The Ol Fishing Hole aint what it used to be!!

[Jim_Tait]

As you get longer in the tooth your able to look back and observe changes in the country that have occurred over the years. With a keen interest in the natural world fishos are often better placed than many to pay attention to changes that have occurred over the years i.e. the favourite snag in the favorite hole 20 years later the holes filled in or the snags gone etc

Unfortuinately many of the changes we observe are negative due to the increasing pressure us humans are placing on the natural world - but also more recently I have also begun to notice some positive changes where initiatives kicked off in the 80's decade of LandCare or more recently are begining to bear fruit.

I'm fortunate that my ol man was a keen nature photographer in my youth so I have lots of fishing shots taken yesteryear of spots that I can go back to today (if game) to witness the changes that have occurred. I'll strart off with a couple of shockers of the Burdekin River floodplain 'Roundwater Hole' where I caught my first barra aged four in 1968 (on a lure too - a yellow flat fish) the picture below was taken in 1970 the next one in 1999.

Hope some of you may also be able to dig out some comparison photos of favourite sites - preferably with some changes for the better also occurring.

Regards - Jim

[Jim_Tait]

Roundwater Hole 1999 :'(

[Jeremy87]

Thats really depressing. Where did the river go?

[Jim_Tait]

Under all the para and aleman grass (both introduced) changes at this site have been driven by

use as irrigation supply channel - regular pumped flows instead of only wet season flows naturally
removal of grazing
encroachment of sugar cane agriculture
Increased nutrient loading from cane run off and pumped irrigation flows
hot fires in ungrazed exotic pasture grasses escaping from adjoining cane farms
fish passage barriers downstream
introduction of exotic fish (Goramis)

The good news is that some of these impacts are beging to be addressd by local community natural resource management organisations but it is two steps forward - one step backwards - in terms of making progress!

[dasher]

Jim, that is really sad mate, I worry for our grandkids future. On a happier note, I have just returned from a morning tea held by the mayor of Hervey Bay, to say thank you to the conservation volunteers in this area. I must say I was pleased with the number of groups that are actively working to improve our environment and also the number of members of each group. One thing I was disappointed about was the lack of younger people. I feel more needs to be done at the grass roots level i.e. teach them young. Another problem is the attitude “you’ll never be able to fix that”. Hopefully with the active volunteers actually making progress, this train of thought will disappear. Our co-ordinator has been taking photos as we proceed, so I will endeavour to get some before and after photos. Actually the reverse of what you wanted, but a good indication of what can be achieved

[Jim_Tait]

[quote author=dasher ... Actually the reverse of what you wanted, but a good indication of what can be achieved[/quote]

No mate its exactly what I want!, and thanks for letting me hear about it :)

There is a lot of good grass roots activity going on and you've got to be an optimist when it comes to the environment (otherwise I would have jumped off a bridge long ago :P)

Mind you what you say about young people involvement is a real concern and something I've witnessed elsewhere (i.e lower Burdekin) as well - it seems like a bit of the old case where, when the oldies were more ignorant about the environment youngies got into it - now those youngies are the oldies - its not as sexy for the current crop of youngies to get involved.

As you say starting their interest young is part of the key I belive as all kids seem to have a natural attaction and interest in the natural world before they get too old and cynical and/or captured by the consumer marketing machine :-/

That's why its so important that kids do have access to a local fishing hole where they can go and catch a decent fish - as a community lets work toward that ;)