They've Got Trouble

A week ago tonight I went on a boat ride with my cousin Chip and his family, as well as my cousin Joanne and her husband Kent. It was very nice to spend time with all of them, especially since I did not know Chip's wife Kim before that evening. I only got this one picture, because of course the batteries in my camera decided to die.

They have a nice boat, and it was a nice ride. . .

EXCEPT - they've got a problem on the Illinois River. A BIG problem. Jumping Asian carp. In the picture above, there are people trying to bowfish in the two boats to the upper right. Apparently it's become great sport to try to kill the carp. I'm sure there are no limits set.

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You have to be watching all the time. One almost jumped in the boat, and one did jump up against the back - we could hear the thud. This link is to a YouTube clip taken by somebody who left from the same marina we left from, and is a lot like what we experienced. Apparently it's bad enough that you have to be especially careful when skiing or letting kids tube from behind a boat. It is really a shame, and even worse, they've taken their toll on the native fish. I hope somebody can come up with some solution to get rid of those obnoxious fish - especially since they're headed toward Lake Michigan.

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One of my phobias is being around a fish out of water. Kind of like reverse drowning. So flying Asian carp could keep me awake at night.