People pollution is a serious problem in the waterways and on land, and while one person can’t make a big difference, a lot of people can make a significant difference.
Back when I began doing some serious surf-fishing in the mid-1960s, the beaches were covered with all sorts of junk. I never had to search for bait boards because there were lots of pallets up and down the beach, not to mention plastic milk jugs, soda cans, juice containers and an assortment of other stuff that was dumped overboard from ships. My experience on two aircraft carriers, where everything from raw sewage to engine parts was tossed overboard, showed just a small part of the trash that ended up in the water.
I have mentioned before in these pages that I grew up in Claymont on Wistar Street with an unobstructed view of the Delaware River. In the 1940s and ’50s, that body of water was so contaminated with chemicals that nothing lived past the C&D Canal. Plastic, fuhgeddaboudit, it would have melted in the river. Today, shad, striped bass and other fish swim in that water. You still can’t eat them, but at least they don’t melt.
One of the biggest plastic pollutants I see on land and water is Mylar balloons. These are wonderful decorations for various holidays, but they should never be released into the air. As they say, what goes up must come down, and these balloons come down in some unwelcome locations. Marine creatures mistake them for jellyfish and die in an attempt to eat them. Farm machinery can become entangled in them, and that can cost the farmer time and money. Please dispose of all balloons after the event without releasing them into the air.
Unfortunately, we have some real pigs that fish. Every time I go to Indian River Inlet, I end up cleaning up a mess left by my fellow fishermen. It is usually monofilament fishing line, but it may also include cans, food wrappers, smoking materials, bait boxes, and the list goes on.
Boaters are no better than shore fishermen. Pay attention to the water around any of the reef sites on a calm summer afternoon. You will see the same sort of junk floating as you find on the beach, at the inlet, or along the bank of any river or stream.
Freshwater anglers are just as bad. Check the trout ponds and creeks after opening day.
I do believe the majority of fishermen do not litter the areas where they fish. I know I take more junk off the beach every time I go surf-fishing and the same when I go trout fishing in all three counties.
I gave up trying to convert the pigs into good citizens long ago. It is the same as trying to get people to clean up after their dogs, or not run stop signs or speed on Route 1. They are going to do what they have always done, and probably what their parents did and what their kids will do. That leaves the rest of us to clean up after them.
There are groups that hold beach cleanups throughout the year, and these certainly help. No one person can clean up an entire beach every week, but what one person or family can do is police the area where they go each weekend. That may be a state park, wildlife area or just a fishing spot alongside a river, stream or creek. If you get there and some pig or a group of pigs has left a mess, clean it up. There may be some materials you don’t want to handle. If so, just leave them.
The one thing I don’t recommend is getting into a discussion with one or more of the pigs should you encounter them leaving a mess in your favorite fishing spot. You already are aware that this person is a pig, and calling this to his or her attention is not going to have any positive effect. This is the time to bite your tongue, let the pig do what pigs do, and either walk away or clean up their mess while they watch.
Fishing report
Freshwater is the only game in town right now. The ponds are seeing some bass and crappie on live minnows. Millsboro Pond has been touted as a pickerel hot spot. Crappie have been caught from the Nanticoke River and Broad Creek on minnows and crappie jigs.
The only saltwater report I have received came from Capt. Monty on the Morning Star out of Ocean City, Md. He has been able to put his customers on some nice tog on the few days when the weather has allowed him to sail.
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Eric Burnley is a Delaware native who has fished and hunted the state from an early age. Since 1978 he has written countless articles about hunting and fishing in Delaware and elsewhere along the Atlantic Coast. He has been the regional editor for several publications and was the founding editor of the Mid-Atlantic Fisherman magazine. Eric is the author of three books: Surf Fishing the Atlantic Coast, The Ultimate Guide to Striped Bass Fishing and Fishing Saltwater Baits. He and his wife Barbara live near Milton, Delaware. Eric can be reached at Eburnle@aol.com.
