A pickin’ n’ a grinnin’

    Pickin’ n’ grinnin’ is pretty much what Chris Scalley’s big events are all about. But not in the way you might expect.
   Four times a year scientists, environmentalists, fly fishers and just plain folks like me gather together to pick bugs and have every reason to grin over what they find.
   “We now have six years of research of benthic macroinvertebrate (that just means visible to the naked eye) life in the tailwater section [of the Chattahoochee River] from Buford dam to 285 North perimeter. Our samples indicate that the over-all ecology of the main stem of the Chattahoochee is very productive and fairly healthy for 70% of Atlanta's drinking water,” said Scalley.
   “Our Hooch is biologically very healthy. Trout and the other critters we find do not tolerate dirty water,” added biologist Donald Newton.
   According to Don Pfitzer, who’s been an aquatic researcher since 1950, there are about 100 species in the Hooch.
   “The greater the diversity, the stronger the ecosystem,” said Pfitzer.
   So in a nutshell (or should I say a Petri dish?) the more bugs the better. Better for Atlanta’s water supply— and better for Atlanta’s fisherman.
   “People don’t think of Atlanta when they think of fly fishing,” said Leslie Hodge, manager of the Orvis Shop in Norcross and member of Georgia Women Fly Fishers. “But on a weekend you can see any given number of people fishing at Jones Bridge.”
   Scalley founder of River Through Atlanta (www.riverthroughatlanta.com) has instilled the bug pickin’ passion in people all over Metro Atlanta.
   Al Winiski, a longtime picker, nit-picked that statement with, “I don't really have a passion for bugs, just catching trout. Trout have the real passion for bugs.”
   Whatever. But Winiski assured me he’d be bugging me with his Hooch-y humor on Bug Day.
   Margaret Anne Thompson, Duluth High School language arts teacher, fly fisher and Environmental Club sponsor takes her students pickin’ every chance she gets.
   Of last year’s pickings, her student Shawn Sims said, “I thought it was going to be gross, but it wasn’t. But even if it was gross I wouldn’t have minded because it was so much fun.”
   Beth Landers and Pinky Nguyen, who along with Sims picked thousands of bugs with tweezers and eyedroppers from gallons of water samples agreed.
   The pickin’ n’ grinnin’ will occur this Saturday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the River Club in Roswell (For directions call 770-650-8630 or e-mail me) Lunch will be provided. Scalley says there will be the standard hamburgers and hotdogs, but depending on the catch of the day, there could be a fish fry or even some wild game.
   Orvis Fishing Manager Brian Richterkessing will be among the celebrity pickers. And if you’re lucky, maybe you can catch his attention and pick his brain about best fishin’ spots in the county. It might give you one more thing to grin about.

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