Chickamauga Dam

This post ends with a poem separately recorded.

Chattanooga prides itself on having fast internet and enjoys the self-imposed label, “Gig City.” I, on the other hand, attempt to limit my screen time and spend more time enjoying the natural world.

The waters below Chickamauga Dam are a highly modified environment, but I enjoy bird watching there because the turbine-stunned fish create a feeding haven for herons, cormorants, gulls, and ospreys. The gulls and ospreys are seasonal, but the herons and cormorants are year-round residents.

If you visit, stay clear of the human fishers, casting lures and live bait. I have no desire to be impaled by a treble hook or smacked by baitfish intended to bring in a striper. Talk about a rude awakening.

I once witnessed a protracted battle between a fisherman and his hoped-for fish. As the fishing rod strained in the arc of struggle, the fisher walked down the concrete stairs to the shoreline, never losing focus on the fight.

After unhooking what appeared to be a buffalo fish or some other “rough fish,” not considered edible in polite society, he held up his catch with pride and then deposited it in one of those large white buckets, abundant where fishers gather.

I asked what kind of fish it was, but he didn’t answer until the woman accompanying him translated. She said, “He doesn’t know.” Nevertheless, I surmised that the fish might grace his table that night, for the bucket was barely large enough to accommodate the fish.

There are reasons to be careful about what fish you might eat, but fishing at Chickamauga Dam is unlikely to decline. I have lately noticed that fishers with cast nets have joined those fishing with rod and reel. They may soon be joined by those who impale fish and frogs with three-pronged spears, known as gigs. What better way could there be to fish in “Gig City.”

Following is an Excerpt from my poem "Sign:"

Pregnant women
should not eat these fish

Nursing mothers
should not eat these fish. 

Children 
should not eat these fish.

Adult males
may eat these fish.

Women past child bearing age
may eat these fish

Elderly people
are encouraged to eat thes fish

Homeless people
are required to eat these fish.

That is all. 
Have a nice day. 

The full text of this poem appears in a previous post: