People that leave trash

[Alan Reed]

I was thinking yesterday after being behind two cars that each had someone throw a large polar pop cup out the window while driving, when you are out fishing do you say anything to people that you see leaving their trash either in the water on the bank or in the water?

 

["hamma"]

yeah of course I do, unless they are carrying a piece. Ya never know around here

[scaleface]

Usually not  but I have . I was at the local park just yesterday lots of  litter  had been  tossed with a trash can right there . 

[kickerfish1]

I probably would not. As mentioned above you never know if you are a dealing with a crazed person with a weapon. It is one thing if it was your own property they were littering on. 

[tander]

I never seen anyone throw trash down, but I always pick it up.

[bassinhole]

I was in a park once and started picking up the trash off of the shoreline. My girlfriend and daughter followed suit and before I knew it every kid in the park was lending a hand. We filled 4 large contractor bags full of bottles and cans cleaning the entire park. Meanwhile all the parents sat and watched in disbelief. 

 

Ghandi once said "be the change you want to see in the world". Leading by example many times has wide reaching results.

[Paul Roberts]

I don't say anything. It can be offensive. I do carry out stuff I find though. I also will throw stuff out to trail edge so others might get the hint and help out too. Many do here. 

 

OK... got ahead of myself. Posted without reading. bassinhole nailed for me. 

 

Teaching is rarely effective by lecture. That's what I meant by "saying something" can be "offensive". Simply "doing" let's others do the thinking. Sometimes it's just plain obvious what the right thing to do is. In many cases people just never thought to... bend over and pick something up. Kudos to you bassinhole.

[hunterPRO1]

i have a pond i let people fish, if they leave trash theyre leaving with a hurtin behind.

 

 

[CTBassin860]

I've used my knife to cut up a giant tv box that someone threw down the trail I fish on.Also high schoolers party in the woods so I'm constantly picking up beer cans.The sad part is its conservation land.No respect for nature.

[jr231]

People that leave trash... Are trash. 

[Gundog]

I say something to litters. I also call the cops. The river that I fish is a dumping ground for old tvs, tires, refrigerators, and anything else that the trash man won't pick up. I've reported people to the police more than a few times. I also carry a trash bag with me when I'm fishing or walking along the river to pick up trash. It's just a small thing but if more people did it the river would be cleaner. 

[Spankey]

A lot of areas where there are cans, coons and crows will make a s#!+house out of a place real quick also. 

 

But agree. A lot of trash leaving trash. 

[MassYak85]

If they did it right near me I'd probably give them a "come on man, that's not cool" but I'm not going to look to really get into a confrontation. 

[Scarborough817]

i can help but say something i find it extremely annoying a couple lakes in the area are so littered with trash it bothers me. there are shopping carts, safety cones, beer cans and bottles, just a complete mess and the city doesn't care or do anything about it 

[bassguytom]

It's a battle that we fight all the time. I do it passively by picking up trash and putting it in the trash can. If they don't know the benefits of not littering they never will no matter how much you speak the them. The good news is those kind of people really don't know how to fish because they never take the time to learn. 

[Jacob Phelps]

Usually don't see too many people throw trash on the ground while I'm out fishing, but whenever I see something on the ground or i the water, for instance empty worm cartons, I will pick them up and thrown them away.

[bassinhole]

If everyone on the water/park/conservation area made an effort to take at least two pieces of trash out with them, and leave nothing new behind, every time we could quickly clean-up our resources. 

[mrmacwvu1]

For the most part most of the water I fish is very secluded and the guys that I fish are like me. We all carry trash bags with us and pick up our trash as well as others that we see. I think that it is a matter of taken pride in ones self. How does a person expect to get respect when they don't respect themselves and nature around them.

[gim]

Ice anglers are the worst.  They'll leave all kinds of crap behind them from their drunken outings on the ice and then when the ice melts and breaks up, it either sinks or ends up as floating debris.

 

You guys should visit a place like Brazil or India sometime.  Our rivers, lakes, and waterways are pristine compared to some other parts of the world.  Heck, even in Rio where the Olympics were in August, only half the sewage is treated before it gets discharged into Guanabaro Bay.

[Jar11591]

I don't say anything when I see it, usually. It's rarely worth the possible issue that can arise from confronting someone about their behavior. So aside from quietly stewing over it for hours and thinking about what I'd like to happen to these litterers, I will pick up some trash if it is in my path. I'm not bringing huge bags and cleaning the whole d**n boat launch or bank, but if I'm in my boat and a piece of trash floats by, I will absolutely pick it up and despose of it.

 

Not many things get me more passionate than the topic of littering. I fish a lot in the mountains and can avoid trash-filled lakes sometimes, but I also do a lot of urban fishing. These are the spots that are trashed beyond belief. 

 

Littering is one of the most selfish, scummy things one can do in my opinion.

 

To the people who use the excuse "but everybody else does it too", then the some advice I have for you is to try being part of the solution, not the problem. 

 

Littering is sad, as are EVERYBODY who partakes in it. 

 

 

 

5 hours ago, Yeajray231 said:

People that leave trash... Are trash. 

 

Yep!!

[MassYak85]

2 hours ago, gimruis said:

Ice anglers are the worst.  They'll leave all kinds of crap behind them from their drunken outings on the ice and then when the ice melts and breaks up, it either sinks or ends up as floating debris.

 

You guys should visit a place like Brazil or India sometime.  Our rivers, lakes, and waterways are pristine compared to some other parts of the world.  Heck, even in Rio where the Olympics were in August, only half the sewage is treated before it gets discharged into Guanabaro Bay.

The three most blatant forms of littering I see first hand are ice anglers leaving beer cans (one group last year must have left a full 12 pack scattered), shore fishermen leaving those worm containers, and then fishermen in general leaving soft plastic worms or discarded line. It always amazes me how many bloated plastic worms I see on the bottom in popular areas. When I shore fish it never fails that I see a thing of worms and some line tangled around a stick or bush. The line thing really bugs me so I make it my personal mission everytime to try and pick some up. It's probably the least noticeable but can have a big impact on wildlife. 

[RoLo]

You can't fix the mindset of a litterbug, nevertheless, you can't change the mindset of us trash collectors either

I realize that I cannot bail-out the ocean, but I take away as much trash as feasible.

 

Roger

[soflabasser]

Lots of bass fishermen leave trash in the public lakes I fish,and they seem to not care that they are polluting.These same bass fishermen pride themselves in catch and release bass fishing,which is ironic since they seem to not care for the environment the bass live in.

[Blackhawk83]

Usually try not to provoke others but there are times in the past when I have seen others throw something on the ground when a trash can was only a few feet away. Most of the local waters I fish seem to stay fairly clean of general rubbish but I constantly see others discard old line from birds nests or worn out plastics onto the ground. That's when I try to come by and pick it up for them. Usually,with some sort of off hand comment about being part of a local bass club that is trying to get and keep the area cleaned up. Who knows maybe it plants a seed.

 

 

[flyingmonkie]

I pulled a Hoover vacuum cleaner off the bank and hauled it to a dumpster this afternoon.  No joke.

 

Vandals, thieves, and litterbugs.  UGH!!!