Litter

[jifigz]

I cannot stand litter. It is probably my biggest pet peeve and annoyance in life. Everywhere I go, no matter how pristine you supposed that it would be or remote, there seems to be garbage. And a lot of it. Just yesterday I was fishing a local stocked stream and whta did I see in one of the pools? An enormous amount of litter swirling around in an eddy. All along the banks, more litter. The sad part of it is, too, is that so much of it was worm containers, in-line spinner packaging, balls of people's mono that they left along the bank, and other fishing related material. How can someone expect to go out and enjoy the nature and stream and apparent decent water quality and then degrade it so much while they are there?

Does anyone have any ideas on how we can start to reduce this litter problem? Picking it up is great and all, but it will be back very quickly. I lose so much faith in the human race because we can't even take a small step like waiting for a garbage or recycling can to ditch that plastic bottle. Any ideas?

P.S. I'm going to be hitting Kish Creek right in Lewistown as soon as I leave work today. Yeah, I'll probably catch a few trout and have a great deal of fun, but I can guarantee that the stream bank will be covered in trash.

 

[FarmerDave]

I hear you.

On Easter Sunday My wife and I took ride in the early afternoon to go for a walk in a park. We ended up down at Shenango Reservoir and walked alongside a wildlife propagation area. Saw lots of bluebirds and even some bald eagles.

Even though we were a mile off the road, we were finding trash. I carried out what I could carry without filling my pockets.

Then we ended up down on the Shenango River near the lock. While there we pocked up even more trash. We even found a huge wad of mono. Somebody took the time to wrap it up and even put a small stick on it to weight it down. It was no ore than 7 feet from a trash can.

I have no suggestions other than to keep doing the little things and picking up after the swine.

People suck.

 

[shortrod2]

Tar and feather the litter bugs.

 

[jifigz]

shortrod2 wrote:
Tar and feather the litter bugs.

I like it. lol.

Seriously, people have no concern or respect for their surrounding environments. I get so angry at this sort of mentality and it is everywhere where I reside. People just don't care. The sad part is is that I really don't think there is any way to reach people and make them actually care about this problem.

And I was right about one thing....the banks of Kish were loaded with trash...I was wrong about catching a fish, however, didn't even have a look at my fly

 

[SBecker]

Wait till after that contest on Kish. Great fun stream. Wish it wasn't so far away.

 

[streamerguy]

I can't stand it either. Just throw your junk away! It's really not that hard of a concept.

Just yesterday while fishing a small lake I heard some movement in the brush behind me. Didn't really think much of it at first, thought it was a squirrel or something, but as I found out it was a small bird tangled in fishing line. After a few quick snips of the line while trying not to get attacked he eventually got free and flew away.

FarmerDave wrote:


Then we ended up down on the Shenango River near the lock. While there we pocked up even more trash. We even found a huge wad of mono. Somebody took the time to wrap it up and even put a small stick on it to weight it down. It was no ore than 7 feet from a trash can.

It's sad how much trash is along that river. I love fishing there for just about everything that swims, but I can't count how many times I've gotten tangled up in line while walking the banks. Seeing McDonalds bags and worm containers 10ft from the trash can is just crazy. For part of a small school project last year a couple buddies and I picked up litter there and nearby Mosquito Lake, and sure enough when I visited both locations a few days later to fish the trash was back. How can these slobs call themselves fishermen...

FarmerDave wrote:

People suck.

+1

 

[jifigz]

SBecker wrote:
Wait till after that contest on Kish. Great fun stream. Wish it wasn't so far away.

When you say wait until after that contest, which I am assuming by contest you mean the tagged trout tournament, do you mean wait and see how much more litter there will be? I am sure there will be a ton. That "tournament" is ridiculous. Tons and tons of people lining the banks. How many fish do they stock for that tournament anyways? I am quite certain that it is A LOT. Kish shouldn't even receive stockings like it does. It should possibly receive fingerlings and that is it. It has great wild brown potential and with a little conservation efforts could be a top notch wild brown fishery.

 

[SBecker]

Yes...lots and lots more trash. It is already a great wild brown trout fishery.

 

[afishinado]

Yup. Last year early in the season, the other TomC / Afish and I stopped at French Creek to see what was going on.

We parked and walked down to popular pool to see if any bugs were hatching and fish rising. There were maybe a 6 or 8 fishermen all along the pool. The bank was lined with bait containers, lure boxes beer cans, and of course the red,white and blue eagle claw hook wrappers. All "angler" trash!

I sure blame the "anglers" that threw the stuff there, but what about the guys there that were walking over, around and on all that litter.

We went back to my truck, got some plastic bags, picked up the trash. BTW, this was all on private property. I wouldn't blame the owner if he posted the area. Sheesh...sad.

 

[JasonS]

Litter is my most treacherous foe. I would like to eat its children.

