bell_county_outdoorsman wrote:
that sucks, thats the way cumberland is. which people say its getting better but i still wouldnt eat nothin out of it.
if what JD said about the grampus meaning a clean river is true, powell is even cleaner that what i thought.
That's what I read in the past and with that many flying around the night you were fishing ,..it has to be a good indicator of the health of the Powell.
Here is the link for U of Ky page on the Dobson fly(grampus) that I've read before and a couple of quotes from the page.
http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/case ... nflies.htmQuote:
ECOLOGY
Dobsonflies and fishflies live most of their lives in the larval stage, often 2 or 3 years. Larval dobsonflies and fishflies, often called "hellgrammites", are large, worm-like, aquatic predators that live under rocks and logs in streams. They feed on minnows, tadpoles, insects, and other aquatic prey. Hellgrammites require very clean, unpolluted water to live. Most adult dobsonflies and fishflies do not feed at all.
Quote:
DOBSONFLY FACTS
Although they are not as sensitive to pollution as stoneflies and mayflies, hellgrammites still need clean water to live. Fisherman once commonly used hellgrammites as fish bait, but polluted streams have made hellgrammites less common.
Scientists can tell how polluted a stream is based on what aquatic insect species are present. Read more about using insects to determine water quality:
http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1167/ANR-1167.pdf
