Unfortunately, there's plenty to carp about

I haven't slept well for two days. The tossing and turning left me wrapped in blankets and sheets, and my body feels as if I've spent hours running through the forest.

And then it all came to me. My dilemma can be directly attributed to government, at all levels, and its inability to respect the wishes and needs of the people.

We seem to be living like life is a massive chess board spread out before us, with pawns being knocked over in all directions. And we are the pawns.

Especially when it comes to the debate over Asian and silver carp. There is so much finger-pointing going on that the entire scenario resembles chapters from an old Mad magazine.

Bighead Asian and silver carp apparently are lurking behind every steel-belted radial tire left to decay in the Chicago Sanitary Shipping Canal. And if the name of this waterway doesn't scare you, allow me to tell you what really frightens me.

I have been railing about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for some time. This military contingent of schooled professionals has been the subject of frequent criticism.

And it took an ugly fish to bring out the ugly truth as it related to the art of passing the buck.

In today's tale, the state of Illinois appears as David struggling against Goliath in the form of the federal government and the Army Corps. I am distilling the issue into a Cliff Notes version for your personal edification.

The carp showed up in the Illinois River and a few other watery spots some years back and didn't seem to present much of a problem. And then these buggers started to multiply and grow in biblical numbers and sizes.

Many of us were amused in recent years as we ran our boats through the schools of silver carp, leading to a lively exhibition of jumping acrobatics that often resulted in bystanders getting smacked in the head as the fish landed in the craft. It was like having old Riverview Park back with us.

But then we were alerted to the huge presence of bighead carp, adding to the angst of anglers, biologists and bureaucrats alike.

After much hand-wringing and accusations, the issue found its way to the halls of Congress, where our elected officials decided to come forth with some funds to put an end to carpology and blame-tossing.

But wait, there's more. Now officials in DuPage County are worried about the carp taking residence in their pristine waters.

The Daily Herald's Jake Griffin has reported the DuPage County Forest Preserve District gave the nod for the Army Corps to build a new fish barrier in the Centennial Trail area to restrict any carp movement should a flood occur and create runoff from the nearby Des Plaines River.

All of this frenzied action follows on the heels of the Corps' failed efforts to effectively stop the invading carp with its electric barrier near Lockport.

It will be interesting, and maybe tragic, to see everyone scramble for cover when some unsuspecting fisherman hooks one of these carp that has grown to the size of a Ford Pinto and has somehow found sanctuary in Belmont Harbor.

Outdoor notesWinter certainly doesn't mean you've got to stop fishing - or catching. The latest from area waters:Fox Chain: Excellent crappie and bluegill angling on Pistakee Lake. Very good crappie and white bass on Petite Lake, while Lake Marie suddenly has come alive for walleye fishermen working 10 feet of water.Lake Michigan: If you work hard and move around, you may do well on Montrose Harbor for perch. East Chicago and Gary are seeing brown trout and steelhead action now.Cook County: Should be safe ice at Skokie Lagoon, where the bluegill action is good. Axehead Lake has fair bluegill and a few trout stragglers.Derby time: Wayne at Herman's Lounge on Nielsen's Channels is holding his annual ice derby Sunday. Sign- up starts at 6:30 a.m.bull;#160;Mike Jackson can be reached via e-mail at angler88@att.net, and you can catch his outdoors radio program 6-7 a.m. Sundays on WSBC 1240-AM.