 

[troutbert]

There are many steam cleanups in PA, many of them this time of year.

Spring Creek's annual cleanup is this coming Saturday.

 

[bikerfish]

people who litter should be shot.

 

[FarmerDave]

It's always been a pet peeve of mine, and I can't resist saying something when I see it happen. One day it might get me in trouble, but so far...

Just a few quick stories to show what I mean.

Was following a car in Oil City one day. A it turned out it was a woman with her kid in the passenger side. Her kid threw some litter out the window. I wasn't going to do anything, but found myself next to her at the light at the bottom of the hill. I said, di dyou know your kid tossed some trash out the window. She said: "IT WAS JUST PLASTIC." :roll:

Stopped at a convenience store, and was already a little annoyed at a punk playing his rap music too loud (tea, I'm old). As I started walking into the store to pay, the punk unwrapped his cigarettes and threw the plastic out the window. I picked it up, reached past his head and threw it on his back seat. He said nothing.

More recently I was at a grocery store. Some dirtbag was sitting in his car and as I neared he tossed the tab from his pop can out the window. He actually took the time to remove it and then tossed it out his window. So I asked him. Do you throw trash on the floor of your house? He said yes. So I picked up the tab and as I tossed it into his back seat I said: Then I guess you won't mind this.

He said nothing. Of course when I saw his backseat, I realized that indeed he wouldn't notice.

People suck.

Cleanups are great, but I've actually heard people use those as excuses to litter. What do they care, somebody will clean it up.

 

[salmonoid]

FarmerDave wrote:

Cleanups are great, but I've actually heard people use those as excuses to litter. What do they care, somebody will clean it up.

I have a love/hate relationship with cleanups. I like the fact that they remove unsightly litter. I hate the fact that they have to happen in the first place, and even more so, if they enable a person to litter, because they think there is some cleanup service that will come after them and clean it up. I try to make a small impact wherever I go; there is usually enough place in my fishing pack for a half dozen smashed cans (filled that puppy up multiple times a few weekends ago in ANF and it is interesting to note that on certain roads, apparently the litterers all drink the same type of beer).

Cigarette butts are a pet peeve; they are small and somewhat innocuous, but I wonder what is going through the mind of the fully decked flyfisherperson, when he/she tosses the butt on the ground or in the stream. It's not just baiters that litter...

If a baiter dumping his line on the ground is littering, do you consider a fly lost to a tree littering? Just wondering...

 

[KeithS]

Ever stand near another flyfisher IN THE STREAM and watch him flick his cigarette butt in the water? SOB told me it was stock water and it didn't matter. I told him he's full of s**t and chased the butt down. A**holes.

 

[FarmerDave]

I hear you Sal, and apparently along my road it is Bud Light.

But I am all for cleanups. I just get discouraged sometimes.

I once stumbled across a camp sight along Tionesta Creek. There must have been two or three pickup loads of trash and TP at at least a dozen trees. Actually my dog found this pile of trash first which I am sure will make you smile. Lots of stuff for him to roll in, so the leash went back on for awhile.

I chose that stretch of stream because of it's relative seclusion because I knew the odds were good that my wife and I could release the dog legally without disturbing anyone else.

Looking at some of the trash, the pigs were from a city. Doesn't matter which city. they just didn't live nearby. I only wish I found some names.

It was likely there from opening day. By the time I stumbled across it, the animals had spread it around.

It ruined an otherwise beautiful day.

I would have hauled out a load but I didn't take the pickup that day because we took the dog. It was also out of cel-phone range so I couldn't report it and no way I could give directions once I was in range. This was actually private land owned by a big timber company who allowed public use.

The pigs likely just didn't care because they knew it would all be gone by the following opening day.

People suck.

 

[melvinp]

I am just about to rename my kayak to the garbage scow ever trip I make I always seem to have a boat load and this is water that does not have a lot of traffic.Did you know that a beer can is heavier whens its empty than when full that's gotta be it.

 

[FarmerDave]

While we are at it, lets talk about those stupid idiotic Mylar balloons.

I have found no fewer than 6 of those damn things on my farm so far this year. 7 if you count the one about 20 feet across a boundary line. Not all at once, mind you and for varying occasions. However, the last two were found about the same time and said Happy Birthday. It wasn't my birthday.

Picked up enough beer cans in front of my property last weekend to fill a plastic shopping bag. Had to provide my own bad though. Mostly Bud Light again, but I did find a PBR. Hadn't seen one of those in awhile.

 

[melvinp]

Took my yak out this weekend on the suski for a fishing turny this weekend and picked up the normal amount of crap couldn't fit the hot water heater in the back had to much other stuff.

 

[FarmerDave]

That's too bad.

Hauling a water heater in on the back of a kayak might have won you a trophy.;-)