[FLY#1]

I have Tn tags and I dont like leaving my veh parked on the soho. I normaly park in a safe place and walk! I dont think its fair to group everone in Tn together as one. I mean that could work both ways DARRING has told me stories of low life scum bags that he deals with in NC But I dont group ever person from NC in that group!!! As far as some master consperacy theory about Tn trying to run off out of stste fisherman I THINK THATS A HUGE LOAD OF BULL $***. I have lots of NC friends andI hope they continue to come over. I think we all need to work together to take care of one another as people and a family of fly fishers!!! It wouldnt bother me to meet up and car pool I have safe places to park!!! Why couldnt we start a community watch of some sort!! VIDEO cameras and people who know about the problem keeping out a eye for each other makes a huge difference!!

[Sleepytrout]

Originally Posted by launchone

I understand where you guys are coming from.. but do you really think NC guides are going to avoid floating/fishing on the only two rivers that can be counted upon? The same guides that are bringing the 4 to buy licenses each weekend need to come, or they no have money. Not to mention Jack Prater and others who have become inextricably tied to the whole sport as it is. It is what it is, I will fish there.

Realistically, no I don't think that will happen, until the problem gets even more out of control. It will take complaints, complaints, and complaints of them though to get any action. Do you think if a guide gets "hit" time after time that he/she will be able to offset the cost of a loss?

That's where it's headed. The thieves are getting braver, and the occurences are getting more frequent.

Just my .02.

[Phil]

I'm done with the argumentative tone I set earlier, and have apologized for insulting Tennessee anglers. I lost my temper and lashed out like an old blind dog that can't figure out where the threat is coming from...

Here are some old memories of the Watauga and SoHo --

Before everyone found out about the fishing, we used to drive over there and were allowed to park pretty much anywhere to wade fish on the Watauga -- Church parking lots and almost any house, business, or farm where you asked permission from above the purple bridge at Siam down the River Ridge area. Nobody minded. That was 1981 or thereabouts. Bo Cash caught over 120 inches of fish (6 fish) in the same run in an afternoon. Once I caught three browns over 22" in a two hour period. It was lights-out dry fly action.

I only fished the SoHo a few times back then, but there were plenty of farms where you could park and wade. The sulphurs were thick as fog. The "refrigerator hole" probably no longer exists, but the flats above it were full of big rainbows (if you could get some to look at your fly among all the naturals).

I guess that it's only natural that, with hugely increased fishing pressure and sheer numbers of fisherman descending on the area, locals stopped letting us out-of-towners park on their land. Thoughtless NC fishermen probably did their share of littering and being rude.

Now the wade fishermen who aren't guides and do not have special access points are all stacked up, parking their vehicles in the dwindling access areas. Local meth heads have discovered this "treasure trove" of vehicles and goods.

It really sucks, but there's not much to do. I applaud Bo Cash and other's efforts to send correspondence to the Carter County officials and bring the problem to their attention. I'll do the same. They already know about it, however, and have not done anything to rectify the problem for years.

I hope this issue can be resolved to some degree. I'd like to go fish in Tenn. without getting my car stolen or broken into.
That's my .02 cent's worth without being a butthead (I hope).

Sincerely, Phil Stinson

[River Man]

I'm on target to fish the Soho well over 300 days this year. I have fished it quite heavily for the past five years and I have never had a problem. I've done this with South Carolina tags on my truck. The main thing is to use some common sense. 1) When I drift I make sure I leave my truck at Jack Prater's House. He has run his shuttle service for 14 years and never had anything missing from his property. 2) When wading, I'm careful where I park. I stay close enough to my truck so that I'll know if someone is messing with my truck. 3) When wading remote areas on low water, I take my toon to get me to the out of way areas (truck at Jack's house). 4) I have also cultivated friendships with locals that let me park in safe areas on their property. 5) I joined a local fishing club which has protected parking. 6) I don't leave extra gear in my truck.

It's a shame that anyone would consider boycotting the Watauga and S. Holston rivers. You can go all over the country without duplicating the quality of year round fishing that we have up here in Tennessee. I'm actualy leaving tomorrow for some fishing in Wyoming. I'll be there until the end of September and it's breaking my heart that I have to leave this great fishery.

Continued pressure through the media, politicians and police agencies sounds like a good plan. Those that decide to boycott will probably not even be missed on the river. The department that manages the waters and the fish will be the ones hurt if license sales actually fall off. We will ultimately pay the price if fishing quality is lowered.

The efforts to date may be working, it's been quite a while since anything has been stolen. This came from the head TVA officer for the S Holston , Watauga and Boone lake.

River Man

[La_Trucha]

Check with your cellphone provider about tracking your cellphone. Hide it in the vehicle and leave it in mute. That might help tracking these guys in case your vehicle is stolen. Im considering getting that Onstar on my vehicle. This sucks, I love to fish that place and the only thing really keeping me away is the darn robberies.

no cheers...