Back in action

Here's some good news for ferry fans: The ferry at Sistersville, W.Va., was scheduled to go back into service today following completion of repairs to the boat's transmission.

I'm scheduled to be up that way soon for a work assignment. If I have time, I expect to make a trip across the Ohio River on the ferry.

Asian carp

Today the Detroit Free Press began a six-part series on Asian carp. As with most reporting I've seen on the subject, it deals mostly with efforts to keep the fish out of the Great Lakes. Part 1 of the series mentions the Ohio River in passing, but it does note several tributaries where people are concerned about the fish's spread.

There was this paragraph that caught my attention: On the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tenn., however, fishing guide James Patterson of Bartlett, Tenn., can name fish that have begun to disappear. "Asian carp have changed this river," he said. "They have starved the shad out, which other fish eat."

I'm neither a fisherman nor an ichthyologist, but if I remember correctly, shad is the most plentiful fish in the Ohio River, and some fisherman catch it by the bucketful so they can use it as bait for other fish.