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(Originally posted as a Reply on another Thread but I thought a worthy topic for it's own)
Seriously doubt if it's anyone on these Boards trashing the piers (probably obvious to most of us). People who respect the sport enough to read and communicate on the Boards are part of a community who surely appreciates it's assets and wouldn't despoil them.
My guess is you get the occasional lowlife out for a day with no respect for the other people who've been coming there for years and who want to continue to.
I was on my way back to Annapolis from Assateague yesterday and thought I'd stop at Choptank to check out the pier since I'd read so much about it from you guys. I pulled into the lot, saw all the trash lying around, and wondered why any of you even bother, to be quite honest. It was disgusting, and depressing. Particularly after spending a beautiful morning catching trout out of a pristine surf on a very clean beach.
(I just noticed there's another thread that covers a lot of this. Since some of us fish piers other than Choptank I'd like to share these ideas with folks who fish some of the other areas).
So, what to do? First, I think it's up to US to ask the local police and politicians to start enforcing litter laws at the piers. It should be done in as organized and "official" way possible, so these people know there is an organized community out there that care about the public places in their communities. This makes two points - 1) it's not us trashing the place; 2) we would like to see them help solve the problem, not just throw up their hands and do stupid stuff like close the pier.
Two, if you see someone littering, gently remind them to pack it out and that piers are closing due to litter and noise elsewhere. If someone's raging drunk on the pier, don't try to reason with them, just get on your cell phone and call the cops to come and get him (or her). Was at Matapeake the other day with my 8 y.o. daughter and there was a ripping sloppy drunk couple making a scene I'd rather not have her exposed to. Next time I see something like this I'm dialing the police.
Three, if you see trash, I guess go ahead and pick it up. If each one of us brings a Hefty bag with us every time we go out, and we each make a point of picking up a bit of the litter, the piers would become clean fast. Maybe not the most fair arrangement, but one that'll keep us all fishing. I'm going to start doing that, personally.
Along this line of thought I see that some of the Tank fisherman are planning a cleanup. I think that's a great idea. I'll try hard to be there. I'd encourage all the people on these Boards, whether they fish the Tank or not, to also try to get there. Maybe through the P&S we can organize regular cleanups of the various piers we fish, and cycle through them on some semi-regular basis.
Also, maybe a permit to fish the pier after 10pm or so isn't such a bad idea. This would keep the pier used by mostly people who care about fishing in the hours when enforcement might be more difficult.
Anyone have an opinion on any of this? Is there someone from a group that would make sense to communicate with the local mayor/town council? I saw Shaggy on the other Board was going to call someone at Choptank. Can anyone who knows resources to call post start posting names, phone #'s to this Board? Maybe we can get the Board to post a kind of centralized Resources/Contacts list.
Seriously doubt if it's anyone on these Boards trashing the piers (probably obvious to most of us). People who respect the sport enough to read and communicate on the Boards are part of a community who surely appreciates it's assets and wouldn't despoil them.
My guess is you get the occasional lowlife out for a day with no respect for the other people who've been coming there for years and who want to continue to.
I was on my way back to Annapolis from Assateague yesterday and thought I'd stop at Choptank to check out the pier since I'd read so much about it from you guys. I pulled into the lot, saw all the trash lying around, and wondered why any of you even bother, to be quite honest. It was disgusting, and depressing. Particularly after spending a beautiful morning catching trout out of a pristine surf on a very clean beach.
(I just noticed there's another thread that covers a lot of this. Since some of us fish piers other than Choptank I'd like to share these ideas with folks who fish some of the other areas).
So, what to do? First, I think it's up to US to ask the local police and politicians to start enforcing litter laws at the piers. It should be done in as organized and "official" way possible, so these people know there is an organized community out there that care about the public places in their communities. This makes two points - 1) it's not us trashing the place; 2) we would like to see them help solve the problem, not just throw up their hands and do stupid stuff like close the pier.
Two, if you see someone littering, gently remind them to pack it out and that piers are closing due to litter and noise elsewhere. If someone's raging drunk on the pier, don't try to reason with them, just get on your cell phone and call the cops to come and get him (or her). Was at Matapeake the other day with my 8 y.o. daughter and there was a ripping sloppy drunk couple making a scene I'd rather not have her exposed to. Next time I see something like this I'm dialing the police.
Three, if you see trash, I guess go ahead and pick it up. If each one of us brings a Hefty bag with us every time we go out, and we each make a point of picking up a bit of the litter, the piers would become clean fast. Maybe not the most fair arrangement, but one that'll keep us all fishing. I'm going to start doing that, personally.
Along this line of thought I see that some of the Tank fisherman are planning a cleanup. I think that's a great idea. I'll try hard to be there. I'd encourage all the people on these Boards, whether they fish the Tank or not, to also try to get there. Maybe through the P&S we can organize regular cleanups of the various piers we fish, and cycle through them on some semi-regular basis.
Also, maybe a permit to fish the pier after 10pm or so isn't such a bad idea. This would keep the pier used by mostly people who care about fishing in the hours when enforcement might be more difficult.
Anyone have an opinion on any of this? Is there someone from a group that would make sense to communicate with the local mayor/town council? I saw Shaggy on the other Board was going to call someone at Choptank. Can anyone who knows resources to call post start posting names, phone #'s to this Board? Maybe we can get the Board to post a kind of centralized Resources/Contacts list.
