For most of you reading this, I am sure you will all understand the true joy and wonderment that comes from immersing yourself deep into the wilderness on a so-called search for trout. And yes, whilst that sometimes elusive fish is a goal, perhaps it is just the experience and the coming together with nature that is the real prize at the end of the day. And so, we need to consider nature each and every time we venture out onto the bush. We’ve all heard the phrase “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints”. This is something I have always bee very insistent upon when heading out fly fishing into all parts of the countryside.

It’s quite simple really, the idea that we should leave the environment we enter just as we found it. Neither leaving litter nor taking flora and fauna from it’s natural environment. This is pretty much common sense, yet it is all too often ignored, overlooked or downright ignored by a scrupulous few who continue to ruin the environment with litter on their fishing, camping or bushwalking expeditions. One really wonders, how hard is it to simply place your rubbish back in the bag you took it from and deposit it into a bin at a later stage? This sort of laziness mixed with atrocious selfishness is what will ruin our environment for ourselves and others in the future. But we all know this, I am sure. Unfortunately, no matter how remote a location I hike into in search of a small stream, no matter how far off the beaten track I venture, there is always an unwelcome surprise. Food wrappers, plastic bags, bottles and cans are never a pretty sight and should not be waiting upstream for any fisherman.

And the solution is pretty simple. Having come to the conclusion that no amount of education or retribution will stop some people from leaving their unsightly mark on nature, the best way to combat this is to all play our part in redeeming the situation each and every time we venture out. I always take a small plastic bag in my vest to collect all my waste from the day to take out with me, which isn’t that hard really. Now, I am endeavoring to not only take my waste but to also collect some form the stream or forest and take that with me too. Be it a single piece of plastic packaging, or a drink can, or a full bag of rubbish, it is not difficult to do and ensures that every time you visit an area you are having a positive impact on the immediate environment and that further downstream too. It doesn’t take much and you don’t have to run around spruking environmentalism, or seeking medals for you works. No, it is just a simple way to thank the beautiful environment you have enjoyed by for the day by giving something back, or rather, taking something away.

So, a I propose a new motto to work by when out on the water. For now it seems that it is not enough to simply leave nature as you found it, but rather we should all strive to…

…leave nature as you would like to find it.