Heard the book has been commissioned and is 3/4 done.
Private guy writing it and getting published.
What do you think?
Trout Unlimited did a book a while back.
http://www.amazon.com/Trout-Unlimiteds-Guide-Americas-Streams/dp/156044830X#reader_156044830X
What do you think of these kind of books?
Benefit: the author
Detriment: the fisheries
What was wrong with the old system of locating new waters to fish: get out your topo map, scope out area, inquire locally about access, gain permission from landowners, go fishing?
aa
Some years ago, a waters locator book was written on some of our favorite trout waters, and much stewing and worrying was done over what effect it would have on the fragile waters. In all our trips, we rarely ever run in to people who fish them. Yah, I know! Crazy! All that water, well spread around, not all so easily accessible, though some is… and few people ever fish them. I think many people like to read about them, but actually getting out and fishing them? A dream.
I understand the worry, but there is a good side to broader interest in and use of our trout streams. I live in Iowa. Not usually what you think of as trout country but we have a little piece of the Driftless region on our side of the border. Each year I see access to trout streams lost, streams destroyed by development, and streams poisoned by agricultural runoff. Maybe if we had more people that cared about our trout fishery we could get protect more of our resource.
David
My concerns with a book are varied. The first is that I don’t really care to share my stream and would worry about too much fishing pressure. I carry cans and bottles and junk out of my stretch of the river every time I fish it. I care about the stream and its surroundings. I’m not certain someone who is just visiting would respect the area enough to keep it tidy. I have also spent a great deal of time developing relationships with the landowners (and alot of whiskey bottles as Xmas presents) and would worry that my privileges might be taken away because of someone else being careless. Part of the charm of fishing is finding the nice areas to fish, developing the relationships with landowners and being respectful of the environment. I just don’t see much good (other than boosting tourism dollars) a book can do.
I’m with Betty. Most people that buy those books buy them to plan a single trip and use them to locate streams near where they’ll be at the time. One of the areas I fish has no fewer than three such books that include it, and guess what? Not much crowding except on the very most easily accessible of the streams. If you have to work a little to get there, there’s still plenty of elbow room when you do.
For an angler, a book like this makes it easy to find places to fish.
For a river, a book like this makes it easy for anglers to find it, and turn it into just another crowded spot. The last thing a good trout stream needs is advertising. To me, a special place full of people is no longer special.
I never buy books like this and do not like to see them on the shelves.