Respect the river

[Mr Keen 0]

Hi all,The Onka is a fragile environment with an enormous amount of pressure, both environmental as well as fishing pressure, being placed upon it. I have been fishing it with lures consistently for the last 4-5 months and have been having a blast catching mullies and bream and meeting some great fellow fishos on my travels, not to mention it can be an extremely beautiful and serene place to be.One thing has been bugging me for the last two months and that is cigarette butts(and yes I smoke). I understand that they are tiny and insignificant looking but the river and its banks are NOT the place to be leaving them. On several occasions I have witnessed the blatant disposal, by apparently reasonably intelligent people, of butts(ciggie) into the river environ when it is easy to avoid this potentially damaging behavior.This gripe is by no means limited to the Onka river as it is plague that infects almost all our favorite fishing spots and I am sure all the non-smokers shake their heads in disgust when they see butts(ciggie) at their spots.I implore you all to have a heart for our fish, our environment as well as our future generations of fishos, to do what you need to do to not play a part in ruining the best damn recreation/sport on earth. i assure you that it is not hard to do the right thing and take ALL your rubbish with you.I AM a smoker and I carry an old tin or film canister to take them with me and if that fails I just put them in my pocket (no matter how much the missus threatens to stop washing my clothes coz they sometimes end up in the washing machine , I will not just throw them).This post may get me labeled a nitpicking whinger because "it's only a ciggie butt mate" as I have heard a few times when I protest, but I care not. What I do care about is taking my grandkids (my daughters are only 11 and 13 so a while off yet I hope) down to the water and getting a fish on their line. For that to happen we all need to do what we can to look after our fisheries and the environment as a whole.If ya got this far, thank for reading.Always Keen

[Ranger 48]

It's not nit picking at all, and I must admit, even though I can quite often be found with a back pocket full of old butts, I too am guilty of this one!I normally smoke rollies though, and I consider these organic, as they break down readily in the soil unlike the tailormade filters.

[Guest matty_G]

Good post mr keen we all have a responsibility to keep our waterway clean,especially considering we are the ones who enjoy it the most

[stu83 1]

here here keeno.mine go back in an old packet that i make sure is in the tackle box.shame everyone cant be as smart as us huh !!!!! ???cheersstu83

[afishyfish 4]

Very good post there I agree !!!!!I am a smoker too, and definitely attempt to be careful of where I place my butts.Sometimes I find myself getting back into bad habits though, so Im always trying to improve !

[red_devil94 4]

i reckon if these people we all like to grump about (the litterers and undesize-overlimit fish takers) had a look at these forums theyd be shamed into to never offending again : great work guys :icon_e_wink:

[tonyb 1,017]

Great write up mate, give yourself a pat on the back for taking the time and effort to put into words what you're doing for the environment, especially one, as you say, which is under enormous pressure already.SAFWAA has a zero tolerance for smoking on all of our Waters.Bit like me when I worked in the deep mines, you don't even think about a smoke, cos you know you can't. I wonder if the smokers would be able to do their bigger bit for the environment and try not taking a smoke for the day??? just a thought!! Don't shoot/lynch the messenger ;)Cheers, tonyb.

[red_devil94 4]

Gave ya a karma point for that red_devil. It disgusts me some of the rubbish in the Onk at times. I know of Vaccuum claners, bra's and all sorts of bits and pieces pulled out. :o :o

CHEERS ;D ;D