After getting a surprise half-day off I decided to hit my go-to spot on the Satsop and enjoy a beautiful day on the river. The fishing was not good, I had a few hits, all from small cutts, but it was a beautiful day to be on the water.
The thing I really want to talk about is the condition of the gravel bar that I was fishing on. I am sure that none of the people reading this are responsible for what I saw, but as responsible anglers we all need to be aware of it. It looks as though there must have been quite a party out there over the long weekend. There are beer cans, bags of trash, and broken foam coolers on the bar under the bushes, and there is toilet paper and human waste out in the open, uncovered. There are lots of tire tracks, and they lead right through Decker Creek. Somebody must have driven down the creek for a while before they got on the gravel bar.
I have no problem with people camping along our rivers, but it really upsets me to see the condition that some people leave these places in. I am afraid that with the new Discovery Pass going into effect, this problem will continue to get worse. If people cannot or choose not to pay the entry fee to use state parks, they will be looking for free areas such as this one to recreate in. Ranger Smith isn't out in these places to clean up after people. I packed some trash out of there this winter, but I have never seen it like this. Next time I'm there, I'll pack some out, and would encourage others anglers to do the same if in the area. Also, please KINDLY encourage people to practice 'pack it in, pack it out'. Thanks for reading.

Anonymous

7/6/2011 3:54:00 PM

BFC,
I agree with your comments regarding the trash folks leave behind. If they do this on rivers and lakes, I can only imagine they do the same at their own homes. My friend and I witnessed the same thing on multiple rivers and lakes the past few weekends.
One area was so bad it would have required a dump truck to remove it all. We did what we could.
If people continue to trash places, more of them will be closed to access which hurts all responsible outdoor enthusiasts.
I appreciate your efforts to pick up others trash.
SF

Stonedfish

7/6/2011 4:03:00 PM

BFC,
Thank you for bring this up. I agree with your comments regarding the trash folks leave behind. If they do so on rivers and lakes, I can only imagine what their own homes look like.
My friend and I saw the same thing on multiple rivers and lakes the past few weekends. One area was so bad it would require multiple dump trucks to remove everything. We did what we could.
If people continue to trash places, we'll keep losing access which harms all responsible outdoor enthusiasts.
I appreciate your efforts to pick up others trash.
SF

Acefishon

7/6/2011 7:26:00 PM

It's dam same it's the same people that snag fish and that's all they know how too so call fish I wish that we could find them and dump trash in the living room see how like it.then again that proble what looks like trash.this why private lands are know longer letting people fish on there propertys.

obryan214

9/11/2011 7:53:00 PM

My family has property on the upper east fork. I don't usually see garbage since their really isn't any acess unless you want to hike but sometimes we find junk including gillnets. I found some several years ago before the roads were gated, one on our beach with 6 fish including 2 50lb kings. Last year we came upon several trash bags filled with cans a couple miles from anywhere, never seen anyone around there.

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