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Looks like Dows contribution to the enviroment is still around and at higher levels than ever. Additional fish advisories added for the Sagnasty River.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007711150353 |
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Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | Wish you would have told me this before I ate all those Saginaw Bay Fillets  |
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Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | Dennis.
I answer this post fully expecting some negative remarks after it. Because anybody calling the Saginaw River "The Sagnasty", has made clear his feelings on defending or saying anything positive about it. I've been enjoying catching and eating walleyes from the Tittabawassee, Saginaw Rivers and the Bay now for 22 years, and remember how frail I looked the last time you seen me Dennis. And what they found was a Hot Spot of Dioxin in a small secluded area. I've been contacted by an agent of Dow two days ago and hired to help set out lighted buoys (ASAP) in this small area for clean up, and later use my boat as a platform for some divers for further inspections of this area in the near future. And according to the guys contracted and working on the clean up for Dow on the Tittabawassee, and the EPA guys I've taken on tours and talked to over these last few years on the rivers, this Hot Spot is not uncommon. I'm not going to make light of this subject, as it is indeed a serious concern, but some things get more blown out of purportion in the liberal press when smelling blood or a good scare story that keeps everybody patiently waiting for that next issue of bad news. Pollution of this type in the Saginaw River is old news. Here's a fact I questioned and talked about with both of the groups of professionals I had aboard my boat.
I asked specifically about the material makeup and nature of these Hot Spots. The EPA guys themselves explained it like this to me. Imagine these Hot Spots as a rubber tire on the river bottom and wedged in the sand. It can not or will not move until high/fast water digs it out of this sand and moves it along further down river or over the embankment onto a flood plane. Some tires get burried under several feet of sediment and might never get moved again. The tire itself is a source of pollution, in fact a real tire has many of the same compounds contained in it as does Dioxin, but it has long ago quit leeching it's own material pollution into the surrounding waters like oil or gas would, because it's to thick, heavy and adhered to itself. You have to physically touch/come into contact with this globby/muddy mass to be infected with it's toxins. And even then the carcinogens would have to have a pathway to your blood stream and nervous system, or be ingested somehow by mouth to make you sick or become deadly. If the Saginaw River was an exotic get away spot where swimmers, surfers or other water sports lovers congregated, I'd really be more worried. And again, this is not to say this is nothing to be concerned over. These spots, whenever and wherever found, have to be removed to avoid any kind of casual contact. But like the scores of last weeks football games, it's history now. We can review the play by plays from past games, we can complain, point fingers and assign blame, but cannot change the scores. We can only learn from the mistakes we made then, make the corrections, and make sure we don't make the same mistakes at the next game.
Edited by walleye express 11/16/2007 1:03 PM
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| My apologies for the Sagnasty comment.
My apologies also for offending you somehow by posting a fish advisory. Not everything you disagree with is a personal attack on you. 
Anyways, no where does my post or the liberal article say you'll be poisoned by touching the water as you imply. LOL It just merely states there are new consumption advisories. Geez. I know all too well about Dioxin in the area. I was almost a nearby neighbor of yours back in the late 70's. Came within 48 hours of closing on a home there until the groundwater came back heavily tainted with Dioxin.
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Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | Jim.
You certainly did not offend me, nor would I ever seek to make slight, stifle or keep these kind of things quiet, because they do concern all of us who use this resource. It was only my intention to shed a little level headed truth on the subject versus the usual Press Panic comintary used to sell more papers. I remember back in the early 60's when the Saginaw River never froze and steamed all winter long from it's own contamination. Carp and suckers were the only game fish back then in the Saginaw, so we have come a long way. Heres a picture of a Rainbow Trout I caught up near Dow Dam last fall to prove my point.
Edited by walleye express 11/16/2007 5:05 PM
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Location: Midland, MI | Although I am 27 years old, I have been around or involved in the walleye fishery since I was a toddler. Our fishery here in Mid-Michigan is stronger than it has ever been. There has been fish advisories on the saginaw bay or its tributaries for 20+ years. I personally think they are truely a load of crap, I have been eating fish out of this system for 25 years and will continue to do so. And unless you have visited or lived in this area you have no idea how much The DOW Chemical corporation has done for the area.
I understand the dioxin issues very well being as my father is a ground water specialist. And most people dont know that upstream from DOW There was a company that created a toxic waste dump site that was leaking in to our river system back in the 70's and 80's.
I just have a very hard time with all of the negative press and publicity our area has gotten.
Let me just reassure those of you that our area and particuarly of river system is cleaner and healthier than it has been in atleast 50+ years. And I for one would like to thank DOW for everything they have done for our community(midland) and the surrounding ones. Our state is already in bad shape as far as the economy goes but with out DOW and its sister company DOW Corning Our state and communities would be in total disaray. |
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Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | Good post Walleyehookup.
