Hellbender

Christy and I helped monitor fish this morning on an upper section of Cartoogechaye Creek here in Franklin. We had monitored further down a few weeks ago. We had many more large fish this time including some really nice brown trout. Usually the largest fish we shock up are Redhorses, but today we had at least as many trout and the largest, far and away, was the really big brown.

The neatest thing we got to see today was what is referred to as a Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis).  These are among the largest salamanders in the world, with some reaching around 30 inches. If you didn't know they are harmless they might scare you to death!

Here is a video from hellbenders.org

Learn more about hellbenders @ hellbenders.org