Trash Contest (Major Prize UPDATE!)

Trash is gross; it isn't attractive no matter what style of art you subscribe to or appreciate. There is nothing remotely OK about a 32oz QT cup half buried in the bankside mud. Or a tennis ball floating around. Or mono snarled in a tree, gleaming in the sun. We all want healthy fish--healthy fish spawn, healthy fish fight harder, healthy fish are more beautiful.

There is a lot of talk these days about barbless hooks, felt-less boots and other important topics. But isn't ensuring that our trash doesn't become the aquatic environment's trash just about the most basic starting point of any conservation effort? What good are attempts to keep AIS at bay if the water is clogged with bait cups? What good are barbless hooks if there are no fish to catch? I think basic trash pickup is where every conservationist needs to begin...and end.

Put down your rod for a few outings and ensure that the fish you catch when you pick it back up WILL be healthier, and healthier more everyday thereafter.

So I am renewing the contest and working on promoting it better. I'll run this through the end of August. Here are the details:

• To be entered in the contest, just send me an email saying you want to be counted. (theripariancorridorblog@gmail.com). After that, keep me in the loop on how much you've collected and send some photos!
  

• There will be two winners

• The contest will consist of who can collect the most pounds of garbage/trash from their local water. This is an open-ended deal--you can collect from as many places as you want around you, but you have to send photos of your trash and be able to weigh it (hand scale, bathroom scale, whatever). As we go through the contest, as I get photos and weights of trash collected by contestants, I'll keep a posted, running tab going. That should keep the competition alive, nervous and stressful enough to make everyone collect MORE! The bottom line is, the person who collects the most pounds of trash by the end of the contest wins.

I bought this scale from Walmart for just under 5 dollars. It works perfectly for this!

• Since not everyone has the time to devote to collecting trash for hours a day, and since some are blessed with unusually clean waterways, I've made this a two-headed contest. The one winner, described above, will be meritorious. The second winner will be randomly selected. Since everyone is doing their part to clean up their water, this allows everyone to equally have a chance at winning something.
  

• The prizes will be REALLY good (thanks to Feather-Craft Fly Fishing):

1. Two Redington CT rods! One for each winner. Yup, I said it.
2. A Meat Locker streamer box from Feather-Craft Flyfishing for each of the two winners.
3. A Mono Master for each of the winners. If you aren't familiar with these, they are a great product to cut down on the accidental loss of one of the most harmful byproducts of our fishing-presence--fishing line.
4. A copy of "Red Gold" DVD. Google it and read more about it there or on Feather-Craft's website here.

• The dates for this contest are NOW through September 1st. That means that any trash collected during those dates officially counts for the contest.

• For this contest I'd appreciate if you'd "Follow" the blog officially (which will help you keep tuned to updates about the contest).
  

To enter, send an email with your name, address (in case you win!), email address and blog/website to theripariancorridorblog@gmail.com and then keep me in the loop on your progress.

Be cool like this dude and pick some $#&% up!