I just got back a few minutes ago from the Saginaw River and working with a Dow survey crew. With the aide of their more sufficticated (and tri-pod mounted GPS), we layed down buoys on four corners of what has been determined to be this new Hot Spot. And as we left dive crews were getting ready to go down in the water to film the bottom for both visual and safety verification parameters where the suction dredger will need to work to remove these deposits. Core samples were also being taken by a survey vessel at the same time to determine how deep the dredger will have to go down or if they even need to dredge deeper then the immediate bottom. All these work crews being brought together on very short notice before the freeze, to try to fix a problem that Dow themselves found and reported to the EPA and the public. So I guess we can all argue pro and con about Dow's historic bad habbits, but few have seen (or failed to notice) the changes you and I have in the last 20 years as far as the positive things on all these River systems that lead into the Saginaw, along with Dows willingness to clean up and keep their present and future fingerprints more in tune with the environment. Dave Landahl (a writer/editor for many outdoor magazines over the years) contacted me better then a year ago and ask me to contribute to a book he was writing about Rivers. The book was going to cover all states, and along with the locations of each river, a small paragraph about each river was going to be included by guides or others who knew about each rivers history, it's fish species inhabitants and a little on how to catch them. I submitted comments on 4 river systems I've guided on these past 23 years, with both the Tittabawassee and Saginaw included with them. Dave has since turned this project over to someone else, but the book may yet get published. But heres what I sent to Dave about both rivers.
Tittabawassee River.
Of all the water quality and revived fishery success stories to come along in recent years, the Tittabawassee River might well take top trophy for her turn-around if one was offered. But un-like her sister rivers, the Bad, Flint, Shiawassee, Cass and Chippewa (that drain literally thousands of square miles of West central Michigan, and in turn all flow into the Saginaw River at her headwaters) her simplistic charm and natural beauty has never left her, even when the river turned out nothing but Un-eatable fish during the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s. But now, she welcomes and nurtures thousands of spawning walleyes every late winter into spring, as well as their offspring after they hatch. And if nesting Bald Eagles can be determined to show a watersheds viable health, the three pairs I've seen circling at one time should give solid testimony to this rivers return. Her twisting wooded shorelines, sand and occasional gravel strewn bottom is perfect habitat for river run Walleyes, White Bass, Pike, some Largemouth and many Huge Smallmouth bass as well. Virtually every fresh water species know to the Great Lakes can be found in varying numbers during certain seasons up in the Tittabawassee River.
The only true downside to this gem is her unfriendly attitude towards any boats larger than 17 feet and sporting motors with long shafts. The Tittabawassee by nature is very shallow and dangerous even during medium and high water intervals. Long stretches of water 1 foot deep is not uncommon. Many hazards from ancient bridges that were abandon from the old days are still there. And with many of the new structures erected both up and down river from the old existing ones, all the old cement supports, pier heads, pile-ons and (in some cases) super structures themselves, are abandon but still standing. There is also very few launches on the 28 miles of river I like to fish from it’s convergence with the Saginaw River, up-stream to the Dow Spillway Dam in Midland. Most of these launches fill in with sand during the spring floods or stay to shallow in general to safely launch a decent sized boat. I new long ago if I wanted to fish and charter on this river exclusively, I better purchased a Boat for the job. So I bought a flat bottom river boat with a Yamaha Jet Drive outboard. But even I have had a few un-seen bumps along the way these last 18 years of fishing the Tittabawassee.
As far as techniques go, nothing beats a Jig and Minnow cast while anchored or hopped while slipping the current, for every specie of fish swimming in the river. I’ve caught everything from fall salmon and steelhead's to spring White bass and catfish on this type offering and technique. The key is finding and recognizing the preferred holding areas of each specie during each season or in each fluctuation of the water table. Holes, slots, deep runs or wing dams all hold fish at some point. Its when the water fluctuates that some of these spots get better or worse during certain intervals, during wet or winter thaw periods or when the Sandford Dam is releasing or holding water back from Sandford Lake, well upriver of the Dow Spillway. Once one has a handle on the tricky nature of this great river, it can supply you with some real fishing memories.
The Saginaw River.
Like most waterways in the Midwest back in the 60’s/early 70’s, the Saginaw River has had a checkered past. During these times it seldom if ever froze over during the winter. It would virtually steam and stay open even in the coldest winter conditions. Gone were the days when my grandfather told me that the ice would be 3 feet thick and thousands of shanties would be bank-to-bank fishing for the 3 P’s, Perch, Pike or Pickeral. Pickeral of course was his (Canadian ancestral) name for walleye, along with many other species he’d just a soon call Pickeral versus their real scientific name. The many industrial plants along the rivers length kept a steady flow of hot water and other less desirable components flowing into her and keeping the waters from freezing.
