collecting amphipods

[Paul B]

This week my wife and I went to the east end of Long Island, Montauk. We have cousins and friends out there so we go often, it's only about 80 miles from my home.
I usually collect water, seaweeds and amphipipods
when we go.
This little deserted beach in East Hampton is loaded with amphipods. See that seaweed in the water? That dark stuff is almost all amphipods about 3/8" long. Zillions of them. I could have filled a five gallon pail, without water, just pods.

Here is a close up of the seaweed. I don't think you can see the amphipods here but they were jumping all over the camera and my feet.

We also found this tiny little lobster and sea food restaurant right in front of this abandoned dock. It had 6 tables on the rocks and it is way off the beaten path. We were the only ones there. They make most of their money selling lobsters to restaurants because they could not survive on the 6 tables.
But there is nothing like fresh, right out of the sea seafood, on the sea.
The east end of Long island is a really great place.
The fog was just rolling off the water but it was warm and beautiful

 

[GregW]

Who you trying to kid? That's Aruba, Right?

 

[Hawkeye]

i'd love to see pic of the restaurant with 6 tables! i bet it's the best thing with the locals. When I visited Martha's Vineyard there was this place in menemsha called Larsens. I think they had like 3 picnic tables in the back. Across the street was this fried seafood shack...if you could call it that. It was SOOOO good. place ran out of food towards the end of the day because they only had whatever was the catch of the day.

Dang I was hoping to post a google pic but they don't even have the "little man" icon on that road.

 

[Hawkeye]

by the way - when you go collecting - do you wear gloves? I'm always paranoid of something in the water that might sting me and heaven forbid I find out right then and there i'm allergic.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Phil, having been born on the northern shore of Long Island (Port Jefferson/Stony Brook), I vaguely remember the older folk seining for eels just off the beach. Now this was in the 50’s, and I was a little tyke, so bear with me. I can remember them pulling in the net and there were obvious hazards, such as crabs, and you avoided their claws. When an eel came up, they told little Paulie to grab the eel. So I did. Before I could grab the eel, the eel grabbed me. Its’ bite felt like sandpaper…sort of like a cat’s tongue, twice over. Of course I screamed bloody murder, but eventually realized I wasn’t going to die. They pulled the eel off and I lived happily ever after.

There is no difference from the northern shore of Long Island and the Jersey Shore / Inland Waters….maybe with the exception of that Long Island accent. ;D

 

[Paul B]

by the way - when you go collecting - do you wear gloves? I'm always paranoid of something in the water that might sting me and heaven forbid I find out right then and there i'm allergic.

I have been collecting, swimming and SCUBA diving in that water all my life and have yet to be stung by anything.

When I visited Martha's Vineyard there was this place in menemsha called Larsens.

I am fairly sure I ate there also

Who you trying to kid? That's Aruba, Right?

Nope, been to Aruba, it's a little to the south of Montauk :

i'd love to see pic of the restaurant with 6 tables

 

[The_Codfather]

i'd love to see pic of the restaurant with 6 tables! i bet it's the best thing with the locals. When I visited Martha's Vineyard there was this place in menemsha called Larsens. I think they had like 3 picnic tables in the back. Across the street was this fried seafood shack...if you could call it that. It was SOOOO good. place ran out of food towards the end of the day because they only had whatever was the catch of the day.

Dang I was hoping to post a google pic but they don't even have the "little man" icon on that road.

We have a bar down my way called "7 stools".. I don't think i have to say anymore ;D

 

[Paul B]

Bucket of amphipods.

 

[The_Codfather]

Hey Paul..I might go down to great bay this evening and look for some pods.. Thanks for the idea

 

[The_Codfather]

I know this is a old thread but oh well.... I just went down to the bay to get snail shells( for my pod condos) and try to get some Amphipods with not much luck.. the water is very warm maybe to warm for the mud snails me thinks.. and i pretty much picked up every bit of seaweed floating in the water with not one Amphipod to bee seen.. the snail part is easy but is there any tricks to collecting amphipods?

 

[Paul B]

You don't ned seaweed, you need rocks. You need to lift rocks or better yet pieces of wood from a muddy beach. You should get millions. Or if you have access to a boat ramp or any area that has rocks, take a think rope and unravel a couple of feet of it. Put it in the water so it is on the rocks or on the bottom. In two week it should have over 9,736 amphips per inch on it. If not, go to my boat and collect them all over the place.

 

[The_Codfather]

Thanks Paul.. Yes the part i go to is muddy.. I'll go there tomorrow and try again..Do you use a net to scoop them up?

 

[Tazmaniancowboy]

Sid, as I sit here on my parents dock, you and Paul now have my wheels spinning! What do you think about dropping a piece or two of porous rock(marco comes to mind) in a crab trap and dropping it in for a week or two???

 

[Olivier]

don,
do it and save me some please

 

[The_Codfather]

Sid, as I sit here on my parents dock, you and Paul now have my wheels spinning! What do you think about dropping a piece or two of porous rock(marco comes to mind) in a crab trap and dropping it in for a week or two???

Good idea Don butI wouldn't do it with porous rock due to the fact I know them lagoons and that rock is going to soak up some real nasty stuff like oil from the boats and storm run off..Maybe what Paul said just have some rope hanging.. that way we could just pull up the rope and shake it in a bucket with some tank water or new mixed water.. .. Give me a call tomorrow if you are still down this way.. maybe we can go to the bay beach at the end of the road and try looking where Paul said or just a after thought back to the lagoons.. A 5gl bucket filled with solid rock and some wood.. that way when we pull it out the pods if they full off will be at the bottom of the bucket

don,
do it and save me some please

$20 a 8oz bottle of "Sid's and Don's mystic pods®" and shipping is $35.95.. you know how much work it is to get them? we could do a better deal if you want to do a group buy

 

[Paul B]

A frayed rope is the best. If it stays there a few weeks, it should be full of amphipods. The ropes hanging off my dock are loaded.

 

[The_Codfather]

A frayed rope is the best. If it stays there a few weeks, it should be full of amphipods. The ropes hanging off my dock are loaded.

So the rope has to touch the bottom?

 

[downbeach]

A frayed rope is the best. If it stays there a few weeks, it should be full of amphipods. The ropes hanging off my dock are loaded.

+1

 

[Paul B]

The rope should be up against a wooden pier if possable, they love wood, I guess they eat the products of decomposition and the porous wood offers them excellent low income housing.

 

[The_Codfather]

We did find some at Dons dads bulk head on a rope but the rope had so much crud on it i will be hard to separate it as i don't want the crud in the system.. We also went down to the bay today but nothing was down there not even mud snails