Gone Fishin'

[Pagurus]

I had the great pleasure this past weekend of searching for Jurassic fish in Connecticut with Tim (fossildude19).

I forgot to bring any bait but Tim easily found some nice juicy nightcrawlers in the hole where the fish were hiding.

He looked so happy when they fell on his head.

While it was a beautiful day and I was happy just being outdoors digging in the dirt, in the back of my mind I had some hope of catching that perfect elusive Redfieldius or maybe a hungry Semionotus. Maybe I'd get at least a bite from a wary Ptycholepis. They all frequented these waters about 200 million years ago and there must still be a few around here somewhere.

More than a year ago, Tim had given me a fish (or at least a good part of one) and I ate for a day. Today Tim was going to teach me to fish so I could eat for a lifetime.

When I saw the fishing hole, I knew this wasn't going to be easy.

I've caught hundreds, probably thousands, of fish in my lifetime. I had never found one hiding in solid rock before. I've found them behind rocks, between rocks, sometimes under a rock, but never inside a black slab of shale. This was new to me.

Tim was an expert guide; he's been fishing here for many a year. He showed me how he split the shale. He showed me what to look for. He even found the shale for me to split, at the beginning. Then he showed me how to use a shovel. No, I didn't need any help with that.

I dug a hole, tossed a lot of dirt, wrestled with some nice big chunks of limestone and finally found a layer of shale Eureka. Now all I had to do was split it. Well, there weren't any whole fish. One can always hope. I found a few individual fish scales at first, and I was excited. 200-million-year-old fish scales. They were worthwhile finds.

A little later I found larger bits of fish,

and even a piece of a tail.

That was more than enough to make it a fun, rewarding day.

And Tim, who is a terrifically generous guy, gave me many of the finds he made that day but even more generously gave me a couple of the already-prepped spotted trilobites he found in New York, along with some great-looking brachiopods and other goodies. It was a great day. Thanks again, Tim, for sharing your site with me for the day. I know how much research and effort you've put in to it.

Mike

[rejd]

Nice report and it sounds like you had a great time. Thanks for sharing.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

tim's good people. i hung out with him this winter, right after 30 inches of snow fell on hartford. we didn't get to go fossiling, but it didn't matter...he's just that cool.

[FossilDudeCO]

nice finds! no whole fish, but going fishing is always an adventure in itself!

[Ramo]

I spent a day with Tim fishing a few years ago, possibly in that same hole. His hunts are hard work, and I'll second Dan's opinion "Tim's good people"

Ramo

[Fossildude19]

Yeah, those night crawlers are pretty active during the daytime, despite their name.

Thank you Dan, Ramo, and Mike for the nice comments.

Mike and I had a good time, even though the fish were elusive. ( And yes, Ramo, ... this was the very same hole, only a bit enlarged from when you were here last. )

Great weather, and great company.

Mike was eager to learn the harsh realities of hunting in the Newark Supergroup Shuttle Meadow Formation. And learn them he did.

He kept splitting these nice pieces of shale, (many of which he wrestled from the deep hole he dug to get at them!) with big hopes of finding a well preserved, complete fish.

And like me, he found that it doesn't work out that way. The Shuttle Meadow is a hard taskmistress, and not very generous, but we managed to wrest a few pieces from her grasp.

We probably split about 40- 60 pounds of shale between us - and we only came up with a few things. Some plant bits, and some fish bits, along with a few Diplurus coprolites.

But we enjoyed the day, the banter, and the effort expended.

Mike was quick to pick up the basics, and after splitting some shale that I had dug, he insisted that he should do some digging as well - so I directed him to a spot, and he went at it with great gusto.

After about 5 hours, we were both pretty nackered, so we called it a day. It was very good day in the field, and Mike went home with a few goodies, at least. Better than being skunked, for sure.

Mike is a great guy, and came bearing a gift of his own for me, a nice container filled with Aurora spoil pile material. ( Thanks Mike! )

We'll have to do it again sometime.

Regards,

Edited August 13, 2013 by Fossildude19

[Pagurus]

Thank you all for looking. Thanks, Tim, for all your comments. I've spent a little time cleaning fish today, and I'll have to post a few more photos. I did uncover a little more fish, but not much. One specimen had quite a few bones, I think, and another had some interesting fin rays. I don't need much of an excuse to break out that digital microscope I picked up for free at our town landfill, so I took a few photos:

This scope, if anyone's interested, is a Digital Blue QX5. It's sold as a kid's toy, but if your expectations aren't too high it works pretty well at 10x and 60x. There's also a 200x objective but I haven't had much success with it. I think it retails for more than $150 but I've seen used ones on ebay for about 30 - 40 dollars. The software supports Windows XP and that's how I use it. There are updated drivers available online for Windows 7 but I haven't been able to get them to work on my laptop yet. Anyway, it's been fun.

[masonboro37]

Awesome report and pic's. Thank you for sharing! Looks like a great time and finding fish fossils is one of my next adventures sometime! You gave me the drive to go and do that.

[Fossildude19]

Hey Mike,

Your USB microscope works pretty well! Not bad for a freebie.

You can really see those Ptycholepis scales so clearly, with the notches that keep them interlocked.

Pretty cool.

Thanks for posting those.

Regards,

[xonenine]

a tail well told, glad you had fun, thanks for taking the time to document your trip

[Jeffrey P]

Sounds like pretty tough work digging and splitting, but the pieces with scales appear to have made it all worthwhile, that and the company. Only a handful of places in the Northeast where the fishing's that good. Best of luck.

[JimB88]

Ill third the 'Tim is good people' sentiment.

Wow, I didnt realize how hard it is for you to get to that shale Tim! Please be careful, that overhang doesnt look to safe!

[Fossildude19]

Ill third the 'Tim is good people' sentiment.

Wow, I didnt realize how hard it is for you to get to that shale Tim! Please be careful, that overhang doesnt look to safe!

Hey Jim,

I am very mindful of cave-ins.

I've had a few close calls, but have learned from years of experience, just how far I can push it before more overburden needs to be removed, to ensure safety.

I am hoping to get back out to this site soon.

Regards,

[erose]

All that Newark Super Group stuff is so cool! Even more special because the exposures are few and far between.

[Pagurus]

I've been to three Newark Supergroup, Shuttle Meadow Formation sites so far, all thanks to Tim. I need to get out and explore a few others too. They've all been terrific, but finding 200-million-year-old fish has been the high point so far. It's easy to get hooked. Oh, and thanks, Tim, for correcting me on those Ptycolepis scales.

[Zapins]

Great finds! I've looked at a few places in CT and never found anything, congrats on the finds! One day I'll find a fish too