Monday, September 20, 2010

Still doing the trash pick up thing

(Above: Trash bag photo-op with too much forward hold. This one is for you, Murtle.)


Not going to stop until I make this whole trash pick up thing more popular. At the very least I should be able to get less people leaving trash and more people picking it up. Simple things like clean shorelines should never be too much to ask for. The more clean up you do, the better your fishing spots will become. Most of the time I spare my readers from too much of this material and focus more on the shameless fish bragging but that whole Myrtle Turtle thing got me all fired up again.

The photo comes from the Big Thompson River about a week or so ago. The fee section got in a basic cleanup once the fishing was trip was completed. I managed to pull about a softball-sized wad of fishing line out along with a few bottles, cans, coffee cups, some broken glass and half a bag of other junk. The wind blows quite a bit at times bringing quite a bit of this to the water along with the less than respectful passerby. The effort seems futile at times but this area is fairly pristine most of the time. I had simply caught this stretch of water on a bad day. In an hour or two this jewel was bright and shiny once again. A little bit goes a long ways.

As we see populations continue to grow in Colorado there will be more problems with pollution. Many of these problems have complicated solutions but many of them are as simple as picking up trash. Eventually the world may become completely covered by steel, asphalt and trash. Until then I intend to fight the litterbugs every step of the way at least at a handful of my favorite fishing spots

Good luck and good fishing.

9 comments:

Kalei's Best Friend said...

Good luck w/your determination... Guess the ones dropping the trash are mimicking their parents.. Bad habits start at home...

Pat Cohen said...

It's a great thing you are doing...I wish more people cared about the waters around here as well....I always bring more out with me then I brought in....keep up the positive vibes...

Savage said...

Such a good thing to do. When i go surf fishing i always carry some trash out with me. Whats the most interesting garbage you have found?

Coloradocasters said...

@Savage: By far the craziest thing was the riding lawn mower deck that I pulled out of Boulder Creek in 2005. Looked as if it has been there since the 80's.

Ariel Biley said...

I used to do something similar. I would walk around the lake and fill up a small bag of trash before I started to fish. Glad there are others that clean up for those who don't.

The Sowbug said...

Always amazed at some of the stuff one can haul away from the river banks. It's awesome to know that so many have this quirk to clean up behind others. Thanks!

Sunshine Morrighan said...

Keep doing what you're doing. It does make a difference.

Anonymous said...

I salute you my friend for a job well done, and, the motivation to stay after it trip after trip. Your message, even though daunting, has struck a core with me.

Anonymous said...

You've inspired me! My puppy, Lucy, cannot resist picking up garbage on our morning walks. Tomorrow morning, I will try to remember to bring a bag so I can help her. Thanks for posting.