Crippled Caddis

The scent of 'the fix' has permeated the whole thing from the very 'get-go'. The foot-dragging by the agencies charged with the fiduciary responsibilities to the people of the state of Arkansas should have been a red flag from the very beginning. It is a signal that 'business as usual' is being pursued at the highest levels. At risk of being recognized as the old cynic that I am (I prefer to think of myself as a realist ;-) ) I figured up front that we would be the ones assuming the bent over posture. When Boobe appointed the Tyson bagman as his chief-of-staff the assumption seemed assured and when the ADEQ funds were released by the office of the Governor only the final scope and details of the public screwing remained in question in my own mind. Never forget that attorneys are pragmatists first and concerned citizens second. I expect the ones working for ADEQ & TU to do all that they can within the political reality of the situation, but given the on-going reality of Arkansas' political system I don't expect much. Those who work for state agencies will follow the orders of the political bosses and the TU attorney will try to salvage something from the dregs since that will be his sole option. Perhaps a token wrist-slap for Benny as a public sop, but nothing of substance. Once more 'justice' will be gang-raped by the system.

< Choosing a rod is really about what feels good in your hand not reputation or brand marketing.------Look for the one which is a "no-think" rod. By that I mean the one you can cast without having to concentrate on your casting technique, instead you can think about your fishing.> Bottom line! Good article Steve. CC

If you like the action of your old fiberglass rods then I would suggest taking a look at the E-2 series from Dorber over in Flippin. The E-2 series are a lower modulus, more durable graphite designed to have more 'traditional' actions than the latest Super Whiz-bang wallet vacuums yet faster than your glass rods. But they have faster rods as well if that's the medicine you seek. They are 'Made in the USA' all the way if that counts in your book. The parent company has been in business for many years as a contractor who were the actual rod builder for a lot of famous names before virtually everyone started outsourcing from the Pacific Rim. They design the tapers, roll the blank and build the rod in-house. And you're always welcome to drop in and test cast rods until you find one that fits your fancy. Since there is no jobber, wholesaler or retail outlet between maker and customer they're very affordable as well. What's not to like? Disclaimer: I am not associated with dorber.com in any fashion except as a customer who likes both their products and their business methods. CC

Terry wrote: <Yes, but the money is earmarked to clean up the development site an not the river itself.> And let's not forget. state officials haven't yet agreed on whose son-in-law is going to get the clean-up contract. Negotiations on that point alone may require many more months.''o(

At risk of being accused of being harsh---you still don't 'get it'! It makes absolutely no difference what other owners, reviewers or Grand Poobas think about either rod! The ONLY opinion that counts is YOURS!!!!!! If YOU like the rod it makes zippedee-do-da difference how many Gurus badmouth it. If you DON'T like it the opinions to the contrary by the rest of the civilized world don't amount to a hill of beans! The ONLY opinion worthy of note is your own. Get out there and TRY the RODS! That is the ONLY way you'll discover the answer YOU need.

Watcher, Check your PM inbox on the OAF site. CC

Watcher, No info on Walleye as I don't fish for them or know anyone who does, but I'm willing to learn if you're teaching.;o) River is still high and milky. The Warm Fork is almost cleared up from the last rain event but the spring itself is still discolored. It should start clearing too in a few more days barring further precip. Frankly I think the river is at a perfect stage for fishing right now. HTH, CC

You have my eddress---verify just before leaving home & I'll meet you. Griff & I persecuted the fish today. He was in charge of the trout and I specialized in Chubs, Shiners, Suckers, Sunfish and Pickeral. But I did catch my personal best Shiner today.

<trouble is, most of the ones doing that damage are too small to keep so panfishing won't do much to control them> Those are the ones that make a great shrimp substitute. Try this: Peel a fillet off each side of the little'uns. Cook them quickly in boiling salt water. You want them still firm---not falling apart. It doesn't take long at all for them to be cooked thru. Dip them in shrimp cocktail sauce just as you would shrimp. Tasty!

