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.
Fox want’s to be taken seriously and then he comes up with the last paragraph here. He just lost what little respect I had for him with the comments about the individuals. Then he wonders why he’s “Black-balled.” Seems he’s using his head for one of two things… keeping his ears apart or a place to hang his hat. I also question the decision of FAOL to run the last paragraph. More than just a little disappointing and quite a bit disgusted by it. It certainly seems the paragraph got it’s point across without the name calling. People want to be heard and be respected and then this garbage comes up.
Mike
There is no greater fan of flyfishing than the worm.
Patrick McManus
[This message has been edited by maddog48 (edited 30 June 2005).]
I don’t know Fox from Adam, but his last line is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the source of the problem.
Tyson, and I don’t mean Iron Mike, rules that part of the world.
I remember a vivid and livid discussion on the main board of FAOL about 6 or 7 months ago about the problems in the Ozarks from the commercial chicken factories.
It appears those problem are coming home to roost.
Sorry, do not agree with you Maddog, or you either Silver Mallard. These are noted people who have fished around the world. They are respected. By NOT standing up and telling everyone this is a terrible problem and working to fix it, they become part of the problem. No one wants to rock the boat.
Wouldn’t you expect them to do everything possible to protect their resource? They aren’t. But they will line their pockets with every dime they can wring out of the river.
It’s a shame. There is NO Political Correctness in this situation.
I have a good friend that retired to that river a few years back and he is thinking of selling and moving back to the mountains because of the very issue discussed here. He is a little more reserved in his comments about what others are saying or doing about it. We all stand to face those issues in some of our own waters if tighter controls are not put into place by thos in power to do so. All we can do is voice our opinions and thoughts and write lots of letters to congressmen…
…(or just stop eatin chicken and I don’t see that happening at our house…)
Some of the folks mentioned HAVE INDEED spoken and/or written about the topic. For example, a recent article by Dave Whitlock made mention of the pollution problems and the slowing growth rates of the trout. And one could do as you have done and CHALLENGE these leaders of our “community” to action without resorting to namecalling or cursing. That sort of language belittles the author, not the intended target. But, more importantly, such language can only serve to further ALIENATE such people. It has and will NEVER serve to motivate them to join a cause.
Fishing the Ozarks
[This message has been edited by SilverMallard (edited 30 June 2005).]
It could have been handled very easily. The name calling could have been completely left out with a simple statement acknowledging something questionable was said. I’ve seen it here before. The thread is very important to me and allot of friends of mine because we fish these rivers. The name calling served no purpose at all… other than in my case it gave me a reason to lose what little respect I had for Fox. There’s no doubt he’s intelligent and very well informed on the issue. There’s also very little doubt (in my mind anyway) why Fox gets so little respect.
Mike
There is no greater fan of flyfishing than the worm.
Patrick McManus
[This message has been edited by maddog48 (edited 30 June 2005).]
I thank y’all from the bottom of my heart for helping to shine some light on this subject and for being blunt about it. I’m also grateful to Fox for being so passionate about this issue. There are a bunch of members of FAOL and a whole bunch more who aren’t who are very, very concerned about our rivers and lakes. All the press we can get helps. But a good point has been made here. This is an excellent example of how poor communication skills are a real handicap. The thread has already veered off course based on two sentences at the end of an otherwise good piece of correspondence.
I don’t find any fault with y’all for posting it. I think it’s very noble of you not to edit the parts you don’t agree with or find palatable. That’s why I addressed my disappointment toward the author…Fox, whom I also consider a friend.
Sometimes the only way to get people’s attention is to tell the truth. The truth is the whole region has made a very nice living off the resource. When it’s in trouble, well, does ignore, bury your head in the sand and hope it goes away pretty much say it?
The folks Fox ‘named’ are NOT the only culprits here - TU, FFF, and and all river advocates who have done NOTHING are all guilty. But just maybe some high profile folks being named just might shock them enough to stand up and do the right thing.
There is NO EXCUSE for this situation to have gotten this bad - and NONE for allowing it to continue. And that my friends, is the truth.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=“1” face=“Verdana, Arial”>quote:</font><HR>
It is too bad the fly fishing public is not aware of how “chicken-****” these individuals are.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
You consider that name calling?
My take is NO ONE wants to admit the huge problem and it’s much easier to say Fox is the bad guy because he has spoken up. This is a common tactic, blame the messenger so no one remembers there was a problem.
This is nuts. Do anything else, just don’t address the problem? Well it’s worked for years right?
Not this time. All of you should be mad as hell. You should be beating on your local government, the state government and the legislature…and if the Fed is involved, them too.
No, instead everyone is going to sit there and not do a thing and hope no one sues you.
Guess what, the State of Oklahoma has filed suit. Surprise!
[This message has been edited by LadyFisher (edited 30 June 2005).]
I love to see people get there Irish up regardless as to whether or not they are Irish.
To the rest of you, wake up. Oh, someone used a bad word. I think I will ignore the message. Think about it, what word would you use to describe your home stream being destroyed? I hope most of you have more than gee-willikers in your vocabulary, otherwise we are all up the proverbial crick without a paddle.
Those folks who constantly shovel the chicken **** down our throats make their livings by parsing their words and making sure they don’t offend anyone with their messages.
Stop being pogues, stooges to the non-Irish, and wake up.
Maybe Fox Statler is crying wolf, but I’d much rather hear the cry of wolf than the cry of sorry it’s too late.
Regards,
Tim Murphy
[This message has been edited by Tim Murphy (edited 30 June 2005).]
Joe… read SilverMallards post again. Some of the folks mentioned by Fox actually are involved in what’s going on with the river. FYI JC… I am involved also by donating both time and money. LF… you’re right. There was no actual name calling. It’s more like Ken said. A statement on personalities. Just kind of took me by surprise, especially when I see people’s names there that I know are involved in things like restoration. Nuff said.
Mike
There is no greater fan of flyfishing than the worm.
Patrick McManus
[This message has been edited by maddog48 (edited 11 July 2005).]
Maddog? I really would love to hear what exactly IS being done. I ran an Internet search on White River Restoration Arkansas…the ONLY articles, reports etc were for birds and ducks.
