Chapter 58 Day 32 - Trout Season

River Keepers - River Warriors - Fighting The Good Fight

It's always good to hear stories about people who care about our fishing water and water in general. 

I don't know if there are any awards given to people who make an extra effort to protect our fishing streams and rivers.  Awards like River Keeper, or maybe River Warrior, or maybe the Fighting The Good Fight For Water award.  But, if there are... I would nominate some gentlemen today. 

McTage is a good fellow in Colorado that seems to have this terrible addiction to fly fishing in general.  Then, when it comes to the pursuit of carp by fly, his addiction only heightens. 

It seems, that recently, McTage was on an expedition in pursuit of his favored carp and he was somewhere near the confluence of Sand Creek and the Denver South Platte in Colorado.  As he reports it, he knew something was wrong almost as soon as he entered Sand Creek.  McTage smelled petroleum. 

With further investigation, McTage found an oily sheen on the creek and that's when he decided to take action.  A call was made to, I believe, the Colorado Public Health and Environmental Authority.  McTage explained what he had found, but, the response he got was somewhat lackadaisical.  McTage grew frustrated rather quickly, but, didn't abandoned his effort. 

Although this event would start at 9 a.m., McTage would pursue help until late mid-afternoon, but there was little results.

That evening he decided to take to writing about what he found on his blog Fly Carpin.  Not knowing how effective his blog would be, McTage published the post and that got things going.

In Idaho is a fellow fly fisher named Gregg and he quickly picked up on McTage's blog post.  From Idaho, Gregg called Bruce Finley at the Denver Post.  Bruce, upon learning of McTage's story called the EPA.... and things really got rolling then. 

Long story short is that a threatening environmental situation was stopped from getting worse because several men cared. 

You can read the whole account by visiting McTage's blog at Fly Carpin.

To me, McTage, Gregg, and Bruce are all heroes and if there was a River Keeper, River Warrior, or Fighting The Good Fight For Water award, I would nominate these guys right now. 

Keep up the good fight guys.

Here in Oklahoma, I expect to see more water heroes come forth.  I'm talking about the plight of the Lower Illinois River - Oklahoma's first year round trout fishery. 

It makes no sense to me, that with all the massive amount of water in Lake Tenkiller there has never been a single drop of water allocated for the Lower Illinois River. 

To me it's a no-brainer - if the Upper Illinois River supplies Lake Tenkiller, then Lake Tenkiller should supply the Lower Illinois River.  It's like someone said, "Let's build this big reservoir and screw the downstream side of it." 

Oklahoma's Trout Unlimited, the Oklahoma Wildlife Department, and concerned individuals are making efforts to find a permanent solution to the problems this lovely little trout stream has. 

I do believe there will be heroes emerge in the process and this story will have a happy ending.

Chapter 58 Day 30 - Trout Season

The Ebb And Flow Of An Oklahoma Trout Stream

In the first three weeks of November, Blue River was the beneficiary of extra trout.  Of course, all who love fishing for trout were pleasantly pleased.  However,  for some of us, it was a sad comment on the demise of Oklahoma's first year round trout fishery - the Lower Illinois. 

Several things came together at once in the demise of this precious tail water.  A leak in the dam, that supplied a constant flow of water, was repaired this past summer.  Then there was the exceptional drought and the record heat of 2011.  All these things worked together causing flow and water quality problems in the Lower Illinois river.

In September, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife suspended trout stocking.  In October, there was a significant fish kill.

Good news is the stocking has been resumed at the Lower Illinois, but, the future of this beautiful trout stream is cloudy at best.

In his article for the Amarillo Globe News, Ryan Shelton shares his story in "Death Of A Trout Stream".  Shelton describes his arrival  at the Lower Illinois on opening day of trout season - not knowing about the issues surrounding  the river. 

What he found, what he saw, most certainly served as the catalyst and motivating factor for Shelton penning his article. 

In that piece, Shelton includes a quote from Scott Hood, President of the Oklahoma Chapter of Trout Unlimited.  Hood said, "It's a problem that can be solved by putting pressure on the government." 

Shelton goes on to include the names of two elected Oklahoma officials that can help at the federal level. 

As members of the fly-fishing community we should always fight the good fight when it comes to our fishing water.  It is our duty to save every inch and every ounce of our fisheries. 

I invite you to read Ryan Shelton's complete article and have included the link below.  I also encourage you to contact the two elected officials mentioned in Shelton's article and let them know the Lower Illinois can not be lost as a trout fishery. 

Death Of A Trout Stream.

Oklahoma Trout River Faces Trouble

There are only two year round trout fisheries in Oklahoma and currently one is fighting for survival. 

As it usually goes, nature, wildlife, and the outdoor enthusiast are taking a back seat to the interest of others, but in this case there are those that are taking up the fight.

As Scott Hood, president of both the Oklahoma Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Tulsa Flyfishers, states, "No one should be allowed to de-water a river."  Hood is talking about the Lower Illinois river near Gore, Oklahoma.  The Lower Illinois serves as a year round trout fishery and is also a popular striper designation.

The Lower Illinois is home to the Oklahoma state record striper bass and Rainbow trout.  What a shame it would be to loose this scenic river.  

Read the full article on the Ed Godfrey's Outdoor section in the Sunday Oklahoman.