Upcoming Hellbender/Mudpuppy trip.

Its an exciting time for me right now as far as my intrest in Caudata is concerned. Although I had a trip planned for the mountains next month some things have come up and the date has been moved up to next weekend. I have chose my locale carefully to find a spot where Hellbenders and Mudpuppys are know to be.I have found that place in a beautiful secluded mountain setting.My plans are to search high and low to observe these rare creatures although I want to be extremly careful not to disturb any nesting sites. I will refrain from turning rocks. I know little about either species(other than what I have learned on the net)but I am highly facinated with them. I have a few questions for some of the people with more experience. To find Mudpuppys now with the weather like it is,should I be looking in the shallows or deep portions of the Rivers,Lakes,or Streams? Can Mudpuppys be caught in a minnow/Crawfish trap without many problems?The traps I am refering to are the ones that are round and have a cone shaped entrance that creatures rarly find there way back out of.( I usually build these myself out of plastic cage.Its a very sucessful way to catch Crawfish) What should I use for bait?And would these traps attract Hellbenders, as I do not want to trap one of these. I actually have a 55gal aquarium setup for a Mudpuppy but I am unsure if it is even legal for me to collect from the wild. I am going to Tennessee on this trip and even though I have looked at many websites I cant find if it is against the law to collect wildlife from there. I have found that Mudpuppys are not threaten or protected in any way. I am also worried about legal concerns with this species being protected in my state.I would not have proof that the animal was not collected in Georgia. As far as morality with taking an animal from the wild goes, I dont feel like me taking one specimen from a healthy population is going to hurt anything and I know I can take care of it. I MUST have this species but I will only do it legally so if someone could give me some insight on the laws I have to obide by then please do so. Right now the only way I see to get one legaly is from Wards and for many reasons I do not want to have to buy from them again. As far as Hellbenders go,to me that is the holy grail of the salamander world and if I find them I will be thrilled beyond comprehension but I would NEVER think of taking them from the wild. I have a bad feeling about the future of this species and I hope that the Southern states will tighten up there laws protecting these creatures. I am glad people like Ed are out there doing surveys because I feel like this is long overdue and absolutly nesecary for the survival of these great amphibians. If I dont find either of these species I will be bummed but I plan on doing some fishing and some much needed RandR. In addition to searching for aquatic species I am also going to look for land dwellers and plan on photographing all of my finds.Prepare for a flood of pics when I get home. If anyone can give me some advise for finding these creatures or just have suggestions on things to do or try please let me know. This whole 3day trip is planned around hunting Caudata so I want to make the best of it.I will be going alone so I wont have any restrictions . I leave early Thursday morning and will be back Sunday so I will update then. PS sorry for my poor spelling,this took me so long to type and I am not about to go back through and correct everything.

I think everything or nearly everything is protected in TN. You might want to check into it more.... And if Necturus is protected in GA, you won't be able to bring one back with you no matter where it came from. GA won't give you a permit to keep one even if it was legally collected in another state.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news........

I guess I am going to have to leave any pups there if I find them but thats alright. I also like the Amphiumas and Sirens so I may go that route.I am just excited about the hunt mainly. I am on my way out right now so I will post my finds (hopefully)when I get back.

Sean, have you checked this link out already?:

http://georgiawildlife.dnr.state.ga.us/content/displaycontent.asp?txtDocument=6&txtPage=2

It says, "If there is any doubt about the legality of possessing any species, contact the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Special Permit Unit."

You'll see that the hellbender is listed as a species native to Georgia that may not be held as a pet "regardless of its origin or morphology." While the mudpuppy is not listed there, it is categorized elsewhere as "Critically Imperiled" in the state.
(see: http://georgiawildlife.dnr.state.ga.us/content/specialconcernanimals.asp)

As for Tennesse, the state's Wildlife Resources Agency regulations state that:

"No wildlife may be taken from the wild in Tennessee except as provided for by statute, proclamation, and/or rule."
(see: http://www.state.tn.us/sos/rules/1660/1660-01/1660-01-18.pdf(

But beyond that, I have no idea. Give 'em a call

While you're at it, check out this site on the salamanders of Tennessee:

http://tennessee.gov/twra/salamanders.htm

Hope that helps

Thanks Erik and Tim. I know what to do now regarding laws. Many members know what happened to me in Tennessee now. I am sick of typing it so to make a long story short...food poisoning and car accident. No pics and hardly anything intresting to report. Sorry guys,I wanted to come back and share a wonderful experience with everyone but it just was not the case. Mark Reid has posted his finds in the Gallery section and there is a couple good shots of Necturus maculosus in there. Those guys did what I was trying to do so at least someone brought something to the table. now I can see what I may find when I go back next month!

Do give 'er another shot

Last year, I had a visitor from Europe who I took to the mountains to see sals. We arrived late, lost our way, and found no salamanders. Too make matters worse, I scraped the rental car on a roadside rail on the way back and had to fork over $200 to the agency.

Better luck next time!