Health hazards?

[Sheepdog8404]

Probably just me being paranoid but does anyone have any credible information/references on either the presence or lack of health hazards related to fishing the American during and shortly after a storm?

My reasoning for this question comes from my time spent living in San Diego and fishing the surf. It was common practice for fishermen and surfers alike to avoid contact with the beaches and the surf during a storm and for a few days after it has passed. Reason being, the rain washes all the Staph, MRSA, crud, pollution and god knows what else off the roads, down the gutters and eventually onto the beaches and into the surf. It's one of the worst times to drag your line through the water and then go to tie on a new fly and pop that knot in your mouth to lube it up before you cinch it down.

I understand that this is sort of an extreme comparison but when I was out fishing the river today, the thought was ever present and quite frightening. Am I being paranoid or is this a logical concern to have?

[STEELIES/26c3]

I fished today and noticed a stronger odor from effluent (sodium sulfite, I think) released in the river...

I know it is used in water treatment but damn, it just don't seem right goin' in to our river~;(

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Imagine all the stuff that is washed off the streets into the river after no rain for a long time?

[Tony Buzolich]

GEEEEZ! We can't do anything any more. Paranoid ? Maybe" overly cautious" would be a more likeable word and we could all still go fishing?
Tony

[johnsquires]

I'm about halfway through the book "Big World, Small Planet, a real eye-opener. I suspect, as the old saying goes, We ain't seen nothing yet.

[Sheepdog8404]

Tony, I am probably more aware than the average person when it comes to finding potential health risks. This is most likely due to my military background as a Navy Corpsman where it was my job to look for such things. However, it shouldn't be viewed as a "bad" attribute, in my opinion. I'm sure if you spent the time in San Diego and saw/heard the stories of surfers going out and getting a mouthful of fresh runoff water in their mouth, then ending up violently ill in the hospital or with MRSA in their mouth, you would probably err on the safe side too!

Bill, your point makes me even more suspicious of fishing after the first couple rainstorms.


DISCLAIMER: I'm not creating this thread to come across as a health freak and scare people away from fishing during storms. I'm just trying to, for my own curiosity, find out if there's anyone else out there with the same thoughts or possibly with some credible information regarding the topic when it comes to a river running through a metropolitan area. Obviously the threat of illness is much higher here than would be on say, the upper American or any other river located in Rural areas and forests.

[johnsquires]

Not to mention eating any fish.

[jerole1978]

I will say this, I got a staph infection in my arm about 5/6 years ago and trust me when say it sucked. However, I didn't get it from wading in water, just a scratch on my arm that itched was all it took. When I went to the doctor he said mrsa is everywhere. You could go into your house and swab a corner and there will be staph and or mrsa. The doctor said it's just a matter of when or if the body lets the infection in