to using the seine net we made! It took us awhile to get the hang of it, but we really got good at it by the end of the day. Though it was exhausting with the swift flowing water in our stream! In the end, we had a great time, and found some really cool stuff.

Since my blog is still down, if anyone wants to see it I made some photobucket slide shows (I had to do two seperate shows to get all 20 of the pictures in).
Here are the links:stream study 1
stream study 2

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Theresa
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Maryan
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Posted: May 25 2007 at 4:39pm \| IP Logged

Soo... cool. Is that a stream nearby? You're got tracks, fish, bugs... they must have loved it! And no wonder you smelled of fish!!

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Maryan
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lapazfarm
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Posted: May 25 2007 at 5:40pm \| IP Logged

Yes. The stream is right in front of our house. It was so much fun. Ds said "this is how I want every day to be!"

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Theresa
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Maryarm5
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Posted: May 25 2007 at 8:52pm \| IP Logged

I enjoyed looking at the pictures of your adventure; the last one says it all with JBug's muddy bottom!

Mary A. in TX

Donna Marie
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Posted: May 25 2007 at 9:04pm \| IP Logged

Looks like you had a blast! I can't wait to show these pics to the kiddoes in the morning!

Thank you so much for sharing, Theresa! You have the greatest adventures!!

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ann@home
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Posted: May 26 2007 at 2:01am \| IP Logged

Oh WOW-COOL! That's what my son said-he thought that was wonderful and, of course, wants to do it too.

My DH had to come see what all the oohing and ahhing was about and he thought it was cool too. Very impressed with your fish knowledge ;)

Wonderful experience for your kids and for us to see.
thanks so much for sharing!

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dani
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Posted: May 26 2007 at 7:25am \| IP Logged

That's great! Are you using any reference materials to identify your catch? Books, the internet?

I want to do something similar with my boys but the only fish I can identify are perch and catfish! *smile*

lapazfarm
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Posted: May 26 2007 at 8:10am \| IP Logged

I took an ichthyology course in grad school and learned most of the local fishes through the lab for that. Any I can't remember or am not sure about I consult a book called "The Fishes of Tennessee" by Etnier and Starnes. It's a fantastic resource, but a real tome of a book at close to 700 pages, so we don't drag it out in the field. We take photos and make notes and ID once we get back in the house any that I can't ID on sight.
I actually am not at all confident about the bigeye shiner id. Shiners are a tough group. I think it is actually a mirror shiner, but I am just too lazy to go back and change it on the slide show.
I do feel confident that the redhorse is a Golden Redhorse, maxostoma erythrurum, which is a much prettier fish than it appeared in the photos. It's sides are an absolutely brilliant golden color.
Where are you located, Dani, and I can recommend a guide for you.
OK, probably more than you wanted to know. I'll shut up now!

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Theresa
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lapazfarm
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Posted: May 26 2007 at 8:31am \| IP Logged

Oh, and one more thing.

As soon as my blog is back up and running (homeschooljournal site is down, hopefully back up within the next day or so), there are directions there for making your own seine net very inexpensively. And it is easy, too. My ds did all the work himself.
That way, anyone who wants to can do it, too. It works in a pond or lake or beach as well.

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Theresa
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MichelleW
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Posted: May 26 2007 at 12:30pm \| IP Logged

Theresa,

I'm in Oregon, can you recommend a guide for me? We have a creek (a tributary of the Nehalem River) that goes through the back of our property. I'd love to do this!

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lapazfarm
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Posted: May 26 2007 at 2:24pm \| IP Logged

HI Michelle!
I highly recommend this book:Inland Fishes of Washington
This is a very thorough reference and includes fishes from the majority of the Pacific Northwest.
If you want something simpler, Peterson's has a Field guide to Fishes of North America North of Mexico that might be easier, but less comprehensive, since it attempts to cover such a vast area.It is available through Amazon.
The Washington book, though more of an investment, is one that you can use now, but will also take you through college level, so will likely serve you better in the end.
There is also an online database called Fishbase,which has a dichotomous key, but it is pretty cumbersome to use.
Hope that helps.

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Theresa
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lapazfarm
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Posted: May 26 2007 at 2:33pm \| IP Logged

Another note:
Please take care when seining in fast-moving water. It is very strenuous and can be difficult for small children. In fact, it took all of Superboy's strength to handle our seine in our swift-moving stream (averaging about 25 ft across in our section and varying from ankle to chest deep). If your children are younger than Superboy (11), I recommend seining in small streams or slow/still water only.
Safety first!

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Theresa
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dani
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Posted: May 27 2007 at 4:57am \| IP Logged

Theresa, we're in Maryland and live on a little cove called Schoolhouse Cove...Cheseapeake Bay. My sister though has a log home in the woods just over an hour's drive away toward Maryland's (small) mountains and has a lovely meandering stream in her backyard. My twins want to take some adventurous friends and do a survival training weekend (they're all Boy Scouts) there and I'm thinking that if we do "this" first they would at least have a working knowledge of what's edible and what's not, plus it would be a great addition to their nature journals. *smile*

lapazfarm
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Posted: May 27 2007 at 7:59am \| IP Logged

Dani, that's a great idea. Your boys sound like a lot of fun!

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Theresa
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Becky Parker
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Posted: May 28 2007 at 6:02am \| IP Logged

Loved the pictures Theresa! We have a river just behind our house and this sounds like something my kids would love to do. Could you describe what a siene net is and how it is used? We have throw nets and all sorts of nets used for fishing, but nothing that looks like the one your son is carrying.

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chicken lady
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Posted: May 28 2007 at 6:33am \| IP Logged

Great pictures Theresa! Makes me want to get out the fishing poles...hmmm maybe we will today!

cvbmom
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Posted: May 28 2007 at 8:20am \| IP Logged

How did you make that really nice seine net? I'd love to make one with/for my dc!

Christine

lapazfarm
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Posted: May 28 2007 at 10:26am \| IP Logged

Ok. A seine net is a long net that is stretched across the water, held vertically in the water by a person on either end. The fish are trapped by gradually moving together upstream (or toward shore)and encircling the fish as they enter the net, then scooped up by turning the net horizontally. Unfortumately I did not get any pics of us using it because, well, I was on the other end of the net!LOL!
Making a seine net is very easy and inexpensive. Superboy made ours in a day for under 20 dollars in materials. I have instructions for making the net here:making a seine net
Let me know if you need further explanation. It really is fun and worth the effort.

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Theresa
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Becky Parker
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Posted: May 29 2007 at 5:23am \| IP Logged

Thanks for the explanation Theresa! This sounds like something we can handle. Like I said, we have a river behind our house but there are points where it gets rather narrow and, due to a dry spring it is quite shallow right now. What a great summer activity this will be!

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cvbmom
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Posted: May 29 2007 at 7:49am \| IP Logged

Thanks for the directions! It doesn't look TOO difficult...I think we'll give it a try

God bless,
Christine

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