Bill, We've suffered a communication breakdown. Altho I find it all interesting like yourself I wasn't the one who enquired concerning the Black. The post I was referring to I'll repost below this line. <Question for Bill. you wrote: <the first walleye he can ever remember was well after the long boats were gone> Can you tell me what you mean by 'long boats'? I've been researching a pic of a long, very narrow, pointed at each end boat taken on Jacks Fork @ the turn of the 19th/20th century that I have came to think of as an 'Ozark plank-built' version of a dugout canoe. Could they be one and the same?>

How 'bout a few weeks after Sowbug to give everyone a little more time to get their thoughts together and get over Sowbug? As far as a name I think it would be a good thing to honor Chuck davidson. CC

Fox wrote: <I caught a walleye out of the South Fork of the Spring River about 34 years ago where I live now. I live one mile downstream from Salem, Arkansas, this is approximately 70 river mile from the confluence with the Spring River at Hardy.> Bill Russell (used to be the barber in Hardy--may still be) told me @ 15 years ago that he had caught Walleye in the river at the foot of the old bluff I live on at Saddle---said he'd caught them all the way to Salem. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill Babler wrote: <Do you think there were just so few and scattered out, is the reason that no one caught them on a pole and line, and only when they would concentrate and run up the creeks were the only time people could find them?> That would make sense to me, especially in light of their spawning regimen which prevents a hogh percentage of hatching success. Reminding me once more of the rumination concerning the origin of the name of the Jacks Fork I posted above. Bill---please see the question I asked in post #6 on your original White River Walleye thread. I'd really like to hear your answer to it very much. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Tightline wrote: A LOT of good stuff! Thanks Tightline. I would have really enjoyed knowing your Dad. Reminds me of the old 'country preachers' that fished a lot with my own Dad. They literally 'don'y make 'em like that any more'. Please keep the stories coming as you recall them! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Danimal wrote: <In spite of what's written in Fishes Of Arkansas, many old timers (including my late grandfather) claim to have caught walleye from the Ouachita River and several of its tributaries back before lakes Ouachita, Hamilton, and Catherine were impounded, which was long before any were stocked down there. I guess they could've been pullin' my leg, but I can't think of any reason why they would.> I'm inclined to believe them. Walleye seem rather adventuresome and as Fox noted they are native to the Mississippi system. If they got as far as the mouth of the Ouachita, wherever it debouches, I think the waters would have proven attractive to them. In much of it's length it has the sort of waters they prefer and I feel certain that before man removed the forests from it's drainage (predominantly post WW2 with the advent of the chainsaw and bulldozer) it would have ran cold and clear. I will reserve a single caveat----IIRC the Pickeral too was once referred to as a Jack. Were Pickeral native there?

Hmmmm----so was Jacks Fork so named for someone named Jack or for the Jack Salmon that inhabited it?

[quote name='Leonard' Yes the crackleback is what I was using lastnight.. Er---like I said---a Wooly fished dry.

Wooly----fished dry.

RR, Dano & I fished it this afternoon. The spring itself is still putting out milky water but the Warm Fork is starting to clear. So it's milky but fishable now. The big spawners are mostly returning 'home' and are no longer concentrated but there's still plenty of 'fun' fish in the 12"-14" range and better. I specialized in losing the better fish that struck today in one way or the other including bad knots, broken off on strike and just longline release. I 'mighta' caught a 15" fish today for my best one but rolled & lost fish estimated at 16" & 18". Dano had a 'good'un' on for quite a while that we never even got to see. It finally wrapped him around a rock and his tippet parted near the leader. Later we both witnessed a really nice fish, maybe in the 3-4# range porpoise over his leader on a drift.

Question for Bill. you wrote: <the first walleye he can ever remember was well after the long boats were gone> Can you tell me what you mean by 'long boats'? I've been researching a pic of a long, very narrow, pointed at each end boat taken on Jacks Fork @ the turn of the 19th/20th century that I have came to think of as an 'Ozark plank-built' version of a dugout canoe. Could they be one and the same? CC

Fox, Pg. 464, 'Fishes of Arkansas', Distribution: Considered native to Arkansas ONLY in the White river drainage in the Northern part of the state..... Habitat and Biology: Much of the ORIGINAL habitat of this species was destroyed by the impoundment of the upper White River lakes.... (Caps added for emphasis) So obviously the species is native to the state. The remaining question in my mind is: How are they defining the limits of "the White River drainage"? My understanding is that it includes all tributaries and that would have to include the Black River and it's tributaries. No?

Very much my pleasure Sirrah! Thank YOU for providing this forum. It is quickly growing and eclipsing others that were the 'big kids on the block'. CC

Muuuuuuch better!

