Pick up Your Trash!

April 22 is Earth Day this year. Anglers, as people who routinely interact with nature, can play a huge role in helping to conserve and protect this planet of ours. Probably the easiest way to help out is to “pack out your trash”. How many times have you gone to your favourite fishing hole only to find it strewn with trash – pop bottle, wrappers, discarded fishing line etc. One of the worst starts to a fishing trip I had was showing up at a back country camp-site shortly after a holiday weekend only to find it covered with debris, broken and discarded beer bottles, broken lawn chairs etc. Even more sad was the large trees that had been toppled for no apparent reason. After two hours of clean-up and a trip back to the launch with a boatload of garbage we could finally set up camp and get to fishing.

If we all packed out our own trash and picked up a little extra every time we went out, our shorelines and riverbanks would be a whole lot cleaner. Something to think about.

Happy Earth Day!