O Shenandoah, We Long to See You -- in Better Condition

Virginia has established a fish-kill task force to isolate the problems. Meantime, Reeser says fishing is better than might be expected after a highly successful smallmouth bass hatch across the watershed in 2004. As a result, the river sports plenty of 10-inch bass like the ones I caught, he said. If those fish don't succumb to another kill, it could be the foundation for future strong year classes. But that's a big if.

Cramer reckons the cause of all the trouble is fairly simple: Too much farming and development putting too many nutrients and pollutants in the river. "But the state isn't going to indict itself or the agriculture industry," he said.

"Here in Rockingham County, every bit of land that can be farmed is being farmed, and what can't is being developed. We've got 500 dairy farms and 500 poultry farms in this county alone -- that's millions of tons of waste washing into the watershed, plus the nutrients from sewage treatment plants."

Indeed, problems of the Shenandoah sound eerily familiar to anyone who has observed the long-running decline of the Chesapeake Bay, where too many nutrients, mostly from farms and sewage treatment plants, led to algae blooms that clouded the water, blocked sunlight from the bottom and killed off bay grasses that clarify and oxygenate the water and stabilize the bottom.

Similarly in the Shenandoah, algae blooms and declines in rooted grasses are acknowledged to be part of the problem.

At least state and local officials appear to be taking it all seriously. Tourism is a booming industry in the Shenandoah region, which boasts Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park and a dozen or more limestone caves to explore, in addition to the river. Money talks, and no one wants to see many millions of annual tourist dollars jeopardized.

For the moment, the Shenandoah still looks like the grand old stream that inspired a revered, centuries-old song; and depending on whom you talk to, it remains a fine place to go. But these days, even to its defenders, the water looks browner over the next hill.

"We're not doing too badly over here, but from what I understand, the North Fork is a sewer," says Noel, the canoeist who makes his living on the South Fork.

"I think the North Fork is doing a lot better than the South Fork, in all honesty," said Murray, who guides anglers and sells flies on the North Fork.

The truth, as usual, lies somewhere in between, and it's not a happy truth.