Sent to me by email from Fox, published here with his permission:

Deanna,
I read your article about the book on the 100 best trout streams. You nailed the TU to the mast with your comment "follow the money". At present the White River is so full of algae that the bait fishermen can't fish on high-water. An algae which the Arkansas Game and Fish (AG&F) and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) are calling "Diddymo " is blooming so heavily that when the water comes on after the first two miles of the river the debris is so thick that flies and bait are fouled in seconds. In water that is over two feet deep you can not see the bottom. The bug populations are suffering immensely from the algae. The majority of the scuds are about a size 36 and smaller. They cling to the algae and are swept away by the increased current when a generator is turned on. Sowbugs are history in both the White and the North Fork. If we dug up the rivers we might get a double handful. Last fall, the gilled snails (right opening snails) died by the millions in the White. There is still a small population about 30 miles downstream from Bull Shoals Dam. They will probably die off this year. Planarian are the most plentiful bugs in both river at present. Planarian are an "under the rock" bug so basically the fish are starving for something to eat. Leeches and Oligochaete worms are increasing in number but this is a bad omen. Their increased presents only testifies to the progressively gross pollution of the rivers. I expect the Oxygen Kills in both the lakes and the rivers will be in record amounts this year. The turbidity of the lakes are so bad that visibility is less than 35 feet and rising with the hot, full sunlit days. Still with all of this happening, the local fishermen show little concern. The general public is not the least bit interested. The trout fishing industry brings in $163 million a year to this area. This money circles through the local economy three to five times. It, along with social security, are the mainstays of the area commerce. If the trout fishing is lost, so is the Mountain Home area.

Because I came out against Minimum Flow and tried to enlighten fishermen about the pollution problem, the TU, FFF, Friends of the Rivers, and other groups, have black-balled me. I guess they think I created this problem. One last point, none of our premier flyfishers have even addressed the pollution problem. The Whitlocks, Davy Wotton, John Wilson, Duane Hada and others have yet to comment on it. It is too bad the fly fishing public is not aware of how "chicken-****" these individuals are.


Fishin' What They See,

Fox Statler, "Mr. Sowbug"