All this has changed in these last 25 years, and even though it still takes a cold winter to freeze things over on the Saginaw River, it happens now quit frequently. You still have to consider that the Saginaw River system drains thousands of miles of other river systems that flow into it's headwaters, so the sheer current mass alone keeps the river open during wet or thaw periods. But during hard freezes, seeing both shanties and snowmobile suit clad fishermen as far as the eye can see both up and down river, has become quit common. But the real fish catching fun doesn't start then, it’s just punctuated then and allows anybody with a jigging rod a spud and a pail to set on, an easy access to some great fishing.
Because long before the ice sets in on the Saginaw river, the open waters of Fall, Spring and now even summer (for the most part) play host to a growing biomass of walleye, perch, bass, catfish and drum. All these species are finding the rivers habitat a lot more to their liking now that the waters have cleaned themselves up some.
Like any system with a bounty of catchable fish in it, the techniques used vary and are many, depending on your intended prey and often the time of year you're fishing for them. Few lures can beat the sheer numbers of fish caught through the ice on the Saginaw than the Jigging Rapala. Jigged near bottom, with a morsel of minnow meat hooked to the belly hook of the lure, and your chances for success are greatly increased. And during the open water seasons few things beat a Jig and Minnow offering. Jigging the right sized weighted tidbit straight up and down letting it hit bottom, while slowly drifting in complete unison with the current, catches the majority of all the specie available, especially walleyes. Trolling crank baits like the Dave’s Ka’Boom Winning Streak, the Storm ¼ ounce Hot-N-Tot or the Rapala #7 Shad Rap all take their share of walleyes during the day and some real monsters during the night time.
And if it’s bass you like, the spring and summer fishery on the Saginaw River may be the most under-utilized fishery going. Spinner baits, tubes and a variety of smaller cranks take some impressive smallies and a few large mouths all summer long when fan cast along the old piles-on’s, bridge abutments, docks, ship turn-around’s and rock rip-rap that lines the shorelines for miles on both sides. It may be that there is just too much cover to fish, it’s that good. And during these times its nothing to pick up a giant freshwater drum, channel, blue or flathead catfish using the same things you are for bass or walleyes, the fishery has become that diverse.
The key to the very best times too catch fish seems to be both water temperature and forage availability. And without a doubt, the spawning cycle has a lot to do with the walleye fishing success. In my experience the months of November and December are the best times to intercept a truly big walleye. Many of the spring spawners come into the rivers early, fallowing the forage looking for warmers river waters themselves. The spring fishery is also good, but the legal walleye season re-starts almost to late to intercept the spawned out females before they drop back out of the river and back into the Saginaw Bay system. So many of the fish caught are the smaller 2 to 3 pound male hold-over’s.
Edited by walleye express 11/19/2007 11:23 AM
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Location: Midland, MI | I loved your peice om the Titabawasee, or as we used to call it the Tit. It has been too long since I have been able to get up past the convergence. Im sure since thaa time alot has changed but at the same time a lot of the things are still the same. As for being difficult to manuver any one that has ever tried to head upstream and I mean anyone who doesn't have a jet sled, has lost blaes off their props, skegs off their lowerunits and quiet a few i know have lost lower units all together. And some my father included have ripped holes in the bottom of thier hulls.
I would like to plan an outting next year to get my father up here when are your openings for good action with some good pigs mixed in? Still right aound the lonely days of gun opener? |
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Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | For strickly walleyes, with a chance to catch a BIG one, now until freeze up and just prior to the seasons closing on March 15th. That later time frame can be the best or worse depending a lot on spring run off conditions. If she's flood stage and muddy, well, it not the best. If it's simply high water, I've discovered a few high water resting spots over these last 23 years that can pay off. Sometimes theres still snow on the ground like last year. Heres a picture of a trip we took during that time on March 5th.
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Location: Midland, MI | I'll let my Dad know, and by the way if you ever get sick of the cold we can always take a trip down to North Carolina and pull some ocean trips. Its a completely different animal. My dad trolls at the slowest 5mph the last trip him and his nieghbor went on he caught his first sailfish along with some wahoo, and dolphin. Once the trolling bite fizzles out in the morning they bottom fish for grouper. His nieghbor has a pretty nice rig 26' Contender CC.
James Edwards |
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| Can you tell me specifically where they found the groundwater tainted with dioxin that made you choose not to buy a house?
Dioxin attaches itself to solids (like dirt particles). You won't find it just floating around in water.
I find it hard to believe that any tests were done that would've found dioxin in the 70s. The science and methodology to even test for the stuff was only perfected in the 80s and to think that some podunk health department could find the stuff in the 70s is bull.
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Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | Heres a few pictures of the clean up sight, with plans on being done by December 12th.
Edited by walleye express 12/1/2007 9:30 AM
(Sagianw_River_Cleanup113020071.jpg)
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Sagianw_River_Cleanup113020076.jpg (44KB - 150 downloads)
Sagianw_River_Cleanup113020078.jpg (44KB - 121 downloads)
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| LOL the second picture reminds me of the movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" where they were incubating the "pods" in the greenhouses.
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