responsibility on the river

[honky kong]

this is a note that results from many nights of b.s.ing beside the river. as a group, my friends and i have been encountering record amounts of debris at a number of spots this summer in the le seuer to new ulm stretch of the minnesota. we have frequently cleaned up after sloppy riverfisherman who often make us somewhat ashamed of being considered in the same class of fisherman. we all sit and praise the river and the exciting fish it provides for us to catch but some still seem to abuse it. i would like to commend the fisherman that clean up after themselves (bottles, bags, old line, cans, etc.) and encourage everyone that is on the river to help "our river" by not leaving a mess behind. this includes leaving dead fish on shore. i don't mean to preach, i just want to help the river.

colin

[rushing]

Well said Colin! You should post that one the MN river board too!

rob

[Ralph Wiggum]

Agreed. If you can't take it with you, don't bring it. I always pick up other peoples' trash when I see it and it disgusts me!

[hanson]

Leaving dead fish on shore p***es me off the most. Just because the person catching the fish doesn't think they are of value, some of the rest of us might; not to mention the fact that it is illegal.

For example, a river I fish up north is full of sheepshead & goldeyes. They may not be the target fish of many folks but I specifically target those goldeyes to use for channel cat bait. Not being able to catch goldeyes really becomes frustrating when you find them laying all over the shoreline because somebody else didn't want them.

Sheepshead, I really don't mind if I catch them. Some of the sheepies in this river get really big and are a blast to catch. Why throw them on shore??

All these fish seem to get along just fine in the river, there are still huge channel cats up north & huge flatheads down here.

Let them go so I don't have to fish in the stink!!

[Tyler Holm]

Very well said and great point.

There are some people that just fish and have no regard for the environment, habitat, regulations, laws, fishing ethics, etc. I’ve seen these people torture fish, and feel no guilt. These are the people that say, “Well its just 1 or 2 pieces of litter. That won’t matter… Just leave it” They might keep a trophy fish, just to show off to others, then not even eat our mount it.

Then there are people that are true outdoorsmen. These people take care of the environment, follow laws, etc. Outdoorsmen love nature and all its creatures. Outdoorsmen leave the environment in a better condition that they found it. We care about the future and participate in things like CPR, cleanups, etc.

There’s no reason to leave a piece of trash behind. And don’t destroy a fish that gave you the satisfaction of catching.

I’ve even seen a person ice a northern out perch fishing and they just left the northern there to die. I would have said something, but I just figured they planed on harvesting that fish. I looked over a bit later and they had all their stuff packed and were leaving the site. They took all their perch, but left that northern. I got their license plates # & called the poachers hotline. I don’t like doing that stuff, but I’ll do it again if I see that sort of thing.

Let’s all strive to be true outdoorsmen and make the environment and the fishing habitat a better place for those who follow us.

[Dan Thiem]

I have always wondered why they can bring it in full and can't bring it out empty. It's lighter aint it?

Sometimes I'll pick up other peoples garbage while they are watching. It makes an impression. And it wil eventually catch on.

[honky kong]

i'm glad to hear that i am not alone in my anger/disgust for these litter bugs. let us all be the example setters and hopefully we can change their ways. at least some of them as i know that some people are not willing to change. nothing will happen if we don't at least try. thanks to those of you who agree.