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griffon -> RE: Mill Creek 4-20-08 (4/22/2008 9:51:33 PM)
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Ronnie, for the record I never bashed your pictures, but I did come across too harsh and I apologize. On the contrary, they are very nice. I do believe that you carry it overboard when you start naming small stream names (which you do often). Naming the Loyalhanna is one thing, naming Mill and then combining it with the pictures and a report of "we caught X number of fish and they hit everything" is yet another entirely. I can absolutely guarantee that if I took coolerful's post from the other thread and showed it to the landowners in that area, they would seriously concerned. I can guarantee for a fact that two of them just downstream from your photos would shut the stream off completely (I do wish the moderators would delete that post). You are young and eventually you will understand. The point is, not everyone who reads these boards treats the resources as you do or as you feel they should be treated. I have picked up trash more than once along the very stretch your pictures come from (fyi... the structure under the bridge usually has some decent tackle clinging to it if you want a few extra lures)Trust me, I fish around the country and may not have seen it all, but I am trying and I think I am getting close. I have gone back through most of your history and I believe that I see a lot of myself in you when I was younger. In the last 10 years however, I have changed and my entire concern is about protecting natural resources for everyone (particularly my children and the generations to follow). My entire life (aside from my family and religious affiliation) revolves around keeping private lands open to the public (this is probably the biggest reason that Terry Yokum and I were such close friends).
A short detail about myself if you will... I grew up in upstate NY in farm country (every road was dirt). I was fortunate enough to live within 200 yards of one of the greatest trout streams that noone has ever heard of and less than three miles from the Susquehanna river. Our wild game populations were fantastic (I have actually shot close to 500 grouse- not one ground swat ever) as my family raised bird dogs. Through all of this, I became a guide for a turkey hunting outfit. I had literally 100's of thousands of acres to roam on and all it ever took was some courtesy and a handshake. When I go back today, things are different. A new breed has taken over the properties and they have absolute disdain for sportsmen. Unfortunately, most of the hatred has been a result of the actions of our fellow ''sportsmen" when they trespass, cut fences, shoot domestics, leave litter (beer cans particularly), poach, yell at landowners as well as their families, and numerous other offensive behaviors. Some of the guilty individuals are people that I grew up around and I have totally separated myself from, as I see what they have done to all of us. Now, I would be pushing it if I said that I have 10,000 acres of private land to fish and hunt in the entire state (over a 90% reduction). I know that seems like a lot, but it isn't when you are used to having unlimited area and no competition to speak of. The point is, as sportsmen we failed to keep landowner relations and now everyone in that area is worse off for it.
There is no doubt that I come across as a hard individual. However, if you read my posts the only time that my angry passionate side ever comes through is when I feel that an individual or organization is behaving in a manner that is not necessarily good for all sportsmen(Don't confuse me with the "holier than thou" attitude as that could not be further from the truth). The difference is, in the field and in my personal life, I lead by example not by hypocritical statements and I truly believe in the cause I am fighting for. Tight Lines, The Griffon.
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