i see a lot of comments on this subject i for one have picked up my fair share and will continue to do so.was just thinking what makes people throw their garbage everywhere laziness stupidity or what anybody else have any idea ?

i think people like that just dont care

I do believe the amount of garbage one leaves behind is directly related to their I.Q.

they definately don't care and it make me wonder if it is contagious causing others not to care.

The Herd mentality,trash,leave it where you use it .Why pack it out I don't live here.

it seems to start with cigarette butts in the river and works its way up to bait containers and mono or firewire. This year I am going to make more of an effort to leave the hole with a little more trash then i came with. just grabbing the line and lure boxes in the rocks around you.

who know though... maybe that will just make people think that someone will continue to pick up after them.

I'd like to pick up more garbage, but I don't want to actually touch it. No telling where it's been, and fishing line may have hooks in it somewhere. Can anyone recommend something that you can pick up trash with? And I'm not talking about a glove. Like a claw gripper thing on the end of a stick. Snake tongs might work, but they're kind of pricey.

Geez,

I'm sorry, but that's weak. You don't want to pick up a beer can, pop bottle, or coffee cup, because you might get cooties?

Pardon me while I roll my eyes.

I have been picking up trash alonside the river for 30 years, plus. I have yet to incur an injury while doing so. I suggest that you will be safe in doing so. Yes, with bare hands.

I'll apologise in advance for the excessive sarcasm. We as a society have been taught a fear of contamination that is unreasonable. I would not pick up a condom or a hypodermic while cleaning litter without a glove or other appropiate material in place. But cans, fishing tackle, and even gross stuff like diapers are not going to kill you.

Most of the accesss to my childhood fishing haunts in both the olympics and locall dnr land have been gated or simply blocked due to illegal dumping and just plain litter.I have been picking up trash since I learned this was the reason.

A plus to these gates Is harder access to some really neat places.Alot of people would not see this as a pluss but it has kept just those people out .

Now with the quad fad in full stroke I am finding trash where I was surprised by just a foot print in the sand on the river bank.It is unfortunate.It seems that the same people that would not pick up after themselves in the first place and got the access gated,cried when they had to walk instead of drive,now own quads and haven't learned a thing.

First , the parent sets the example.
And then maybe we need a few signs like in Alaska...
Littering....a $500 fine and then a few enforcers.
Of course, in Oregon without money, it wouldn't be a priority and the short timers wouldn't have any litter to pick up along the road.

Pardon me for posting while drinking, but.... I can't pass on this one. Silver Hilton has a point, whatcha gonna get , cooties? Sheesh. pick the stuff up. And seaweed I think it was, brought up a good point; where do people learn this? About two weeks ago, I took my 5 year old daughter down to the Skook to let the dogs run and I thought I might get to wet a line (right before the close). The parking lot up towards the dam (damn?) was trashed. So while the dogs played in the river (typical lab), Nicole and I got a trash bag out of the truck and started cleaning up after the LOSERS. How does one explain to a 5 year old this mentality? Well, we were cleaning up the parking lot, and I found a nickel, I gave it to her, she was tickled. I walked over to a cheetos bag, and there laid a five dollar bill. All I could say to her was that doing the right thing pays off sometimes! She thought she was hot stuff with all of that money!! On the way home we took a scenic route, and I saw a ton of fresh elk sign. Looks like I got a payoff too. Wish I was going to be here next fall to see if I could drive an aluminum stick through one of those bad boys!! Bottom line is to teach the kids the right thing to do, and they will follow the example, teach them to trash the place, and they will follow that example as well. It's up to us.

Take a kid fishing; teach them conservation, and instill in them the value of the resource, for they are the future.

Very well said fish4steel. Its up to us to set
the example.