Spring is upon us, and for the most part, the Snow is Gone from most spots.  This also means that many anglers have the itch to get out on the water.  And as the rush of spring flows subsides in our favorite streams, the high water lines will likely be littered with trash from seasons past.

Flip flops, beer cans, plastic grocery bags – are some of the common things I’ve found on the banks of the Deschutes.  I’ve even scored a patio umbrella once!  The sad fact is, when you head out to fish, you are not guaranteed to catch a fish, but you are absolutely going to see trash.

So I thought it might be fun to try a little internet-based game of sorts, to help put a small dent in that trash problem.  Since we are all going to be ( hopefully ) heading out to the water soon, I challenge everyone here in Central Oregon ( and beyond ), to keep some extra room in your pack, and toss in a trash bag ( which you likely won’t need because I can almost promise you will find a grocery bag out there ), and pick up any trash you see while walking between holes… or fill up the bag at the parking area.

If you do this, you will immediately be rewarded with lovely karma from mother Earth.  Other river users might see you doing this kind deed, and they too might be inclined to spare a few moments to pick up some trash.  And if you take a snapshot of your trash score, and send it to me, I’ll send you some stickers.  For free.

The Fish Oregon Sticker, a classic

My fancy new sticker idea

That’s right, just take a picture of the trash you picked up and post it somewhere online and let us all know where you picked up the trash, and tag me on the photo and I’ll get in touch to mail you a sticker.  Ways to make this happen include:

• Submit a comment on this blog post
• Post to Instagram, tag me there as @timmycrawford
• Post the photo to the Fly Fishing Central Oregon Facebook page, and tag me ( Timmy Crawford ) in the post
• Tweet the photo ( thought I honestly loathe Twitter ), and tag me @timmycrawford there as well

I’m excited to see if this experiment works, and can’t wait to go pick up trash and fish 🙂