|
|
Death Of A Spring
Creek
Bob
Kloskowski
I had the chance to fish a small
spring creek in Southwest Montana yesterday with a friend. This little
spring creek is located at 6100 feet elevation in a beautiful meadow
setting that supports a very good population of moose. The creek is (was)
home to a wild population of brook trout and grayling.
In an effort to protect the fragile
population of native grayling the state of Montana has a liberal daily
limit (20) on the number of brook trout allowed to be taken in this
drainage.
Two years ago, when I was first
introduced to this wonderful piece of water, it was possible to catch and
release perhaps twenty beautiful brook trout that ranged to almost 20
inches. A truely trophy fishery that was no more than fifteen feet in
width but remained free of snow and ice through the cold -30F Montana
winters.
Yesterday as I walked along it's
banks, I scanned the creek for signs of those beautiful brook trout but
alas there were none. Gone is the genetic stock of large brookie breeders.
Gone are their beautiful autumn spawning colors. Gone is the smile from my
face as I ponder their fate. How anyone can decimate an entire population
for their table or wall is beyond my comprehension.
|
|
|
Copyright @ 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005,
2006 by Bob Kloskowski |