Are we snobs?

[ryanh]

I fished the regular water of the Loyalhanna on Sat. I prefer this type of water to that of the delayed harvest up above. Having said that I spend 90% of my time in the delayed harvest section.

I fished a deep productive run just below the bridge by Sleepy Hollow. There were people everywhere and they were cutious. I was the only one FF-ing. What struck me was the amount of trash along the stream. I mean GARBAGE! Propane bottles broken chairs, assorted beer bottles and cans. Then the bridge its self is something of a redneck promonade. There were Kidds in raised trucks at one end and bikers at the other. It looked as if they were having a tow motor pallet fire competition.

Hey I been to Burning Man, I'm all for drunken pagan bonfires but really.....who in this day and age litters like this? I mean what kind of ****** leaves that kind of crap behind? Even when I was a teenager and would party at places such as these we would "clean up the evidence".

So at least in this aspect are we snobs or just grownups?

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

neither! we just understand that respecting the resource and our enviroment is the proper thing to do. iam 29 years old and i can remember picking up trash along the stream when i was 10. i also at 29 feel that iam not completely grown up. i can still act immature and have the ability to laugh at myself. it is when we grow up and forget to have fun that life is not longer as enjoyable. while those people are immature there is no humor in leaving trash like that, just ignorance.

 

[tomgamber]

Ryan, its like that all summer long...fish or no fish. Its a hangout.

One time the kids and I were coming down off the mountain and the asked to stop there. (They like to build things in the little spring that runs down the hill there.) So I figured I catch a few smallies for a few minutes. Next thing I know they are carrying an empty case of rolling rock around picking up all the litter. "Good for them," I thought. I noticed this really big biker dude start moving their way so I kind of started paying closer attention. He calls them over and says something to them. The three of them get up and start walking toward his car so I reel in and start moving that way. Next thing I know he pulls a bags of lawn bags from the trunk and puts their now full beer box inside. He sets it down next to the car and with the kids in tow starts handing out a couple more of these bags to some of the people that I guess he deemed to be regulars. Now there are half a dozen people plus my kids filling bags with litter. They had a pretty good pile built up next to the guys car. At one point he looked at me and waved, shook the kids hands and went back to his chair and his Budweiser. They had that entire area cleaned up in 15 minutes. I guess all it takes is a little motivation.

"...and a child shall lead them..."

But yes, it doesn't have to be that way. What I find somewhat ironic is that if you went to a posted C&R or DHALO area is that every other sign is a litterbug law sign. You don't see them so much on the ATWs.

 

[sdwlucas]

I fished Black Moshannon Creek this evening, caught two. On my way out I noticed from about 100 yards above the parking area there was trash (beer bottles mostly but a few other items) everywhere. I took note that most people who fish that area must only walk about 100 yards and are either out of beer by the time they go further upstream or just don't go upstream. Either way my dad taught me at a young age that I should do my part in cleaning up trash. My family and I have approx. 5 miles of adopt a highway near Lake Raystown. It gets cleaned at least 4 times a year, my dad does it alot more than my mom and I. I think the PFBC should do something similar to PennDOT and call it "Adopt a Stream"

 

[Chaz]

IT may have nothing to do with anglers littering, and everything to do with people in general not disposing their trash properly. There are quite a few places in PA where rednecks just dump their crap without regard for what it does to the environment or how it looks, just because they don't want to pay to have it hauled off. There was a place in Sproul SF that was cleaned up a few years back that was basically the locals dump. Cost the state a bundle of money.
No we're not snobs just a whole lot smarter then the rednecks that live in our state.

 

[troutbert]

It's not that people who are against littering are elitists.

It's that people who do litter are depraved.

 

[Bruno]

Absolute laziness is the reason, I live and work in Pittsburgh and am appalled on a daily basis on how much people litter. I see people throw trash from cars every day. I also see people drop trash right next to the garbage cans on city streets. I mean too lazy to move their hands a few more inches. When I see some one litter I will politely stop and say “excuse me but you dropped something, it looks like it might me important” Never fails they stoop and pick it up. It is the same attitude that carries over to the woods, lazy. Redneck or Ghetto thug does not matter if they are lazy.

On a positive note. My family owns a tract of land in WPA that has a large stream and waterfall that flows through the property. It has been the local party spot for years. Beer can , bottles, cars you name it the have dumped it. I try and make it out there several times a year just to walk around. Last time I went a group of college kids were there camping for the weekend by the falls. I approached them to see what was going on and discovered they had spent most of their day filling the bed of a pickup with garbage . I thanked them and ended sitting down and having a couple of beers with them.

So yes I am a snob when it comes to being lazy

 

[CaptMatt]

No we are not snobs or slobs. It seems as fly fisherman we appreciate and treat the out doors better. A little bit of a bold statement? Yes. There is def a class distinction between fly fishermen and "the others". I don’t think this is a good thing but it is true. I would like to see more people in our sport but I feel that the cost of fly fishing is a little ridiculous which leaves it to the wealthy or the bum, like me, who works his a** off to get some good gear. No it doesn’t have to cost a fortune but that is the assumption. It is also true that the lower classes are a little sloppier than others. I don’t know why but don’t blame it on rednecks or crackers, I consider myself both and do not litter : )
Om sure Im ruffling some feathers here, such is not my intent.

 

[troutbert]

It's not just a flyfishing thing. I knew not to litter many, many years before I got into flyfishing.

I attribute this to my good choice of parents. They weren't elitists at all. They weren't wealthy and neither went to college. But littering would have been unthinkable to them. Totally out of the question. I don't remember than teaching me about this, but they probably did when I was so young that I don't recall it.

It's shocking and sad that so many people litter.

But a positive note, our TU chapter has been doing an annual cleanup on the local stream for decades. In the more recent period all sorts of other groups have joined in. And the stream is far cleaner than in the past. When we do our annual cleanup now, we find much less garbage than in the past. Maybe we just caught up with the backlog, but maybe people are actually beginning to litter somewhat less than before. It's nice to think so!

 

[Fishidiot]

This is sadly a reality of rural life (and urban too as Bruno points out). We aren't snobs - it's just that with a bit more education and environmental awareness - people usually become more concerned with being good neighbors and good stewards of the land. Keep in mind also, a single litterbug, or family of them, can produce a tremendous amount of trash. Once last year a parking section on a DHALO stream that I often frequented was blocked off by a washing machine and TV set dumped there. When I see fresh dumping like this I notify the authorites as once this crap lays around it attracts more of it. Oftentimes a TU chapter or some otherwise good local folks will haul the stuff off. My pet peeve is deer carcasses. Many of my favorite bridges over trout streams get bones and hide - often still in trash bags - tossed under them or into the water. These "sportsmen" are too lazy to remove their trash bags and dump the bones/hide far enough away from the road that the place doesn't stink when you park there. Anyway, all we can do is try to clean up ourselves and educate the young before they "grow up" and develop the bad attitude that leads to dumping and littering.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

on second thought.... iam a trout snob! :-D

 

[OhioOutdoorsman]

I had good parents. We burned our trash.