John, Mark recieved a promotion that has him working at headquarters in L. Rock. I have a HUGE amount of respect for Mark. He was the local biologist @ Mt. Home/Norfork before the state even had a 'trout biologist'. He worked closely with Chuck Davidson in his efforts through the North Arkansas Flyfishing club in the original experimental stocking of both Brookies and Cutthroat eggs in Vibert boxes. All the 'experts' told Chuck it would never work, Whitlock even weighing in on the side of the naysayers in the case of the Cutthroat. AFAIR the Brookies were stocked in Otter Creek by the McClellens parking area in the pasture. (Chuck & Bess were year-round residents in a mobile home located several doors downstream of the bathhouse) At the moment I don't recall for certain where Chuck stocked the Cutt eggs, but they too may have went into Otter Creek. It would have certainly been more convenient for Chuck to take a short stroll, perhaps on the way to the Ace-in-the-hole waters to pick up a couple of fish for dinner, and make his regular inspection of the eggs in order to remove those that had proven to not be viable. The bad eggs must be removed on the 'one rotten apple in a barrel' principal lest they transmit bacteria to the good eggs. That both Brookies and Cutts proved viable, even if not wildly successful, in the waters of the state are the result of the forward thinking efforts of Chuck Davidson, the NAFF club and Mark Oliver for facilitating the experimental work. It is thought that the current state record Brookie first saw the light of day through the bars of the Vibert box of the original experimental stocking. In Dec. of '86 (IIRC) Mark provided an electro-fishing crew and equipment on Dry Run creek to allow us (NAFF) to strip Browns for experimental propagation in the Vibert boxes in the creek upstream of the hatchery effluent. Somewhere around here I have @ 5 min. of videotape of the effort. Unfortunately high floodwaters that year washed the boxes out of the gravels and both boxes and eggs were lost. That was the 'Last Hurrah' for individuals and groups in stocking matters for the following year Arkansas hired a 'trout biologist' whose first decree was that only the state could stock fish in any manner, including eggs. A great example of 'union mentality' at work. It is one of my pet peeves that the state is only too ready to claim credit for species other than Rainbows. Historically the state reared and stocked Rainbows ONLY with the exception of a bit of random experimental work that was not deemed successful. The wild success of Brown trout in the 'Lil Red is another example of the state being obstructive rather than helpful. The Browns too were stocked originally as eggs in Vibert boxes by the Memphis & Little Rock flyfishing clubs along with a few passionate individuals. They were stocked guerella fashion after the state denied permission. As I heard the story the deed was done at night at Cow Shoals but I can't guarantee the accuracy of the account as I was not involved. But 'the rest is history'. Failure to give credit where due in the case of Browns, Cutts and Brookies is a disservice to a lot of private individuals and groups who were passionate enough about their sport to put their money where their hearts lay. While the state did indeed take up where the private sector left off is a credit to the state but refusal to give credit where due is a sin of omission. So on that great day when you register a Grand Slam give thanks where due. Much of the above account is hearsay and the rest is predicated on my oft faulty memory so you'd be best served to take it all with a bit of salt. CC PS: Sorry for the length--I get carreid away on some subjects.

Watcher----------shhhhhhhhh!;o)

Interesting point Taxidermist. I feel if we ever do learn what ails our waters that we will find that petro-chemical fertilizers are a far more responsible factor than poultry wastes. Poultry wastes are, after all, a natural product while petro-chemicals are a total question mark. However recent research indicates that a newly pinpointed contaminant may have more far-reaching effects. In an article <http://berkshireflyfishing.blogspot.com/2007/01/edc-pollution-in-idaho-waters.html> found on Berkshire Fly Fisher's News Service it is said: <EDCs (endocrine disruptor compounds) are found in herbicides and pesticides, plastics, pharmaceuticals, residues from contraceptives and hormone replacements, cleansers, human waste and pollution from feedlots.> <Now, scientists have evidence that some of these EDCs, called xenoestrogens, might cause conditions such as testicular cancer, urinary tract birth defects, low sperm counts and the premature onset of menses in females.> <"The dirty little secret in all this is that almost 90 percent of all pharmaceuticals manufactured in this country are made for agricultural use, and they're disposed of inside a watershed," Finch says.> <Jack Williams, a senior scientist for Trout Unlimited, says in an e-mail that his organization has been "asking EPA about what they are doing with endocrine disrupting chemicals, but can't get a reply from them."> <Aquatic biologists noticed that wild fish and frogs evidenced significantly increased rates of sex reversal, gonadal cysts and other reproductive tract tumors, dead tissue and decreased fertility.> It also hints that EDCs may be responsible for decreased fertility and erectile disfuntion in human males. That would certainly explain the unadmitted epidemic that is indicated by the explosion of 'Male Enhancement" drug advertising everywhere you turn. But read the entire article. And have a tranquilizer handy. CC