Monday, February 20, 2012

First clean up of 2012


Sharing a lake with hunters may require additional tolerance and nerves of steel at times. Periodic shotgun blasts that send me diving to the ground are always fun but the shells left behind annoy me after a while. As part of my “Adopt a lake” philosophy I do my best to remove these shells on a somewhat annual basis. Due to this lake’s size it would be difficult to cover the entire shoreline in one day (while working in a few casts). Typically I pick one side or the other and that area gets a good scrubbing every other year or so. Each haul is about the same nearly filling a grocery bag with spent shells. This effort may seem tedious and unnecessary but in my view the cleanup is an ounce of prevention as much as it is cosmetic.

Sports-folks of all types can help serve each other by removing some of the visible blight we may leave behind. A little bit goes a long ways and helps keep our sporting rights in place. Hunting and other funds associated to non-fishing endeavors directly or indirectly help protect fish habitat thus creating a symbiotic relationship. If this lake lost funds from duck hunting others and myself might lose the privilege to fish here. Picking up a few shells now and again is my way of giving back. Breaking the cleanup into smaller sections keeps the chore from being a real back breaker. A lot of people ask what fishing can do for them. I would like more people to ask what they can do for fishing.

My name is Matt and I’m a fishaholic.

7 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

bless you, matt! i detest trash! we humans can do so much better!

The Reverend Fowl ™ said...

These elongated Shot Cups and Wads are the only thing left to protect a hunter’s gun barrel from damage after hunting ammunition rulings. Hunters are now forced to use very hard pellets that can damage guns as well as ricochet. There is a complete lack of follow up support for hunters after ammunition rulings. Before ammunition rulings, a small, felted wool circle would suffice for a wad. This hair or wool would rot away very quickly. At least ammunition rulings have improved the environment?

Fishingtomuch said...

Looks like you are picking up wads. Its kind of hard to find those after you shoot. A lot of hunter do pick their shells up though, just don't give a bad name to all hunter because of something that we can't see fly through the air

Coloradocasters said...

@TexWisGirl: Thank you so much! Picking up trash of all forms at the water’s edge is one way that I give back to the fishing spots that treat me well. Your returned comments bring jubilance to my comment section.

@The Reverend Fowl: Shoot ‘em if you got ‘em. I don’t notice the difference between spent shells and wads of spent fishing line. Neither do well for the image of sports-folks and other outdoor enthusiasts.

@Fishingtomuch: The point of my post is that sportsfolks should be picking up after each other to help preserve our collective image. Spent fishing line and discarded hooks do more damage than spent shells. Rather than complaining or throwing insults, I reach for the solution and pick up both. A lot of hunters do pick up after themselves but in this case I present evidence that proves otherwise. We are all in this together.

Passinthru Outdoors said...

"The point of my post is that sportsfolks should be picking up after each other to help preserve our collective image"

Amen to that. I was always taught to pick it up and pack it out if I see it and I still do today. Normally I come out with more then I went in with. I do a really good job getting our shells picked up, wads become a little more difficult but we always spend some time searching for them during pickup.

Thanks for keeping the outdoors clean.

Passinthru Outdoors Blog - Sharing the Passion

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy pictures posted by fellow bloggers because I get to see all the beautiful land, water, and wildlife from various parts of the world. We each have a responsibility to care for our own little pieces of heaven. Thanks, Matt!

iWalton said...

Hey, that's an inspiring post. I'll try the adopt a lake method too!