Garbage on the ice

[mntim]

I took my kids out yesterday afternoon and hopped out of the car to get set up and could not believe the amount of trash sitting out on the ice. The worst was the endless amount of cigarette butts all over the area. I can pick up beer cans and food wrappers pretty easy but it's impossible to get soggy butts half frozen in the ice. Why do people think that cig butts are any different than throwing a candy bar wrapper or empty can out there?

[BobT]

It's a culture thing. We've grown to accept it as a society and now they think it's acceptable. Too bad.

[slurpie]

I seen the same thing this morning. You could see the ring of a pop can i hope they picked up and not sank. But seven cig butts were frozen on the ice. Really sad I wish there was some way to get them fined for it. And for those that want to throw butts out the window. I hate the smell of cigs. And feel it is very disrespectful by leaving butts or throwing them out windows.

[jwmiller33]

And feel it is very disrespectful by leaving butts or throwing them out windows.

i agree 100%. it is disgusting when people throw cigs out the window... its LITTERING people

[BobT]

Quote:

Really sad I wish there was some way to get them fined for it.

There is a law against littering. But it's one that is even violated by those sworn to uphold the law. That's what I meant by a "culture thing."

[walleyemaniac]

I'm a smoker and I try to be polite about it around non-smokers. I don't throw my butts around and I don't smoke in front of others if they wish me not to. And finally yes you can get fined for throwing your butts on the lake, my sister-in-law got fined two years ago up on Leech because the game warden was watching our boat and saw her flick one over the side. So the ones making these messes better watch out! Your giving the rest of us an even worse wrap!

[BuckyBadger]

Timely post, I was thinking about this topic this weekend. I was trying to figure out the line of litter vs not litter on the ice. One of my fishing partners smokes cigars and leaves the butts on the ice, I told him to pick them up and take them with him, he glanced it off, so I went around and picked them up, did it the second day as well, the next day he kept them himself and threw them away. I actually challenged him to put a cigar holder on the side of his 5 gallon bucket that could store his cigar butts.

Cigars and cigs aside, what about sunflower seeds? I am guilty of spitting these while fishing on the ice, I know they will "disappear" but it looks like [PoorWordUsage] after I leave a hole.

I have also seen orange peels and banana peels on the ice. I feel like these should be taken off as well. But have been told by my fishing buddies they are fine since they are biodegradable . Would you think twice about throwing orange peels on the ground if you were in the woods vs being on a frozen lake?

Easy answer for me is to take it all off the ice and not leave a trace I was there, another reason to hide a hot area, I keep one of those small kitchen bag dispensers in my sled to take out trash. Maybe time to start spitting the seeds into a bag or cup.

[Burnham]

although orange peels, banana peels and sunflower seeds look bad, i dont have a problem with that. i dont eat fruit on the ice lol but will spit seeds. they will decompose and become dirt, i can live with that. sunflower seeds are the only thing i leave on the ice.

[slurpie]

To make it easy i take what i bring. Seeds around the hole look bad and i usually have something to spit them into.

[andrew chadwick]

take only memories( and a few fish), leave only foot steps.

if it goes out it comes back. orange peels take something like 3 years to decompose. take it back with you.

[thedeadsea]

I try to take everything I can with. I dont use any type or tobacco or bring seeds.

If someone does make a bit of a (biodegradeable) mess out there, at least kick some snow over it....

[BobT]

cigar butts don't bother me. It is an organic material no different than a leaf falling from a tree. Cigarette filter butts on the other hand contain plastic which doesn't decompose into anything organically useful.

[Burnham]

oh yea, i forgot they take that long to decompose. now i look at leaving fruit remnants on the ice differently. ive never left fruit on the ice though. im pretty sure seeds decompose fast, but i still will spit them in a bottle if i have one.

[Zoob]

www.lnt.org - leave no trace. Orange peels, cigar wraps, sunflower seeds - aren't part of a lake's natural ecology.

Plus, it looks like [PoorWordUsage] to anyone coming after you to fish the lake.

