Don't trash the Delta!!!

I WAS going to catch some striper today, but I got so freaking grossed out/pissed off by the amount of crap out there that I started picking up what I could.
 I hardly made a dent.
 So much trash in the boat that I hade to sit on the bow to paddle in. It's no wonder that there are health warnings against eating the fish caught out of EVERY major waterway in California. So sad!
All these "SAVE THE DELTA, STOP THE TUNNELS" stickers, but what we really need is a "SAVE THE DELTA, PICK UP YOU GOD DAMNED TRASH!" movement!
The bathtub ring around my boat is one thing, reeling In a plastic bag with old diapers in it is just f'ing gross!

And yes... that is my BRAND NEW Eddyline c135 acting as a garbage scow! If I can do it, you can too! If you see it, grab it! It starts with us, brothers and sisters!

Good work. It's shitty that so much crap gets thrown in the water.

Thanks for the reminder. I hauled an oyster grow out bag back from Tomales Bay on Friday. Tomales Bay is amazingly clean though, since so few people live in the watershed. Places like the delta can just be overwhelming

It's a HUGE problem, but there are thousands of us! I'm newish  here, but if we all pull together we CAN make a difference! I'm not saying everyone has to load up their boats to max capacity like I did. Just grab some crap as it floats by.
When I was straddle paddling in to the launch, people asked if I caught anything. Asked how I did. I said that i decided not to fish, and pick up trash instead and pointed to the giant pile o' shit behind me ( like, how do you not see all the garbage in my boat?!). Half of them thought I was crazy! I hope the other half will get the bug, and pick up some shit too!

Nice Job Cris ! I always try to do a little every time I am out.

Alex

Thanks Alex! You rock!

I clean crap out of the ocean all the time.  Not sure I want to haul that much crap but a couple items each trip makes me feel better. 

Haven't fished the delta in years but thanks for cleaning up some of it. 

Awesome DG! Sometimes it has its rewards. Rockfish pulled an old bottle out of the bank of the Moke a while back on a float with me. Pretty cool, brown one gallon Purex (bleach) jug with a handle. Not sure if it's worth anything, but neat! I have a s-load of lures I've salvaged from tree branches and backwaters. New hooks, and pow!

   Thanks for helping.  That's an amazing amount of stuff.  I always pick up a few items on Monterey Bay, often bait boxes and hook wrappers, and I know it all didn't accidentally fall overboard.
    But you probably don't want to know what chemicals are mixed into the water that wind up in your fish's flesh - there are millions of humans living near of Delta tributaries, let alone ag and industrial sources.

Standing on the side of the Delta King this evening, lots of garbage floating by.

I should add that that's an impressive haul. Nice work, Chris.

The kid that took my picture yesterday of me and my bass wanted to have the fish, until I pointed to a boat that was illegally moored about a quarter mile away,  and informed him that the person living on the boat pumps his waste directly into the water we are fishing. Him and his GF freaked out! 
He had caught a nice sized bass 100 yards from the boat on Monday and they ate it that night. I then directed him to the dfg website that states that NO women should eat ANYTHING that comes from the Delta. It's so sad that we have f'd it up this bad! And it continues!

This is just diving related for 1 year.  I have lures, fishing weights, Pvc pipes with hooks used by commercial guys and plenty more so some days it's like a treasure hunt.  I have returned found items also. 

Just don't dive glass beach if you pick up trash because it was an old dump where they tossed trash over the cliffs.  Lots of glass of course but metal, tires and spark plugs are still there.   

So much lead! Funny how we can fish with it, but can't shoot it anymore! I won't go any farther with that. Whole 'nother can of worms.
Some old dude actually told me today that the health advisory against eating fish fron the Delta was an Obama created conspiracy! He's been eating fish out of here his whole life!
I asked him how his health was, as he wheeled his wife to the car.
He didn't answer.