Species: Klamath Marbled Sculpin (Cottus klamathensis)
Location: Klamath Falls, OR
Date: March 10, 2018
My entire life, I’d known sculpins existed in the Klamath Basin. I’d seen them in the stomachs of the trout I’d occasionally kept, dead along the shoreline, and darting in and out of the shadows when I’d return from a last-light wade-fishing trip in the Link or Williamson Rivers.
But save for the Link, Klamath Basin rivers are all closed to use of bait (including artificials), so tsculpins never seemed feasible. Then, I discovered microfishing and a handful of viable microfishing spots nearby.
Suddenly, three new species of sculpin (a fourth was just recently described) were available to me.
***
I’d already counted Slender Sculpin caught by hand in my lifelist because “Hand” is a legal harvest method for them in Oregon. Up until March 2018, it was the only fish on my Lifelist not caught with a hook.
On that first night microfishing, I caught four of them. I’ve since caught dozens, as they’re both the most common and most readily-feeding sculpins in the area.
What I did not expect, however, was the Klamath Marbled Sculpin (previously just called Marbled Sculpin until a re-description of a markedly different population of fish found in and downstream of Lake Ewauna).
The comparatively massive sculpins had darted in and out of my vision before, but unlike the Slenders, they were always light-sensitive and more skittish than a nerd at his first party.
This fish was about five or six inches long and very fat.
I knew from the crude ID guide I’d had provided to me by local USFWS Biologist, Nolan Banish, that it was a Marbled Sculpin because of its smooth skin and
The Marbled complex (Klamath and Siskiyou Marbled Sculpin) were recently separated, but they are smooth, fat, and have joined dorsal fins with a dark spot at the rear of the first one.
The much more common Slenders have two distinct and separated dorsals. Klamath Lakes have joined dorsals but rough skin.
To make it clearer, I’ve made this handy chart:
| Know Your Upper Klamath Basin Sculpins | |||||
| Skin | Dorsal Fins | Dorsal Spot | Body Type | Mouth | |
| Klamath Lake Sculpin | Rough | Joined | No | Normal | Upward-Facing |
| Klamath Marbled Sculpin | Smooth | Joined | Yes | Thick | Downward-Facing |
| Slender Sculpin | Smooth | Separated | No | Normal | Downward-Facing |
I don’t normally post pics of fish out of chronological order, but it may help here.
Hope that helps. In the slightly paraphrased words of Ben Cantrell, “If I can get even one more species represented with a picture or description online, I’m happy.”
#SpeciesQuest // #CaughtOvgard
Read the next entry in #SpeciesQuest here: Species #124 — Speckled Dace.
The potential within all things is a mystery that fascinates me endlessly. A tiny seed already contains within it the entire blueprint of a towering tree, waiting for the right moment to emerge. Does the seed know what it will become? Do we? Or are we all simply waiting for the right conditions to awaken into what we have always been destined to be?
The essence of existence is like smoke, always shifting, always changing, yet somehow always present. It moves with the wind of thought, expanding and contracting, never quite settling but never truly disappearing. Perhaps to exist is simply to flow, to let oneself be carried by the great current of being without resistance.
Greetings! Very helpful advice on this article! It is the little changes that make the biggest changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!
cben10
8ihuao
The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, but I actually thought youd have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could fix if you werent too busy looking for attention.
1ibwh8