I'm so new, I didn't even know I was here...

[FlyAnglerFishKeeper]

Hello fellow fish-heads.

I'm a bit of a contrast I suppose - a fly fisherman who also likes to play fish-keeper. My last aquarium was 20 years ago and I had no idea what I was doing. Despite that, I kept a couple of native fish for almost a year, until we had to move and sell the tank along with lots of other stuff. Moving is expensive, all that jazz.

Anyhoot, I'm here to learn and to help out if I can. I've been around fish since I was just a toddler, although 90% of my "fish time" is catching them, not raising them. Still, maybe someone will someday have a question about a fish native to Georgia. What I'm trying to say is that I'll help where I can, but I'm afraid I'm mostly going to be learning alot.

I'm 42, no kids, one great wife, no other pets due to allergies. Oh, and I pretend to own a fly fishing company in my spare time. LOL

I try not to judge people for being overly emotional about their pets, so I hope you can try not to be too judgmental about my life-long past-time of fishing. I respect resources and believe we're charged with acting with good stewardship practices toward animals of all kinds. That said, I do enjoy the occasional catfish dinner or fried shrimp platter.

So, I guess that's what you should know about me. ? This looks like a great place to hang out.

FAFK

 

[meegosh]

Welcome to AA! Glad you joined us here.

Always glad to see another angler on here.

 

[FlyAnglerFishKeeper]

Thanks for the welcome!

 

[Samzter]

Hi and welcome! Hope you like the site so far!

 

[Wy Renegade]

Welcome aboard! What a wonderful opportunity to combine things you enjoy. Nothing like establishing a native invertebrate tank and trying to hatch out stoneflies or dragonflies to force you to increase your understanding of what is happening in our rivers and streams.

 

[FlyAnglerFishKeeper]

Thank you Samzter - I'm learning tons already.

Wy - I don't know if I'm ready to tackle that - but I would like to have a couple of crawfish now and then. Of course, as you probably know...crawfish are just part of the food chain out in the wild and I'm sure once the gills get big enough they'll probably want to make them a meal.

The tank is only a 20 gallon, so I'm thinking one bass and one bream or two bream is about all it'll hold. Don't want to crowd 'em too much.

I'm relieved to see there are other anglers here. I was worried I'd be treated as an outcast to tell you the truth. I know folks have varied ideas about fishing and hunting and I respect their opinions...but I also like watching a bass or bream slam a popper, too.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Thank you Samzter - I'm learning tons already.

Wy - I don't know if I'm ready to tackle that - but I would like to have a couple of crawfish now and then. Of course, as you probably know...crawfish are just part of the food chain out in the wild and I'm sure once the gills get big enough they'll probably want to make them a meal.

The tank is only a 20 gallon, so I'm thinking one bass and one bream or two bream is about all it'll hold. Don't want to crowd 'em too much.

I'm relieved to see there are other anglers here. I was worried I'd be treated as an outcast to tell you the truth. I know folks have varied ideas about fishing and hunting and I respect their opinions...but I also like watching a bass or bream slam a popper, too.

AA is a pretty tolerant group overall, we do have a few purists around though. If you're thinking large or small mouth in that 20 gallon, I'd avoid it. They will quickly (within a year), if well feed outgrow that tank. The gills will be ok for awhile, but I'd limit it to one or two in that tank as well.

 

[sally pu]

I kept a sunfish in a 29 gal along with a convict and in less than a year (about 8 months)the sunfish outgrew it, might want to stay away from natives unless you can afford a larger tank.

 

[FlyAnglerFishKeeper]

I'll be fly fishing for the gills and bass - they will both be less than 3 inches when I get them. I don't think we'll ever get a larger tank due to space issues, but thanks for the advice. I'll try it once and see how it goes with the little fish. You guys are right - might not be worth it. I may just turn into a crawdad farmer. LOL

 

[Wy Renegade]

I'll be fly fishing for the gills and bass - they will both be less than 3 inches when I get them. I don't think we'll ever get a larger tank due to space issues, but thanks for the advice. I'll try it once and see how it goes with the little fish. You guys are right - might not be worth it. I may just turn into a crawdad farmer. LOL

One of the other things you should check into when doing a native tank is local laws and regs regarding collection, keeping, and releasing of native fish (or any native species for that matter). Several states and even some counties have specific regulations which govern this sort of thing, so it is always good to be informed from the beginning.

 

[Pleky plec]

Hey! Welcome to AA! Hope you have a good experience here on the site! I'm just a 13 year old kid wanting to learn more about fish and aquatic plants! The people on this site are very educated. So I'm sure you'll get lots of information and learn a lot as well.

 

[FlyAnglerFishKeeper]

Right. I'm pretty versed in the local laws regarding anything to do with fishing. Here in GA you may legally catch fish and hold them, but they cannot be released back into the wild - for obvious reasons. We'll find other uses for them should they somehow end up belly up.

There are length limits on bass though, and obviously keeping a 3 inch bass would violate that law. So I'll have to come up with another way to get a bass. Probably.

Hi Pleky. Me too. I've got alot to learn, too.

 

[Alyxx]

Welcome! What part of Georgia are you from? I grew up in the Dalonegah area. Not so sure I spelled that right... But until I was about six I lived on the Ettowah River.

 

[FlyAnglerFishKeeper]

Hi! We're about 20 minutes from Dahlonega and we go there alot. We're closer to Gainesville, but Dahlonega is just such a nice little town that we go there whenever we can. I'm also into gold panning, although we don't do that as much anymore - and of course, there's some good trout fishing within about 45 minutes of there.

 

[Greenphantom]

Hello fellow fish-heads.

I'm a bit of a contrast I suppose - a fly fisherman who also likes to play fish-keeper. My last aquarium was 20 years ago and I had no idea what I was doing. Despite that, I kept a couple of native fish for almost a year, until we had to move and sell the tank along with lots of other stuff. Moving is expensive, all that jazz.

Anyhoot, I'm here to learn and to help out if I can. I've been around fish since I was just a toddler, although 90% of my "fish time" is catching them, not raising them. Still, maybe someone will someday have a question about a fish native to Georgia. What I'm trying to say is that I'll help where I can, but I'm afraid I'm mostly going to be learning alot.

I'm 42, no kids, one great wife, no other pets due to allergies. Oh, and I pretend to own a fly fishing company in my spare time. LOL

I try not to judge people for being overly emotional about their pets, so I hope you can try not to be too judgmental about my life-long past-time of fishing. I respect resources and believe we're charged with acting with good stewardship practices toward animals of all kinds. That said, I do enjoy the occasional catfish dinner or fried shrimp platter.

So, I guess that's what you should know about me. ? This looks like a great place to hang out.

FAFK

I love all fishing I recently had a chance to fish in the ocean caught all kinds of stuff king mackeral purple and white crab of some sort and these pesky catfish but mostly bass fish or fish with TEETH MUSKY PIKE etc. Also welcome to the site

 

[Alyxx]

Hi! We're about 20 minutes from Dahlonega and we go there alot. We're closer to Gainesville, but Dahlonega is just such a nice little town that we go there whenever we can. I'm also into gold panning, although we don't do that as much anymore - and of course, there's some good trout fishing within about 45 minutes of there.

I grew up with a stocked pond on our property out there. Never really fished in the rivers, though. It is a nice little town. I lived there for a while, then we moved to Cumming. I haven't been back in maybe 8 or 9 years, though.