I Needed That

One good thing about getting older is you gain experience. I used my lunch break to chase crappie at a local lake. I figured they had to be going shallow to spawn. While I was making my way to the water I saw one other guy releasing a fish he had just caught. "Hey, I know you!" he said. This guy didn't look familiar at all and my blog has been stale for so long I was wondering how this person could possibly know me. Then he told me his name and I realized he is someone I had emailed several times to fish with but things never worked out. I asked if I could fish across the river from him. He acknowledged it was fine and just said "clousers...." I pretty much figured that having already one tied on. A few moments later I had a decent crappie on.

I tried to nonchalantly bring it in but internally I was filled with glee. I hadn't fished in a such a long time and feeling the tug of a fish was like a rekindling of a lost love. We spent the next 20min pulling in quite a few crappie and bluegill. Then like what happens so often the feeding switch was turned off and the fish stopped biting. Out of all the times, places and days to fish, it was kind of funny that we randomly ran into each other. It was like it was meant to be.

Fly Fishing Tournament

If you could count the number of times you fished on one hand in the last year would you enter a fly fishing tournament? Well that's what I just did. Might not have been the best decision but I'm hoping it will give me some motivation to dust off the rods and wet a fly line. Heck, maybe I'll even tie a few flies while I'm at it. The money goes towards a good cause and I like the shop Due South Outfitters that's hosting the tournament. The river where the tournament is being held is one of my all time favorites. It was one of the places I fished most often when I lived in Boone and it will always have a fondness in my heart.

It will be my first tournament experience. I'm looking forward to see how everything goes down and how it's organized. I'm also eager to see how other fishermen attack the water and their results.

I'm sure a lot of fun will be had. What's the worst that can happen? I could have a good day of getting skunked on one of my favorite rivers. Doesn't sound so bad.

Trash That Never Leaves

How often do you think about the trash after it's picked up and hauled away by your local sanitation crew? Many people know trash goes to a landfill and figure it's buried to biodegrade or it's incinerated. What if there was trash that couldn't be destroyed at all? Not only that what if this trash was in your water? Seems like a nightmare scenario right?

GenX is a bi-product of other chemicals that come into contact with water. The chemicals that create this bi-product have been used for over 20yrs to create products that resist water and oil. Recently scientists have found traces of GenX and other chemicals in the Cape Fear River. This river is a drinking supply for many counties in North Carolina. Scientists have found that GenX is not biodegradable. It loves water and remains stables no matter what the temperature.

There are no natural enzymes that can break down this chemical. Long story short. Once it's in your water it stays there forever.

Small amounts have been linked to other chemicals that produce cancer. Water sampled in Wilmington a city near the Cape Fear River have been higher than allowed but nothing that is causing wide spread alarm yet. The source of this problem has been traced back to a DuPont Chemours Plant. The dumping of GenX has been going on for decades, the company last summer decided to stop dumping GenX in June 2017. This bi-product is not regulated so there are no regulations on how much can be dumped where.

What can be done?

The only known way to clean the water from GenX is to purify it through reverse osmosis. You can buy a purifying system for your home but it's not very practical and takes expertise to setup properly and maintain that it's working right.

The sad part is folks this isn't the only place stuff like this happens. You might be getting a chemical dumped where you live that's contaminating the food you eat or the water you drink. Nothing stops the companies from doing it if the contaminant is unregulated. Scary to say the least. I'll try to keep you updated on where this story goes.

Milburnie Dam Removal

Only one dam remains to stop the run of striped bass and American shad to Falls Lake near Raleigh, NC. The previous dam was called Milburnie and it had been controversial for years. The dam was built around 1900 to power a paper mill. The dam has barely been used for decades. It never worked well and over the years it became less serviceable. The dam was a scenic landmark and a decent fishing spot but created several negative environmental impacts as well as safety issues. Many people died trying to swim near the dam. 

 A decision was made to tear the dam down and the deconstruction started last December. The site milburniedam.com is doing historical documentation of the deconstruction. They have drone footage and tons of photos. Watching the progress of the project is very interesting.

A primary problem with the dam was the sediment building behind it. The development around Raleigh has polluted the river and made sandy beaches where there shouldn't be any.

This is a view from behind the dam after it was turned off. you can see the island of sediment that was building up. 

It's strange to not see water coming over the dam.

You rarely could ever get this close to it.

You can see how the bottom of the river should be. Instead of sand it should be rocky like the features in front of the dam.

Hopefully years of the river running fast will redistribute sediment. I think the removal of the dam is a good thing but part of me has a hard time watching it be destroyed. 

Part of it is I appreciate the work it must of took to create this mass to hold back a river. This feature is truly a landmark and I'm sure people have lived a lifetime fishing, picnicking and swimming at the base of it. The next generation will never even know it existed. 

