Once again a warm welcome to another edition of The Journal for a Monday evening on FWR your top web site for fishing information in the Northwest.
With the FVSS pikeminnow derby now history, a very successful derby once again I decided to take a run up the Chilliwack River Valley to check on the garbage situation. I had pumped some fresh bugs yesterday but decided to delay my planned fishing trip for a day.
The newly created no camping zone from The Vedder Crossing Bridge to the Tamahi Bridge was looking pretty good in the area's I stopped at were not too bad not perfect but better than it was before this new bylaw came into effect.
The water above the clay slides sure looked good, quite high for this time of year. Only a few days, July 1 until it opens again. A couple of us may go out and observe the rainbow,(steelhead smolt) fishery that opens then. Some of us have concerns wild smolts are effected as they take the bait very deep as they are on a feeding frenzy. I also think this fishery picks off slow migrating hatchery fish. It bothers me that we work hard to catch the brood stock and then take the resources to raise them before release.
I have asked for a study by FOC but to date it has fell on deaf eyes. That reminds me to send an e-mail to see if they are going to do it this year.
I stop at the Limits Hole and the water is really ripping through there. As I slip down the path I come face to face with a small buck, still sporting his velvet. We stare at each other, he seems unconcerned with my intrustion on his home, the surrounding forest. I snap a picture as well as a little video. We part quietly to go our separate ways.
I turn off the Chilliwack Lake Road onto the Bench Road and right away I am greeted by garbage every where. As I continue for about 6 km down the road very few of the sites are cleaned by there temporay occupants. Garbage bags have been torn apart by bears and I even see a bruin cub, a black, I quickly slip into the Leaf Mobile as I know mother was not too far away. I am discussed by what I see, tires,a campstove, diapers, BBQ, discharged shoot guns shells, partly used condiments, oodles of broken glass that I cleanup, also one site that says Grad 07. Why would they want to advertise what they had left behind.
As I leave this war zone it leaves me with a heavy heart that so called humans can do this to our precious outdoors in what they call Beautiful British Columbia.
If the deer I saw and the bear cub could talk and describe what I saw today it would be unprintable and who could blame them.
What would these that did this to the deer's and the bear families think if they, the animals came and spread garbage in these campers home. It is no different in my mind as we should respect the animals environment as they do not have the means to do it themselves.
On my arrival home I sent letters to MOE, CVRCC directors, government officials and the Environment Minister to see how we can attempt to stop this and also try to get it cleaned up. Hopefully we can tackle it on our next cleanup on July 14.
Maybe some concerned FWR members would like to come to the cleanup and we can work on it. Someone may clean it up by then but I am afraid more will be taking its place.
A sorry way to end my day with this report, bed time and to make myself feel better, going fishing in a few hours.