I set about to track down the owner of the last island on our list, Scotts Island, but was unable to talk to the correct person. Instead, myself and Pam Tegelman returned again to the Wheeler Island complex (eeek). This time we went to the head of the upper Wheeler Island, and managed to set three net sets around the head and along the south side where the water is shallow and plenty of overhanging trees should make for a great site. This probably was the most comical setups yet...working in waist deep water, dropped poles disappearing into the murky storm runoff, thrashing through the brush only to be surrounded by a vast field of poison ivy. To top it off, we called in a drive-by supply run of Technu poison ivy repellent which arrived by hurtling from Rt. 60 to us in the river. Since the island around our nets was now revealed to be impassable by foot, we elected to hide in the boat all night, motoring past the nets for a check, then letting the mighty Kanawha drift us downstream alongside tree pieces, paint cans, milk jugs, cans, dead fish, and a multitude of other debris which is kicked up after every heavy rain. Once again we came up with zero bats in nets, even with clear, calm weather. What is up with these crummy islands??

Tom Malabad and Dave Wayland took over the Isle of McDonalds (Site 5) for another evening of nothing, and to make matters worse, the power was out in Smithers so they could not even indulge in sampling the bovine delicacies which are all too familiar to us travelers.

Chris Sanders and Neil Bossart picked up a third site downstream of Smithers (Site 6). There they found seventeen big browns and a single little brown which would eventually be snagged in their nets. The big browns were mainly lactating females, should be just another couple weeks till the young big browns will be flying. JC/CS