subject: How to Preserve the Environment When Fly Fishing [print this page] How to Preserve the Environment When Fly Fishing
Fly fishermen love the outdoors and beauty of nature. Nature has a balance that keeps everything in pristine beauty. There is a balance of nature that man often forgets. People are so enthused with nature, their enthusiasm is killing it. They do not kill it because they are trying to, but because they don't think about what they are doing.
Imagine Nature as a Potluck
Nature has set a beautiful banquet for man that provides a beautiful table with food and beauty. Think of it as a potluck. The table is set. There is spare ribs, barbeque sauce, potato salad and for desert banana pudding. It sounds great.
Now imagine 100 or more people are at that potluck and there is only one large serving spoon. The first person fills his plate, and sets the spoon down. The next person comes along and fills his plate. This continues until all are fed. Consider this, no one thought to clean the spoon between each serving of each item. After a while, people will have barbeque sauce flavored banana pudding, banana pudding flavored barbeque sauce and who knows what the ribs will taste like. Things started out well, but the food was cross-contaminated.
People had the opportunity to clean the spoon after every serving but failed. What a waste. The same thing is happening to nature. Anglers, boaters, and outdoorsmen forget that nature has a balance.
Nature Will Balance Itself...Normally
Under normal conditions nature has provided a checks and balance system to keep things separate and in control. For everything in a local ecosystem there is in place for predators, algae, algae eaters, etc., that keep things in balance. As one thing gets out of balance, the food chain will increase on the other side bringing things back into balance.
This is true until man not thinking introduces new and unchecked objects that will set thing out of balance. Consider this. A fly fisherman fishes in the Colorado River one day and travels to the Appalachians the next day or so. He takes with him his waders, wading boots, and his tackle. All of which is contaminated with the Colorado River ecosystem. If he fails to clean these items, he is like the picnickers. He is slowly making barbeque flavored banana pudding.
To keep things in balance, the outdoorsman, the fly fisherman, and the boater must clean all their gear when changing waters. They must develop this habit so nature can do its job and keep our beautiful lakes, streams and ponds in pristine shape. The same is true with litter. Pick up your trash (no matter how biodegradable it is). If you can, pick up someone else's and you will enjoy nature and leave it pristine for your kids and their kids.
