Fish Whispering episode 0403: The Clark Fork river
2014 ж. 16 Жел.
27 326 Рет қаралды
Zac and his canine companions explore a river that once was fishless from pollution. Can Zac catch the wary Brown trout with a bamboo fly rod, as insects return, and efforts to restore the ecosystem take effect?
Great looking river, just about the perfect size!
It’s certainly one of my favorites!
I fished the Clark Fork in the late 70s,the spill happened atAnaconda.Ilived in Deerlodge and fished Clark Several times a month with no noticeable change in quality
Hey Zac love your videos. I fished the Clark fork near Deerlodge in the late 70's . The fishing was pretty good then, with small green nymphs doing the trick, I think they were mostly browns.
Awesome. Would have been interesting to compare the river then and now. You are a lucky man!
Cleanup of the upper Clark fork started almost immediatly,probably saved the river.
Hi Zac, I truly enjoy watching your videos. I just stumbled onto them today. I live in a small town in South-Africa and we have the Mooi river ( translate to beautiful river, not to be confused with the Mooi in KZN) flowing through our little town. The old gold mines has polluted the river but the quality seems to be okay now. I fish parts of the little river for smallmouth yellowfish (Labeobarbus aeneus) and I also share a great love for the little river- I wish more people will take action to preserve our rivers as more and more of our river are being polluted to the point where they 'die'. Anyway drifted off on a tangent there- but great videos man. Regards from SA- Nic
+Nicolaus van Zweel Thank you for the kind note, and mention of your home waters. It is sad that we as a species don't put more effort in to protecting water -- the source of life. Very frustrating. I hope some day things will be improved more quickly, and not degraded at all. It is not necessary, and we can still reach necessary resources for development without damaging our own lives. Preaching to the choir I know. Thanks again, for the note. ;-)
I don't know if the 'Brownies' resilience comes from it's natural habits. It thrives in the southern English chalk streams which I guess are pretty alkaline and it thrives in those 'coca cola' coloured streams that you find on the moors and in Scotland they are full of tanning from the peat and therefore acid. Just a thought. Great video by the way, it's always good news when a lifeless river begins to heal and the wildlife return. Congratulations to all who helped make it happen.
hey rly enjoying these videos, thanks!
Thank you!
Good video buddy! I enjoyed your passion for seeing the water and fishery improve, its something that a lot of anglers don't have but its easy to tell you care for the overall health of the fish and river. And that 2nd brownie was a beautiful wild trout, really cool to see that big boy thriving in that water.
Adam Grasinger Thank you, Adam. I appreciate your appreciation of our sport. :-)
Great to hear about the river being on the mend. Are there health hazard concerns for the bank anglers walking in toxic soil?
Thank you, Sal for watching. There likely could be mal effects to one's health by spending too much time in the soil -- it kills plants. But, generally, you just walk through it with your boots on, and don't let it touch your skin! It sure is not good for the environment in any way.
Hey! love your videos! Its so nice to see someone really have fun caring about the fish and the habitat! I hope to see more people with the same attitude! my question is easy, what is the hip bag your carrying? Thanks for the education and the perception, maybe its contagious!
Thanks for watching, and enjoying Fish Whispering! The hip bag/sling pack is made by www.goertzenae.com, Goertzen Adventure Equipment, in Missoula, Montana. They can tailor it to your specific needs, as well. It's a great pack, and has lasted years, with no failures. I don't even think a thread has worn out, yet.
Zac...I really appreciate your understanding of the slow but sure recovery of the Clark Fork! I studied at U of M Missoula Between 1978-"81( focus biology and microbiology..I am a water/ waste water treatment Pro now living in NC but really care about our water resources and would love to find a way to use my knowledge to help re mediate rivers such as the Clark Fork! Any suggestions?
Thanks for the contact, Greg! A lot of the decisions on recover for the Clark Fork have been made in negotiations with the mining company(ies), and then the details are hashed out with contractors offering the lowest bid on projects approved by the government agencies involved, and the budget allocated to them. Want to run for governor? ;-) I am trying to help with knowledge on projects via. Fish Whispering, and my writing, but there are a lot of details that don't make it through the media source (not enough time/space). As a biologist, you could see about getting hired at one of the agencies doing the work, i.e. Montana DEQ, or several contractors (names known by DEQ). That would be the most hands-on way. Shoot me an email, and we can see if we can find more details that way. I am working on an article for American Angler magazine, on the restoration projects on the Clark Fork, and have a few names you might be able to contact.
Question for you - do you ever fish the Blackfoot around Ovando or Lincoln? I fish the Missouri every year from June 27 - July 07 but this year I want to make a few day trips over to the Blackfoot to give it a try and get into some less technical fishing. I was wondering how you have done over there? Thanks.
+Matt Troutman I have guided and fished that area lots. I love it. It is less technical than the Mo', but it is much tougher wading. There are lots of big boulders, and cobble. There are still great access points, and you can get in to pods of fish rising in foamy pockets, often enough.
Nice piece of water. Public access?
Yes, public. :-)
Anyone see the trout rise behind him at 8:03?
I did, when we watched the footage... :-/ I thought I heard something! Good eye.
I did - but only after viewing footage afterward. I thought I heard it, while talking. Sneaky trout! Good eye, George.
Gòod
Dude walkin awkward af
fished that river for many years,,i dont think its technical at all..its just loaded with trout that are not difficult to catch as in many other streams or spring creeks...you should have a net with you..nice video though
Thank you for watching and enjoying Fish Whispering. I replied to your comment about nets in your comment above. As to this river and its fishing, the subject matter was that it is great to see the river with fish, after clean-up efforts have made an environment trout can live in. It would have been difficult to catch a fish in the Clark Fork in the late 1800's, as there were none. That was my excitement in this video. As for being "loaded" with fish, that term may be a little over-bearing, as electro-shocking surveys show it is okay, compared to other Montana rivers, but certainly not leading any population density lists. At best, in one stretch of a few miles, there were about 1,100 catchable trout per mile. That number drops off to about 50 trout/mile, lower down the river. There is still much work to be done, and we can do it if we are active in our restoration efforts. If we stick together for the environment, instead of deriding each other online, we can make our fisheries great again.
I get sick of watching Widespread Panic and Phish fly-fishing videos....... catch something dude. I can watch trust fund kids land fish on another channel.
Andrew, It is unfortunate that the biology of an area does not interest you. Unless your eyes were closed the whole time, you should have seen several fish caught in this episode. We try to give a great part of each episode to talk about the ecology, biology and experience of a place, as well as catching fish. If you are insinuating I am living off of a trust fund, you couldn't be more wrong. Thank you for taking the time to at least give a show that has a priority in ecology, a chance. Be careful how you conduct yourself out there. We all use resources and need to pay attention to how we can balance ourselves with natural environments.
Andrew Nelson Mouthy little Buttplug, you need to get laid dude!