Fly Fishermen Seek to Restrict Canoeing on Caney Fork River

The county commission has taken a stand on a proposal by a group of Nashville fly fishermen who are apparently seeking to restrict canoeing on the Caney Fork River.
The commission Monday night adopted a non-binding resolution asking the appropriate governing authority to keep the Caney Fork open to all.
“We apparently have some fly fishermen out of Nashville that are wanting to ban kayakers and canoers from going down a public stream so that they can fly fish,” said County Mayor Mike Foster. ” We’re not opposed to fly fishermen. We’re not opposed to canoers. But we feel there is room there for everything and simply because it impacts our tourism dollars, we have a resolution which is non binding but issues our opinion on this,” said Foster.
The resolution, adopted by the county commission, states that “Whereas, the Caney Fork River is a major tourism attraction for DeKalb County and surrounding areas and
Whereas, DeKalb County benefits form fishermen, boaters, wildlife viewers, and sightseers on the Caney Fork River and
Whereas, DeKalb County desires to cater to and attract people from all tourism functions and
Whereas, we do not wish to see the River compartmentalized, bound or set aside for any one group at the expense of the other and
Whereas, we feel with a little cooperation, courtesy and less selfishness, we feel the problem could be averted.
Now, therefore, be it resolved that the DeKalb County Commission, in regular session on September 24, 2012 recommends that no special zoning, compartmentalization or no special access-restricting activity be approved on the Caney Fork River”
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has scheduled a Caney Fork River stakeholder meeting immediately following the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission (TFWC) meeting on Friday, Sept. 28 in TWRA’s Region II Building. The TFWC meeting typically concludes around 10 a.m. The stakeholder meeting is likely to start around 10:15 and be over by 1 p.m.
The objectives for the stakeholder meeting are to give a brief overview of TWRA’s management of the river, identify the latest issues, and present some ideas. Input from stakeholders concerning the issues and ideas on how to ensure that everyone can enjoy the river will be sought.