>...the same is true of our trout fisheries in the
>northern parts of GA, AL, and MS. It's strictly a put-and-take
>fishery. "Anglers" eagerly wait for the hatchery truck to dump a
>load of trout, and they fish out as many as they can before the fish
>disperse. It's very rare to find a native trout in N. Georgia. >It's all
>about pleasing the tax-paying masses. As long as they can >catch hatchery
>trout, all is right with the world.
Is the problem aesthetics, ethics, or just plain ignorance? Let's face it,
probably 90% of the folks trout fishing in the SE don't know that the brown
and rainbow trout they're fishing for are introduced! Half of the folks
can't tell what kind of trout they've got. People that DO only fish for
native brook char (where it is still legal) are dismissed as hypocritical
snobs. Sheesh!
Last year I went up to the tailrace below Lewis Smith Reservoir (which, btw,
flooded one of the highest waterfalls in the SE). This is the only tailrace
trout fishery in Alabama (hey, my flyrod was going through withdrawal and a
guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do!). Believe me, it was ugly enough that
I won't be back.
Why is trout stocking looked on as a form of welfare across much of the
Appalachians? Seriously! I've talked to at least 3 DNR biologists that hold
that opinion! Geez, it would be a heck of a lot less expensive (both
monetarily AND environmentally) to just give everybody a check and tell them
to go to the market! Hmmm, except we've overfished the great cod fisheries
of the Georges Bank, we've raped and pillaged NW salmon stocks, we've
wrecked groundfish fisheries everywhere, most species of tuna are on the
decline, can't eat Great Lakes salmonids because of PCBs and mercury...
Maybe they could buy tofu trout or something ;)
Yeah, I know, there's too many folks fishing to just rely entirely upon wild
trout waters. Guess what- in Europe they fish for things other than trout,
and don't TRY to jam trout in every puddle around! 'Rough fish' angling is
held in high regard! An appreciation for native taxa is evident! just some
stuff to ponder...and yes, things are moving this way in the US - but
slooowly!
cheers,
Dave
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