TAKE A BAG FISHING

Carl L. Wuebben

How would you feel if you were going your favorite stream, creek, lake or even salt water area only to find it totally trashed with cups, wrappers, cans, bottles, old ice chests, broken folding chairs, discarded fishing line, etc. You find the fish were choking on the trash and debris and the flows were disrupted by the small dams people made for their swimming hole for the day. It would make you feel quite angry wouldn’t it? If only we could effectively convey the importance of picking up after themselves or they can pay the Molly Maids® to clean up after them (which won’t happen any time soon.)

Until we can come up with a better solution, one suggestion may be for everybody to bring a trash bag with them fishing. It doesn’t have to be a huge 55 gallon bag, maybe a 15 gallon or just a couple of grocery bags, and pick up a few things while walking from place to place and carry it out with you to a trash can in the parking lot. Better yet, take with you in the trunk of your vehicle and dump off at the closest dumpster. If everybody pitched in just a little bit it won’t get to be this bad and yes I know what you are saying is “it’s not my trash why should I pick up after others?” Well my answer to that is WE ONLY HAVE ONE PLANET EARTH and if everybody just says “I’ll let someone else pick it up”, then nobody will pick it up and our fisheries will be choked out - the fish will die off and our drinking water will taste and look disgusting.
So please pitch in and help out. Perhaps when you pass a few people that may need a trash bag or two, give one to them and tell them if they could pack out what they brought in, then the place would look a lot better and maybe you would have put a thought in their head to pick up after themselves and others without thinking that it’s not their job to clean up things.

It is our job to clean up and preserve our beautiful fishing spots. So grab your fishing gear and trash bags and pitch in. Maybe even print this article out and give it to a few people to help get the word out. If you take a photo of yourself and your trash bag(s) send it to me! If you find the place is really bad, it may be an opportunity to set up a stream clean up.

Carl Wuebben – Deep Creek Fly Fishers. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

INVASIVE SPECIES

• New Zealand Mud Snails (NZMS) – Whirling Disease – didymo – Quagga Mussel – Zebra Mussel all are an invasive species threat to lakes, trout streams and rivers spread through waders and wading boots, boats and float tubes. If the gear is in the water it can carry it out and to other waters not infected and some of them can live up to 2 weeks out of water so clean and dry your equipment after each outing. These cleaning instructions also work to stop the spread of other dangerous aquatic hitchhikers.
• Sanitze your wading equipment before traveling to new waters. Visual inspection is inadequate.
• According to experts, the best cleaner for your waders and boots is undiluted commercial solutions.
• FORMULA 409 CLEANER DEGREASER DISINFECTANT
• FORMULA 409 ALL PURPOSE CLEANER ANTIBACTERIAL KITCHEN LEMON FRESH.
• KEY WORDS TO LOOK FOR ARE “DISINFECTANT” OR “ANTIBACTERIAL” Bleach is no longer recommended for NZMS, though a 5 to 10 percent bleach solution kills other invasive species such as whirling disease, didymo, and zebra mussels. Grapefruit seed extract, once considered effective for NZMS, has failed several tests.
• Remove inner soles before cleaning and rinse them well to remove cleaning agents before use.
• Completely immerse your gear in the solution in a dry bag or 5 gallon bucket for approximately 10 minutes, and then rinse in clean water. Don’t forget to clean your wading staff.
• Other ways to disinfect your gear.
• HOT WATER BATH (120 to 130 degrees F) for at least 5 minutes or put them in the dishwasher (check with your spouse first). – DRY HEAT Spray with commercial solutions formula 409 cleaner degreaser disinfectant or other soap/detergent (the soap breaks down the mucus that the snail uses to hold onto wet surfaces) and let waders and boots dry for several hours – all mud must be completely dry. The air must be low humidity and over 84 degrees F for 24 hours or 104 degrees F (or higher) for 2 hours.
• FREEEZE EQUIPMENT for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. This is good for winter anglers or if you have a chest freezer (again check with your spouse). Thaw waders before bending them.
• Clean boats, rafts, float tubes and trailers of mud, vegetation, and other debris with a pressure washer or commercial car wash before driving to the next watershed.

PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE MESSAGE!