If you know these people are your neighbors, gather up the trash and dump in in their yard. It is their trash after all.

I have done some bank fishing and what keeps me away from certain areas is when I get hung up and loose a lot of lures.

Sink a few trees and the word will get out and they will be gone.

Hey Fuzzy that will just draw crappie and then the trashy crappie anglers after that !
David C.

i'm with Kat-man-do. be very polite and tell them they forgot some of their stuff and leave it right there with them. wish'em a good day/evening and walk away. if they get mouthy, keep on walk'in. i've really enjoyed everybodys advice to y'alls dilemma. some really good reading. GOFISH

1) The relevant governing body should supply trash receptables at areas that are popular with bank fishermen...and empty them on a regular basis.

2) greater access should be provided for ALL people to areas of the lakes that are NOT heavily populated nearby. In other words stop making it where a fella without a boat has to sneak around to all these places, parking in questionable places, and getting evil eyes from homeowners up the shore.

3) Money must be allocated for officers to go undercover at the popular fishing areas and catch these creeps... AND FINE THE BEEGEEZUZ OUT OF THEM! Why not? they sit there all day long in side streets or in unmarked cars writing tickets to beat the band. Why is this issue not addressable in the same way. Don't get me wrong...I don't want Big Brother spying on me every time I'm out fishing...but how should I know if the guy down the bank is a cop ir not? The trashers will eventually feel the same way.

4) (this one will probably stir the pot...too bad)
SEAL THE D**N BORDERS!
The vast majority of the people out there that think it is an ok thing to throw down and leave all of their refuse for the day, and any they brought with them from home, are illegal immigrants from south of the border.
I Know it! - You know it! - Everybody who bank fishes sees it constantly!

Call me a racist if you want....I'm tired of hearing lame arguments about that subject. And it changes the truth of my statement not one ioda!

5) (I say this with no ill intent) To those of you who live next to these lakes, and have all the wonderful benefits of being there in your lovely houses. Ha-Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Sniff-sniff....Booooo-hoooo-hoo! Let me help ya out...let's talk trade.

You make some pretty good points Dave. I've seen people throw trash on the ground when there was a trash bin just a foot away from them.

I wouldn't trade this little lake cabin for any of the homes they are squeezing together side by side in some of these new additons going up around here. I know I'm lucky to have what little I have. I'm happy when we've had enough rain during the year to keep even a little water to fish in!

Nope, Nope, Sorry Davy won't go there!

Davy,
Appreciated your 4th point above, it's actually something I try to keep in mind. Yes, I spend a lot of time picking up trash from both my corner lot and the roadside along the COE lake land across the street, but I don't mind it so much when I'm blessed with a beautiful sunset or the five minute walk to the water's edge with rod in hand when the urge hits me. Sadly enough, out of the 75-100 homes in our subdivision, there's probably only two or three of us in the entire development who take advantage of our proximity to the lake and actually go fishing - but never any of the neighborhood youth. Our son is grown and out on his own, what do all the kids do these days? I guess with all the organized youth sports, computers, video games and driving their loud, fancy cars around town, fishing and being outdoors doesn't even make their list... Well, I guess that could be another topic altogether. God Bless,

hee-hee.....come-on evv59....maybe I could use a good slappin' around!

You know what kills me about the trash? How about when you see some yahoo who just bought his brand new rod/reel combo, take the entire blister pack down to the shore and after taking it out...throw the ugly 6 ft piece of cardboard and plastic right there on the ground. I swear...these people need a good old Texas A**-Whooping.

The thing about the trash cans is this. Sure, a lot of idiots ignore them, but then again if one is handy and not overflowing, people such as myself and many of you I would presume, will often pick up other peoples trash and put it in the cans. Mostly selfish action on my part...I just can't stand seeing it. If we could just get a grip on the problem for a while then I think a lot of folks might start thinking twice about doing it. You know what I mean? If a person is standing in a trash dump...he might not feel so bad about throwing down a little piece or two more...right?

With all that said and done though...the vast majority of trash that enters the lakes is from highway littering that washes off in the storm runoff. This problem CAN be addressed and is in areas such as Austin's auquifer recharge zones etc.. By use of filters etc. The vast majority of THAT garbage in my opinion...I'm sad to say...comes from the bed of otherwise well meaning pickup truck drivers. If you own or have owned a pickup, more than likely you are guilty of it (I'm including myself here) You know...when you finish that soda or beer and throw it in the back so you can clean it out later? And miraculously when you look in the bed a day or two later the trash fairies have magically taken it away? Fact is once you hit highway speed almost anything you throw back there unrestrained of that nature is up and out. We could all do a better job of dealing with that issue.

Lordy-Lordy FreddieM when I was a kid my folks had to beat me with a grub hoe handle to keep me out of the creek or some other fishing hole. Do any of these kid's dad's fish? probably not. Remember years ago when you could drive over any lake this time of year...say on a friday night...and there would be lanterns glowing all over the place? I quess we've become too sophisticated for that kind of entertainment.

If you have ever been to Max Starke Dam in Marble Falls, you will know that a trash can can be right beside someone and they won't use it. Multiply that by 100, 7 days a week and you get a good idea of what garbage you have to wade through to fish there. Of course, the ramp owners there try to keep some semblance of order, and sometimes the water will rise and wash it all downstream, but what's so hard about using a liter can?

I agree with Dave for the most part. I have a good friend who is from Mexico, and even though he's well educated and polite and a business owner, he will tell me that people from mexico don't view these things in the same way as we do. For instance, they see no reason that 9 people in a 16 foot boat with a cowlingless engine that won't start should not take it to the lake and try to use it. He says there will always be someone there to help them out if they need it, with a tow, a rescue boat, a coroner (I added that one myself). He also says that most of the houses in the areas these people come from have trash from front to back outside, but not so bad inside. They just kick it aside and walk through it.

I remember as a kid, knowing people who would throw a whole bag of trash (mcdonald's size bag) out the window, like "out of sight out of mind" and as a kid I thought "hey now it's gone" and it never really crossed my mind that someone has to either pick that up or see it daily until someone else does.

So, when I fish, I pay extra attention to things being loose in the boat. I will go way out of my way on the lake to retrieve a floating can, even if it's not mine. I don't sink cans in the lake, nor do I cut fishing line off that's snagged 70 yards away. I will pull it until it breaks and then try to cut if off as short as possible if I can get to the spot it was hung.

Many people don't wash the cleaning tables they use. I cleaned my fish behind a guide the other day. He left his mess everywhere and just left his clients there with a bunch of bloody filets, not even bagged. They commented on it, cleaned his mess and left.

I think people who fish alot are more aware of these things than someone who fishes once every 4 years or so.

On the plus side, in my poorer days, I have found some hooks and sinkers on the bank that saved my day!

These are all great ideas, try this one place a large sign at the entrance (all) saying BEWARE/DANGER POISON SNAKE NEST/INFESTATION ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK, if that doesn't catch there attention then you really have a problem.

Davy,
I grew up in central PA, and remember riding my bike about 5 miles just to get to the nearest creek - but, by God, I must have made that ride a thousand times during my youth. I vividly remember catching a 16" brown trout during the seven-year cicada (locust) hatch, and also having it and the net it was in wrap-up in the spokes of my five-speed on the way home, ha!
Nope, from what I can gather, none of the kid's parents in my neighborhood here fish, what is up with that... ? God Bless,