[Muskiefool]

After a few years of doing lake clean ups I'm convinced Ice fisherman are by far the biggest polluters, not to mention the people that drive out to dump all their yard waste.

[Ed Carlson]

Slobs on the ice or the water, or the woods, or in the field...really [PoorWordUsage] me off!

And again I'll say, we as sportsman/Sportswomen..can't allow it! #1 reason we loose access rights for fishing, hunting, or camping...is due to SLOBS!

Step up, voice your opinions in a non-confrontational manner, let them know this behavior is unacceptable, clean it up as a responsible Sportsman, and embarrass them in front of there friends and all onlookers in the process...it works.

[GrizzlyAdams]

The sad thing is just as much if not more garbage goes into the lake during open water season and sinks out of sight. What makes it different is in the winter atleast this garbage can still be picked up. We will never be able to control people littering, but quit the whining and just pick it up. Yes it makes me sick to see it but I would rather see it on the ice where it can be removed BEFORE it goes into the lake and disposed off. I always carry garbage bags or "walmart" bags with when I go fishing and pick up things I see. It doesn't take any time to do it and makes me feel better knowing I am doing the right thing. All of you complaining about it, think about how much you pollute the lakes by putting your boats in during the summer and get gas in the water. We try and be as careful as we can but it still gets there. Those of you with vehicles that leak oil on the landings while loading and unloading are just as at fault. But its ok because you don't see it right?? All that runs off into the lake. Bottom line is before you start pointing fingers at everybody else, as all of us are too quick to do, stop and think about yourselves and lead by example. Should people that can't afford a nicer vehicle that doesn't leak oil, anti-freeze, gas, etc not be allowed to fish or also be fined????? Pollution goes a lot farther than just garbage on the lake. What bothers me the most is seeing dead fish laying on the ice because someone didn't catch enough to make it "worth" it to clean or didn't feel like cleaning them at all. These are the people we need to watch out for. Like I said, we will never be able to stop people from littering but we can do our part and pick it up. We are not doing it for the people who litter but better yet we are doing it for our kids and hopefully teaching them a lesson in the end. If you don't like to look at it then pick it up and make sure your area is cleaner when you leave.

[tsande00]

I stopped smoking a few months ago so I had to find a new habit while on the ice. Peanuts are my new thing and I keep going back and forth whether it is OK to leave the shells out on the lake. What I decided to do at one point was to just kick some snow over them so I didn't leave any "visual pollution"...It does look nasty to have a big pile of seeds or shells on top of the ice.

Now I'm not so sure if even that is OK, perhaps the best thing is to find a pail or something to throw the shells into. The broken shells do help make nice traction on the floor inside the flip over on them icy days, lol.

[iceman16]

i was fishing out on North center yesterday and it took me an hour to get to my spot cause i had to dtop and pick up so much trash on the ice. my girlefriend was shocked.

iceman

[Surreal Deal]

Last week at the access while waiting for the port-a-john I had my six year-old help me pick up a couple of 1# tanks and a fast food bag that were dumped on the ground less than 30' from a garbage can.

You can do very little to change the short-term behavior of others, but you can teach your own kids for a lifetime. The same goes for all these threads I see about courtesy and ethics.

You cannot force someone to give you the respect that you think you deserve but you have 100% control over how you respect & treat others. Preach it to your kids.

[Muskiefool]

Just got this Trash on the ice

[zamboni]

After a few years of doing lake clean ups I'm convinced Ice fisherman are by far the biggest polluters, not to mention the people that drive out to dump all their yard waste.

Even people that don't fish dump stuff in lakes. When there is ice, a tire can't be thrown in, but every lake has tires on the lake bed. So they were put there pre-ice. The main difference is stuff sits atop the ice and its tough to hide it.

I was part of the decommisiong crew aboard my ship, and from Guam to Hawaii, and from Hawaii to Everett Washington, most of you would have a heart attack if you knew the things that were thrown off the back of the ship.