How to Protect your Favorite Water
This will not be the most popular blog I’ve ever written. I believe that if you really care about your favorite water way that keeping it a secret is not going to protect it for very long. In fact, I believe that when many anglers try to keep a river a secret it actually becomes more desirable to try to get to. Most anglers are just trying to do the right thing, they think if they don’t tell anyone about it, less people will go visit it and therefore it will stay more like it is. I do also know many of these delicate fisheries can’t handle a ton of fishing pressure because of the state the river is in.
BUT.
Isn’t trying to keep it a secret an oil leak waiting to happen? What if a mine is proposed at that fisheries headwaters? What if agriculture demands more diversion dams from its already low flows? Who is going to be there to protect it if no one knows about it? You? By yourself? Isn’t the reason that Bristol Bay, Alaska and the Smith River in Montana have a chance because millions of people have come together to make an effort to protect those places. Why do they come together? Because they have experienced how special they are. Even if a mine does eventually go in to one of those areas can you imagine the microscope those mines will be under to be sure they do not have an environmental impact worse than they say they will (which is highly unlikely if history repeats itself)?
I’ve worked in the fly fishing industry in some capacity since I was about 17 years old, and I’m now nearly 32. Working in the fly shop, I know all about all the places I would get shamed by local anglers for mentioning in a magazine, blog, or fishing report. Many of the places are why I love fly fishing, they are where I learned, and they are training grounds for more technical places like the Missouri River in Montana, or if they are ever lucky enough to swing a fly in BC, or stalk permit in Belize. It’s painful to not tell people about them. I know that the next 15 year old kid that walks in the fly shop would have a better experience in our sport at one of these places than he will by himself on one of the major rivers. If we as an angling community started to tell that kid to go to one of these “secret’ location X’s, what would happen?
The positive part; that new angler would have a great day. That angler would be more likely to go fly fishing again. That angler could someday be you, and he/she would see value in the rivers they fish.
The negative part; you could see that angler in your favorite spot when you show up. You might see many friends of that angler in “your” spot. It’s possible the river can’t handle as many people in that spot that are now going to it in which case either the spot will be compromised or conservation efforts will have to regulate the spot. Then there might have to be bag limits on the spot, and you might have to fish barbless hooks. The fish there could get smarter, and you may have to get better at presenting a fly. It could get so popular, that so many people value going there that agencies might have to figure out ways to open more access spots to the river, monitor cattle effects on bank erosion, restore bank habitat, do studies on the fish populations, protect against invasive species, and lobby against negative impacts to the resource.
DO YOU SEE WHERE I’M GOING WITH THIS YET?
And trust me, I get the other side of the coin. I’ve seen it happen. If you really care about it the best thing you can do for it is share it, and teach the people you share it with to be stewards and conservationists. You got to experience it in its purist form, and you should feel lucky for that opportunity but let’s learn something from history and realize that if we don’t take the time to share, recognize and protect these places, then they go away.
Next time you are the troll on social media saying stuff like “Quit hotspotting my spot Bro,” or “I guess I’ll enjoy the company next weekend”… Maybe you should enjoy the company next weekend. Maybe you should walk over to those people and explain to them how important this place is. Maybe you should teach them how to handle fish properly, the appropriate hook size to use, and how to access the river. Maybe you should offer them a beer and take a selfie together and tell some other people how awesome this place is. Please, think about the big picture and what now your new role and responsibilities are as an angler. If this is you, it’s time to graduate to a higher level as an angler.
#fishdifferent
This will not be the most popular blog I’ve ever written.
I believe that if you really care about your favorite water way that keeping it a secret is not going to protect it for very long. In fact, I believe that when many anglers try to keep a river a secret it actually becomes more desirable to try to get to. Most anglers are just trying to do the right thing, they think if they don’t tell anyone about it, less people will go visit it and therefore it will stay more like it is. I also know many of these delicate fisheries can’t handle a ton of fishing pressure because of the state the river is in.
But...
Isn’t trying to keep it a secret an oil leak waiting to happen? What if a mine is proposed at that fisheries headwaters? What if agriculture demands more diversion dams from its already low flows? Who is going to be there to protect it if no one knows about it? You? By yourself? Isn’t the reason that Bristol Bay, Alaska and the Smith River in Montana have a chance because millions of people have come together to make an effort to protect those places. Why do they come together? Because they have experienced how special they are. Even if a mine does eventually go in to one of those areas can you imagine the microscope those mines will be under to be sure they do not have an environmental impact worse than they say they will (which is highly unlikely if history repeats itself)?
I’ve worked in the fly fishing industry in some capacity since I was about 17 years old, and I’m now nearly 32. Working in the fly shop, I know all about all the places I would get shamed by local anglers for mentioning in a magazine, blog, or fishing report. Many of the places are why I love fly fishing, they are where I learned, and they are training grounds for more technical places like the Missouri River in Montana, or if they are ever lucky enough to swing a fly in BC, or stalk permit in Belize. It’s painful to not tell people about them. I know that the next 15 year old kid that walks in the fly shop would have a better experience in our sport at one of these places than he will by himself on one of the major rivers. If we as an angling community started to tell that kid to go to one of these “secret’ location X’s, what would happen?
The positive part; that new angler would have a great day. That angler would be more likely to go fly fishing again. That angler could someday be you, and he/she would see value in the rivers they fish.
The negative part; you could see that angler in your favorite spot when you show up. You might see many friends of that angler in “your” spot. It’s possible the river can’t handle as many people in that spot that are now going to it in which case either the spot will be compromised or conservation efforts will have to regulate the spot. Then there might have to be bag limits on the spot, and you might have to fish barbless hooks. The fish there could get smarter, and you may have to get better at presenting a fly. It could get so popular, that so many people value going there that agencies might have to figure out ways to open more access spots to the river, monitor cattle effects on bank erosion, restore bank habitat, do studies on the fish populations, protect against invasive species, and lobby against negative impacts to the resource.
DO YOU SEE WHERE I’M GOING WITH THIS YET?
And trust me, I get the other side of the coin. I’ve seen it happen. If you really care about it the best thing you can do for it is share it, and teach the people you share it with to be stewards and conservationists. You got to experience it in its purist form, and you should feel lucky for that opportunity but let’s learn something from history and realize that if we don’t take the time to share, recognize and protect these places, then they go away.
Next time you are the troll on social media saying stuff like “Quit hotspotting my spot Bro,” or “I guess I’ll enjoy the company next weekend”… Maybe you should enjoy the company next weekend. Maybe you should walk over to those people and explain to them how important this place is. Maybe you should teach them how to handle fish properly, the appropriate hook size to use, and how to access the river. Maybe you should offer them a beer and take a selfie together and tell some other people how awesome this place is. Please, think about the big picture and what your new role and responsibilities are as an angler. If this is you, it’s time to graduate to a higher level as an angler.
#FISHDIFFERENT
