Sunday, September 07, 2008
Complaining meaningless without action
Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor's Outdoors column and notebook appears regularly in The Roanoke Times.
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Easing stealthily up to the hole, pro angler John Crews put his plan into action.
Crews had his eyes on a couple of two- to three-pound bass that he'd spotted in the area.
The bass had proven tough. So Crews had to get tougher.
"I figured out that they cruised in the same general pattern," said Crews, a full-time professional angler on the Bassmaster Elite Series.
He cast his tiny drop shot rig, let it sink and waited.
Eventually the cruisers appeared. Crews twitched the bait.
The bass turned, inspected the lure, then swam on their merry way.
And Crews started formulating his next plan.
This is what pro anglers do when a three-pound bass can mean the difference between taking home $100,000 or banking a check that will barely cover that week's gas money.
But this wasn't in a big-money tournament.
Crews was fishing in the Roanoke River not far from his home in Salem.
He was fishing there because he gets that you don't have to drive a long distance or spend a lot of time or money to have a fun, challenging time fishing, or enjoying plenty other types of outdoors recreation.
Amazingly, some people don't get it.
One of them recently posted a comment on my roanoke.com blog, which, though it was intended as a commentary on a recent outdoors expo, included some harsh complaints about outdoors opportunities in the area.
"There is NO real fishing around here," the poster wrote. "Except maybe [Lake] Moomaw. Hell, you can't even eat the fish you catch around here! (Unless it's a stocked 'fake' trout.) It's either got toxins or bacteria (James River problem)!"
The person who made that comment is exaggerating, but he has some legitimate concerns.
And there is nothing wrong with dissatisfaction.
Dissatisfaction is actually pretty important and can be productive. But it's not productive when it's followed by resignation or inaction.
Frustrated about something? Absolutely voice your concerns. Then back up the words with action.
That's what's been happening on the aforementioned James River, where fishermen and canoeists have become important partners in the effort to figure out what has been killing fish the past couple of springs.
It's what prompted many dozens of volunteers to spend the better part of a recent Saturday pulling trash from the New River in Giles County.
It's what's driving a massive effort spearheaded by Trout Unlimited to restore degraded trout habitat on Big Stoney Creek at the National Forest's Glen Alton property in Giles County.
It's what prompts volunteers to get involved with other conservation groups, such as Ducks Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, to help with their projects and programs.
Saying there is no real fishing around Roanoke is wrong, of course. John Crews knows it. I know it. Most of you know it.
One could draw a 50-mile radius circle around the city and find in it enough fishing spots to stay busy and have fun for years.
Could it be better? Sure.
I have a few ideas myself.
The expansion of the greenways network in Roanoke has created a great chance to expand fishing opportunities in the streams along which those routes run.
The Roanoke River is already stocked with trout along part of the greenway, and those so-called "fake" trout have lots of fans.
There are several more miles that seem reasonably well suited for either the put-and-take or the Delayed Harvest program, and the possibilities will keep expanding along with that growing greenway.
Tinker Creek is another stream that seems to have some potential for more stocking along its greenway.
If enough people start asking, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries will take notice.
With the state's hatchery program facing trout production shortages while the Coursey Springs hatchery is renovated, those expansions probably can't happen this coming season. But why not start asking and planning now?
The small pond at Lakewood Park is another place that seems to have potential.
Currently it's silted in, occupied only by carp and guarded by "No fishing" signs.
Could it be drained, dredged, repaired, stocked with bass and bluegill and maintained as a kids fishing area?
Maybe not. But looking into it would seem a worthy pursuit for someone seeking better fishing opportunities around Roanoke.
The possibilities are countless, really.
Take that same map with the 50-mile circle around Roanoke. Find where you live. Draw a 10-mile circle around it.
Chances are good you can find some fun, challenging, publicly accessible fishing within that circle.
And if it's not as good as you'd like, there's nothing stopping you from trying to do something about it -- as long are you're willing to do more than complain.
