Is it so hard to pack it out?

[JeannaJigs]

The last few weeks I've been scouring the banks in my quest to catch more fish...and literally everywhere I went, one thing was a constant...TRASH. Lots of it, not just a bottle here, or there...we are talking massive amounts. We all see it. I've always packed mine out, my parents basically beat into me the whole "leave no trace" concept. In just TWO bank spots on stagecoach road (Siuslaw river) I picked up a 40 gallon bag of beer cans, beer bottles, taco bell cups, styrofoam take out boxes, starbucks and ninas espresso cups, dirty diapers, cig butts, skoal cans, discarded yarn, damaged corkies, broken hooks, TONS of line, ziplock bags with god only knows what inside them, bait containers, discarded spawn sacs, etc. you get the idea. (Thankfully i have this quirk that I keep latex gloves in my bag because I don't like to eat my lunch with fish hands, so i whip out the gloves to eat lunch lol..ya I know...but those gloves came in handy this time and it wasn't for eating lunch)

It was disgusting. I don't want to be handling other people's nastyness, but It was so overwhelmingly dissapointing to see so much trash, that I just did it.

I realize that a lot of people probably see stagecoach road as a refuse disposal area, the people living there live for the most part in poverty, there's a buttload of rusted out cars in ditches, etc...so perhaps they don't take much pride in the area...but that's no reason to leave trash on the banks that eventually will make it's way into the river that sustains the fish we love to catch.

So next time your out, pack it out, and maybe pick up a little extra that someone thoughtless person left behind.

 

[Cascade]

first off THANK YOU. This serious subject was just on my mind today and I am glad to see you said something about it and had the nerve, gumption and goodness to DO Something. I have to constantly pick up trash on that stretch of river in particular and pretty much anywhere I go. It truly amazes me the laziness and disrespect of some people, it doesn't take much to clean after oneself, hopefully ones will take notice of the beauty of this area we live and keep it as you left it. Keep up the good work! hope you catch tons o fish for your efforts.

 

[mikeredding]

That is a wonderful thing you did. You went above and beyond. I had never seen anything like this until I moved to Springfield 10 years ago. I was born and raised in the Oakridge area and we very rarely saw much more than a cigarette but on the ground. Everyone live and played there and always respected it as their backyard. Unfortunately it is not like that closer to the larger metro areas.

 

[GraphiteZen]

Great job. I got into the habit a long time ago and you know what? You find gear doing that. I have found more lures than I can count, knives, bait, rods and reels, in fact just today on the Siletz I found a set of binoculars (unfortunately it was immediately obvious why they were in the river, but fixable), a mini basketball, a bluefox and a really old cork-top pyrex bleach bottle. Any time I see line in the trees or the water it getting gathered up. I have seen too many birds tangled up in trees because of this.

 

[Outdrsmn]

I agree, and i think it is disgusting. The last thing i want to see when i am out in the woods on a river or a lake is a bunch of trash. I always pack mine out.

 

[FromTheHills]

Plastic, plastic everywhere

Plastic, plastic everywhere

Thanks Jenna, that's a healthy reminder for us all, of the problem and of the leave no trace ethic.

I'm repeatedly in awe and too often disappointed when I'm out on rivers, at times even in wilderness areas, and I find a pile of cans, or jumble of line and a candy wrapper stuffed between some rocks, or even a soiled diaper along the shore.

This isn't just an Oregon problem, it's everywhere. Interesting thing about Oregon, compared to places in the East where I have mainly fished, Oregon seems to at least have trash cans and dumpsters at different access points-- meaning there is absolutely no excuse.

I could go on and on about this... but the main thing I wanted to share is a recent story I heard about plastic in the stomachs of ocean fishes. This is particularly relevant in Oregon-- where does the plastic come from?

Well-- all that junk left on the shores of coastal rivers gets flushed and crushed and ends up in the big blue along with all the other "resident" debris from ocean vessels, etc. And the fish too often see it as food.

"The Algalita Marine Research Foundation’s investigation of plastic in the North Pacific Central Gyre of the Pacific Ocean showed that the mass of plastic pieces was six times greater than zooplankton floating on the water’s surface. This study is one of many that demonstrate that our oceans have become the virtual garbage can for the developed and developing world.(1)"

What is a gyre? Oceanic gyre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here's a few more links:

Plastic Debris: Rivers to Sea Project
Plastic Debris Rivers to Sea Project

Plastic Debris Washed Ashore (interesting map)
Plastics in Our Oceans

The Plastic Sea
The Plastic Sea :: Views :: thetyee.ca

10 Million TONS Of Trash Floating In Pacific
Plastic Pollution in the Earths Oceans

Plastic in Our Ocean
Plastics in Our Oceans

 

[JeannaJigs]

first off THANK YOU. This serious subject was just on my mind today and I am glad to see you said something about it and had the nerve, gumption and goodness to DO Something. I have to constantly pick up trash on that stretch of river in particular and pretty much anywhere I go. It truly amazes me the laziness and disrespect of some people, it doesn't take much to clean after oneself, hopefully ones will take notice of the beauty of this area we live and keep it as you left it. Keep up the good work! hope you catch tons o fish for your efforts.

It's a subject that's been on my mind for a long time, everytime I go out...and it's just frustrating. I wish people would care more about it.

