An Open Letter

[vaparrothead]

I realize that the "person" who this is addressed to probably isn't a member of this prestigious group but I'm hoping he might have a fiend or co-worker who is

Dear Jerk: Today I pulled approximatly 40 yards of fishing line you left in bushes/trees and water at Lake Mercer. I also pulled off the small bluegill (dead) that was at the end of the line you left. If I could pull it off the limbs and roll it up to throw away then you certaintly could. People who use the trail sometimes complain to me about the trash "fishermen" leave. I explain to them that fishermen don't leave trash we want to have the water at least as good (if not better) the next time we use it. Trash is left by people who don't care and are not indicative of how fishermen treat the waters they fish on. So the next time you have a "professional overrun" or whatever caused you to leave so much line please do us all a favor and pick up after yourself. I realize you probably won't but it sure makes me feel better to say it.

[roadwarrior]

I carry a trash sack to my ponds...They are MY PONDS!

[AK-Jax86]

One of the ponds I go to someone always leaves their trash behind. I have found a bunch of line, empty bait bags, soda cans, food wrappers, empty bottles. I hate seeing all of that every time I go. i think I am going to start to carry a garbage bag with me leave it in my car and if I ever run into this slob I'm going to open up his car and dump all the trash in there.

[SirSnookalot]

In Florida just about everyone I run into that inshore fishes totes but 1 rod and lure or 2, there is no garbage. However the bait fishermen are terrible, a group of lazy pigs. There is never a trash container to far away and there are special containers for just used lines, yet they are not used near as much as they should be. That isn't the worst of it, it's rotting live bait, boxes of squid, unwanted or cut up fish used for bait, just left on a pier or seawall. Not to say everyone is guilty, I personally know many responsible fishermen, that are bait only guys, but for the most part there is nothing in the world I despise more than bait fishermen. I see a cast net or sabiki and I'm looking for another place to fish.

Bait is very popular here and catch and release in saltwater is a much rarer practice, even by expert anglers. Took me a little time to get my mindset accustomed to giving my fish way instead of releasing them, when I'm alone all fish get released.

[Shane Procell]

My favorite fishing hole has a homemade ramp and is in side the border of a national preserve. For years a trash pile had been growing in the bushes at the launch. Last year I finally had enough and decided it would have to be cleaned up. I took a F-250 with five * drums to the launch. I filled up the five drums and two 55 gallon * bags with mostly beer bottles and cans. The very next week a new pile was starting to grow. The not so funny thing is that it is the local fishermen leaving the trash.

[J Francho]

SOP is to bring a small plastic grocery bag, and grab what you can at each shore trip. Every little bit helps, and maybe others that see you will be inspired to do the same.

[quanjig]

You should know by now that a long cast like that far exceeds the line capacity of the "can" rod/reel combo favored by the locals!!

[Orpssab]

We are constantly picking up trash on the shores of Lake Hartwell here in SC. It's the redneck partiers and some of the live bait fishermen who are leaving this crap all over.

Nothing closes public access like liter! I've seen it happen more than once. Like oink says, pick up what you can. When I lived in New York we had state parks with "carry in carry out" policies. Trash containers were removed that were there for years. You can just guess what the ground looked like with no place for these pigs to dump thier garbage.

Many bass clubs have "lake cleanup" days. Although it made only a small dent in the trash it was great PR!

[bocabasser]

well said parrotthead. now if we can just get those people who flick their ciggarette butts in the water to stop.

[Bassn Blvd]

Does anyone remember the commercial that used to come on many, many, many, years ago about the indian walking through a clean meadow and up to a hill. He then walks to the top of the hill and sees "civilization" on the other side. On the "civilization" side he sees a stream with a grocery cart, dead bird and litter in it. The camera then focuses in on the indian's face and you see a tear rolling down his cheek?

I had that same feeling today out in the boat. I didn't cry but felt like it. Actually, I got very angry and wanted to donkey kick someone. I was enroute to Lake Clarke Shores from Lake Osborne via the Keller canal and saw a couch (yea, a *** couch), a cooler and an assortment of bottles and trash along the bank. I swear some people are so *** ignorant that they should be forced to live at the local dump.

[J Francho]

[Bigbarge50]

parrotthead 1)- Good to see you on here again

2)- I will def keep my eyes out around mercer too for this guy. People who walk around mercer always ask me why I have so much stuff compared to most guys...... and I explain the white bag is hard baits, the blue binder is soft plastics, the yellow bag is flashlights, bug spray, ect and the plastic bag is the trash I pick up from everyone else.

Sometimes I wish park rangers and select fishermen were issued a paint ball gun and when we see people disrespecting our resources they could just give em a paintball in the shin.....

[A-Jay]

I fish in some fairly remote areas. These spots are definately no exactly easy to get back into.

Waters that have no boat ramp and really no access road to speak of - something close to a two-track at best.

It always Blows My Mind - to find all kinds of assorted crap on the way into / out of these lakes.

What kind of a knuckle head goes through all the trouble to get way back there - and then leaves a trail of waste behind ? Makes no sense.

I shake my head and pick it up.

A-Jay

[SirSnookalot]

I'd love to see some of the areas down here as clean as that waterfall pic. I did some freshwater canal fishing today, this isn't the first time I've noticed all the crap both in and out of the water. On the drive home I was thinking to myself, I'm not going to freshwater fish anymore except in my neighborhood where it's clean. It's clean because responsible people live here that care what the area looks like, can't say the same for other places.