It's amazing how different the view looks every time a feature is removed.

You can see what actually starts to look like a fully connected river in the picture above.

It's really neat to see the progression. The dam is gone but development continues around Raleigh and personally I think that's a greater threat to the river than the dam ever was. It will be interesting to see the effect the dam removal has on wildlife and the fishery. There are native species that reside in this river and nowhere else in the world. I'm hoping the shad and striped bass return in greater numbers and the river heals itself. Only time will tell. 

You can learn more about the history of the dam and view all of the photos shared here plus more at https://milburniedam.com/

Possibly Making A Difference

What I was told which I don't know if it is fact or not is that white bass used to be taken to stock local farm ponds. There was no limit to the harvest because it was assumed it would be a one time thing. A angler would go to an area get a cooler or bucket full stock his pond and come back next year. That practice years later turned into people coming to the river to get their freezers stocked for spring. 

When I first started fly fishing in my area I went to a creek with a friend and hooked my first white bass. I was addicted to this species ever since. Every year before the run I'd tie flies and watch the weather with anticipation. The runs fluctuated with weather patterns but I noticed year after year more people seemed to be fishing the run and it was taking its toll. I tried telling whoever I could about this problem but I always wondered if my complaints fell on deaf ears.

Since there was no limit fishermen would take males and females no matter the size. In the last 5 years or so the run has tapered off quite a bit. No one wanted to admit that it's people causing the decline. Most blamed rain events or other environmental changes. We fish in a different world now. People used to use word of mouth to tell when the run was on and now all it takes is a cell phone call. The internet allows anglers to share reports to huge audiences and it gives others the resources to pin point where the fish are. It's amazing the fish have a chance to spawn at all.

I have a friend who works as a fisheries biologist and he would listen to my rants about white bass. He worked with the Wildlife Commission to do a study on white bass populations in the area. What they found was what I had feared. The over harvesting of white bass during spawn was eradicating the species. The consensus was that if things don't change there could possible be no more white bass in the area. A proposal was pushed and although I think it went a little too far the other direction I think it's for the best. Instead of a no limit any size regulation the limit now is 10 white bass that are 14" or larger.

The interesting thing about this will be enforcement, the 14 inch fish have been appearing less and less. There are going to be quite a few unhappy people this spring and such a change to a popular fishing event will not be met with enthusiasm. In the end though I feel it's a win for white bass and even though my rants and public outcry for changes may have had nothing to do with the change I like to think I had some small part in it. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

I've been asked to help with surveying the run this spring with the Wildlife Commision. I'll be sure to share the report of the experience.

Stay Tuned....

Good For Entertainment, Bad for Fly Fishing

Pic taken from #CheekyFlyfishing

If you follow any popular fly fishermen on Instagram you'll see epic catch after epic catch. We live in a world where awesome moments can be shown at the click of a button. If you compared your fishing prowess to what you see on social media you probably feel pretty inept. What you never see on those popular accounts are the skunk, line caught in trees, losing fly-boxes or net, falling in water days. You only see the awesome and the real fishing days are swept under the rug because of course those don't get any "likes." I often wonder how this pressure of being "liked" can prevent newbies from ever trying fly fishing. It has to come down to are you fishing to impress others or make yourself happy?

I'm being hypocritical if I say I've never gotten caught up in the social media tornado. It can really gain momentum if you work at it. That's the key to is working at it. That's why I respect the people who put in the time and effort to make what they post entertaining and attractive. I just wish there was more about the not so awesome times as well as the awesome ones. I think they'd gain more of an audience that way. It's this way of thinking that probably has me still having to work a day job instead living off the subscribes and likes.

Listen But Don't Listen

New year and pretty much the same outlook on life. Try to survive, provide for the family, and find a little happiness sprinkled in here and there. Fishing took a real hit last year and I can't really say why exactly. What I do know is that I didn't go fishing for the wrong reasons. The excuses are the usual kids sports, family obligations, weather, vacations, not wanting to drive far. In the past none of these would have deterred me from fishing and it shouldn't have now. The other thing was hearing bad fishing reports from places I was thinking about hitting. I realized that was the part I regret the most. Fishing is such a fickle thing that the reports almost don't matter. The next day could be the exact opposite of the day before and results could be from how a person is fishing or their location. There's so many factors involved. My advice is to listen but don't listen. If someone tells you a fishing report of a place you're thinking about trying don't take it at face value. Go verify for yourself. You might regret the decision or it might be the best fishing day of your life. If you've fished long enough you know that's basically how it goes.

My tying last year was pathetic. I tied maybe five flies. My attitude about the importance of what fly fishing means to me really was re-prioritized. At one point I even tried to sell all of my fly tying materials. It was my video on the Eno that really brought things back into perspective. I could tell in the video I really was genuinely happy and I need more of that in my life.