 

[JeannaJigs]

That is a wonderful thing you did. You went above and beyond. I had never seen anything like this until I moved to Springfield 10 years ago. I was born and raised in the Oakridge area and we very rarely saw much more than a cigarette but on the ground. Everyone live and played there and always respected it as their backyard. Unfortunately it is not like that closer to the larger metro areas.

The Mckenzie is almost worse than the siuslaw, i imagine if you live in springfield you get up there a bit. There's no excuse for it there's trash cans everywhere up there. The problem with the Siuslaw is that the people that DO live there don't even care....it's just dissapointing. You're right about oakridge though, very clean up there.

 

[JeannaJigs]

Great job. I got into the habit a long time ago and you know what? You find gear doing that. I have found more lures than I can count, knives, bait, rods and reels, in fact just today on the Siletz I found a set of binoculars (unfortunately it was immediately obvious why they were in the river, but fixable), a mini basketball, a bluefox and a really old cork-top pyrex bleach bottle. Any time I see line in the trees or the water it getting gathered up. I have seen too many birds tangled up in trees because of this.

I find a all kinds of stuff too, lots of blue fox lures this year since the river is way lower than it has been in a long time.

I was over at Siltcoos lake this fall for Coho and there was a seabird trapped in the water with HEAVY line, probably 40 pound test. we tried to help it, but everytime we got near it, it would dive under water and pop up somewhere else, but was still trapped. I imagine it likely died when it gave in to exhaustion and likely drowned. I felt pretty bad for it. There's no reason to be using that heavy of line to begin with over there, they're coho, maxing out at 15-17 pounds usually.

it's not so hard to clean up our messes, I wish more people would.

 

[JeannaJigs]

I agree, and i think it is disgusting. The last thing i want to see when i am out in the woods on a river or a lake is a bunch of trash. I always pack mine out.

Good job packing it out

 

[JeannaJigs]

Here's a few more links:

It is indeed not just an Oregon problem, it is everywhere, some places worse than others.

 

[SDK]

Wow thanks for the links.

It is indeed not just an Oregon problem, it is everywhere, some places worse than others.

This is a pet peeve of mine as well, and Oregon is better than a lot of places. In NY, even nature reserves were full of garbage, and camping day laborers were becoming a big problem in the mountain bike trails near my house.

My wife and I would scuba dive most summer weekends, and I almost always filled a mesh catch bag with crap on every dive. The good side was I never needed to buy surfcasting tackle. I collected so much I started giving it away to the other fishermen in my office...

 

[Green_Tackle]

I also pick up trash when I go out. I try to focus on monofilament fishing line (stays in the environment for 600+ years) and lead weights and sinkers (toxic). Since both of these items should not be just tossed into the trash either, I keep a box of each in my basement which can be recycled once it's full.

 

[Hawk]

Sisters & Brothers your doing a Great Job picking up trash....................

I especially look fer 6pack plastic rings & fishin' line. Birds die getting tangled up in that stuff & die.......................................:naughty::naughty:


It really bothers me when i see large appliances etc dumped off a steep bank on BLM land. Refrigerators, washers, dryers, couch, etc......................................


Have a Great Day Y'all......................Happy fishin'.....................

 

[mikeredding]

It really bothers me when i see large appliances etc dumped off a steep bank on BLM land. Refrigerators, washers, dryers, couch, etc......................................

Yes, that is a really big one for me too. With the cost of gas I would think it would be cheaper to take it to the dump anyway. Laziness I guess.

 

[JeannaJigs]

Sisters & Brothers your doing a Great Job picking up trash....................

I especially look fer 6pack plastic rings & fishin' line. Birds die getting tangled up in that stuff & die.......................................:naughty::naughty:


It really bothers me when i see large appliances etc dumped off a steep bank on BLM land. Refrigerators, washers, dryers, couch, etc......................................


Have a Great Day Y'all......................Happy fishin'.....................

That frustrates me too. People think it's their personal dump, and of course it's always inaccessible so you couldn't get it out of there if you wanted to. People are the environment's worst nightmare. The Earth will smile when we are extinct, but will still be dealing with the crap we left behind.

 

[fishnquest]

It's amazing sometimes what I see on the banks. Like the large appliances; got those here too along with the occasional hulk of some old car!
especially since its so remote here, we usually just go upstream until we hear banjos, then fish back down...still find the occasional plastic bottle, alum can to pack out along with the mono line. Its just part of the adventure anymore.

 

[GraphiteZen]

we usually just go upstream until we hear banjos, then fish back down.

Haha!! CC and I had a little encounter like that when we drove too far up a certain road looking for a fishing trail...

 

[luv2fish]

The worse is when you stop somebody from doing this kind of act and they go all ballistic on you...i've had it ones. I made him pick all the freakin plastic containers he dumped... ( ofcourse my freinds were there...like 10 - 12 of em...lol...)...ofcourse he was mad that a foreigner made him do that...but hey i can't let anybody take a toll on this beautiful planet ...atleast not when i'm there....

 

[JeannaJigs]

good job haha. I usually avoid confrontation, and will clean up after other people, but I am not a man and i go out by myself, and i am hassled enough without telling people to clean up after themselves. People are nuts. There's times when i'm out there i wish i was carrying a gun.