It took awhile, but eventually my brain cells clicked on the right memory cells. I know where these came from.
Back in March I made a post that is in the Conservation Issues Forum called Fox River Redirected for Environmental Work. In a nutshell, the whole east side of Hurds Island on the south end of Aurora had been cut off from the rest of the river and drained so Nicor could do some long needed restoration work. I went and took some pictures at the time, these types of projects fascinate me. I was hoping to use the pictures to show fishermen what to look for while fishing. No better way to do this than to take pictures while the river is dried up. The pictures are good, but not quite good enough. Half the river bottom was still covered in snow, kind of defeating the purpose.
In order to block off the river and drain it, they used these plastic barriers. The fact that they were all over the river to at least Oswego meant that the project was probably officially over. The next few pictures are of the east side of Hurds Island drained of water. You'll notice in some of the pictures that there are things covered with either clear or black plastic. These are the barriers. I thought they were made so they could be filled with sand in order to anchor them down, but apparently these weren't.
This next set is how it looks today. I tried to get in similar positions and take similar photos to the before the flood shots. Some I couldn't get to without taking my life into my hands. Would have made interesting pictures, but just not worth it.
I then drove home to Yorkville, trying to get as close to the river as I could where I could. I wanted to see how many of these things I could find. This one was wedged into an island before Route 30, you could see the bridge in the background. That's about 3 or 4 miles down stream.
The next group of barriers is stuck on a tiny little island in the middle of the river. It's just down stream from the crap plant outflow I like to fish.
The next two are on the shore just above and below Violet Patch Park.
Between Violet Patch and Oswego I came acros over a half dozen more, but they were too far away and the pictures aren't that great. This next shot is one laying near the shore in the park in downtown Oswego.
From Orchard Road to a long shot taken from the Saw Wee Kee canoe launch I came across 3 more.
The next two are jammed up in the unfinished section of the Yorkville dam.
And the last one. If I walk through my neighbors yard, down the hill and into the river, I'm directly across from the mouth of Blackberry Creek. That's where this one is wedged.
This last one would be about 13 or 14 miles downstream from where it should have been. I forgot to count how many I came across, but it was well over 20. Who knows how many more are tucked behind islands in areas you can't see from the road or get to without getting in the river and wading into every knook and cranny. I have yet gone down stream from that last one, so who knows how many went further.
These things are so spread out along the river that I have a feeling they are going to be out there for many years to come. Some may actually turn into some pretty good fish holding structure. The thing that has me a little worried about is all the other debris that is now in the river. Lots of wood with nails in it. That isn't so bad, that's what tetanus shots are for. Maybe some generators with hoses still attached. I guess that would make some half way decent fish structure.
But the thing I don't like is all that plastic. Getting my legs tangled in all that plastic while out wading gives me the willies. I guess a little caution will be called for this year. Bummer, I don't like to be that cautious while out wading.
Be careful out there this year. Who knows what else is under the water.
