Lake Cleanup – Adopt a Lake Program

The weather has put my cleanup on the backburner this year. Now that the blizzards have slowed down and the ground does not resemble muddy quicksand I plan to fulfill some of my cleanup promises. Here is an update on my lake cleanup progress.

One of the lakes that I fish in the southwest metro area tends to collect a lot of trash from wind and less than scrupulous visitors. The bait cans, bottles and other debris can really take fishing quality down a notch. It was unsightly enough that I added this fishing spot to my list of places that receives a cleanup once a year. After annual trips the trash seems to get less and less. The real payoff is not having to trip over all that trash throughout the rest of the fishing season.

(Above: Huge stiff-arm hold on a half full 33-gallon Hefty Bag. Less trash makes better fishing. For me, this is Catch of the Day!)

Organized annual cleanups are one thing. In other cases I do what I can without dropping everything and turning into a one-man sanitation crew. Take this next situation where originally my plan was to drive all this way and get some footage of crappie. The fish were not in spawn mode and the cold front was making conditions from shore a bit soggy. After scouting\casting a few sections I decided what this place really needs is some cleanup.

(Above: This is the before shot. The bag that I used is shown towards the upper right of this picture. I could not get the entire area in the photo but you get the idea.)

Disrespecting nature should not be tolerated and a lot of people complain about it including me. The real trick is actually doing something about it. Now that blizzard season is nearly over trash season is underway.

(Above: This is the area after a little cleanup. We are talking only a few minutes worth of effort here.)

The before and after shots really show what a difference a little effort can make. Cleaning the entire lake would have taken all day and filled a large dump truck. Cleaning two or three sections was something I could do without trash bags and a dumpster service.

I strongly urge folks to adopt the local lakes in their neighborhood or areas that have fished well. Less trash and more fish makes for better fishing so picking up trash along with catch and release are some of my favorite fishing philosophies. It is also a good way to ensure a quality experience for future generations to come.

Good luck and good fishing.