Spring Creek Fish
Click on the photos to see videos of the fish of Spring Creek, many taken in Spring Creek, filmed by Brandon Brown, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
Video Notes:
Stream Diversity: Oklahoma has about 175 different species of fish. Most of these are unknown to the average person even though they are some of Oklahoma’s most unique and interesting residents. 1:57
Watch redspot chubs constructing nests of large mounds and shallow excavated pits using only their mouths. You may have seen these mounds and wondered what they were as you waded in Spring Creek. Careful! You are walking into redspot chub nests. 1:14
Cardinal shiners transform each spring form plain silvery minnows into strikingly handsome red and black striped ones. They often spawn on redspot chub nests. Despite their hardy appearance, they are actually very fragile and delicate. They cannot tolerate poor water quality and absolutely require cool, clean, clear water to survive. 0:43
The male longear sunfish is one of North America’s most colorful fish and tireless parents. They spend almost the entire summer either building a nest or guarding eggs and fry. The male and female swim in tight circles when depositing eggs in the nest.
The flurry of activity near the end of the video is a nest being raided when the male was distracted. Within seconds, every nearby sunfish and chub rushed the nest and consumed nearly every fry. 2:48Stonerollers are grazers and a keystone species in many streams. They spend most of their time scraping algae off the bottom of the stream bed with their hard lower lip, playing a vital role in controlling filamentous algae growth in streams. 0.57
Fish surveys
2004, by the Oklahoma Streams Fisheries Management Program - Spring Creek was sampled by electro-fishing in 2004 to determine fish population trends and make recommendations. 30 pages
2011, by David L. McNeely, Ph.D - A list of fish species known to occur in Spring Creek and its tributaries as of August 2011 or before. 6 pages