One of the things that frustrates me more than almost anything is litter. There are a lot of things that pollute our environment more than litter, things that do more harm in our waterways and forests that are done at the hands of corporations. Litter, though, is a product of laziness and a lack of personal responsibility. It is especially frustrating to me when I see trash left behind by fellow anglers at fishing holes.
Leaving trash behind can cause all sorts of problems for wildlife. If there is lead involved, it is a toxic material leaching into the water. Line can get tangles around fish, around waterfowl, around turtles. I’ve found turtles that are floating, dead in the water, that have choked on someone’s line and hook left behind.
The other day, I was out fishing and picked up a ton of line from at least three different people.
This isn’t the only time I have picked up this sort of thing, or other trash left behind by anglers.
What I’m getting at, here, is you need to pick up after yourself. Throw things in the trash or recycling, reuse them if you can. Stop putting this stuff in our waterways so that wildlife gets caught in it or it puts chemicals into the water that prevent healthy ecosystems.
I know there are people out there that may say “but Matt, I don’t visit creeks, streams, ponds, or lakes. I keep my feet on dry land!” When you flick a cigarette butt or throw out a McDonalds wrapper, it will almost inevitably end up in the waterways. Rain will come and wash it into a stormwater system which will carry it, you guessed it, into a stream.
For those of you that do spend time outdoors and may end up cutting off some torn up soft plastic or having to unspool a baitcaster because you ended up with a bird’s nest from hell, I make a recommendation.
This is the Largemouth PIOPOD (Pack-it-Out Pod) from Fishpond. This can go into a cupholder, clip to your gear, whatever, and you can deposit your line, hooks, plastics, all of it in there to be disposed of responsibly at a later time. You can see, here, that I have mine clipped onto my fishing crate so it always goes with me.
I also carry trashbags, but that it more for picking up after other people than for my own trash.
The big takeaway, here, is that littering does harm to our wildlife populations. No matter where you are, when you litter you are not only making the place look bad, you are putting the lives of the plants and animals in your area at risk.
Shenandoah Angling 