Would you to try Trash Fishing? We hope you do.
What you need
The main thing you need to go trash fishing is a desire to clean up. There is a huge supply of trash out there in the waterways waiting for you, and if you have a desire to clean it up, you can make a big impact.
You may also need a way to get to the trash. This could including walking on a beach, canoeing on a river, or even using a fishing boat to explore abandoned islands. The more shoreline you can cover, the more trash you will find.
A few tools help the process, but not many are necessary. You will probably need a place to put the trash. Perhaps it is the trash barrels at the park, or maybe you bring it to the dump or take it home and put it in your trash barrel. Proper disposal is important.
Where to go Trash Fishing
Trash tends to collect on the shoreline, especially if the wind blows in the direction of shore. Trash also collects on islands, at the mouths of rivers, and near any interruption in the flow of water, like a bridge or bend in the river. Trash can also collect in the reeds at the edge of a marsh.
We like to use Google Maps to pinpoint locations where we think trash will collect. We look for irregularities in our rivers and lakes and head right for them. We usually find a lot of trash there.
Who to invite Trash Fishing
Bring your friends, especially if they are brave. Squeamish friends may not enjoy the sport of trash fishing, but adventurous friends almost always do. When trash fishing you can expect to see things others never will. That alone is a draw to many people. You can also make it fun by creating challenges, such as: who can find the weirdest piece of trash or who can remove the most trash from the water. These types of things really keep people engaged and motivate them to remove even more trash from the water.
Tools of the trade
We use five main tools:
Grabbers – Trash grabbers (or reachers, or snake grabbers) are our number one tool. They are great at grabbing things and putting them away.
Lacrosse Net (Goalie preferably) – A Lacrosse net is great for picking up hundreds of pieces of floating microplastics at a time. We buy ours at the used sporting good store.
Pole with a hook on it – Once you are in the shallow water, you’ll need a way to maneuver your boat and grab trash. A long, extendable pole with a “boat hook” on the end is perfect for this. It can get you near the rocks and then help you “floss” the rocks to remove all of the plastic bottles.
A Water Bottle – Within the first hour of trash fishing you will become disgusted by the quantity of disposable water bottles you see. It will make you think twice about ever drinking from a disposable water bottle again. Get a reusable water bottle and bring it with you.
Boat (optional) – Having a shallow draft boat will really help you get to places where the trash collects, places that trash collects and other people who do cleanups cannot get.
What to wear.
Shoes that protect your feet and drain water immediately – Crocs are very, very good for trash fishing. Any kind of self draining shoes are good, but we prefer shoes that do not have holes in the soles, because bad stuff poke up through those holes and hurt you. Sailing shoes drain well, have plenty of grip, and cover your feet. Fishing boots are great for that reason as well.
Sun protection – You are going to be outside for a while. You’ll want to wear a hat that covers your ears. Sunscreen is also key.
Eye protection – sunglasses or safety glasses. This stuff splatters and you don’t want that in your eye.
Gloves – Both reusable and disposable are nice. We normally don’t vote for anything disposable, but sometimes there is something really, really gross and those disposable gloves are a blessing.