Unexpected Places
Great things can come from the most unexpected places. Case in point, Georgia’s Flint river. This waterway eventually joins the Chattahoochee and the newly formed waterway takes on the name Apalachicola river which in turn spills into the Bay of the same name inside the Gulf of Mexico. In shocking contrast from its eventual grand finale though, the mighty Flint river comes from shockingly humble origins. Namely, a spring located in a concrete culvert nearly directly underneath the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield Jackson. As many traveler’s know, ‘whether you are traveling to heaven or hell you probably layover in Hartsfield’ and this adage bears certain parallels when considering one of Georgia’s greatest watersheds. As the miniscule spring creek flows south from the Georgia piedmont and into the coastal plain, the river takes on a great deal more water and significance. The ramifications of the Flint’s flows are felt throughout central Georgia and all the way down to the coast. The Flint is the lifeblood of agriculture in its watershed and its incredible volume helps water, feed and sustain those who live near its banks. From the crops and watered fields of Georgia’s coastal plain to the world-renowned oysters of Apalachicola bay, the Flint’s waters are the ambrosia to the region’s residents.
The Flint is home to countless fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians that depend on the mighty river’s flows. Georgia’s very own official state riverine sport fish, the shoal bass, even makes its home here but in few other places in the entire world. This remarkable bass species is closely related to other black bass species like smallmouth, spotted and largemouth bass. Until recently, the shoal bass was actually thought to just be a subspecies of the redeye bass that also carved their own niche in the region. However, the shoal bass has been recognized in its own right and distinguishes itself today as a unique game fish, native to the region and possessing all of the attributes of a perfect ‘sport’ fish. Alongside shoalies, longnose gar, various catfish and a plethora of sunfish like redbreasts make their homes in the Flint drainage. As the river continues its ceaseless travel towards the Gulf, saltwater fish like redfish, seatrout and even tarpon come to benefit from the currents of the indomitable river. As the native tribes and early settlers knew, rivers like the Flint were the living arteries that allowed the region to thrive. The flow of nutrients and life in the water mirrored the passage of goods and provisions that eventually crawled along its surface. To the fish and wildlife that thrive in the Flint, this passage has never lost its inherent significance.
The rocky, moving waters of the Flint make a perfect habitat for one of the region’s most beautiful and famous plants, the shoal lily. This stunning plant can be found in incredible numbers amongst the current-carved bedrock of the Flint and, when they flower in the spring and early summer, create a breathtaking image.
The Tall Tails crew was lucky enough to meet up and fish with members of the Flint Riverkeeper this spring. Most of us met for the first time that misty morning near the riverbank but we parted that sunny afternoon as close friends pulled together by the majesty of the river and the inherent shared interest in our quarry swimming just below the surface. From the fine folks at Flint Riverkeeper we learned about some of the threats that currently challenge the river and everything that relies upon it. In simplistic terms, the Flint river can be bisected in order to more easily look at the regional issues that effect it. The northern section, the headwaters down to approximately Georgia highway 19, is most threatened by urban runoff, wetland diminishment, sedimentation and increased commercial and residential development as Atlanta’s suburbs spread further south. Unfortunately these issues are all too common in our watersheds these days and their effects compound off of one another. As wetlands are cleared and drained, the sediment disturbed by increasing development eventually settles in the main stem of a river. With the wetlands gone, a valuable filter is erased that helped mitigate the impact of storms, toxic runoff and other serious threats. Dams, the great enemy of many modern conservationists, remain a threat on the upper section of the Flint. For decades, power companies lobbied for the creation of hydroelectric dams to provide cheap electricity to the region. The Flint Riverkeeper was founded in large part due to the need locals discovered for there to be a permanent organization designed to protect the river and its watershed from such dams. Despite their potential upsides, dams can prove absolutely devastating to local, endemic wildlife; particularly when that bio-diversity comes in the form of species that have evolved into their specific environmental niches like those found on the Flint river.
Below highway 19, the Flint Riverkeeper reports that the problems come in new forms. Instead of industry, sedimentation and the fear of dams, the lower Flint is subject to heavy overuse. This typically comes in the form of agriculture as the Flint serves as the lifeblood to Georgia’s bread belt. In low water years when the region’s crops are stressed by drought, farmers are forced to turn to the Flint. With normal conditions, the Flint is capable of augmenting natural rainfall and wells without issue. However, when substantial drought has already taken its toll on the river, the agricultural withdrawals can prove too much for the river, in places nearly draining it completely. It can seem impossible to believe but during some of the terrible droughts of the early 2000’s, sections of the Flint featured just a small rivulet flowing through the barren riverbed. In recent years though, some hope has come through on this front. Recently, the governor’s office helped fund a new cost-sharing program aimed towards local farmers to help provide for the introduction of new, more efficient irrigation equipment and techniques. The farmers, who are largely in favor of the modernization of their equipment, thankfully see the bigger picture when it comes to keeping as much water in the Flint as possible while still ensuring future harvests. With new, efficient center pivot irrigation equipment paired with revolutionary smart phone apps that measure the moisture levels in the soil, hopefully the agricultural impact on the lower Flint and be ameliorated.
The fishing on the Flint river can be nothing short of spectacular. As we floated past incredible shoal lily stands, mountain laurel and even Spanish moss, we pulled fish after fish to our hands. Fishing simple streamers and soft plastics, dozens of fish fell victim to our efforts before being quickly released back into the incessant flows. The Blue Line ‘sculperino’ was my fly of choice and aided me in catching more than a dozen fish up to 20 inches long. The Flint’s shoal bass population is robust and features plenty of fish that are 18 inches or longer. Paired with their innate athleticism, the shoal bass in the Flint are truly one of the greatest sport fish available on light tackle. Floating a scenic river home to dynamic, well-adapted wildlife endemic only to this very specific eco-system, the fishing is just the icing on top of the cake. It’s nearly impossible not to be swept up in the grandeur of the river and all that it supports.
While many anglers turn their noses up at them, longnose gar are an incredibly fun and unique fish to target with fly rods. They typically feed close to the surface making sight-casting a viable option much of the time. Indeed, the sight of a gar chasing behind your streamer can be an exhilarating sight! The most difficult part of catching a gar is the initial hookset as their bony snouts are difficult for a hook to find purchase in. Once connected though, gar can take blistering runs and wild leaps to try and throw the hook. If a native fish prime for sight-casting, that runs, jumps and looks so unique doesn’t sound appealing, you might just need to check your priorities!
The fish, the plants, the animals, the rocks, the history and the economic importance of the Flint are all a part of the same narrative woven together by the currents of this mighty waterway. All of them are interconnected as they are intrinsically dependent on the same watery source stemming from a small spring under a concrete monument to man’s industrialization. Still, “life, uhh, finds a way” and the river’s inhabitants live on much the same as they did eons before we began to interfere with them. Threats come and go; drought, excessive agricultural withdrawals, industry needs, development, erosion, toxic discharges and other factors challenge the sanctity of the river. The work done by organizations like Flint Riverkeeper are absolutely essential for protecting our world’s waters. Without someone to ring the bell and garner support, our rivers can seem hopelessly mired by the problems of our modern world.
