Re: Big cities, clean fishing

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Posted by tamara nedeau on October 18, 19101 at 14:26:38:

In Reply to: Big cities, clean fishing posted by Wong Jie Lun Gerald on September 12, 1999 at 07:43:18:

: Environmental New Network Article
: 30/8/99
: Big Cities, Clean Fishing
: By Philip Bourjaily

: The secret is out: Fish are thriving in some of our biggest cities.

: "When I can stand the noise, I come up here to fish," said guide Michael Farnham, raising his voice to be heard over the traffic barreling by on Rock Creek Parkway and the jets roaring along the Potomac after takeoff from Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport. Farnham gently eased into casting range of the stone retaining wall with practiced taps on the foot pedal of his trolling motor, holding us downstream of the Watergate — yes, that Watergate — and virtually in the shadow of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

: The jogger on the riverside running trail stopped, double-taking the sight of a sparkling bass boat hovering within a short cast of downtown D.C. Pulling off his earphones to better appreciate his own wit, he yelled: "Are the rubber tires biting today?"

: "We've got some nice ones in the livewell," Farnham answered, shining him on with a wave, a smile, and a sidelong roll of the eyes in my direction. In truth, there was no room for tires in the livewell; four largemouths finned in the aerated water behind the seats of Farnham's boat. We'd caught the bass downriver earlier in the day. Now, however, Farnham had brought me upriver, right downtown, promising to show me a fat big-city smallmouth.

: "There are always fish there," said Farnham, indicating a discharge pipe gushing water into the river. "Think of it as a waterfall pouring into a creek. That's how the fish sees it."

: Today, the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) rates the Potomac — the river President Lyndon Johnson once called a "national disgrace" — as one of the top 10 bass waters in the United States. Credit the Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972 for the recovery of the Potomac and other urban waters across the country, including those in New York City, Denver, Seattle, Detroit and Chicago. Before the act passed, rivers flowing through urban centers served as convenient sewers for industrial and human wastes. In 1969, Cleveland's Cuyahoga River, by then only nominally made out of water, caught fire. Floating oil slicks burned out of control, making national news, inspiring a song (Randy Newman's "Burn On"), and sparking, as it were, public support for clean water.

: The CWA attacked "end of the pipe" or point-source pollution like industrial dumping and wastewater. The law set national water-quality standards to be monitored and enforced by the fledgling Environmental Protection Agency. In time, rivers flushed toxins from their systems; as food webs recovered, vegetation re-grew, returning natural filters to the system.

: I banked my lure off the wall and onto the far side of the outflow. The lip dug in, pulling the lure deep into the roiling water. I felt a hard jolt, and a second later a healthy smallmouth cleared the water. Surprised, but not too startled to keep tension on the line, I steered the fish through the clear water to the boat. Farnham guessed it at 14 inches before releasing it.

: "My dad used to bring me fishing here when I was a kid growing up in the '60s," said Farnham. "We'd do okay on carp and catfish, but you couldn't catch a bass here. I remember the stench, mostly, and the grease and oil slicks. If you started out with clear monofilament, it was mud-red at the end of the day. The river really started to turn around in the late '70s and early '80s."

: On the Potomac, the modernization of the Blue Plains sewage treatment plant proved crucial to the river's cleanup. Earlier in my day on the Potomac with Farnham (who can be contacted online at bassfly@probass.com), we caught largemouths in the hydrilla beds around Blue Plains, in water so clear we could easily see bass cruising the bottom, eight feet beneath the boat.

: Thanks to the CWA, there's some tremendous fishing available to anyone with a subway token. For a listing of a dozen urban fisheries across the country, visit the story in Field and Stream
:

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: : Environmental New Network Article : : 30/8/99 : : Big Cities, Clean Fishing : : By Philip Bourjaily : : The secret is out: Fish are thriving in some of our biggest cities. : : "When I can stand the noise, I come up here to fish," said guide Michael Farnham, raising his voice to be heard over the traffic barreling by on Rock Creek Parkway and the jets roaring along the Potomac after takeoff from Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport. Farnham gently eased into casting range of the stone retaining wall with practiced taps on the foot pedal of his trolling motor, holding us downstream of the Watergate — yes, that Watergate — and virtually in the shadow of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. : : The jogger on the riverside running trail stopped, double-taking the sight of a sparkling bass boat hovering within a short cast of downtown D.C. Pulling off his earphones to better appreciate his own wit, he yelled: "Are the rubber tires biting today?" : : "We've got some nice ones in the livewell," Farnham answered, shining him on with a wave, a smile, and a sidelong roll of the eyes in my direction. In truth, there was no room for tires in the livewell; four largemouths finned in the aerated water behind the seats of Farnham's boat. We'd caught the bass downriver earlier in the day. Now, however, Farnham had brought me upriver, right downtown, promising to show me a fat big-city smallmouth. : : "There are always fish there," said Farnham, indicating a discharge pipe gushing water into the river. "Think of it as a waterfall pouring into a creek. That's how the fish sees it." : : Today, the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) rates the Potomac — the river President Lyndon Johnson once called a "national disgrace" — as one of the top 10 bass waters in the United States. Credit the Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972 for the recovery of the Potomac and other urban waters across the country, including those in New York City, Denver, Seattle, Detroit and Chicago. Before the act passed, rivers flowing through urban centers served as convenient sewers for industrial and human wastes. In 1969, Cleveland's Cuyahoga River, by then only nominally made out of water, caught fire. Floating oil slicks burned out of control, making national news, inspiring a song (Randy Newman's "Burn On"), and sparking, as it were, public support for clean water. : : The CWA attacked "end of the pipe" or point-source pollution like industrial dumping and wastewater. The law set national water-quality standards to be monitored and enforced by the fledgling Environmental Protection Agency. In time, rivers flushed toxins from their systems; as food webs recovered, vegetation re-grew, returning natural filters to the system. : : I banked my lure off the wall and onto the far side of the outflow. The lip dug in, pulling the lure deep into the roiling water. I felt a hard jolt, and a second later a healthy smallmouth cleared the water. Surprised, but not too startled to keep tension on the line, I steered the fish through the clear water to the boat. Farnham guessed it at 14 inches before releasing it. : : "My dad used to bring me fishing here when I was a kid growing up in the '60s," said Farnham. "We'd do okay on carp and catfish, but you couldn't catch a bass here. I remember the stench, mostly, and the grease and oil slicks. If you started out with clear monofilament, it was mud-red at the end of the day. The river really started to turn around in the late '70s and early '80s." : : On the Potomac, the modernization of the Blue Plains sewage treatment plant proved crucial to the river's cleanup. Earlier in my day on the Potomac with Farnham (who can be contacted online at bassfly@probass.com), we caught largemouths in the hydrilla beds around Blue Plains, in water so clear we could easily see bass cruising the bottom, eight feet beneath the boat. : : Thanks to the CWA, there's some tremendous fishing available to anyone with a subway token. For a listing of a dozen urban fisheries across the country, visit the story in Field and Stream : :

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